MARTIN O'NEILL STAYS: CELTIC GETS CRUCIAL WIN AS MANAGER SEARCH DRAGS ON
Martin O'Neill's Celtic won a tough 2-1 match at Hibernian, fueled by Maeda and Engels' goals. They are now just two points behind Hearts with a game in hand, keeping O'Neill in charge.
Martin O’Neill’s work with Celtic continues to pay off. They grabbed their fourth straight Premiership win on the road against Hibernian. This victory comes as his time as caretaker continues a bit longer than expected.
The team fought hard for the 2-1 victory. Goals in the first half from Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels helped the champions close the gap to just two points behind Hearts, who are leading the Premiership but have played one more game.
Everyone thought the game at Easter Road would be O’Neill’s last, and Celtic would name Wilfried Nancy as the new manager this Monday.
But the 73-year-old O’Neill said before the game that he got a call on Saturday saying that “the process is still ongoing.” There’s a good chance he’ll still be in charge for Wednesday’s game against Dundee.
Hibs’ manager, David Gray, changed the lineup from the 2-0 loss to Motherwell. Jack Iredale, Dan Barlaser, and Grant Hanley were out, and Jordan Obita, Warren O’Hora, and Miguel Chaiwa took their places.
O’Neill, who stepped in for Brendan Rodgers five weeks ago when Celtic was eight points behind Hearts, only made one change. Marcelo Saracchi played instead of Kieran Tierney after their 3-1 Europa League win against Feyenoord.
Celtic’s Maeda had a goal called back for offside early in the game. Hibs then almost took the lead when Martin Boyle missed an open goal after a good pass from Nicky Cadden.
But Hibs handed Celtic the first goal after 27 minutes. Goalkeeper Raphael Sallinger tried to pass to Chaiwa, but Reo Hatate was right there. Hatate stole the ball, went into the box, and passed to Maeda, who easily scored.
Hibs suddenly found themselves down by two. Yang Hyun-jun sent in a nice cross, and Engels headed it in from close range.
Things got worse for Hibs when Nicky Cadden had to leave the game with an injury. Iredale came on to replace him.
Celtic almost scored again before halftime, but Saracchi’s shot hit the post.
Hibs came back stronger in the second half and got a penalty in the 56th minute.
The referee thought Liam Scales used his arm to block Iredale’s header after looking at VAR. Boyle scored the penalty, sending the ball past the goalkeeper.
Hibs tried to tie the game, but Celtic held on, thanks to a good save from Schmeichel on Chris Cadden’s shot. Celtic is now closer to catching Hearts.
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.