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Borno govt allocates N1.6 billion for rehabilitation of 33 hit by floods
Growth will be back on track by March: Piyush GoyalTitle: Alibaba Data Center Fire: Official Response Claims No Casualties, Blaze Extinguished
Not for the first time, there is panic in the Manchester United defence. Bukayo Saka is walking towards the corner and Nicolas Jover is positioned on the touchline. Rasmus Hojlund is holding onto William Saliba as if he is grasping onto a log while tumbling down a rapidly moving river. The Emirates senses the opportunity and understands what is happening: there is a queue of towering Arsenal players stationed at the back post and the United defenders are wearing expressions of grave concern. Suddenly, in a box of moving shadows, danger lay around every corner, every decoy became a target. Seconds later, Ruben Amorim was in the dugout rubbing his face, as what should have been a cohesive, organised block unravelled into strands. “The set pieces changed the game,” Amorim admitted. On a night where Arsenal initially didn’t look like scoring from open play, Mikel Arteta ’s side won due to two goals from corners to move within seven points of Liverpool . In all of this, United became the latest victims of Arsenal's not-so-secret weapon. Since the start of last season, no team in Europe has scored more goals from corners than their 22. “Set-piece again, ole, ole, ole,” was the song ringing around the Emirates. The tally may have increased further. “We could've scored more and I'm very pleased with that,” said Arteta, as the visitors imploded against the dead-ball, in a crisis of in-game management and on-pitch leadership. The wicked deliveries from Declan Rice and Saka, hit with such precision, pace and consistency, gives Arsenal a clear edge over their opponents. Amorim and United were aware of Arsenal’s record from corners but were powerless to stop it. The Portuguese agreed that Arsenal’s corners were the best he had faced as a coach. “Every team have had problems with that,” he said. The threat was clear long before Jurrien Timber’s opening goal. After the breakthrough, every corner became a moment, as the Arsenal fans rose to cheer every run-up while United crumbled. It fed into a sense of inevitability. Even the delay as Rice or Saka walk to the corner flag gives Arsenal time to slow down and orchestrate their chosen routine, as the set-piece coach Jover emerges on the sideline and the excitement grows. Arteta spoke of the “connection” and “belief” in the stadium that makes defending corners even “more difficult for the opposition”. There was satisfaction, too, that they had managed to be so effective without their most imposing target in Gabriel Magalhaes. Amorim had warned the “storm” was coming. United, it turned out, couldn’t handle a rainy Wednesday night at the Emirates. “We have to improve, like in every area,” Amorim said. United appeared shaky and vulnerable to the inswinging deliveries, which was in complete contrast to how they were structured defensively in open play. The corners kept coming, too, reaching 13 by full-time, as Amorim highlighted why Saka and Gabriel Martinelli often opt to go around the outside of their full-back if the inside route is shut down. “They know that if the cross goes well, they can score, and if it is a corner they can score, too,” he suggested. It was noticeable that this was one of several statements regarding Arsenal’s record from corners that Arteta did not completely agree with post-match. Arsenal have become so efficient from set-pieces because the club needed to “maximise” all areas of their preparation and performance in order to challenge Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City for the title, but the Spaniard does not want other elements of his team to be overlooked. Arsenal have not suddenly turned into Stoke City under Tony Pulis - at the least, Arteta does not want any comparisons. “We want to be very dangerous and very effective from every angle and every phase of play,” he said. “Last year we scored the most goals in the history of this football club, not because of only set-pieces but because of a lot of things that we have. We want to create individual and magic moments, too." But against United, Arsenal’s goals from corners were those magic, game-changing moments. United had denied and frustrated Arsenal at first with their shape and work rate off the ball. The double full-backs of Noussair Mazraoui and Tyrell Malacia were initially effective against Saka and Martin Odegaard, who was blocked from getting into his usual zones of influence. Amorim was convinced it was working as he returned into the dressing room at half-time. “You could feel it in the stadium,” he said. “We managed to control moments.” The breakthrough, flicked in Timber, came down to the accuracy of Rice’s cross and hitting the perfect spot at the near-post. From a short run-up, he bypassed two United players in Bruno Fernandes and Hojlund, having just enough dip to find Timber’s run. Rice explained his approach. “It's more just seeing clips and I know the weight I need to put on the ball and it's just about repetition,” he said. “I put a few good balls in and could've had a couple of assists so it was nice to get one.” By then, the whole stadium sensed United’s vulnerability. Arsenal hit the bar from Rice’s cross from the right, with goalkeeper Andre Onana exposed again. Even when United made the first contract at the near post, Joshua Zirkzee came close to directing Rice’s delivery inside the far post. Mikel Merino headed wide, from another Saka cross that was hung up towards the back as United second guessed themselves. There was a great piece of reinvention for Arsenal’s second, too. In the first half, Saka’s crosses had been directed right under Onana’s crossbar, causing jittery flaps and punches, along with a blocked shot from Oleksandr Zinchenko and a glaring miss from Martinelli. Then, with United’s front-post defence prepared for the train of Arsenal shirts, Saka hung a beautiful booming ball towards the back. Thomas Partey nodded across for Saliba to tap in, as Hojlund grasped. Arsenal, by then, needed it. They had threatened in the first half, but only from their corners. But when Arsenal are frustrated, they now have a back-up plan. Arsenal are not a set-piece team, but their work in becoming the best in Europe certainly paid off as they maintained their momentum in the title race.
