Headlines
PSG Make Dramatic Comeback, Beat Tottenham to Win UEFA Super Cup
European champions, Paris Saint-Germain, beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-3 on penalties to win the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday after producing a late comeback to draw the match 2-2.
The European champions began the new season by lifting more silverware on Wednesday
Goncalo Ramos headed in the equaliser in the fourth minute of stoppage time before Nuno Mendes converted the decisive kick in the shoot-out to allow PSG to win the Super Cup for the first time in their history.
Spurs looked set to get their hands on the trophy in their first competitive match under new coach Thomas Frank as they led 2-0 just after half-time at the Stadio Friuli in Udine, Italy.
Micky van de Ven gave last season’s Europa League winners the lead on 39 minutes, and Cristian Romero got their second goal three minutes into the second half.
However, PSG were rescued by two substitutes as Lee Kang-in pulled a goal back in the 85th minute and Goncalo Ramos headed in the equaliser four minutes into injury time.
That meant a penalty shoot-out, but it started badly for PSG when Vitinha put their first kick wide.
However, new Paris goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier saved from Van de Ven, and Mathys Tel missed the target, allowing Nuno Mendes to convert the winning penalty for PSG.
Dominic Solanke, Rodrigo Bentancur, and Pedro Porro all scored from the spot for Spurs, in vain. Ramos, Ousmane Dembele, and Lee converted for PSG before Mendes stepped up.
It is the first time PSG, or indeed any French club, have lifted the Super Cup, as they take their tally of trophies won in 2025 to five.
It is also the perfect start to the new campaign for Luis Enrique’s team, who had a shortened off-season break having lost the FIFA Club World Cup final to Chelsea exactly a month ago.
They now begin the new Ligue 1 campaign on Sunday away to Nantes, while Spurs will turn their attentions to the start of the Premier League season as they take on Burnley at home on Saturday.
The French giants had, in May, won the Champions League for the first time in their history as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter Milan in the most one-sided final ever.
Teenager Desire Doue scored twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory.
Achraf Hakimi, playing against his former club, gave PSG an early lead, and Doue went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled their advantage in the 20th minute.
Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth, and substitute Senny Mayulu made it five.
Inter were simply no match for the French club, who recorded the biggest victory by any team in the final in the 70-year history of the European Cup and Champions League.
The triumph for the Parisians comes after more than a decade of huge investment from their Qatari owners, and five years after they lost to Bayern Munich in their only previous final appearance.
The French league and cup double winners were remarkably just the second ever French winners of European football’s biggest prize; Marseille were the first in 1993, when they beat AC Milan in a final also played in Munich.
It is also a second Champions League for PSG coach Luis Enrique, who won with Lionel Messi’s Barcelona a decade ago.
This youthful PSG side is the best the competition has seen since, one that has been intelligently pieced together over the last two years and fully unleashed this season following the departure of Kylian Mbappe.
– AFP
Adebayo Adelabu, one of the aspirants for the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket in Oyo State, has alleged irregularities in the party’s governorship primary election held on Thursday.
Adelabu, who expressed dissatisfaction over the conduct of the exercise, stated that the primary was characterized by misconduct ranging from disenfranchisement of his supporters in some wards and the commencement of election process earlier than scheduled.
Speaking after the conclusion of the primary election at IMG School, Ward 9, Ibadan South-East Local Government Area, the immediate past Minister of Power alleged that the process was neither free, fair nor credible.
He said: “Before our people started getting to their various wards, they have already conducted the election and they wrote the figures they want as results.
“In some wards, our people were prevented from voting. They were intimidated. They were chased away violently. And in some wards, voting did not take place at all.
“All this kind of misconduct is not good at this stage of our democracy in Nigeria, and something has to be done about it.”
Adelabu, therefore, vowed to come up with serious petitions against all the irregularities not just in Ibadan, but across all the five geopolitical zones in Oyo State.
“Also, conduct of many party executives is uncalled for, a lot of people bought forms and they were cleared. And they decided to conduct affirmation of a particular candidate in some wards.
“There was nothing like consensus arrangement. It was just a figment of their weird imagination. The instruction we got from Abuja was that we should all carry out free, fair, and transparent direct primary election where every aspirant will be given a level playing ground and the election will be conducted peacefully.
“Where did they get the idea of consensus candidates? And this is what happened in a lot of the wards. And it didn’t go down well with us. “We don’t want that. We are going to assess the gravity of this gross misconduct and the potential impact on the overall result of this election.
“I will put a petition forward to the appropriate authorities so that it can be deeply investigated and there must be consequences to this. The people who perpetrated this misconduct must be identified and punished. And the aspirants involved also need to be suspended because this is not good for us.
“Democracy is the government of the people by the people and for the people where nobody should be disenfranchised. Once you are a party member, you should have that freedom, that authority to pick an aspirant of your choice as the flag bearer of the party.
“This is Ibadan, this is Oyo State and this the centre of politics in the southwest. And we should be able to lay good examples and the process should produce a candidate that won transparently, freely and fairly,” he said.
Meanwhile, at Ward 9, Ibadan South-East Local Government, Adelabu, polled 430 to defeat his closest rival, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, who had 3 votes.
Al Nassr captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, has finally won the Saudi Pro League title.
They were confirmed champions on Thursday, thanks to a 4-2 drubbing of relegation battlers, Damac.
The title race had gone down to the final day after Al-Nassr dramatically dropped points against Al-Hilal the previous week.
Jorge Jesus’ side knew there could be no mistakes against a Damac side fighting for survival at the other end of the table.
Ronaldo was on the scoresheet, as his brace helped Al Nassr secure the title ahead of rivals Al Hilal.
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has announced his withdrawal from the All Progressives Congress governorship primary election in the state.
Fubara made this known in a statement personally signed on Wednesday, saying he would support whoever emerges as the party’s candidate, The Nations reported.
The governor said his decision followed extensive consultations with his family, friends, and political associates.
“After deep reflection and extensive consultations with my family, friends, and associates, I have taken the difficult but necessary decision to withdraw from the APC governorship primaries. I do so with a full heart and with a firm commitment to support whoever emerges as the candidate of our great party,” Fubara said.
Fubara said although the decision was difficult, he remained committed to supporting whoever would emerge as the APC governorship candidate.
According to him, leadership demands sacrifice and personal ambition must sometimes give way to the collective interest of the people.
Meanwhile, the embattled governor expressed appreciation to his supporters for their loyalty, prayers and sacrifices throughout the political process, acknowledging that many would feel disappointed by his withdrawal.
He said his silence in recent weeks was “deliberate and strategic,” adding that it was guided by the higher interest of the state.
Tone Cole, APC chieftain and 2027 governorship aspirant in Rivers State, also announced his withdrawal from the race, saying his decision was, among other reasons, in the interest of the party’s unity.
