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Atletico Madrid were unable to enhance their top-four prospects with victory on their return to LaLiga, playing out a 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao.

Iker Muniain's delightful 37th-minute opener was cancelled out 129 seconds later by Diego Costa, who claimed his third goal of the season and first since October.

The striker paid tribute in his celebration to Atletico's women's team midfielder Virginia Torrecilla, who underwent successful surgery to have a brain tumour removed last month. Costa showed a shirt bearing her name.

Substitute Santiago Arias came closest to snatching all the points for Los Colchoneros, who sit sixth in the table on goal difference.

Marcos Llorente opened up Athletic with a fine diagonal throughball in the 12th minute, sending Yannick Carrasco scampering through to shoot just wide across goalkeeper Unai Simon, who briefly lost his footing.

Jan Oblak was uncharacteristically wobbly when he took two attempts to grasp Inaki Williams' 25th-minute header but the Slovenia international displayed his brilliant best when he kept out Yeray's glancing attempt at full stretch.

Oblak had no chance when Muniain dispatched a clever finish with the outside of his right boot into the bottom right corner.

Atletico sprung immediately from their mid-half slumber – Koke's cute pass leaving Costa to slide a finish beyond Simon.

That seemed to inspire a role reversal during the early stages of the second half, with Atletico enjoying plenty of attacking territory but Athletic keeping their visitors honest on the break as Yuri Berchiche crashed an effort into the side-netting.

Diego Simeone's anguish in the dugout was clear when Arias arrived unmarked at the back post 10 minutes from time, drawing a brilliant point-blank save from Simon.

What does it mean? Atletico away form still a worry

Simeone's side might have memorably prevailed at one of European football's great fortresses in their previous competitive match, but that victory at Anfield cannot obscure the fact that they have now won just one of their past 11 away games in LaLiga. They are level on points with Real Sociedad - who host Osasuna later on Sunday - and Getafe in fourth and fifth respectively and such diminishing returns on the road are why their battle for Champions League football will probably go down to the wire.

Muniain and Garcia roll back the years

Lockdown has done nothing for anyone's conception of time and dates, but when Athletic's creative forwards took control of the first half, it was easy to imagine being somewhere during the early stages of the previous decade. Muniain – still only 27 – was irresistible, evoking memories of when he was a wonderkid and Spanish football's next superstar in waiting. Playing against the club he starred for in their 2013-14 title win, Raul Garcia proved a superb foil for the number 10.

Llorente ill-suited to number 10 duties

Llorente's two-goal heroics against Liverpool undoubtedly played a part in Simeone's decision to start him in an advanced role behind Costa. Although the Spain international's play was typically neat and he did not lack for work rate, the absence of his creative qualities from deep as the likes of Thomas Lemar and Alvaro Morata awaited second-half introductions was perplexing.

Key Opta facts

- Atletico drew for the 13th time in LaLiga in 2019-20; they have never previously played out more stalemates in any completed season in the competition in their history.
- Koke moved level with Juan Carlos Arteche in fourth place on the list of players with the most LaLiga appearances for Atletico, playing his 308th top-flight game for the club.
- Oblak played his 181st match for Atletico, passing Antoine Griezmann to move fifth on the list of non-Spanish players with the most appearances for the club.
- Muniain’s goal was his 60th in 412 appearances across all competitions for Athletic.
- Costa has now scored 51 LaLiga goals for Atletico, with 15 of those coming from Koke assists.
- Morata could not make the difference after coming off the bench for Atletico, but the appearance took him to 50 games across all competitions for the club, in which he has scored 18 goals.

What's next?

Atletico are on the road again at Osasuna on Wednesday, when Athletic travel to struggling Eibar.

Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has laid the blame of his contract situation at the feet of the club’s board, asking them to “do their job” to ensure he remains in north London.

The attacker, who has 17 goals and a single assist in 26 Premier League appearances this season, is out of contract next June, meaning he will be free to start discussing terms with other clubs at the turn of the year.

A likelier scenario is that Arsenal are forced to sell him this summer if they cannot agree a new contract for him, with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain two of the clubs credited with an interest in the 30-year-old.

Aubameyang, meanwhile, says that there has been little progress towards signing fresh terms with the Emirates side – and he has pinned the blame firmly on the club.

“I have not received a proposal recently, but we have had discussions with the club for quite a few months,” he told TF1’s Telefoot program. “The board know very well why nothing has happened so far. They have the key. It's up to them to do their job and then we'll see how it goes. 

“It's a turning point in my career and, to be frank with everyone, this will be a very difficult decision to make. But beware, I haven't made my choice yet. It will be perhaps the most important decision of my career.”

