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Felix Agu played a super-sub role as Werder Bremen defeated Greuther Fuerth 2-0 in Tuesday’s German Cup fixture.

The Germany youth international of Nigerian descent was brought in for Ludwig Augustinsson in the 70th minute, and three minutes later, he found the net to help Florian Kohfeldt's men advance to the competition's quarter-finals for the fourth time in a row.

Bremen came into the game on the back of one win and one draw against Hertha Berlin and Schalke 04 respectively, with manage Kohfeldt making four changes to the line-up that played against the Royals Blues their last time out.

Milot Rashica returned to the starting XI for the first time since November 2020 while Augustinsson replaced Agu.

They began the encounter on a good note – scoring in the 12th minute through Kevin Moehwald. The German midfielder fired the ball past goalkeeper Sascha Burchert who had punched Milos Veljkovic’s header to his path.

The second division side came out stronger but failed in their quest to get the equaliser. For the hosts, they continued their push for a second goal, albeit, their attacking forays met a strong resistance from Stefan Leitl’s side.

Even with the introduction of Nigerian forward Dickson Abiama for Branimir Hrgota and Jamie Leweling for Haavard Nielsen, the Cloverleaves still struggled to find the net.

Greuther Fuerth’s hopes of progressing faded into thin air in the 73rd minute through substitute Agu courtesy of an assist from Joshua Sargent. Profiting from a shambolic defending from the visiting side, the 21-year-old jabbed home a pass from the American forward.

That goal was Agu’s second ever for Werder Bremen since joining them from second division side VFL Osnabruck in February 2020.

Thanks to this result, the Bundesliga side join Rot-Weiss Essen, Holstein Kiel and Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-final billed scheduled to hold in March.

Kohfeldt's men travel to Bielefelder Alm on Sunday for their German topflight clash against Uwe Neuhaus’ Arminia Bielefeld with the Nigeria prospect expected to play a cruicial role.

As it stands, they are 11th in the Bundesliga log having garnered 22 points from 19 games played so far in the 2020-21 campaign.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was pleased to see his Manchester United side show a "ruthless" streak in their 9-0 thrashing of Southampton on Tuesday. 

Making his full Premier League debut, Southampton midfielder Alexandre Jankewitz was shown a straight red card for a nasty challenge on Scott McTominay just two minutes in. 

That sent United on their way to a record-tying win, with a Premier League side posting a nine-goal margin of victory on only two other occasions in league history.

With his side getting goals from seven different players on the night, Solskjaer was happy to see the Red Devils continue to attack long after the three points were secure.

"They were ruthless, they drove it on," Solskjaer said in his post-game press conference. "Harry [Maguire], Victor [Lindelof], David [de Gea], Scott played it quickly into their half. They wanted it more and more.

"When you play football you have to make the most of it. [They] played like it could have been their last game so very pleased with everyone.

"What I liked about it was the hunger and attitude to do the right things, get better, practice good habits, that’s the only way to get better.

"You can see loads of things we are working on. We want to be a bit unpredictable. The players did that excellently, freedom and imagination, played down the sides, it was positive and something we can look at."

While teams sometimes struggle to break down an opponent that has been reduced to 10 men, Solskjaer saw the game open up after Jankewitz was sent off.

"Sometimes when you play 10 they sit behind and defend well," Solskjaer said. "We switched it from side to side, got in behind, some good movements – we played it the way we had to."

The victory saw United draw level on points with first-place Manchester City atop the Premier League table, though Pep Guardiola's side now have two games in hand over their local rivals. 

United will next face Everton in a league game on Saturday before they take on West Ham in an FA Cup fifth-round clash just three days later. 

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl did not hide his displeasure with Alexandre Jankewitz after the 19-year-old was sent off for a horror challenge just two minutes into Tuesday's match at Manchester United.

Jankewitz got his leg up high in a nasty challenge on Scott McTominay and was shown red very early in his first Premier League start. 