Ultimately, Carles Puyol's words serve as a valuable reminder that while learning from the best practices of European football can be beneficial, Chinese football must chart its own course and forge its own path. By embracing its unique strengths, nurturing young talent with care and consideration, and fostering a culture of inclusivity and innovation, Chinese football can realize its full potential and make a lasting impact on the global football landscape.
In the wake of this tragedy, many are calling for greater transparency and regulation in the beauty and influencer industries, urging influencers to prioritize their health and well-being over external appearances. The loss of Liu Dabeili serves as a sobering reminder that behind the filters and perfectly curated images, there are real people with real struggles and vulnerabilities.
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Thomas Brown insists he's focused on the job at hand and not the one he might have down the line. His immediate task as the interim coach of the Chicago Bears is helping the team finish strong over the final five games, starting this weekend at San Francisco. The rest of his life can wait. “I think about just the moment. ... I obviously understand the role that I'm in, understand what might come with it," he said Wednesday. "But I also understand that we make most situations bigger than what it has to be because of the outside noise, what everybody else puts a value on it.” The Bears are in a moment unlike any other in the history of the founding NFL franchise. They fired a head coach for the first time during a season when they let Matt Eberflus go on Friday with a 4-8 record and the team in a six-game losing streak marked by head-scratching decisions. They promoted Brown, who in a span of three weeks went from passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator and now the person in charge. The tipping point was a 23-20 loss at Detroit on Thanksgiving, when the Bears let the clock run down rather than call a timeout following a sack. It led to Caleb Williams throwing an incomplete pass from the Lions 41 as time expired when Chicago should have been able to run more than one play. Star cornerback Jaylon Johnson interrupted Eberflus' postgame speech and made his feelings clear. Other players had gone public in recent weeks with their frustrations over the coaching decisions, and they didn't exactly hide their emotions following the Detroit game. On Wednesday, defensive end DeMarcus Walker said he sensed a change was coming after the loss to the Lions. “You guys just look at the whole turnaround, how everything had been going, we just knew some changes were going to be made,” he said. The 38-year-old Brown now has a huge opportunity. He spent last season as Carolina's offensive coordinator and the previous three on Sean McVay's staff with the Los Angeles Rams — the final two as assistant head coach. Prior to that, he spent nine years as a college assistant, including stops at Wisconsin, Georgia, Miami and South Carolina. It's his job to help right a team that came into the season thinking a playoff spot was in reach. Williams' development obviously will be front and center. To that end, the No. 1 overall draft pick has looked more comfortable in the three games since Brown took over for the fired Shane Waldron as offensive coordinator, completing 75 of 117 passes for 827 yards with five touchdowns, no interceptions and a rating of 99.2. Though Brown will continue to call plays, the Bears have another new offensive coordinator in wide receivers coach Chris Beatty. “I think it is a stepping stone actually with my development because I think down the line I’ll have different OCs or different head coaches or whatever the case may be,” Williams said. “And so being able to handle it my first year, handle a new playbook, handle all these different changes, handle all of this I think it definitely will help the development instead of hurting it or anything like that.” Beyond the development of the prized quarterback, Brown also will be judged during his audition for the regular job on his preparation, decisions during games and command of the locker room. He said he reached out to each player individually on Friday and Saturday and tried to set a tone when the team met on Monday. “I want them to be excellent,” Brown said. “I can nitpick at every single play and tell a guy how he wasn’t perfect. And, so, perfection’s not the goal. It’s to excel at your craft.” Notes: The Bears had a lengthy injury report on Wednesday. WRs Keenan Allen (ankle) and DJ Moore (quad), RBs D'Andre Swift (quad) and Roschon Johnson (concussion), DB Elijah Hicks (ankle) and OL Ryan Bates (concussion) all missed practice. S Kevin Byard (shoulder) and OLs Darnnell Wright (knee) and Coleman Shelton (knee) were limited. AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Fewer US grandparents are taking care of grandchildren, according to new dataThe Sun: Manchester United to Abolish Sporting Director Role; Arsenal Keeping Tabs on Ashworth
Tokyo, Japan - Ricoh Group, a global leader in imaging and electronics, has once again been recognized for its commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility. The company has received a coveted five-star rating in the 2024 Nikkei Sustainable Development Index, marking the sixth consecutive year that Ricoh has achieved this prestigious accolade.
The dollar has soared since Trump's election win. Here's what that means for your wallet.Looking ahead, Tor's journey in professional football is full of promise and potential. With his talent, work ethic, and the backing of a prestigious club like Bayern Munich, he is poised to make a significant impact in the years to come. As he continues to grow and develop, Tor's statistics of 0 goals and 0 assists at this stage of the season are merely a snapshot of his progress, rather than a definitive judgment of his abilities.
Overall, the introduction of the S-Class super handsome male character in "Extinction Zone Zero" has injected a fresh energy into the game, enticing both new and veteran players to delve deeper into its world and discover all the secrets it has to offer. With the promise of more surprises and updates on the horizon, players can't wait to see what other exciting developments await them in the game.
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