Other Leagues
Zamalek records third straight draw under Peseiro
Zamalek failed to secure their first victory under newly appointed Portuguese coach José Peseiro, settling for a 1-1 draw against ZED FC in the Egyptian Premier League on Thursday.
Nasser Mansy canceled out, in the fifth minute of additional time of the first half, Mostafa Ziko’s 25th-minute opener to concede a third straight draw in as many games.
Since his appointment on 14 February, Peseiro has yet to secure a victory, with Zamalek drawing 1-1 against Petrojet, Ahly, and ZED FC.
The result, Zamalek remain third in the table with 29 points, seven behind joint leaders Ahly and Pyramids FC. ZED FC sit 10th with 20 points from 16 matches.
Two set-pieces
Zamalek dominated possession against ZED FC who sat back on defence but were dangerous on the counter.
In the 25th minute, Mostafa Ziko collected a poorly cleared corner to strike the opener from inside the area.
Zamalek pressed forward but struggled to capitalize on their chances. Mostafa Shalaby, Omar Gaber, and Zizo all missed key opportunities, with the latter striking the crossbar in the 35th minute.
Just before halftime, Nasser Mansy headed in a precise corner from Ahmed “Zizo” El Sayed.
Peseiro introduced Seifeddine Jaziri, Nasser Maher and young Tunisian winger Ahmed Jefali to bolster the attack, but ZED FC goalkeeper Ali Lotfi denied Zizo’s powerful effort late in the match.
Zamalek were reduced to 10 men in stoppage time after Mohamed Shehata received a second yellow card.
Zamalek will next face Enppi in their 17th league match on Tuesday.
-Ahram
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Nigerian striker, Victor Olatunji was on the scorers’ sheet as Sparta Praha sealed an emphatic win over Dukla in their campaign to defend their Czech national cup that is officially known as MOL Cup.
Olatunji found the back of the net in the 88th minute of the round-of-16 tie, which ended 3 – 0 in favour of Sparta Praha, who were playing at home before their fans.
The Czech league defending champions introduced the Nigerian super striker in the 65th minute, and he made an instant impact in the 66th minute with a goal barely 60 seconds after setting foot on the pitch.
His heroic act was however ruled out for a foul and it would have been a brace for the Nigerian goal poacher who is in a fine form.
The talented striker is back on the scorers’ sheet coming off the back of his amazing UEFA Champions League Campaign. Olatunji closed the European campaign with four goals and two assists, ranking him as one of the top scorers of the Czech side.
The striker had set a record as the first Nigerian to bag a goal and assist in a Champions League debut game, ranking him among the top shots to emerge from the country.
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Jeering International Limeira fans provoked Neymar to score the first “olimpico” of his career, the Brazil international said on Sunday after guiding Santos to a 3-0 win in the Paulista Championship.
Neymar netted directly from a corner in the 27th minute, bending in a right-footed shot which struck the far post and ended up in the goal.
The 33-year-old also provided two assists for Tiquinho Soares score a first-half double.
“They teased me and I said, now I’m the one who’s going to score the goal,” Neymar told TNT Sports.
The home fans also taunted Neymar in the ninth minute when he walked up to take a corner, and the former Barcelona and Paris St Germain forward responded by signalling for them to sing louder before setting up Soares to score.
“My greatest joy is playing football,” Neymar posted on social media.
Neymar, who left Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal last month to return to his boyhood club, said last week that Santos were helping him “to rediscover soccer, rediscover joy”.
Santos play Bragantino in the Paulista Championship quarter-finals next weekend.
-Reuters
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Former Nigeria’s manager, Jose Peseiro in his debut with Zamalek of Egypt had his club forcing a 1-1 draw with Petrojet in his debut. The draw left Zamalek with 27 points in third place of the Egyptian league, trailing leaders, Pyramids by three points and arch-rivals, Al Ahly by two points.
The former Nigeria coach missed several key players, and he had to reshuffle his team.
He made four changes from the previous game including Mohamed Atef who made his second appearance of the season.
He again drew against Al Ahly in this weekend’s Cairo derby with Al Ahly.
Peseiro believes his team’s 1-1 draw against Ahly in the Cairo derby was a fair result, but stressed the players need time to adapt to his new tactics.
Substitute Achraf Bencharki gave Ahly the lead in the 72nd minute, but Mahmoud Bentayg equalized for Zamalek six minutes from time.
“I think Ahly were better in the first half but without clear scoring chances, apart from the shot that hit the crossbar,” Peseiro told the post-match press conference.
“The draw is a fair result between the two sides,” he added.
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