football

Agencies Manchester City extending their lead at the top of the Premier League to 12 points following a 2-0 victory over Brentford on Wednesday night. According to the BBC, City were deserved winners against Brentford despite a tough opening. Mads Roerslev's rash tackle on Raheem Sterling presented Riyad Mahrez with the opportunity to score and he sent David Raya the wrong way from the penalty spot. Kevin de Bruyne doubled City's lead after 69 minutes when he finished off the rebound after Raya had rolled the ball straight to Sterling on the edge of the area, then denied the England man with a save he could not hold. Brentford have now lost six in a row in all competitions for the first time since 2006. Then, Oldham and Cheltenham were among the teams who beat them when th...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - A brace from Nepal Police Club forward Ravi Shankar Paswan helped the departmental team register their second victory in the Qatar Airways Martyrs Memorial A Division League. Paswan scored a goal each on each half of the match as Police secured a crucial 2-1 win over Chyasal Youth Club on Wednesday. Mousa Awanga of Chyasal hit back a goal for his club. Police made an attempt to score as early as the second minute of the match but Chyasal’s goalkeeper Arpan Karki foiled a header from Ajit Bhandari. Tej Tamang could have given the breakthrough to Police but his shot from outside the penalty box missed the post narrowly in the 24th minute. Paswan scored in the 37th minute in a pass from Nir Kumar Rai to give Police a 1-0 lead. After the brea...

By a Staff Reproter Kathmandu - Nepal’s prolific footballer Sabitra Bhandari is all set to return home from Qatar on Tuesday following a knee-surgery and post-operation treatment in the Gulf nation. Bhandari, who used to be a prominent member of the national women’s football team of Nepal and also a key forward of APF Sports Club, is returning home after more than seven months of treatment. She had visited Qatar on June 26 for the treatment. She underwent a surgery of right knee at Aspetar Hospital in Doha, Qatar on July 15. She received treatment with the support from Qatar Football Association upon request from the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA). Sabitra informed that she is ready to return home after the doctors announced her condition to be normal following a te...

Agencies Sadio Mane netted the winning goal from the spot as Senegal beat Egypt 4-2 on penalties to clinch their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations title. The match was decided through penalties after the regular and extra time ended in goalless draw. According to the BBC, the Liverpool forward had earlier seen a seventh-minute penalty saved by Pharaohs keeper Gabaski. Gabaski had made three good saves from Senegal's Bamba Dieng in extra time. And in a match billed as a battle between Liverpool forwards Mane, of Senegal, and Egypt captain Mohamed Salah, it was the former who had the decisive word. After two previous final defeats, Senegal are Africa Cup of Nations winners at last, while Egypt missed out on a record-extending eighth continental crown that would also have b...

Agency Frank Lampard was granted a privilege never afforded to his unpopular predecessor Rafael Benitez as Everton's new manager brought smiles back to a previously toxic and gloomy Goodison Park, BBC reported. According to the British news portal, Lampard's name echoed thunderously around the stands of the old stadium Everton controlled what ended as a comfortable FA Cup fourth round victory over Brentford. It was a moment of release from supporters never once allowed the name of the former Liverpool manager to pass their lips in any public show of affection. The toxicity which has characterised recent games here, particularly the home losses to Liverpool and Aston Villa, was swept away by Lampard's animated presence in the technical area and the enjoyment of the best win...

Agencies Manchester City have advanced to the fifth round of FA Cup after defeating Championship side Fulham 4-1. According to media reports, City fought back from a goal down in the fourth round tie at home ground on Saturday to see off Fulham. They will next visit Championship side Peterborough United, who beat QPR. Last year's runners-up Chelsea are away to Championship side Luton Town after squeezing past Plymouth Argyle at Stamford Bridge in the fourth round. The fifth round will be played the week commencing February 28, BBC reported. Meanwhile, Championship side Middlesbrough's reward for beating Manchester United is a home tie against Tottenham Hotspur. Chris Wilder's side came from behind to edge United in a nail-biting penalty shootout at Old Trafford. ...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) has formed an election committee for the upcoming election scheduled for May 29. The 16th executive committee meeting of ANFA held on Thursday formed the five-member election committee led by advocate Shreeram Dawadi. The other members of the committee include Ram Chandra Gautam, Damodar Bhattarai, Sarswoti Shrestha and Preeti Karki. However, the members nominated for the committee must be approved by the upcoming general assembly of ANFA. Likewise, ANFA has also formed an election review committee led by Bishnu Luintel. Members of the committee include Sudha Rijal, Keshav Mani Aryal, Yagya Bahadur Rana and Rajendra Ingnam .  Their integrity test would be conducted by a team of ANFA and the l...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Nepal’s national football team’s captain Kiran Chemjong has moved back to the Maldives to fulfill his club duties. He left for the Maldives on Thursday. Chemjong had returned to Nepal on January 24 to attend Nepal’s friendly matches against Mauritius. Under his captaincy, Nepal defeated the African nation 1-0 in both the matches held at home ground recently on January 29 and February 1. Both the matches were held at the Dasharath Stadium in Tripureshwar. Chemjong was adjudged the man-of-the-match during Nepal’s second friendly match against Mauritius. He had saved a penalty from Mauritius to protect Nepal’s 1-0 lead, which eventually became the final score during the match. He is the Nepali footballer with the most matches for the national t...

Agency Argentina extended their unbeaten run in football to 29 matches on Tuesday when they beat a toothless Colombia 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier. Lautaro Martinez got the only goal in the match after 29 minutes when he took advantage of slack defending to rifle home from inside the penalty area, Reuters reported. According to the news agency, the top four teams in the South American section qualify automatically for Qatar and the fifth-placed side goes into a playoff with a team from the Asian confederation. Brazil and Argentina have already qualified and Ecuador’s 24 points mean they are almost certain to join them. According to Reuters, the match brought together a home side that had not lost a goal in their last four home matches and a Colombian team that had not s...

Agency Brazil scored twice in the last four minutes to cap a comfortable 4-0 win over Paraguay in Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier in Belo Horizonte. According to Reuters, the defeat ended Paraguay's hopes of qualifying for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar and further cemented Brazil's position as one of the favourites to lift the trophy in December. Brazil top the South American qualifying group with no defeats in 15 games. The news agency added that the win extended their unbeaten home record in World Cup qualifiers to 61 matches. Paraguay, who have yet to win any of their first five games under coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto, are second from bottom of the 10-team group with 13 points from 16 games. It was a successful but frustrating night for Raphinha, who scored one,...