Hasenhuttl's side did not deal well at all with going down a man, eventually losing 9-0 in a record-tying thrashing that saw them end the match further reduced to nine men. 

The Saints boss said that his side's second red card, shown to Jan Bednarek for a foul in the box on Anthony Martial long after the outcome had been settled, disappointed him more than Jankewitz's foul.

But Hasenhuttl also didn't hold back on Jankewitz, who is the first player to be sent off on his first Premier League start since Serge Aurier for Tottenham in September 2017.

"One man down after three minutes against this opponent, congrats to Man Utd and they worked us off [the field] and did not stop scoring," Hasenhuttl told BBC Sport. "The second red card is most disappointing, we don't have any more players.

"Jan Bednarek does not kill him but I do not want to speak about the referee. Last week he was our VAR and made his mark in the game.

"It was a stupid foul from the young lad and kills everything.

"When you come here with two goalkeepers on the bench, I wanted to give a few young lads [a chance] to show up. When I have seen what is going on it is better to take them out because 9-0 on a debut is not a good score to have.

"We tried in the second half to keep a clean sheet as much as we could but at nine men it was too easy for them to score."

Speaking about Jankewitz's challenge to BT Sport, United head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer added: "You don't see many of those tackles anymore. I'm glad Scott is well and he's got away with just a couple of bruises."

Unfortunately for Hasenhuttl, Tuesday wasn't the first time he had been at the helm of a 9-0 defeat as Southampton manager.

Saints also fell by nine goals to Leicester City in October 2019, with Hasenhuttl leading his side to an impressive turnaround following that defeat. The Austrian is hoping to engineer a similar outcome this time around.

"What can I say? It is horrible but we stood up after the first 9-0 and we have to do that again," Hasenhuttl said. "I said at the time we do not need it again but when we have it again you have to take it."

Marcus Rashford enjoyed every moment of Manchester United's 9-0 win over Southampton on Tuesday night as he said the Red Devils were determined not to take the foot off the gas.

Rashford's 25th-minute strike contributed to an uplifting return to form for a Red Devils side had dropped points to Sheffield United and Arsenal.

Southampton were made vulnerable by a red card shown to Alexandre Jankewitz in the opening two minutes for a high challenge on Scott McTominay. Jan Bednarek was later sent off in the 86th minute, reducing the Saints to nine men before full-time.

"It's always good to score lots of goals and we're happy, it's three points we have needed," Rashford told BT Sport of the ruthless showing. "We dropped some points in the last few games and needed to get back to winning ways which we've done.

"We just needed to be as simple as possible, keep moving, be positive. It's easy to take your foot off the gas but we didn't want to do that we went out in the second half the same as the first. The first half set the tone for us but it's about keeping a positive attitude and keep scoring goals."

Rashford achieved a mark of personal excellence as part of the runway display from United, passing Eric Cantona on the club's goalscoring list with his first-half effort.

But the forward wanted to focus on the group performance more than his 83rd career goal for the Red Devils.

"[Eric Cantona] was a top player who has done so much for this club so I'm pleased but for me I just want to score more goals and help the team," Rashford said.

Rashford was similarly disinterested in the Premier League table.

"We haven't looked at Liverpool really," he said. "We are still improving and we need to focus on ourselves We're not a ready made team but we have to just keep improving and working on our goals."

Rashford was joined on the scoresheet by McTominay, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Edinson Cavani, Anthony Martial, Bruno Fernandes and Daniel James. Bednarek scored an own goal before being dismissed.

United's nine goals equaled their best Premier League mark.

Manchester City's 8-0 hammering of Watford in 2019 or Manchester United's 8-2 demolition of Arsenal at Old Trafford might spring to mind as some of the most memorable scorelines that the Premier League has had to offer – but they are far from the highest-scoring games of all time.

Goal has rounded up the highest Premier League scorelines since the inception of the competition in 1992, as well as the biggest margins in the top-flight.