Aubameyang has been at Arsenal since January 2018 and has a been a prolific marksman for the club since, netting 49 goals in only 75 Premier League appearances. In total the Gabon international has scored 61 times in 97 outings.

Previously, he was with Borussia Dortmund, where he enjoyed prodigious success in front of goal, scoring 98 times in 144 Bundesliga matches, while the early part of his career was mostly spent in France, with Dijon, Lille, Monaco and Saint-Etienne.

He will expect to take part in the Gunners’ Wednesday fixture against Manchester City, which will be their first since the coronavirus pandemic brought play to a halt in England in the middle of March.

Kenya's Ayub Timbe provided an assist as Reading FC defeated Portsmouth 3-1 in a friendly at Madejski Stadium.

Timbe, who had featured in the previous 1-0 loss friendly to Premier League side Chelsea, assisted in the making of the third goal which was scored by Frenchman Michael Olise.

The other two goals for Mark Bowen's side were scored by Lucas Joao and Omar Richards.

A swift move by both Yakou Meite and John Swift would have led to a goal for the Royals but Joao saw his final shot go wide off the left upright.

Olise would have opened the scoring moments later with a left-footed effort at the edge of the box but the ball flew over the top corner thus Reading saw their second most open chance go to waste.

Reading got the opener in the 30th minute when Swift won a free-kick, fired over the wall and found the underside of the cross-bar from 20-yards away. The ball dropped at a vantage position for Joao to plant it into the bottom corner with his left foot after good control.

Yakou Meite would have added a second for the home side but his effort was blocked after he had received a swift ball from Joao.

Omar Richards ensured the Royals went into the half-time break leading 2-0. The Englishman met a cross from the left side at the near post and fired home using his left foot to stretch their lead.

Portsmouth got their lone goal in the first stage of the second half when a misunderstanding between Rafael Cabral and Liam Moore cropped up. Oli Hawkins scored despite Rafael making a last-minute attempt to stop him from finding the back of an almost empty net.

Timbe would have earned his first assist for Reading after he made his trademark direct run from the left flank, cut back for Garath McCleary but Pompey stopped an otherwise superb build-up. 

Timbe was not to be denied an assist later on when he rushed to collect a scooped ball, pulled it for Olise who fired into the right post for Reading's third goal.

The positive performance came at the right time for Timbe who is fighting to ensure he cements his place in Bowen's first team when the Championship resumes soon.

They will host Stoke City on June 20.

Mainz forward Taiwo Awoniyi was stretchered off in his side’s clash against Augsburg in Sunday’s Bundesliga game after suffering a serious injury.

The Nigeria youth international was afforded his fourth start by manager Achim Beierlorzer and 11th league appearance since teaming up with the 05ers last summer from Premier League side Liverpool.

The forward was handed a wing-role in the encounter partnering Levin Mete Oztunali, Robin Quaison and Jean-Philippe Mateta upfront.

The 22-year-old aimed to play a key role in his side’s quest to build on last weekend’s five-star performance, where they returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory against Eintracht Frankfurt. However, he suffered a nasty collision in the 23rd minute and was taken to hospital. 

Awoniyi took one shot in the encounter which was blocked and had a 75% pass success rate before the injury incident which saw him replaced by Karim Onisiwo.

The forward will be expected to undergo a further test to determine the nature of his injury and the duration he will be sidelined from action.

Awoniyi joined Liverpool in the summer of 2015 after his fine showings at the 2013 U17 World Cup, where he scored four goals in the competitions to help Nigeria win the title.

The Imperial Soccer Academy graduate is, however, yet to feature in the Premier League for the Reds since joining the side, having spent most of his time on loan.

The forward has played for FSV Frankfurt in Germany, NEC in the Netherlands, Royal Excel Mouscron and Gent in Belgium before teaming up with Mainz.

The 22-year-old has only found the back of the net once against Köln for the Opel Arena outfit in this campaign.

Mainz are currently three places above the relegation zone after winning nine games, drawing four and losing 18 which saw them gather 31 points from 31 games.

The 05ers finished 12th on the Bundesliga table in the 2018-19 season and will hope to avoid the drop from the top-flight at the end of this campaign.

LaLiga ambassador Mutiu Adepoju has described Villarreal’s Samuel Chukwueze as “exciting” following the Yellow Submarine’s 1-0 victory over Celta Vigo at the Estadio de Balaidos on Saturday night.

Javier Calleja’s men came into the encounter with the ambition of returning to winning ways – having lost three successive league games before the coronavirus pandemic placed Spanish football on a hiatus.

After a hard-hitting first half, super-sub Manuel Trigueros sealed all points at stake for the visitors in the 90th minute.

