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Arsenal and Man City both lose as Dyche makes immediate impact at Everton

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LONDON, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) — Manchester City missed the chance to close the gap to two points on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League when they lost away to Tottenham on Sunday.

Harry Kane’s goal in the 15th minute was enough to give three points to Antonio Contes’ side, which was also his 267th goal for Spurs, beating Jimmy Greaves’ all-time club record. Conte watched from his home after undergoing an operation to remove his gall bladder earlier in the week.

Riyad Mahrez came closest to a goal for City, who have lost their four visits to play Tottenham and Pep Guardiola’s side missed a golden opportunity to pressure their main title rivals.

Sean Dyche had an immediate impact as the new Everton boss, as his side won 1-0 at home to league leader Arsenal in his first game in charge thanks to James Tarkowski’s 60th-minute far-post header following Dwight McNeil’s corner and the fact the two players worked with Dyche at Burnley should not be ignored.

Wolverhampton’s 3-0 win over Liverpool keeps Everton in the bottom three as Julen Lopetegui’s side produced an excellent performance to swamp a downcast Liverpool.

Wolves led 2-0 after just 12 minutes after Joel Matip’s own goal and another by new signing Craig Dawson’s goal in the 12th minute and Ruben Neves added a third in the 71st minute.

Casemiro saw his first-ever direct red card in a league game as Manchester United held on for a 2-1 win at home Crystal Palace. United led 2-0 when Casemiro was sent off in the 70th minute thanks to Bruno Fernandes’ seventh-minute penalty and a goal from Marcus Rashford.

Jeffrey Schlupp gave Palace hope in the 72nd minute, but United held on for their 13th consecutive home win.

Newcastle were held to a 1-1 at home to West Ham, with Lucas Paqueta’s goal for the visitors just after the half-hour canceling out Callum Wilson’s early opener.

Brighton go sixth thanks to Kaoru Mitoma’s 87th-minute header at home to Bournemouth, while Brentford are seventh after thrashing bottom-of-the-table Southampton 3-0.

Ben Mee and Bryan Mbeumo scored two goals just before halftime before Mathias Jensen added extra shine to the score with 10 minutes left to play.

Leicester City twice came from behind to win 4-2 away to Aston Villa. Ollie Watkins and an own goal from Harry Souttar on his Leicester debut. Twice but Villa ahead, but Leicester responded through James Maddison, Kelechi Iheanacho, Tete (another new arrival) and Dennis Praet.

Nottingham Forest continue to improve, with Brennan Johnson’s magnificent 14th-minute volley and a couple of excellent saves from on-loan goalkeeper, Keylor Navas, enough to give them a 1-0 win at home to Leeds United.

Forest are unbeaten in their last five games, while Leeds have not won in their last seven league matches.

Record signing Enzo Fernandez was in the Chelsea side that kicked off the weekend with a 0-0 draw at home to Fulham on Friday night, which implies Graham Potter has plenty of work still to do at Stamford Bridge.

Source(s): Xinhua

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Germany one of UEFA Euro 2024 favorites, says Matthaeus

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by Oliver Trust

BERLIN, March 27 (Xinhua) — Enthusiastic fan chants filled the Frankfurt arena as a determined team pushed its way to success, impressing pundits. The German national team seems rejuvenated after a remarkable transformation.

“We see and feel something that wasn’t there before,” remarked Real star Toni Kroos, the driving force behind the 2014 World Champions, upon his return after an absence of over two years.

“The team went through dark times and many months of drought, but we managed to build up faith and confidence in these two games and our training sessions,” the midfielder stated.

Having defeated France (2-0) and the Netherlands (2-1), two of Europe’s leading sides, feels like a refreshing restart without inherited burdens for the German national team.

The fundamental changes implemented by national coach Julian Nagelsmann have sparked a new spirit and opened doors for bold dreams, as not only German record international Lothar Matthaeus has redefined new goals for the Euro tournament host.

“From what I see, the team can win the trophy this summer,” said the 63-year-old former midfielder, who has been capped 150 times, referring to the Euro taking place from June 15 to July 15 in ten German arenas.

Just in time, Nagelsmann pressed the emergency button, leaving out established forces and relying on a strict performance pattern, only selecting players currently performing at a high level, regardless of the number of internationals in the German shirt.

Last autumn, Germany seemed to have hit rock bottom, suffering from two disappointing defeats against Turkey and Austria.

“We are back on track as we feel a new spirit, and things are going much better for everyone and the entire team,” said Bayern full-back and midfielder Joshua Kimmich.

Stuttgart full-back and national team newcomer Maximilian Mittelstaedt spoke of “something big” on the way.

Nagelsmann’s strategy to outline clear areas of responsibility for each of his players has created stability, while the coach has returned to a more conservative line-up, paying attention to the team’s defense.

A back row of four with two midfielders ahead is allowing offensive forces such as Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz, Ilkay Guendogan, and Kai Havertz to initiate surprising attacks.

With Mittelstaedt and Kimmich, the German coach seems to have solved the full-back problem that the team had been suffering from for several years.

With Union midfielder Robert Andrich, Nagelsmann seems to have found the holding six, covering the defensive midfield part aside from conducting Kroos.

While several newcomers and returnees enjoy the upswing, left-out players such as Dortmund’s stars Mats Hummels, Niklas Suele, Emre Can, and Julian Brandt, aside from Bayern’s Leon Goretzka, are in danger of missing Euro 2024.

Regarding his job as a project focused solely on the Euro outcome, Nagelsmann has instilled confidence by creating a tight-knit community.

Both recent victories have revitalized Germany’s national team, and as a side effect, previously disappointed fans are once again backing their team.

Source(s): Xinhua

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VAM appoints former president to lead once again

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Volleyball Association of Maldives (VAM) has appointed Mohamed Latheef, as its new president.

Latheef, who was the association’s president in 2016, was appointed to the position without an election. He was appointed at the association’s extarordinary congress held on Tuesday evening at Solite Restaurants.

He came to fill in the shoes of outogoing Mohamed Ranesh after his term expired on February 2024.

Since Latheef was the only one to submit his name for the position, the former Central Asian Volleyball Association (CAVA) President was appointed without any competition.

Besides the president, the extraordinary congress saw the election of four other Vice Presidents to the executive committee of VAM, with Mohamed Sajid securing Senior Vice President’s position.

Ali Latheef was elected as Vice President, Volleyball, and Izzath Waheed was elected as Vice President, Administration. Aaidha Abdul Hakeem was elected for the female-designate Vice President’s seat.

Additionally, four more members were elected for VAM’s executive committee that include Fathuhulla Waheed, Shiyam Ali, Sofwan Ahmed and Aishath Fatheena.

Although Latheef was first elected as VAM’s President in 2016, he lost the position after the then Sports Commissioner Heena Ahmed Saleem announced the disolution of the association’s executive committee in 2019 following an investigation.

Previously, VAM’s election to elect executive committee members was scheduled for March 15th, but the current Sports Commissioner Mohamed Tholal demanded for a delay.

The association received permission to go ahead with the election under conditions.

Source(s): sun.mv

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ACC raids Badminton Association as part of corruption probe

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Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), on Tuesday, raided the Badminton Association of Maldives as part of a probe into corruption allegations.

ACC, on Tuesday, said an investigative team of the commission has entered the Badminton Association of Maldives to gather questions and information regarding multiple allegations of corruption filed against the association with the commission.

They did not disclose any further details regarding the case.

The case has come to light after major corruption cases against Football Association of Maldives (FAM) have been investigated following which charges have been sought against some individuals.

Source(s): sun.mv

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