Highest Premier League scorelines

The highest-scoring Premier League game of all-time was the 11-goal thriller between Portsmouth and Reading in 2007, where Benjani scored a hat-trick.

It is the only 11-goal game that the Premier League has ever witnessed, with Dimitar Berbatov netting four goals in Tottenham's 6-4 victory over Reading that amounted to 10 goals.

United are holders of the largest winning margin away from home through with 8-1 defeat of Nottingham Forest at the City Ground in 1999.

They also equalled a Premier League record for the largest margin of victory in the competition's history with their 9-0 destruction of Southampton in January 2021.

Biggest winning Premier League margin 

Manchester City missed the chance to equal the largest winning Premier League margin – first set by crosstown rivals Manchester United – when they hosted Watford at the Etihad in 19-20 and won 8-0, with Bernardo Silva netting a hat-trick.

The Red Devils first held the record for the margin of the largest Premier League win with their 9-0 victory over Ipswich in 1994.

Leicester equalled the record when thhey scored nine goals past Southampton in October 2019.

Manchester United matched a Premier League record for the largest margin of victory in the competition's history with their 9-0 destruction of Southampton on Tuesday.

The match at Old Trafford got off to the worst possible start for Saints, who saw Alexandre Jankewitz shown a straight red card for a nasty challenge on Scott McTominay just two minutes in. 

Jankewitz became the first player to be sent off on his first Premier League start since Serge Aurier for Tottenham in September 2017, and at 19 years, 39 days old, he’s the youngest to see red in the competition since Jack Wilshire (18 years 288 days) in October 2010.

Armed with a man advantage, United scored four in the first half. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Marcus Rashford, a Jan Bednarek own goal and Edinson Cavani saw the Red Devils take a 4-0 lead at half-time. 

Things would get even worse in the second half for the visitors, who conceded two goals to Anthony Martial, one to McTominay and one each to Bruno Fernandes and Daniel James while also seeing Bednarek shown a red card. 

With the win, United equalled the previous mark for largest margin of victory in the Premier League, which the club originally set in 1995 with a 9-0 win over Ipswich Town.

Leicester City would equal the record in October 2019 when they, like United on Tuesday, victimised Southampton to the tune of a 9-0 win. 

United had seven different goalscorers on Tuesday night, just the second time that has happened in a Premier League match after Chelsea pulled off the feat against Aston Villa in December 2012. 

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side have now also scored six or more goals in a Premier League match for a second time this season, after they defeated Leeds United 6-2 in December. It is the first time they have scored six or more goals in a league game twice since the 2000-01 campaign.

Mikel Arteta has defended Bernd Leno after the Arsenal goalkeeper was sent off in Tuesday's loss to Wolves.

Both Leno and David Luiz earned straight red cards on Tuesday as nine-man Arsenal were undone in a 2-1 defeat.

Luiz was dismissed just before half-time with Arsenal leading 1-0, as the Brazilian clipped Willian Jose in the box to earn his marching orders while handing Wolves a penalty.

Leno, meanwhile, was sent off in the 72nd minute for a blatant handball outside the box, with Arteta coming to his goalkeeper's defence after the match.

"I imagine he makes the decision in a split of a second," the Arsenal head coach said, "and naturally he tries to stop the ball. There's nothing he can do."

He added: "It's hard enough to win football games in the league. Those big decisions are like that but it's nothing we can change at the moment."

With Leno sent off Arteta turned to Runar Alex Runarsson, who arrived at Arsenal from Dijon this summer.

The Icelandic international made his sixth Arsenal appearance in the process, although he has looked shaky during his limited time with the Arsenal first team.

Runarsson was only on the bench due to an injury to January signing Mat Ryan, who arrived from Brighton on loan until the end of the season.

On Saturday, Arsenal will coincidentally face one of their former goalkeepers in Emiliano Martinez, who was sold to Aston Villa this summer for £20 million ($27m).