Chukwueze who replaced Gerard Moreno in the 56th minute played a key role as he added a greater threat to Villarreal’s frontline.

For his contributions in 32 minutes, he recorded two shots, one shot on target, 14 passes and a 64.3 passing accuracy.

Even at that, the former Real Madrid and Real Sociedad midfielder reserved special words of praise for Chukwueze, whose outstanding skills and athleticism caused Oscar Junyent’s men all manner of problems down the flank.

He went further urging him to keep improving as well as work on his goalscoring capabilities.

“Great performance from Samuel Chukwueze against Celta Vigo at the Estadio de Balaidos,” Adepoju tweeted.

“What an exciting player he is! I hope he keeps improving as well as works more on his goalscoring abilities.”

The ‘Head Master' had earlier told Goal the U17 World Cup winner can get to a better level in Spain if he maintains his inspiring form.

“Chukwueze is another young player who is doing well in LaLiga. I believe in the next one year, he's going to explode if he continues that way,” he told Goal.

“What happens to West Africans is that sometimes when you get to a certain stage, you believe that you've arrived, but if he keeps his cool and he continues progressing, developing the way he is, I believe he's going to get into a big team which is going to make him explode at any given time.”

The fixture against the Sky Blues was the 21-year-old’s 27th Spanish elite division game of the season where he boasts three goals – achieved against Celta Vigo, Real Betis and Granada.

Following this win, Calleja’s side moved to eighth in the LaLiga log having accrued 41 points from 28 games, while Celta Vigo dropped to the relegation zone with just 26 points from the same number of outings.

Villarreal welcome struggling Real Mallorca to the Estadio de la Ceramica for their next outing on Tuesday, while Celta are guests of Real Valladolid a day later.

Mallorca’s last away game ended in a 2-1 triumph Eibar on March 7, 2020.

Halimatu Ayinde put up a solid display for Eskilstuna United but they bowed 1-0 to Ebere Orji's Linkopings at Tunavallen on Sunday.

Mangus Karlsson's side aimed for a morale-boosting outcome ahead of the new season which kicks off on June 27 but the Nigerian pair of Ayinde and Ngozi Okobi could not help them avoid defeat.

Linn Vickius, Kaisa Collin and Felicia Rogic combined well, notably in the 20th minute but the hosts could not find a way past the visitors in the all Damallsvenskan warm-up encounter.

Orji came close to securing the lead for Linköpings but her effort was denied by the crossbar despite goalkeeper Emelie Lundberg's show as the teams only settled for a scoreless draw at half time. 

After the restart, Karlsson made wholesale changes to his Eskilstuna's side but Linkopings eventually gained the lead through Johanna Alm's header off a corner kick in the 79th minute.

Elise Stenevik came close twice as her first attempt from the free-kick was denied by the goalkeeper before the second went wide but the hosts could not avoid the defeat against the visitors.

Despite the loss, Ayinde, who played from the start to finish along with compatriot Okobi for Eskilstuna making a positive impact, ultimately won her side's Player of the Match prize.

For Nigeria's Orji, who joined the Swedish side from newly-promoted rivals Umea in January, was in action for more than 70 minutes of the encounter to ensure the victory of Linkopings.

Eskilstuna will hope to make necessary improvements in their build-up to the new campaign against Uppsala on June 21, while Linkopings will welcome KIF Orebro three days earlier.

Koke believes Atletico Madrid's 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao has done damage to their Champions League qualification prospects.

Diego Costa's 39th-minute goal on the end of a clever Koke pass ensured the first-half advantage Iker Muniain's splendid strike granted Athletic was short-lived.

However, Atleti were unable to affect a full turnaround, with substitute Santiago Arias going closest to a winner when he drew a point-blank save from Unai Simon 10 minutes from time.

It means Los Colcheneros have now won only one of their past 11 away matches in La Liga, with Sunday's behind-closed-doors encounter at San Mames their 13th draw of the campaign – setting an unwanted club record.

Never before had Atletico been held to so many ties in a single season, and that number looks bound to grow even higher with 10 games still remaining in the current Primera campaign.

"I believe it was a very strength-based game. It was a tough situation to be in," Koke told LaLiga TV, after the draw moved sixth-placed Atleti level on points with Getafe and Real Sociedad, the latter of whom take on Osasuna in Sunday's late kick-off.

"We didn't take our chances. We have to suffer and accept the draw. We want to be in the Champions League and we need to get hold of the points.

"It's difficult from this position that we're in.

"They were better placed than us all over the pitch. We managed to change things after the first goal and a couple of minutes after found the equaliser.

"Santi had the chance at the end to get us the win."

