Author: Opalim Lifted

Raphinha was once again Barcelona’s hero as they claimed a narrow win over Benfica in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, despite going down to 10 men. The Brazilian capitalised on a defensive error to drive forward and slot in the bottom corner in the 61st minute, notching his 25th goal of the season and ninth in the Champions League campaign. Raphinha also came to the rescue for five-time winners Barca in January when the two sides met in the league group phase, scoring a 96th-minute winner in a nine-goal thriller. Meeting again at this knockout stage…

Liverpool completed one of the biggest smash and grabs in Champions League history to come away from their last-16 first leg against Paris St-Germain with a win. PSG completely dominated the game, with 27 shots, and the Reds goalkeeper Alisson had to make nine saves. But the hosts could not find an opener – and the Reds scored with their second shot of the night in the 87th minute. Harvey Elliott netted with his first touch, after replacing Mohamed Salah, when he was picked out by Darwin Nunez. Luis Enrique’s side were shell shocked – and how they failed to…

Senate President Godswill Akpabio said he has never sexually harassed any woman. Akpabio spoke during plenary on Wednesday, as Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, senator representing Kogi central, formally submitted her sexual harassment petition against him on the floor of the senate. The former governor of Akwa Ibom said he has been inundated with phone calls from many Nigerians on the allegation which he dismissed as false. “At no time did I ever attempt any sexual harassment on the said distinguished senator Akpoti-Uduaghan or any other woman for that matter,” Akpabio said. “I and my siblings were raised very well by my late…

The federal high court in Abuja has restrained the senate committee on ethics, privileges, and public petitions from conducting disciplinary proceedings against Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. Obiora Egwuatu, the presiding judge, gave the order on Tuesday following an ex parte application filed by counsels to Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi central. Akpoti-Uduaghan had been invited to appear before the senate’s disciplinary committee following an altercation with Senate President Godswill Akpabio on February 20. Akpoti-Uduaghan had disrupted the plenary by rejecting her assigned seat, defying Akpabio’s order and repeatedly raising a point of order despite being overruled. Subsequently, the senate referred Akpoti-Uduaghan to…

Men of the Nigeria Police Force deployed tear gas to prevent supporters of Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from accessing the National Assembly Complex early Wednesday. The protesters had converged on the national assembly gate as early as 8am with the resumption of plenary in the horizon. They held aloft placards bearing inscriptions like: ‘Akpabio must go’, ‘Protect women’s rights’, ‘Protect Natasha at all cost’. The police personnel however wasted little time swooping on them with tear gas canisters. The crowd has now moved to the Unity Fountain. Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi central, clashed with Senate President Godswill Akpabio over seating arrangements…

Liverpool manager Arne Slot told referee Michael Oliver he would blame him if the club failed to win this season’s Premier League. The Dutchman was shown a straight red card after he confronted Oliver and one of his assistant referees on the pitch following his side’s 2-2 Merseyside derby draw with Everton last month. Slot was given a two-match ban and fined £70,000 by an independent Football Association commission after accepting a charge of acting in an improper manner and using insulting and/or abusive words and/or behaviour towards both the match referee and an assistant referee. Oliver alleged Slot, while…

Hakon Haraldsson scored the equaliser as Lille fought back to earn a draw at Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie. Dortmund had taken the lead through a brilliant strike from Karim Adeyemi in a first half in which last season’s runners-up were by far the superior side. But Haraldsson’s goal during Lille’s much-improved showing after the break put the tie in the balance before the return leg in France on Wednesday, 12 March (17:45 GMT). The game lacked spark in the early stages but Adeyemi produced a moment of brilliance after 22 minutes to…

Brahim Diaz scored a brilliant winner to give Real Madrid a slender advantage over city rivals Atletico after the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie. Rodrygo put the hosts Real Madrid ahead inside four minutes in the Bernabeu when he sprinted past Javi Galan and chopped inside the box before bending a wonderful hit past Jan Oblak. Atletico, though, quickly settled into the game and levelled in the 32nd minute with another wonderful goal. The in-form Julian Alvarez picked up the ball on the left side of the box, wrongfooted Eduardo Camavinga and whipped a spectacular curling strike…

Arsenal demolished PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands to take a commanding lead into the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie. The Gunners scored three goals in the first half and four goals in the second half to all but confirm their place in the quarter-finals of the competition. Ismael Saibari hit the crossbar early on for the home side but Arsenal took control after Jurrien Timber scored Arsenal’s opener in the 18th minute. Ethan Nwaneri doubled the Gunners’ lead just three minutes later when Myles Lewis-Skelly cleverly cut the ball back for the 17-year-old to powerfully score past…

Aston Villa will be favourites to progress to the Champions League quarter-finals after scoring two late goals to beat Club Brugge in Belgium. Leon Bailey had given the Premier League club a lightning start in the last-16 first-leg tie – Villa’s first knockout tie in European football’s premier competition since the 1982-83 quarter-finals. Bailey marked his return to Belgium with a goal as the former Genk player produced a sumptuous half-volley after just two minutes and 15 seconds, following a headed assist by Tyrone Mings. It was a satisfying moment for Mings after the England defender gave away a needless…