Chelsea ease to win over Everton

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Defending champions Chelsea made it two Premier League wins in a row with a routine 2-0 success against Everton at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.Chelsea 2 Everton 0Fabregas breaks deadlock in first halfMorata doubles Blues' lead before HTToffees fail to take second-half chances

Match Summary

The hosts, in dominant form throughout the match, opened the scoring in the 27th minute when Cesc Fabregas played a one-two with Alvaro Morata to get free in the box and slot past Jordan Pickford.

The Blues sealed the win in the 39th minute when Cesar Azpilicueta picked out Morata in the box and the Spaniard headed home.

Full Report

Antonio Conte's side were expected to dominate the game and created their first chance when Marcos Alonso managed to find space on the left wing and fed Morata but the Spanish striker's shot was blocked.

In the ninth minute Willian managed to skip away from Phil Jagielka and fed Morata, who in turn managed to pass to Pedro and his compatriot attempted an audacious overhead-kick which went over the crossbar.

The Everton defence backed off Willian two minutes later after he was fed by Morata but his shot was deflected off Jagielka for a corner. From the resultant corner, David Luiz was found on the left wing and the Brazilian defender's shot was well saved by Pickford.

The England keeper was in action shortly afterwards again when Pedro managed to find space and fired a low shot that was dealt with.

The hosts dominated in both chances and possession and opened the scoring in the 27th minute after Fabregas played a one-two with Morata and guided the ball past Pickford into the bottom-left corner of the goal with the outside of his foot.

Chances were few for the visitors and new signing Gylfi Sigurdsson had an attempt from range which went well wide of the goal. 

In the 39th minute, the Blues doubled their lead when Azpilicueta crossed the ball from the right side and Morata found space in the middle to steer his header beyond Pickford.

The hosts started the second half as they finished the first and Pedro came close to adding to the lead as he looked to bend a shot into the goal but it went narrowly wide.

Ronald Koeman's men nearly pulled a goal back in the 50th minute when Rooney managed to break away and play in Sandro Ramirez but his shot was blocked by Antonio Rudiger. 

In the 58th minute Pedro drove into the box, skipping past a couple of Everton defenders, but his shot went wide of the right-hand post. Victor Moses was played into the box by Morata moments later but he shot straight at Pickford.

The Toffees broke from a Chelsea corner in the 69th minute when Dominic Calvert-Lewin won possession and the ball eventually found its way to Rooney, who mistimed his volley to see the ball trickle out for a goal-kick.

Chelsea brought Timoue Bakayoko on for his home debut and the midfielder nearly had a goal when Willian managed to cut the ball back to him after breaking through the defence but his shot was well blocked by Mohamed Besic.

In the 80th minute Rooney crossed the ball in from a free-kick which eventually found its way to Ashley Williams, who acrobatically volleyed it just over the bar.

The Merseysiders had their best chance of the match in the 84th minute when Sigurdsson hooked the ball into the box from the left and it was met by Williams, but the Welshman's header went just wide.

Thibaut Courtois was finally called to make a save three minutes from time when Everton counter-attacked and Idrissa Gueye volleyed on goal, but saw the ball deflected for a corner.

Di Francesco: Roma deserved to win

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Eusebio Di Francesco says that his side were the better team in the 3-1 defeat even though Roma lost their shape to allow Inter several scoring chances on Saturday.

The Giallorossi may have opened the scoring and hit the woodwork on three occasions but this was not enough to overcome an Inter side that simply made better use of the opportunities they created.

Edin Dzeko put the hosts in front early in the first half but within the space of twenty minutes in the second half, a brace from Mauro Icardi and a third from Matias Vecino dashed the Rome club’s hopes of a crucial win.

Speaking after the match, Di Francesco remained positive, saying that he is pleased with his side's performance and stating that the result would have been different if luck had been on their side.

"The ball hits the post and either goes in or out. It did with us three times. You need a bit of luck in this game and Inter had quite a lot of it tonight," he told Mediaset Premium.

"At the same time, we made naive errors, especially on the equaliser, as that was the goal that changed everything. We created so many chances and didn't convert them. Last week everyone complained we were too dull and didn’t create chances, this time they'll complain we didn't finish them off.

"The fact remains that for 70 minutes, Roma were not just good, but great. We were fantastic in every way, often pressed to win back possession in their half and cause all sorts of problems.

"It's a pity about the result because I know journalists will only look at that, but I have to examine the performance and in that case, I saw definite steps forward. If there was one team that deserved to win and have a two-goal advantage, it was Roma and that’s all there is to it."