Ex-Atleti forward Raul Garcia impressed for the hosts alongside the influential Muniain and rued his team-mates switching off as Costa hit back.

"We knew it was going to be a very difficult game," he told LaLiga TV. "There was a bit of speculation about how the teams were going to come back to the league action but we both went out to win the game.

"Once you've just scored you normally relax a little bit and that's what happened to us today.

"But we have to take the positives. We manged to compete against one of the best teams in the league and unfortunately we couldn't get three points."

Copa del Rey finalists Athletic lie 10th, five points behind Valencia in seventh, which is likely to be the last Europa League qualifying spot should they lose to rivals Sociedad in the showpiece.

Costa Rican World Cupper Johnny Acosta Zamora bid farewell to East Bengal with an emotional post on his official handle on Instagram. He thanked the fans for their support but hit out at the I-League club for the way he was allegedly treated. 

The central defender confirmed his departure and is all set to return to his country on Monday morning. His post on Instagram read, “I close a cycle of my life, this time a little different. In a great institution to which I have a lot of love and respect, Quess East Bengal FC, but that in the end there were contract and salary issues that failed to comply, in addition to little help for my return to Costa Rica where the club showed little disposition and apathetic to my situation!

“I keep good times and I thank all the fans who always show their support. I carry them in my heart, thank you East Bengal FC.”

The relation between the players and club soured in recent weeks as investor Quess Corp decided to activate the ‘Force Majeure’ clause in the players’ contracts and decided to cut their salaries for the last two months.

Acosta accused the investors of being apathetic to his situation and also suggested that no help was offered by the company to arrange for his return to his homeland.

The defender, who had appeared in three World Cups for his country, had joined the club back in 2018. He was a crucial member of the East Bengal side which missed the I-League in 2018-19 title by a whisker.

His performance for the Red and Golds garnered a lot of praise from the club loyalists but unfortunately, he was not retained for the 2019-20 season as then coach Alejandro Menendez did not want the player back.

Acosta, though, returned to the club at the fag end of the season after Menendez left the club. Acosta reached India in March and had played against Real Kashmir FC which was incidentally last game in the I-League before the season was cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

More English players should follow the lead of Jadon Sancho in playing abroad to develop their game, says former Chelsea youngster Michael Mancienne.

Borussia Dortmund winger Sancho has thrived since swapping Manchester City for regular first-team football in the Bundesliga.

After moving to Germany in 2017 and becoming an England international a year later, the 20-year-old has been heavily linked with a big-money move to the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea.

Mancienne, now playing with New England Revolution having spent three seasons of his club career with Hamburg, feels it is a path that should be taken by talented prospects.

Despite the strength of the Premier League, Mancienne says players like Sancho can improve in other top European leagues if regular game time is proving tough to come by at home.

"Obviously Jadon Sancho is a great player and it is good to see English talent playing abroad," he said to Stats Perform News.

"Foreigners come to England all the time and it obviously seems like a normal thing. 

"I know the Premier League is one of the best leagues in the world but to go and get that experience of playing abroad is massive and it can make you a better player. 

"It can definitely help your career, especially for a young player struggling to break into their first team. 

"If you get the chance to go abroad I think that's massive and it can further your career."

Asked if more English players should go to the Bundesliga, he added: "Yeah most definitely, I think it is massive."

Mancienne won 30 England caps at Under-21 level earlier in his career.

He has praised manager Gareth Southgate for his work with the senior side, which he believes has been boosted by blooding youngsters like Sancho, who has 11 caps.

"I think [Gareth Southgate] has done a brilliant job," said Mancienne. "He came in and he changed a lot.

"People weren't sure if it was the right thing to do but giving younger players a chance to have that experience is only going to make them a better team and a better squad. 

"You saw Germany years ago, their U21 team that I played against in the U21 Euros, that team went on and won the World Cup. They trusted that team and they kept them together.

"It doesn't matter how old you are, young players need that experience if they want to improve.

"Southgate has been brilliant in pushing, not changing the team and making it younger, more vibrant and full of energy."

Simba SC have restarted their bid to win their 21st Tanzania Mainland League title with a 1-1 draw against Ruvu Shooting at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

Shiza Kichuya opened the scoring in favour of the hosts before Fully Zullu Maganga ensured the spoils were shared.

Having won their two friendly matches against Trans Camp and KMC 4-2 and 3-1 respectively, Wekundu wa Msimbazi came into the match as favourites owing to the momentum set.

Meddie Kagere was the only foreign player who started the game. Francis Kahata and Clatous Chama came late with Sharaf Shaiboub still in Sudan.

