Sports Daily

John Maduka who coaches Royal AM in South Africa’s DStv Premiership side, says his side still stands a good chance to finish in the top eight despite missing out on a chance to move up the table following a 1-1 draw with Lamontville Golden Arrows on Saturday. The result took Royal to 12th position on the table with 29 points from 23 matches. “If you see the way the log is, it is possible. It's all up to us. We need to be persistent, take one game at a time, showing that we want to win games. Maduka told Super sport.com on Saturday. Royal have seven games remaining to fulfill their top eight ambitions with a home match against Orlando Pirates next up on Sunday.

Jude Bellingham scored a late winner as Real Madrid beat Barcelona to move 11 points clear at the top of La Liga after an enthralling El Clasico. Bellingham smashed into the roof of the net as the clock ticked into stoppage time as Real twice came from behind at the Bernabeu. Andres Christensen scored the opener for Barcelona but a Vinicius Jr penalty had the game level at half-time. Fermin Lopez made it 2-1 to Barca before Lucas Vazquez equalised again. The victory puts Real firmly on track to reclaim the title with just six games left to play this season. The win extends Real's unbeaten record across all competitions to 28 matches - winning 22 and drawing six - with their last loss at home coming against Villarreal on 8 April 2023.

  Dedza Dynamos draw 1-1 with Silver Strikers in TNM Super League at Dedza Stadium. The hosts took the lead through Victor Lungu  in the 39th minute and maintained their advantage until the 75th minute when Silver Strikers  Charles Chipala, formerly of Dedza, restored parity. Dedza remains in 14th place with two points on the league table, while the bankers are on 2nd place with 7 points.  In other matches defending champions FCB Nyasa Big Bullets secured their first win of the 2024 TNM Super League season by defeating Chitipa United 3-0 at Karonga Stadium. Babatunde Adepoju opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, followed by Ephraim Kondowe in the 78th minute and Patrick Mwaungulu sealed the victory in the 81st minute. With this victory, the Bullets have climbed to sixth place on the league table with five points from three matches, level with Kamuzu Barracks in 5th place, separated only by goal difference. Mighty Tigers secured a 1-0 victory over Mzuzu Hammers, with Bright Ntondagowa

  Naby Keita has been suspended by Werder Bremen until the end of the season and given a substantial fine  after refusing to travel with the team for Sunday's Bundesliga game at Bayer Leverkusen. The club said after Keita found out he would not start the match he "decided to go home instead". Werder Bremen lost 5-0 as Leverkusen were crowned Bundesliga champions. The Guinea international will not train with the team or be part of the first-team dressing room as part of his punishment. He joined Werder in June 2023 after five seasons at Liverpool but has made only five league appearances for the German side, and just one start.

  Click the link to watch a video   https://youtu.be/oo5KQARn-nY?si=jfjUqNpA4Uv2QOTl "The feeling is incredible" Xabi Alonso said  after Bayer Leverkusen won their first Bundesliga title with five games to spare thanks to a 5-0 victory over Werder Bremen. Bayern Munich beat Cologne on Saturday to keep Leverkusen's title celebrations on hold for at least a day. But there were scenes of jubilation for Alonso's team when the final whistle blew at BayArena on Sunday.  Alonso said that they have to enjoy and celebrate  with their families, friends and fans, he  showered with beer after the victory in a German tradition. He said it was his first time to be a coach in full season and he add that  the feeling is incredible. Victor Boniface's 25th-minute penalty set Leverkusen on their way before Granit Xhaka and Florian Wirtz scored stunning goals in quick succession. Supporters stormed on to the pitch in mid-match when star man Wirtz added a fourth in the 82nd minute, an

  Silver strikers are on top of the TNM Super League after smashing Bangwe All Stars 3-1 at Silver Stadium in Lilongwe. They played two games and have six points so far. The Central Bankers have 5 goals scored and conceded a single goal in all two games. Creck Sporting Club are on second place. They played two games and have six points, they scored 6 goals and conceded 2 in all games that they played in the league so far. Creck beat Moyare Barracks yesterday by 3-2 from behind at Civil Stadium in Lilongwe. In other matches Might Mukuru Wanderers destroy fomo FC by 3-0 at Mulanje park stadium while Chitipa united punish Karonga united by 4-1 at Karonga stadium. Nomads are on position 4, with 4 points, Chitipa are on 6th with 3 points, Karonga are on 8th with 3 points, Fomo are 9th with 3 points while Bangwe are on bottom of the table.

Click the link to watch a video  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r5mtnGyHgOI Ipswich Town missed the chance to go three points clear at the top of the Championship as they drew 1-1 at home to Middlesbrough. Middlesbrough took a lead at 20 minute through Latte Lath assisted by Ayling. Ipswich Town fight back and they managed to level the game through Luongo at 30 minute of the game assisted by Davis. Jeremy Sarmiento hit the post for Town soon after the equaliser while Omari Hutchinson had a good effort early in the second half. The draw puts Ipswich one point clear at the top of the table with three games to play after Leeds United were beaten by Blackburn in Saturday's early kick-off while Leicester City lost 1-0 at Plymouth Argyle on Friday night. The Tractor Boys have 89 points from 43 games, Leicester are second on 88 points from 42 matches while Leeds are on 87 points from 43 fixtures.