Despite the money the club earned, the Gunners have been questioned over the decision to let a talented player like Martinez leave the club, and those questions have only grown louder in recent months. 

It remains to be seen who will now be in goal for Saturday's match against Villa, with Arteta saying that there is hope that Ryan could be ready in time to make his Gunners debut.

"He had a muscular issue and in the last two days he hasn't been able to train," Arteta said. "Hopefully, we can get him back in the next few days."

With Tuesday's loss, Arsenal sit 10th in the Premier League, eight points off the top four despite having played at least one more game than all of the teams above them.

After facing Villa, Arsenal will play host to Leeds on February 14 before turning their focus towards the Europa League for the first leg of their last-32 tie with Benfica four days later.

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta was left fuming over David Luiz's red card after his side's 2-1 defeat to Wolves, saying he couldn't see any contact in the challenge even after repeated viewings.

The Gunners were up a goal just before half-time at Molineux when the Brazilian defender appeared to clip Willian Jose as he sprinted towards goal, sending the recent signing from Real Sociedad to the ground. 

Craig Pawson was quick to award Wolves a penalty and issue Luiz a straight red card and upon a VAR review, both decisions were upheld.

Ruben Neves converted from the spot to level the match and Joao Moutinho would then score the winner with a long-range stunner just after the break, before Bernd Leno's red card for handling the ball outside the box reduced the Gunners to nine men. 

Speaking at his press conference after the match, Arteta insisted that Luiz had not made contact with Jose, while adding that he didn't believe the Brazilian's reputation for conceding penalties and picking up red cards influenced Pawson's decision.

“If you want to talk about the decision, I have just seen the replay 10 times, in five different angles, and I am sitting here with you guys and I can’t see any contact," Arteta said. "So I would like to see VAR have different angles.

"If there is any contract, it’s him (Jose) to David, that’s what I’ve seen.

“I don’t want to think that [it was a decision based on Luiz’s reputation]. I am sure that they based the decision on something they’ve seen, but unfortunately I am sitting here expecting to see something and I am not seeing anything.

“Of course it changed the game. You play for 45 minutes in the Premier League without your central defender, against this opposition, of course it changes the game.”

Asked if VAR let his side down, Arteta replied: "Well, it was a big decision. If they got it right and they can justify that they got it right, I put my hand up and apologise.

"But the only thing I’m saying is I am sitting here and I cannot see any contact and that’s really frustrating because it’s a big, big moment in the game."

Luiz himself chimed in on social media after the game, posting a host of angry emojis and the caption "UNBELIEVABLE!" on Instagram.

Arteta was also asked if Arsenal planned to appeal Luiz's red card, and the manager indicated he was in favour of such a move.

"When I am standing here I would say yes, let’s go straight away because we have a big chance," he said of a possible appeal. "But I don’t know, we have to speak with legal and the club and make the decision on what’s the best thing to do."

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has vehemently denied that he had anything to do with Frank Lampard's sacking last week. 

Lampard was let go after a run of five Premier League losses in eight matches, and was replaced by former Borussia Dortmund and PSG head coach Thomas Tuchel.

Rudiger has made just six Premier League appearances this season, with Lampard mostly consigning the Germany international to a role on the bench. 

Some reports suggested that Rudiger caused a rift behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge, which led to his team-mate Tammy Abraham backing him last week.

"Hearing some mad stuff about @ToniRuediger on social media today. Complete nonsense. Toni is a big bro to all of us," the forward tweeted.

Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta also rubbished claims that he was involved in a bust-up with Rudiger, saying: "We didn’t have any issues and we don’t have. We always work together."

Rudiger has now denied any suggestions he asked the board to sack Lampard, saying he was thankful to receive more playing time under the former Blues midfielder in the games leading up to his dismissal.

“There have been so many nonsense rumours about me since last week. I’ve never talked with the board about the situation of the coach or on any other topics," Rudiger told The Athletic.