It did not take much time for the Sven Vandenbroeck-led charges to unleash their claws. With 12 minutes on the clock; Rwandan attacker Meddie Kagere was released on the right and crossed the ball into the danger zone.

Taifa Stars striker John Raphael Bocco could not manage to connect it but the ball, fortunately, fell to the onrushing Kichuya's path. His thunderous strike was saved by Mohamed Makaka in Ruvu goal, but the rebound was neatly converted by the attacker. 

It was the first goal of the season for the player.

Goalkeeper Aishi Manula made a gross mistake to hand the visitors an equalizer. Defender Erasto Nyoni conceded a corner in the 37th minute.

Abdallahman Musa took it well, the custodian got out of position and missed the ball and Maganga rose highest to score his eighth goal this season.

Despite intensifying the attacks after the break, the Msimbazi based side could not get the winning goal.

It was a massive improvement for the Ruvu based-side who lost the first meeting 3-0 but a blow to Simba who are targeting five more wins to be crowned champions.

Simba are now on 72 points after 29 matches; they have won 23, drawn three and lost as many matches. Ruvu Shooting remained in 11th position as well after collecting 40 points from 29 matches.

The administrative side has managed to collect 11 wins, seven draws and 11 losses.

On Saturday, Yanga SC defeated Mwadui by a solitary goal while Namungo threw a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Coastal Union.

Mwadui FC coach Khalid Adam has admitted his charges struggled in their match against Yanga SC on Saturday.

The Shinyanga-based side lost the game by a solitary goal, which came in the sixth minute as a result of a quick move engineered by Haruna Niyonzima, who beat an advancing Jaffar Mohammed on the left flank.

Mohammed's cross was met by Ditram Nchimbi but the goalkeeper Mahmoud Amri saved Mwadui from the initial attack, before Balama Mapinduzi fired home shortly after.

"We really struggled in the match, but I cannot blame my players at all," Adam told journalists after the match.

"The [coronavirus outbreak] happened and it affected us; before the break, the team was in a good momentum. Being our first match, I do not want to blame my players, I am not used to blame games.

"I hope we will play better in the next game and rectify the mistakes we made. Like in the attacking front, we were very wasteful. There were many chances created but we were not clinical.

"We have lost [against] Yanga, but our next game, I hope, will be better and we will get good results. The positive we picked is that the players were not injured."

The tactician has also revealed why he believes his charges will be better against Simba SC in the second round.

"We won the first meeting by a solitary goal because we had the momentum. We were better prepared because we had also played many games," Adam added.

"Sometimes when face big teams, you need the momentum which comes from playing many games. It is what we missed against Yanga."

In another Tanzania Mainland League match played on Saturday, Namungo and Coastal Union played out a 2-2 draw.

The third-place-chasing visitors got two goals against their hosts in the first half as they dominated the proceedings.

It took the visitors just three minutes to get the first goal through George Makanga while the second one was scored in the 17th minute by Abeid Athuman.

Namungo did not keep their lead, though, as Coastal Union fought back in the second half and equalised to ensure the tie ended in a 2-2 draw.

Issa Abushehe scored the first goal for the hosts seven minutes after the restart of the second half before Hance Msonga struck the equalizer to deny Namungo all the points.

Namungo will remain fourth on the log with 51 points as the draw has denied them a chance to close in on Yanga.

Coastal Union are fifth with 46 points and enjoy one more point than sixth-placed Polisi Tanzania.

Jadon Sancho will leave Borussia Dortmund this summer, according to Dietmar Hamann, but the former Germany ace ultimately expects to see some “reason” come over the game in the Premier League.

Football has been plunged into a state of economic uncertainty following the coronavirus crisis, which has seen the game put on hold for three months around much of the world.

Although matches are starting to take place behind closed doors, the financial impact of the crisis has yet to really be manifest, and while Hamann believes this will have an impact on Premier League clubs, he still thinks the top end of the market will not take too much of an immediate hit with the transfer window approaching.

One player already making headlines this summer is Sancho, with Hamann of the belief he will make a big move.

“There will continue to be a market for the top players, like Jadon Sancho – he’s just too good to wait another year,” he told Bild.

“I see him going to the Premier League. The most likely option there is Manchester United.”

Hamann would like to see more circumspect transfer fees and wages paid in England off the back of this crisis, but with investors prevalent in the Premier League, he does not think that is guaranteed.

“It would be nice to see some reason there,” the former Liverpool man said.

“Before the Coronavirus crisis, last season, the 20 clubs in the league made a loss of around €670 million. Perhaps smaller transfer fees and less salary will now be paid to players across the board.

“Investors can dig into their pockets to make up for a deficit. Of course there is an absurdly high TV income in England, but the investors give the clubs completely new opportunities. That is why the idea of solidarity in the clubs is also different. 