(UPDATED) Buhari Meets With State Governors

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The President, Muhammadu Buhari, has met with the 36 state governors.
This follows an earlier meeting between the members of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The President via his twitter handle said, “Today’s Meeting with PDP & APC was not a political gathering, but a symbol of our unity and an expression of the maturity of our democracy”
“Opposition does not mean hostility, enmity or antagonism. Democracy needs opposition, one which is vibrant but responsible.”
In his address to the governors, the President commended the leadership style of the governors, saying he was pleased with the work they have done so far to improve the welfare of their various states.
Read the full speech below:
“I have just addressed members of APC and PDP senior officials that came to welcome me back. I thank you very much for the national approach in your leadership, those who are leaders at political level and those who are chief executives in their respective states. I had so much time to watch television NTA 24, I heard so much information about the states. I am very pleased with the states, you are all doing your best and you are lucky your best is proving to be good enough in agriculture and solid minerals. You are succeeding in agriculture because I think people cannot afford foreign food.
“The valuation of the Naira is not our making. It may not favour us but is something we cannot change. Some people were asking me if we should be more strict on the borders … but I want to thank God last year and this year is better than what it used to be.
“The efforts by the vice president is commendable. He used his intellect to run all over the place. I was seeing him 24 hours on NTA. I congratulate them and I allowed him to come and see me to thank him personally for what he has done.
“I’m very happy with the national prayers it was well covered and reported, across religions and ethnicity, people were praying. In fact some groups in London came and sang the national anthem and asked that I should go back home, indeed I have come back home. I hope those who went there are not stuck there, they will come back and join us … those that are stuck there with the Brexit, I hope they have weighed the implications that it won’t affect them including those that have properties there, those who are not paying tax here, I hope when they sell their property there they will bring some of the money here. We need it very badly here.
“I thank you very much. My morale has been raised greatly by the love shown to me and the security of the country.”

Neuer excited by Bayern's UCL draw

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The draw for the group stages of the competition was made on Thursday with the five-time European champions drawing the three sides. The Bavarians face Anderlecht on 12 September in their opening game at the Allianz Arena, while PSG take on Celtic in Glasgow.

Nonetheless, Neuer, who has been battling with some injuries in recent times and is yet to feature for Carlo Ancelotti's side in 2017/18, says he is looking forward to facing the three teams.

He told the club's official website: "It's an interesting draw. PSG is, of course, a cracker, I've never played them before so am really looking forward to it. I'll also be facing Celtic for the first time.

"Celtic Park is known for its amazing atmosphere so this draw gets me excited for the fans too. Anderlecht aren't easy opponents either and we can't underestimate them. They've claimed some big scalps in the past so we have to ready for that."

 

Barca announce Dembele capture

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The highly-coveted 20-year-old French international is yet to sign a contract or complete his medical, but the Spanish side have come to agreement with their German counterparts.

A statement from Barca read: "FC Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund have reached an agreement for the transfer of Ousmane Dembele for 105 million euros plus add-ons. 

"The player will sign a five year contract and his buy out-clause is set at 400 million euros.

"Dembele will arrive in Barcelona on Sunday and he will undergo a medical on Monday morning local time. Shortly, more details of the running order of the player’s presentation on Monday will be available."

Dembele's signing goes a significant way to reduce the gap left by Neymar's €222m departure to Paris Saint-German, and he take the Brazilian's number 11 jersey.

Barcelona clearly rate their new signing, with part of their statement reading: "Ousmane Dembele is one of the best young players in the world. The French winger stands out for his pace, ability to beat men and versatility. 

"He can play on either wing in attack and is known for his great dribbling (last season he carried 103 successful dribbles, more than anyone else in the Bundesliga)."

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The highly-coveted 20-year-old French international is yet to sign a contract or complete his medical, but the Spanish side have come to agreement with their German counterparts.

A statement from Barca read: "FC Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund have reached an agreement for the transfer of Ousmane Dembele for 105 million euros plus add-ons. 

"The player will sign a five year contract and his buy out-clause is set at 400 million euros.

"Dembele will arrive in Barcelona on Sunday and he will undergo a medical on Monday morning local time. Shortly, more details of the running order of the player’s presentation on Monday will be available."

Dembele's signing goes a significant way to reduce the gap left by Neymar's €222m departure to Paris Saint-German, and he take the Brazilian's number 11 jersey.

Barcelona clearly rate their new signing, with part of their statement reading: "Ousmane Dembele is one of the best young players in the world. The French winger stands out for his pace, ability to beat men and versatility. 

"He can play on either wing in attack and is known for his great dribbling (last season he carried 103 successful dribbles, more than anyone else in the Bundesliga)."

BREAKING: Buhari Meets With APC, PDP Leaders In Abuja

The President via his twitter handle said, “Today’s Meeting with PDP & APC was not a political gathering, but a symbol of our unity and an expression of the maturity of our democracy”.

The APC delegation was led by the Chairman of the Party John Odigie Oyegun, Former Senate President Ken Nnamani, Former Information Minister Tony Momoh, Former Governor of Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva, Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, among others.

While for the PDP, was the Chairman, Caretaker committee of the Party Ahmed Markarfi, Senator Ben Obi, Senator Stella Omu, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, and Professor T. Adeniran.

The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo was also in attendance.

This is the first meeting bringing both parties together since the inception of the Buhari administration.