“Frank Lampard trusted in my abilities after Christmas in a very difficult situation and I was thankful for this. It was also the main reason why I told my representatives not to look for a possible winter move anymore.

"Unfortunately, it was not meant to be for our team to turn things around for the coach. We always wanted the best for the manager and for the club.”

Rudiger added that he believes Lampard will get another job in the near future, praising the job he did in 2019-20 in his debut season in charge. 

“He took over the manager position last season when things were very complicated for all of us. But we managed to qualify for the Champions League together with him," Rudiger said.

“He has given so many young players a chance in the first team and they are still doing an amazing job. I’m pretty sure we will see Frank Lampard back again at another club very soon.”

Marcus Rashford moved ahead of Eric Cantona and closed in on David Beckham on Manchester United’s list of goalscorers with his effort against Southampton.

The England international’s strike on Tuesday was his 83rd for the Red Devils and saw him go past United’s French legend.

Rashford's big moment happened in the 25th minute of Tuesday's match, with Southampton having gone down a man within two minutes after Alex Jankewitz was sent off for a horror tackle on Scott McTominay.

After Aaron Wan-Bissaka opened the scoring, Rashford doubled Man Utd's lead as he was picked out near the penalty spot by Mason Greenwood.

Up next for Rashford on the list of scorers to tick off is Beckham, who found the target 85 times during his trophy-laded United career.

At 23 years of age, Rashford will have high hopes of going a long way up United’s list of scorers before his career at the club comes to a close.

Wayne Rooney is the Red Devils’ all-time top scorer with 253 goals.

The 23-year-old made his debut for United in February 2016, and gave an indicator of what was to follow by netting twice against Midtjylland in the Europa League.

It also showed how he was able to grasp an unlikely chance, as he was not expected to be in the starting XI but was thrust into the side after Anthony Martial picked up an injury in the warm-up.

At the time, the goals made him United’s youngest ever scorer in European competition, moving ahead of George Best. Mason Greenwood later broke the record in September 2019.

Following the game, then United manager Louis van Gaal said: “Rashford was unbelievable.

“In the first half he ran too much to the sides. At half-time I said ‘if you stay in the width of the goal you shall score’.

"And he got his first two goals for the senior team which was really fantastic for him.”

Goals and records have continued to come Rashford’s way. In March of 2016, Rashford scored in United’s win over City, to become the youngest player to net in a Manchester derby at the age of 18 years and 141 days.

The England international has an FA Cup, EFL Cup and Europa League trophy in his cabinet, but the Premier League is on the radar this term as they are firmly in the title mix.

While Rashford’s football has been doing the talking, he has also done a lot of good off the field. He has been working hard to fight child food poverty and has also attempted to combat homelessness, and was awarded an MBE for his services. 

Hammarby attacker David Accam believes Hearts of Oak are incapable of winning the Ghana Premier League this season.

The Phobians are looking to end their long wait for major silverware this season with success in the GPL, their last title coming in 2009.

The side, who suffered a 2-0 derby loss to Great Olympics in their last match on Saturday, currently occupy the eighth position on the league table. 

“I don’t think they have enough to win the league this year," Accam, a known Hearts fan with an ambition of playing for the club before hanging up his boots, said, as reported by Citi Sports.

The winger sealed a transfer from Major League Soccer side Nashville to Hammarby last week.

“Hearts haven’t done enough to win the league this year and with the way things are going, it would take another five years for Hearts to win the title," he added.

“I want to see my team win but honestly with what I am seeing, it will be difficult.”

Hearts are the second most successful club in GPL history, having won the title on 19 occasions. The last of their 10 FA Cup titles came as far back as in the year 2000.

“We have [good and quality squad in the Hearts of Oak team]," Hearts winger Patrick Razak said of their title ambitions in December. 

"Those of us in this squad will give good performances this season. Our target for the season is to win the Ghana Premier League.