Mzuzu City Hammers have bought a 32 seater bus worth K 35 million.The bus is expected to be in the country on May 17 this year.  This was disclosed in Mzuzu during the official ceremony of Betika Malawi Limited as the club’s kit sponsors worth K 30 million.  Mzuzu City Hammers chairperson Gift Mkandawire said they obtained a K 45 Million loan from Nyasa Capital Finance for the purchase of the bus to cut costs on transportation.  Betika Malawi Country Manager, Gift Govati challenged the Hammers to improve their performance in the super league for the betting company to fully takeover the club.   They have signed a three year contract which will among others see the company giving a Player of the Month reward of K200, 000 to motivate the players.

Defending champions FCB Nyasa Big Bullets dropped points for the second consecutive match after a goal-less draw against Mighty Wakawaka Tigers at Kamuzu Stadium. The draw comes few days after Bullets were also held to a 1- 1 in their opening match against Dedza Dynamos last week at Dedza stadium. Mzuzu City Hammers moved top of the TNM Super League log table with six points after smashed Baka city 2-1 at Mzuzu stadium. Hammer's won all 2 matches that they played so far. In other matches Civil Service United beat Dedza Dynamos 3-0 at Civo Stadium while MAFCO and Kamudzu Barracks share points after 1-1 draw at Chitowe Stadium.

  The 2023 edition of the National Women’s Championship will be played for one week from 22 to 28 April 2024, with the participation of ten teams from each region of Malawi. The  Champions of the tournament will represent Malawi at the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League COSAFA Qualifier that will be held in South Africa this year. The Championship will be played on a knockout basis, this is according to The Football Associated of Malawi. The champions will bag K8 million while the runner-up will bag K4 million. For the individual brilliance of players and coaches, they will be rewarded with K100,000. Each of the ten qualifying teams will receive   K1 million during the second playoffs and quarterfinals. The four semifinalists will also pocket K1 Million each. The  teams that will participate in the tournament are Ntopwa , FCB Nyasa Big Bullets Women, Civil Service Women, MDF Lioness, Ascent Academy,Moyale Sisters, MK Academy, Wanderers Queens and Silver Ladies.

  Click the link to watch a video  https://youtu.be/JqRKs7byx-0?si=0BhHrlO0AYTnY689   Ronaldo clashed with Ali Al-Bulaihi near the touchline, when the Al-Hilal player tried to stop him from taking a quick throw in. At that time Al-Nassr were down by 2-0. The pair appeared to square up with the ball out of play with footage showing Ronaldo putting out an elbow towards the defender, and another clip showing what appeared to be a stamp on the player, although the footage on that one is not clear. It is not the first incident involving the forward that has happened this year, in February, Ronaldo was suspended for a match by appearing to make an obscene gesture during the end of Al-Nassr’s win over Al-Shabab. The fans were chanting for his rival Lionel Messi, and Ronaldo reacted and was suspended for a match and subject to a fine.

  Click the link to watch a video   https://m.youtube.com/watch? v=uq4KqC3obJY Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes Real Madrid will be determined to get revenge after they thrashed them on their way to winning last season's Champions League. The Citizens beat Madrid 5-1 on aggregate in Champions League semi-finals. Guardiola has no doubt Real  will pose a tough test in Tuesday's quarter-final first leg in Madrid. Guardiola say that it is very difficult for the same thing to happen again, beating Real Madrid twice in a row is impossible. And he add that Real have learned and will want revenge. Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti wants his side to show more mental strength than they did when the two sides met last season.

 Click the link to watch a video   https://youtu.be/EuTDudXNNUQ?si=2xSma1AEhDD03WtG Calvert converted a late penalty at 88 minute as Everton gained a very important point in their battle to avoid relegation with a draw against Newcastle.  Newcastle get the lead at 15th minute through their striker Alexander Isak when he collected Harvey Barnes' ball over the Everton defence. On 87 minute Paul Dummett had his arm around Ashley Young's neck and pulled him to the ground in penalty box. Referee Tony Harrington had not given a penalty at first, but was advised by the video assistant referee to watch the incident on a VAR monitoring screen,  then the penalty was given. Now Everton is on position 16 with 26 points, 30 games played while Newcastle united is on 8th place with 44 points, 30 games played.

Adidas has banned fans from buying German football kits customised with the number 44, after media raised their resemblance to the symbol used by World War Two-era Nazi SS units. The symbolism issue was first raised by historian Michael König, who said the design of the kits was very questionable. Adidas spokesman Oliver Brüggen denied that the kit's resemblance to the Nazi symbols was intentional. The SS rune was designed in 1929 for use by the Nazi units. Members of the SS ranged from Gestapo agents to concentration camp guards. SS duties included administering death camps where millions of Jews and others were put to death. Adidas separately told the the media that the German Football Association (DFB) and its partners had designed the numbers on the shirts. The same kit has met additional controversy for its choice of bright pink as the away colour. Supporters say the colour represents the country's diversity. But critics claim it is untraditional and has been introduced in