Pundit Digest: Conte Humbled, Super Eagles Arrive Cameroon + More

In today’s edition of Pundit Daily Digest, Conte has a sour homecoming, Barca, Madrid advance in Copa del Rey, Super Eagles arrive Cameroon and more.

It’s another edition of Pundit Daily Digest and it promises to be as entertaining as ever. Let’s take a look at the trendiest football news from around the world.

1. Conte Humbled In Stamford Bridge Return

Tottenham boss Antonio Conte was humbled on his return to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night for the League Cup tie against Chelsea.

Spurs lost the first leg of the  semifinal by a 2-0 scoreline as the Blues proved too hot to handle.

It was not a happy return for Conte who admitted that his side were outclassed and that Chelsea were the much better team.

Check out his post match reaction here.

2. La Liga Big Boys Cruise In Copa Del Rey

As predicted, it was one-way traffic for La Liga teams in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday with majority of them winning their respective ties.

Valencia, Mallorca and Real Sociedad were the first to race to an expected win over their opposition.

Heavyweights Barcelona and Real Madrid also won their matches with Barca needing a comeback to win while Los Blancos won theirs comfortably.

Copa del Rey results

Cartagena 1-2 Valencia
Eibar 1-2 Mallorca
Leganes 2-3 Real Sociedad
Linares 1-2 Barcelona
Baleares 2-1 Celta Vigo
Mirandes 0-1 Rayo Vallecano
Valladolid 0-3 Betis
Alcoyano 1-3 Real Madrid

3. Liverpool vs Arsenal Match Postponed

The match between Arsenal and Liverpool scheduled for Thursday has been postponed due to covid-19 outbreak in the Liverpool squad.

The Reds had earlier announced that an appeal was submitted to the EFL for the game to be postponed because of the rising cases within the club.

Assistant Pep Lijnders who had filled in for Klopp after he tested positive, was reported to have tested positive as well.

The club was forced to closed their first-team training centre and cancelled their prematch conference scheduled to hold on Wednesday.

4. “Morata Is Staying” – Allegri

Barcelona’s pursuit of Alvaro Morata has taken a dent as Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri announced that the striker would not be leaving the club in January.

Speaking at the prematch conference ahead of the clash with Napoli on Thursday, the Juventus boss revealed that he had spoken to the striker and has convinced him to stay.

“Álvaro Morata stays here,” he said. “He’s not leaving in January. I had a face-to-face meeting with Álvaro and told him “you’re 100% staying”.”

Morata is on loan to Juventus from Atletico Madrid and Barcelona were hoping to secure his services as they plan to strengthen their squad in the transfer window.

However, now they’ve had their hopes dashed and would have to look elsewhere for an alternative.

5. Super Eagles Arrive Cameroon, Ahmed Musa, Ighalo absent

The Super Eagles arrived in Garoua, Cameroon from Abuja via a chartered flight in the early hours of Thursday.

The team left the country at about 11pm on Wednesday night in lieu of prepations for their AFCON opener against Egypt.

Notable absentees as the Super Eagles touched down Cameroon were skipper Ahmed Musa and striker Odion Ighalo.

Musa did not travel with the squad having left the Super Eagles camp following the loss of a family member.

The striker was given permission to leave the team’s camp to be with family members following the incident.

Odion Ighalo on the other hand, may not feature in the tournament at all following the refusal of his Saudi Arabian club, Al-Shabab, to sanction his release.

The NFF are said to be lining up a replacement for Ighalo with Feyenoord forward Cyriel Dessers his likely replacement.

This article was compiled by Muslihat Shaka.

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