“Hearts of Oak have the chance of winning the GPL with the quality we have, we can compete against any team.

“I would say our capabilities of winning are high and we know the strength of teams in Ghana so I will say Hearts is capable of winning the League."

At continental level, Hearts won the Champions League in 2000, four years before beating arch-rivals Asante Kotoko to win the Confederation Cup title.

The Phobians are scheduled to return to action with a GPL matchday 12 clash with Medeama on Thursday.

Mohamed El Shenawy is salivating at the possibility of Al Ahly facing reigning Champions League champions Bayern Munich at tthe Fifa Club World Cup.

The Egyptian Premier League side will set up a famous meeting with Hans-Dieter Flick’s men should they get past hosts Al-Duhail in Thursday’s second-round encounter billed for Al Rayyan’s Education City Stadium.

For the Egypt international, playing against the best team in Europe is what every player desires, while going a step further to reveal his team’s utmost target in Qatar.

“The most important thing for us is to win our opening match against Al Duhail, which won’t be easy,” El Shenawy told the Fifa website.

“Qualifying for the second round and taking on Bayern Munich would be amazing for us, the players, because we’ll be taking on the best team in Europe. It’s what every player dream.

“The team wants to go as far as it can and have a good tournament. We’ll take it game by game to achieve our objective.

“My goal is to win the title. If we want to be world champions, we’ll need to stick together and be a unit.”

To realise their ambition of squaring up against Bayern Munich, Al Ahly, first must negotiate their way past the Red Knights, who recently signed Kenyan international striker Michael Olunga.

However, the 32-year-old, who featured at the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia, revealed that taking on the hosts would not be easy putting into consideration the quality in their squad.

“We’ve got Al Duhail first up, which will be a special game because they’re an Arab team playing at home and in front of their own fans. We’re expecting a tough match,” he continued.

“Al Duhail are a strong side with some quality players. They’ve made some big signings, bringing in a forward and a defender.

“We’ve watched their last few games in the Qatari league and we know it’s going to be a big battle. We need to prepare the best we can so we can put in a good performance.”

Pitso Mosimane’s men are making their sixth appearance in the Club World Cup, having emerged as African champions in 2020. Their best performance remains a third-place finish in the 2006 edition hosted by Japan.

As Gennaro Gattuso made substitution after substitution on Sunday, Victor Osimhen was noticeably unused as Napoli side beat Parma 2-0 at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

The Nigeria star looked on as his manager made four changes against the relegation-threatened side, despite the need to add to their advantage having netted a 32nd-minute opener through Eljif Elmas. In fairness, it’s a bit more nuanced than it seems on first viewing.

Gli Azzurri were far from their best against the second-bottom side, as they struggled to cope with the visitors’ pressing and intensity at the start of the second half. Interestingly, Gattuso opted against going like-for-like with his first substitution just after the hour, withdrawing the stocky Andrea Petagna for Matteo Politano, scorer of Napoli’s second with seven minutes to play.

In normal circumstances, Osimhen looked to be the ideal replacement given his profile, but the home side’s struggles prompted a different approach from the former AC Milan icon. The subsequent changes saw Tiemoue Bakayoko, Elseid Hysaj and Nikola Maksimovic replace Piotr Zielinski, Mario Rui and Elmas respectively. The Nigerian didn’t get a look-in.

Particularly noteworthy was the final substitution with 13 minutes to play; a centre-back in Maksimovic replacing the forward-thinking Elmas, which indicated how concerned Gattuso was about the visitors from Emilia-Romagna.

“I'm satisfied because we won as a team,” the Napoli boss stated after the 2-0 success. “We faced a tough opponent - a team that always comes to press you and fights for every ball and we responded with the same determination.

“We knew how to dig in and that's something the team deserves credit for.”