“In the Bundesliga, players have waived their salary so that no one had to be fired in the offices. In England, the 20 captains got together and donated some of their salary to the NHS.”

Play is due to resume in the Premier League next week, and Hamann says the Reds, who need only six points from nine games, will cruise to the title.

“Their lead in the table is too big. They're playing in their own league this season,” he said. “The question is not whether Liverpool will be champion, but when. The only pity is that there will be no celebrations with fans who have been waiting for the title for so long.”

Uganda Premier League giants Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA FC) have reportedly completed the signings of Ashraf Mugume and Charles Lwanga.

The two are expected to be unveiled by the 13-time UPL champions soon after agreeing on contractual issues already.

According to Football256, Mugume has agreed to join the Kassairo Boys on a four-year contract while Neymar, as Lwanga is popularly known, has signed a contract of three years.

Mugume was let go by the UPL 2019/20 champions Vipers SC in January and is said to have been training with KCCA for some time now. Mugume joined the Venom's first team during the 2017/18 season.

He, however, did not cement a permanent place in the first team and was later allowed to go on a loan stint to Police FC.

Serving the Law Enforcers, the central midfielder scored three goals and provided five assists as he enjoyed a good time under coach Abdalla Mubiru.

He returned to his parent club before the cancelled season began and featured in four games, including a start against relegated Maroons FC.

The other appearances came against Onduparaka FC, Kyetume FC and against Sam Ssimbwa's Uganda Revenue Authority (URA FC).

Lwanga has joined the previous league champions from SC Villa. He had reported Villa to the Players' Status Committee after the club had reportedly failed to pay him salaries for nine months.

Lwanga joined Villa in 2019 under coach Douglas Bamweyana and had signed a contract that would have seen him serve the Jogoos for five years 

The reported signings of the duo come a few days after KCCA were rumoured to have entered into negotiations with Disan Galiwango of Express FC.

“We should pull it off if all goes well. Both parties are interested. He is coming as a free agent but terms with the player have not been concluded yet. When done with all our targets, I’ll let you know,” a source close to KCCA is quoted as saying.

KCCA are also understood to be in final stages of finalising the signing of Pius Obuya from Maroons. Obuya is thought to be an apt replacement for Allan Okello, who left in January for Paradou AC.

Following media reports that Bloemfontein Celtic was set to be sold to TS Galaxy owner Tim Sukazi, Free State businessman Lebo Mokoena has confirmed the club will remain in the City of Roses.

Mokoena said everything is finalized and that he did everything in his power to ensure Phunya Sele Sele remained in the province, but the deal is yet to be officially announced.

On the other hand, the Pietermaritzburg-based businessman explained he has always been linked with Siwelele and he also attended their annual general meetings as a young boy.

“The team is in Bloemfontein. It will be staying there but there are few final details that we need to finish [before it can be official that the team is staying in Bloemfontein],” Mokoena told IOL.

"Yes [I’ve done everything in my power to ensure that the team stays in Bloemfontein].

“Everything is final, it is just one thing [that we need to seal and everything will be official]. The team is safe.”

Although he is based in KwaZulu-Natal, as the owner of Mokoena Group operating in the Umsunduzi area and surroundings, his roots are in the City of Roses.

“Originally, I’m from Bloemfontein. Having been born there gives me the understanding and the importance of this team in Bloemfontein. At the age of 10, I was attending AGM meetings of this club," he continued.

The news of the club staying put in the Free State province comes after Sukazi recently explained that any chairman in the National First Division (NFD) would be interested in buying Premier Soccer League (PSL) status and that he was planning to relocate the team to Mpumalanga.

On the other hand, Sukazi recently told Ikwekwezi FM that he has had talks with Celtic over a proposed sale, saying he would be announcing to the people if KwaNdebele that he has secured a PSL club.

Meanwhile, in the midst of their financial struggles, coach Lehlohonolo Seema has done well during the 2019/20 season as they sit eighth on the table.

Just before the season was halted because of the coronavirus pandemic in March, Celtic managed to reach the semi-finals of the Nedbank Cup and are set to face Baroka for a place in the final.

Martin Braithwaite is hoping to answer Barcelona's SOS with goals that carry Quique Setien's team all the way to trophy glory after opening his account.

The Danish striker played his first full 90 minutes in La Liga since joining from Leganes as an emergency signing in February, as Barcelona thrashed Real Mallorca 4-0 on Saturday.

It was his fourth appearance and second start in the league since swapping a relegation battle for the title race.

And the man Barca bought to ease their injury problems intends to show how much he can contribute over the remaining weeks of the coronavirus-disrupted season.

