Sport
Guardiola Names Ederson as City’s Best Player in Real Madrid Defeat
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has singled out goalkeeper Ederson as his team’s standout performer despite their 3-2 loss to Real Madrid in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League playoff on Tuesday.
City took the lead through Erling Haaland, but Kylian Mbappe quickly pulled Madrid level.
Haaland restored the advantage from the penalty spot, only for Brahim Diaz to equalize in the 86th minute. In stoppage time, Jude Bellingham sealed the win for Madrid, giving them the edge going into the second leg.
Speaking after the match, Guardiola admitted it was a tough battle and praised Ederson for keeping City in the game.
“This is the fourth time we’ve played Madrid in a row, and in the previous three, we were much better. But today was different—they had their chances, and Ederson was our best player,” he said.
He also acknowledged that sometimes, a team can play well but not get the result they want.
Super Eagles defender Calvin Bassey has opened up about a difficult period in his career, revealing that he almost stepped away from football.
Speaking during a recent interview, Bassey shared that he once made a personal promise to himself to quit pursuing football professionally if he failed to secure a spot at a professional club.
“I remember being 15 and going into my final year, and I told myself that if I didn’t get into a professional club, I would quit football. It was that simple,” he said.
“I would just stop pursuing it seriously and only play for fun. Thank God I eventually got a club, because I honestly don’t know where I would be otherwise.”
It has been reported that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) fined Egypt $5,000 following their clash with Zimbabwe for failing to manage post-match media obligations.
It was noted that after the match, the Egyptian players ignored the media. This action was said to be a violation of CAF’s media regulations, which led to the fine being imposed.
Head of the Super Eagles, Eric Chelle, shared that the big-name players on the team are not happy about being benched.
He recalled when he took out Samuel Chukwueze during the match against Tanzania.
“Yes, of course, we’ve in this team a lot of big names. They are competitors; they aren’t happy when they go to the bench,” Chelle said at his post-match interview.”
“My job is to make choices, and we’re playing a 4-4-2 diamond, and at this moment I feel we have to protect the wing.”
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