Apart from the last change and subsequent utilisation of the nominal central defender, the deeper positioning of Bakayoko and few forward runs from Hysaj in the final 13 minutes highlights the former Italy international’s logic in leaving Osimhen on the bench for 90 minutes.

The upshot of not playing in Sunday’s victory means the West African has now featured for a total of 45 minutes since recovering from injury and coronavirus, getting 25 minutes in Napoli’s 3-1 Serie A defeat by Hellas Verona and 20 in last week’s 4-2 Coppa Italia win over Spezia.

There’s been an obvious inclination to ease the ex-Lille frontman in after his return, but the flow of the Parma encounter meant the coach had to tweak this plan against the plucky visitors. While there may have been immediate concern over the striker’s non-appearance — especially within the Super Eagles fandom — the broader scheme implies it was a one-off and nothing significant to worry about long-term.

Given the lack of league minutes at the weekend, Gattuso’s line-up will be under the microscope for Wednesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final first-leg clash with Atalanta at Stadio Maradona. There may be raised eyebrows if Osimhen is left out for the fourth game in succession, particularly considering the Naples outfit's splurge on the attacker last summer.

Still, deciding to leave out the 22-year-old will be understandable owing to a lack of fitness having missed over two months of action, and considering the solutions found by Gattuso in the Nigerian’s absence.

Despite the frustrating inconsistency that still besieges this Azzurri side, they did pick up impressive victories during his layoff; most notably that 4-0 thrashing of Roma and the recent 6-0 hammering of Fiorentina.

Interesting in both games was the choice of central striker by the Napoli boss, who started Dries Mertens down the middle vs Paulo Fonseca’s team but went with the sturdy option of Petagna against the Viola. While both selections weren’t innovative moves by the Italian boss, they were indicative of the team’s MO to not rely solely on their central striker to get results.

The fact only one of the 10 goals in both games, scored by the Belgian, came from the central attacker on the day somewhat emphasises this point with six of the strikes coming from wide forwards.

While this could lead to another bit-part role on Wednesday, Osimhen will relish starting against the same opponents he destroyed in mid-October when he deservedly opened his Serie A account and proved to be a thorn in the Bergamo outfit’s side for large periods of the encounter.

A lot has changed at both clubs since October, however, and the Nigeria frontman now faces a potentially seminal few weeks in a fledgeling Napoli career in the hope of regaining his place as Gattuso’s primary number nine.

Nigeria Women's Premier League clubs have received February 10 as the date the domestic competition is set to return from its coronavirus suspension. 

The NWPL organisers, Nigeria Women's Football League, announced on Monday evening the new resumption date since the suspension of the campaign following the Week 4 fixtures on January 6.

The Nigerian top-flight had required to continue their season on January 13 before the board announced the halt, citing teams' failure to submit Covid-19 test results to the league organisers.

"Though there are a number of positive tests from the results, the affected clubs have been instructed to keep these players out of the team's camp and replace them with other players who tested negative," Aisha Falode, NWFL chairperson said in a statement to Goal.

"The clubs are supposed to monitor these positive cases and ensure proper treatment and isolation until they come out with a clean bill of health. 

"After the treatment regime, a fresh test must be conducted and results submitted showing the negative status of the affected players before they can return to the league."

On the adjustment of fixtures, Falode explained that the league activities will continue from Week 5 encounters on February 10.

"We are not going to wait for anyone again, we have lost five weeks working to ensure we prevent the spread of Covid-19 in our elite league and also save the lives of our players and officials," Falode continued.

"We cannot afford to wait any longer. The league will resume on Wednesday February 10, 2021 going into Week 5 out of 26 weeks to be played with a total of 182 matches."

In the Week 5 fixtures, Confluence Queens are scheduled to battle FC Robo in Lokoja, Delta Queens lock horns with Bayelsa Queens in Agbor, while Edo Queens host Nasarawa Amazons in Benin City.

