FAN MISCONDUCT: ANALYZING DONYELL MALEN STRUCK IN HEAD BY PROJECTILE
Aston Villa's Donyell Malen was struck on the head by a projectile thrown by Young Boys fans, but scored two first-half goals in a fiery Europa League match at Villa Park.
During Thursday night's Aston Villa match against Young Boys, Donyell Malen took a hit to the head from a projectile. Earlier, Malen scored at Villa Park in the 27th minute.
Youri Tielemans passed the ball to Malen near the box, and Malen scored with a close-range header. But as he celebrated near the away end, fans threw things at him.
As Malen's teammates looked confused, one of the objects hit Malen in the head, and he ducked to avoid further injury. Morgan Rogers was also hit in the stomach but was unharmed.
TNT Sports commentator Sam Matterface commented on the situation: The Europa League is Donyell Malen's playground, but he won't be happy about the items being thrown at him by the Swiss fans.
Despite the cups and drinks thrown at him, he's celebrating his 11th Europa League goal in 19 games.
Matterface added that Malen was cut on the head, and the referee was going to take action.
Luckily, Malen's injury wasn't serious, and he returned to the game, scoring again before halftime. After Rogers passed him the ball, Malen made his way into the box and scored past Marvin Keller.
Play was briefly stopped as tensions rose again. Young Boys captain Loris Benito spoke to the fans to try and calm them down. Matterface noted that the fans who threw cups might regret their actions.
The club will likely be fined for their fans' actions. The police are now dealing with the fans, trying to break up fights. It's not what we want to see at football games.
There's a line of police in front of the away section as people throw punches and other objects at them. It's a bad situation that seems to be calming down, but it's left a mark on the game.
Matterface mentioned tensions flared up again as people were removed from the violent scenes, and seats were ripped out. The police eventually regained control, and the game continued.
CAPTAIN WILFRED NDIDI SUSPENDED AS NIGERIA PREPARE FOR MASSIVE MOROCCO SEMI-FINAL
Nigeria faces Morocco in a high-stakes AFCON semi-final! With Ndidi out, can Osimhen and Lookman lead the Eagles to the final?
Nobody really expected Nigeria to make it this far. After those rough World Cup qualifier results, most people just wrote them off. But honestly, that disappointment seems to have lit a fire under the Super Eagles. Now they’re flying—still the only team left in the tournament with a perfect record, fresh off a 2–0 win over Algeria in the quarter-finals.
Head coach Eric Chelle keeps saying his players finally get what he wants from them tactically, and it shows. If they win the semi-final, Nigeria heads to their ninth AFCON final—and their second in a row.
But it won’t be easy. They’re facing a team that’s beaten them three out of the last four times at this stage. Chelle needs his goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, to keep his head and not get caught up in the drama, especially with the crowd likely to be hostile. Even though laser pointers are banned, you know how these things go.
At the back, Calvin Bassey from Fulham has really stepped up since William Troost-Ekong suddenly retired. He’s formed a solid partnership with Semi Ajayi. Bruno Onyemaechi has made the left-back spot his own.
They’re still waiting to see if Bright Osayi-Samuel will be fit after he had to come off against Algeria. Early signs look good, though, so he could be ready to face Morocco.
Midfield’s a bit tricky now that captain Wilfred Ndidi is suspended after picking up four yellow cards. But Raphael Onyedika, who’s already scored twice in this tournament, looks set to slot in next to Frank Onyeka and a fired-up Alex Iwobi. Both Onyeka and Iwobi have seriously raised their game over the last few matches.
Up front, Nigeria looks as dangerous as ever. Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen—both former African Footballers of the Year—are flanking Akor Adams. The three of them have combined for 17 goals and assists in just five matches, which is pretty incredible.
Probable lineup for Nigeria:
Nwabali; Osayi-Samuel, Ajayi, Bassey, Onyemaechi; Onyeka, Onyedika, Iwobi; Lookman, Adams, Osimhen
TITLE HOPES VANISH: CRISTIANO RONALDO SCORES BUT AL NASSR COLLAPSE IN 3-1 DERBY DEFEAT
Cristiano Ronaldo’s 16th goal of the season was cancelled out by a disastrous second half as 10-man Al Nassr lost 3-1 to Al Hilal.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s time in Saudi Arabia just keeps getting tougher. Al Nassr blew a one-goal lead and lost 3-1 to Al Hilal, which probably kills off any lingering hope they had of winning the league this season. Ronaldo did his part—he scored right before halftime—but the second half was a disaster. It’s been three years since Ronaldo moved to the Middle East, and he still hasn’t picked up any major trophies. Now, after 14 games, Al Nassr trails Al Hilal by seven points.
Things just keep getting worse for Al Nassr. Not long after a rough home defeat to Al Qadsiah, they faced Al Hilal, who sit atop the table. In the first half, Al Nassr actually looked sharp, creating six chances to Al Hilal’s single shot. Kingsley Coman and Ronaldo both looked lively, and it was the 40-year-old who struck first, lashing in his 16th goal of the season after a slick pass from Coman in the 42nd minute.
But then it all unravelled almost instantly after the break. Mohamed Simakan tripped Malcom in the box, and Salem Al Dawsari smashed home the penalty in the 57th minute. Moments later, chaos—Al Hilal’s Ruben Neves went down holding his face after clashing with keeper Nawaf Al Aqidi. The referee showed Al Aqidi a yellow, but VAR changed it to red for violent conduct, which left Al Nassr a man down for the last half hour.
With nine minutes left, Mohamed Kanno pounced and finished from close range, piling on the misery. Just to make things worse, Neves slotted home a penalty in stoppage time after Ali Al Hassan fouled Al Dawsari. That’s three straight losses for Al Nassr now. Their last win? Way back on December 27.
As for the standout, Ruben Neves was everywhere. He set up Kanno’s goal, drew the red card that changed the game, and then scored the final penalty himself. Al-Dawsari and Kanno got the goals that mattered, but Neves was the difference.
And the biggest culprit? Keeper Nawaf Al Aqidi. Sure, Simakan and Al Hassan gave away penalties, but Al Aqidi’s reckless red card was the turning point. With mistakes like that, it’s hard to see Ronaldo and Al Nassr clawing their way back into the title race.