He may have his work cut out to secure a regular start, given Luis Suarez returned from knee surgery as a substitute at Mallorca, but Braithwaite wants to play a part and said of his maiden Barca strike: "I've been waiting for it for a long time, so it's amazing to score my first goal.

"It was most important to start like we did [on Saturday], so we are happy and we have to continue like this.

"As an offensive player you want to score goals and I've been working a lot in this break, and I've been really looking forward to playing this game and hopefully getting a goal and I'm happy, I'm really happy."

Suarez's season looked to be over when he had an operation in January, but the three-month suspension of the league has allowed him to recover fitness, and now coach Setien has options up front for the title push.

The Uruguayan had a 33-minute run-out at Son Moix, and Braithwaite can expect to come under pressure for a regular start.

Barcelona's win in their first match back after lockdown restrictions were eased ensured they would remain top of the table.

Braithwaite said of the successful trip, speaking to Barca TV : "It's really important because we have to start with confidence, and to score four goals and not concede any goals is really important for us.

"We started good and just built our confidence and we need that to continue pursuing what we want."

After Arturo Vidal's early opener, Lionel Messi set up Braithwaite and Jordi Alba before sealing Barca's victory in additional time.

Barcelona have 10 games left in the LaLiga season as they attempt to fend off Real Madrid and wrap up what would be a 27th league title.

John McGinn may be key to Aston Villa’s Premier League survival hopes this season and not necessarily Manchester United transfer target Jack Grealish, according to former Scotland midfielder Graeme Souness.

With the Premier League campaign set to restart this week after a three-month recess due to the coronavirus pandemic, Villa find themselves in the teeth of the relegation battle.

The Birmingham club are second bottom of the standings but only a couple of points from safety.

Souness believes they still have a shot at survival, but it hinges on how McGinn returns after a lengthy layoff due to a fracture ankle.

“There is no doubt they missed John McGinn after he fractured his ankle,” Souness wrote in his column for The Times.

“A lot of fuss is made of Jack Grealish, but McGinn does a lot of the unseen work, the box-to-box aggression, whereas Grealish attracts more attention because he spends more time running with the ball. 

“If McGinn comes back and plays like he did at the start of the season it could help them survive, but they also may find it difficult to hold on to him when the transfer window opens.”

Souness says that many of Villa’s problems are self inflicted and derive from last summer’s transfer window.

“From the outside, it is hard to know what Villa were going for last summer and didn’t get,” he said.

“Did they end up signing the second or third choices on their list? That is always dangerous. Sometimes you must hold your nerve and wait until the right players are available rather than signing people for the sake of it.

“Their defensive record is the worst in the Premier League. In 28 games, they have conceded 56 goals. That means, on average, they need to score three to win.

"It is a dangerous combination, if you are conceding too many goals and cannot score at the other end and neither Wesley, the big Brazilian, nor Mbwana Samatta, the Tanzanian striker, have really done it for them.

"Ultimately, it boils down to the most important things in football: management and recruitment.

“They remind me of Fulham last season. They came up, had a wealthy owner in Shahid Khan and splashed the cash but wasted most of it and sacked Slavisa Jokanovic and Claudio Ranieri before turning to Scott Parker when it was too late to survive.

"It was a classic case of coming up with a feelgood factor, having achieved something together, and within a couple of months that business plan was torn up.”

The Camp Toyoyo Board, commonly referred to as the Board, has confirmed former Kenya midfielder Crispin Olando is in good health and soon new developments will be made public.

The 32-year-old is in custody at the Jackson Parish Correctional Centre after allegedly breaching immigration rules. The Kenyan was booked because he did not have the necessary immigration documents and was not granted a bond.

"First I want to state that the Board made contact with Crispin in a bid to understand the circumstances surrounding him," read a statement signed by Philip Lukhachi on behalf of the Board and obtained by Goal.

"We are therefore privy to some details of his situation that are not public and wanted to make sure we are certain that anything we say is verified and accurate.

"We are also aware that there have been several individuals who have put contradicting information out there using social media, broadcast, print or the usual hearsay.

"Due to the sensitivity and nature of the information we have, we want to state Crispin is in good health. We will give more information and any new developments upon verification and permission from Crispin and people handling his case."

The public has been urged to be considerate with the information shared considering the victim has a family and reputation to keep.

"Now we understand, people want to establish this short-lived credibility and are looking for content to appeal to their audience and much-needed ratings," the statement added.

"We encourage people to carefully verify the authenticity of the information and their sources before putting it out.

"Keep in mind that the said individual has family and friends who could be impacted by the information spewed out thoughtlessly.

