BAKKACIMA BLOG

Willian's brace was not enough for Chelsea to secure a point away from home as they suffered a surprise 3-2 defeat to West Ham, who moved three points clear of the relegation zone thanks to Andriy Yarmolenko's 89th-minute winner at the London Stadium. The defeat ended Chelsea's 6 games unbeaten run in all competitions. Though they still maintained their fourth position in the table, just two points clear of in-form Manchester United and Wolves with six matches remaining in the race for Champions League qualification. Asked if he was concerned that Chelsea had a mental issue following their inconsistent form in 2019-20, head coach Lampard told reporters: "It's something that has happened a few times this season. "We've had opportunities to close gaps and jump over teams because of other results or whatever situation. "But we haven't done it and that's a sign of where we are. We know we have a lot of hard work to do to get where we want to be an...

Manchester City striker, Sergio Aguero's season may already be over after the club confirmed on Tuesday that the striker will travel to Barcelona for a specialist examination on his left knee. The prolific striker pulled up with an injury during City's routine 5-0 win over Burnley on Monday night, sparking fears that he would have to spend time on the sidelines. Pep Guardiola confirmed after the match that the attacker's chances of a swift return did "not look good" and that he had been struggling with a niggle even before the match. Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that specialist Dr Ramon Cugat will examine Aguero, with the severity of the issue currently unknown. More details soon.....

Massimo Carrera believes Atalanta can win the Serie A title next season with two or three "quality signings" as he hailed Gian Piero Gasperini's team. Atalanta have become the great entertainers of Italian and European football under head coach Gasperini, scoring a Serie A-high 70 goals through 25 matches before the season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. No Serie A team scored more goals last season as Atalanta finished third to qualify for the Champions League for the first time – the Bergamo-based side reached the quarter-finals in Europe prior to the COVID-19 crisis. Led by Papu Gomez and Josip Ilicic, Atalanta are fourth in the standings and occupy the final Champions League spot as they prepare to resume their 2019-20 Serie A season against Sassuolo on Sunday. Asked if Atalanta can challenge for the Scudetto next season, former defender Carrera – who captained the club before leaving for Napoli in 2003 – told Stats Perform News: "Why n...

The Nigerian born international and Lille striker Victor Osimhen, is the most expensive Nigerian player with a price tag of 64.3 million euros - approximately N29.9 billion in Nigerian currency, according to a new study conducted by CIES Football Observatory. The lille forward is the 5th most valuable player in the French Ligue 1 behind PSG's Kylian Mbappe (€259.2m), Marquinhos Aoás(€89.2m), Neymar (€82.7m) and Houssem Aouar (€69.2m). Osimhen, 21, moved to Lille in August 2019 for a fee of 12 million euros and has a contract with the club until 2024. Victor Osimhen and Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi are the two most ranked Nigerian players. While the former is ranked 66th most expensive player in the world, the later is ranked 94 overall.  Wilfred Ndidi has an estimated value of 49.5 million euros.   Meanwhile, Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah is Africa's highest ranked player with a price tag of €144.9m, followed by liverpool- Senegal winger Sadio Mane (€139.2m), Real...

The English Premier League has confirmed that there were six (6) positive Covid-19 results returned from a total of ​748 tests administered to players and club staff on Sunday and Monday. The tests came from a total of six teams, with the league unable to identify the individuals who tested positive. As part of the league's effort to return to the pitch, it is administering tests on all players and staff with an eye towards a resumption of group training. The Premier League on Monday, announced that teams can return to training in "small groups" as of Tuesdayafter a meeting of shareholders approved the plans. "The Premier League can today confirm that, on Sunday 17 May and Monday 18 May, 748 players and club staff were tested for COVID-19," a statement read. And that out of those tested, six have tested positive from three clubs. "Players or club staff who have tested positive will now self-isolate for a period of seven days.  "The Premier League is pr...