In other matches, Abia Angels battle Sunshine Queens in Umuahia, Ibom Angels tango with Rivers Angels in Uyo as Osun Babes take on Dream Stars in Osogbo, while Pelican Stars slug it out with Royal Queens in Calabar.

After four matches, Bayelsa Queens are leaders with 12 points, followed by FC Robo with nine, while Rivers Angels and Edo Queens are third and fourth respectively with eight points apiece.

Orlando Pirates head coach Josef Zinnbauer was disappointed by his charges' performance in their defeat to Lamontville Golden Arrows on Tuesday evening.

Pule Mmodi scored twice to inspire Abafana Bes'thende to a 2-0 win over the Buccaneers in a PSL match which was played at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium. 

Thembinkosi Lorch had a chance to level matters for Pirates after they were awarded a penalty, but he placed his effort over the crossbar and Zinnbauer felt that the Bafana Bafana international was simply unlucky. 

What's been said

"First-half we were not on the field, we came in the game a little bit but in the final third we could not find the solution. It was frustrating for me and in the second half, we changed the players, we changed the system," Zinnbauer told SuperSport TV.

"But you don't score, you have the opportunities, a penalty, I think when you get a draw [equaliser] with a penalty then it's a different game. But we make a mistake in the defence, then they scored and the game is open. We tried what we can but we lost the game. I think it's deserved for the opponent."

"It's not a pressure for him, he's an experienced player, he scored in the MTN8, the penalty and now it's football, you need luck in this game. We had 20 minutes more, we couldn't score."

"We have some games you don't have the first opportunity to score, you have the penalty and you don't score, that is not enough for us. I'm very disappointed, I'm frustrated. If you make a mistake then you get a goal, these players it's not their intention, it's a game you have to win, they fight, they run, they do what they can," he added. 

"We lost the game in the first-half, we had opportunities to score, Lorch is a top player, normally he scores but today it was not possible, all the players are frustrated. You saw after the game the heads go down.

"They know they had opportunities, we did not make the best game but we can make a draw or maybe more but now it's important we take our heads up and start again."

Why does it matter & what's the bigger picture?

Further reading

William Troost-Ekong has expressed his belief that Saturday’s Championship encounter between Watford and Coventry City will produce "a lot of fire".

Despite taking the lead against Queens Park Rangers on Monday night, Xisco Munoz’s team crumbled 2-1 at home following goals from Charlie Austin and Albert Adomah.

Defeat against the Superhoops was a setback for Hornets in their quest for a place in the Premier League next season.

However, the Nigerian defender stated that his team would do all it takes to return to winning ways – insisting that the game versus Mark Robins' Sky Blues could "change" their season.

“It’s massive. That’s the moment that’s going to change our season,” Troost-Ekong told Hive Live Extra.

“We’ve been excellent at home but we all know that for us to be fighting for the top two spots we have to do the same away.

“The moment has to come for us to stand up and we know Saturday’s going to be massive for us. All of us are very disappointed and I think we’re going to see a lot of fire on Saturday to put it right.

“It’s easy when you’re winning and everything’s going well, but now you’re going to see the real character of the team.

“I’ve seen it in the changing room and know we can turn it around. This will be the moment that will make our season.”

The former Udinese star, who accepted his portion of the blame for getting the wrong side of Austin for the equalising goal, also voiced his team’s frustration at losing a game they were in control of, as well as explaining how things went wrong.

“We never really got going, especially in the first half,” he continued.

“After the goal we got a bit of a lift, but we have to be honest. I have to be honest with myself as well, I should’ve done better with the first goal.

“It’s been difficult because we were defending a lot and you’re going to make mistakes, and QPR capitalised on those. We need to get more on the front foot.

“When we got possession of the ball we were in our half. QPR pinned us back for moments of the game, it was a long way to the other goal and we didn’t capitalise enough on the space in behind.”

As it stands, Watford occupy the fifth position having garnered 47 points from 27 outings so far in the 2020-21 campaign.