"With the viral nature of some information, you run the risk of conveying erroneous information that can unfairly affect public opinion and impact his case." 

After moving to the US in 2013 in search of greener pastures, Olando managed to secure trials with Houston Dynamo and Vancouver Whitecaps but failed to convince their technical benches to sign him.

He resorted to playing in the lower tiers of domestic football in the country before eventually retiring and settling with his family.

While in Kenya, the midfielder turned out for then-Kenyan Premier League (KPL) side Thika United before joining Tusker FC.

At the Ruaraka-based side, Olando won back-to-back league titles in the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

Abderrazak Hamed Allah has secured his place in call of Duty: Wazone ultimate team, which features a combo of COD's operators and football players who have similar characteristics.

Goal.com has teamed up with Call of Duty to make the "Coalition vs Allegiance" ultimate team. The concept consists on choosing 11 characters from both the Coalition and Allegiance who are featuring in Warzone.

We then analyze the specific traits of each character and potential Footballers who fit the mould and resemble well with the character. The audience is involved by voting for their favorite Operator-Footballer combo to make it feature in the Ultimate team.

For the new poll, we had a duel between Bafétimbi Gomis and Abderrazak Hamed Allah who were representing Grinch from the Allegiance team and Golem from the Coalition team respectively.

Al Nassr's striker led the poll with 55% of the votes (9316) beating out the Frenchman who ended up with 45% of the votes (7511).

Stay tuned for our next poll...

Chidozie Awaziem’s joy at La Liga returning following the coronavirus suspension was short-lived on Saturday, as the Nigeria defender gifted Real Valladolid an early opener in their 2-1 victory over Leganes.

Only two minutes had elapsed when Awaziem, attempting to deal with a high ball through the middle, headed the ball beyond his onrushing goalkeeper Ivan ‘Pichu’ Cuellar, allowing Enes Unal to rush in and poke it home.

Perhaps Awaziem can be forgiven for ring rust due to a lack of recent gametime, after all, he hadn’t played for three months before this fixture due to the absence of live action amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, the goal ultimately proved costly for Leganes on the day—Ruben Alcaraz added a second in the 54th minute before Oscar Rodriguez’s consolation late on—and may prove costly longer term.

While Valladolid’s victory takes them up to 32 points—seven clear from the dropzone—Leganes missed the opportunity to draw level with 17th-placed Celta Vigo.

There’s still plenty of football still to come—with 10 games left—but the hosts could ill afford a slow start to the returning campaign, let alone a home defeat against fellow strugglers.

Conceding cheap goals has also been a specific problem for Leganes this term—their 41 goals conceded is the joint fourth w0rst in the division, while their 33 goals for puts them 11th in the league overall.

It’s clear where their problems lie, and this is an area that—surely—experienced coach Javier Aguirre will have been drilling his troops on ahead of the league’s return.

Awaziem’s moment of madness surely undid much of the work done during the downtime, and represented a disastrous return to action for Leganes.

However, does the Nigeria defender deserve the criticism that he has received—and will continue to receive—from observers in the aftermath of the loss?

Even Opta have opted to label the defender’s header back towards goal as an ‘Error that led to a goal’, which may appear a little harsh.

Certainly, Awaziem’s ability to deal with the high ball forward demands some scrutiny.

His awareness appears to be lacking, as he appears to have no idea of Unal’s proximity when he opts to head the ball back to the keeper.

So early in the game, with the league only just resumed in a crunch relegation battle, it’s no time to be taking risks—if Awaziem must deal with the ball while retreating, rather than attack it square on—then he ought to head the ball out of play or direct a forceful header back to his keeper, creating space in the process.

Instead, he appears to be caught in two minds—perhaps a consequence both of taking his eyes off the ball in order to engage with Cuellar, and his body positioning—and fails to put enough conviction on his header.

Definitely, Awaziem could have done better in this situation.

However, how on earth can the centre-back take the blame here ahead of goalkeeper Cuellar?

Even though the goalkeeper has a greater field of vision than the centre-back, even though he can see the onrushing Unal, even though he can see the trajectory of the high ball, he still opts to rush far out of his area.

Where was the sense in this decision-making from a keeper who, at 36, should have known better?

Instead, Cuellar rushing out towards Awaziem destabilised the defender, created doubt as to what he should do next, and left the goal exposed.

Ultimately, Cuellar’s decision-making transformed the decision from a routine situation for Awaziem to a disastrous return to action for Leganes, and yet he could clearly see that the Nigerian had the situation under control.

Opta and armchair pundits may have attributed the blame to 23-year-old Awaziem, but it was the goalkeeper, not the defender, who transformed an innocuous clearance into an early goal.