News-EPL, Serie A, La Liga - Nigerian footballers. Exclusive match reviews, recap videos and Match of the Week selections curated by My11.

Six-time Ballon d’Or winner, Lionel Messi has joined his long-time rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, as Barcelona crashed out of the UEFA Champions League, following a 1-1 draw with PSG at Le Parc des Princes.

PSG took the lead in the 31st minute after Clement Lenglet brought down Mauro Icardi in the box and Kylian Mbappe slotted in the ball. Messi then scored a stunning goal in the 37th minute. The Barcelona captain then missed a penalty at the end of the first half, as former Real Madrid goalkeeper, Keylor Navas saved the spot-kick.

Barcelona have now crashed out of the Round of 16 for the first time since 2008. Paris Saint-Germain, on the other hand, have now progressed to the quarterfinal of the tournament.

Do you think PSG can win the Champions League?

video source: SuperSport YouTube

A huge 3-2 win away in the first leg was vital for Dortmund, as Sevilla fought hard to get a 2-2 draw at the Signal Iduna Park, but the German side progressed on aggregate.

Erling Braut Haaland scored the opening goal for the home side in the 35th minute. Haaland made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the 54th minute. Youssef En-Nesyri pulled one back for Sevilla from the penalty in the 69th minute. The Moroccan equalized for the Spanish side in the 6th minute of added time, but it was too late for any fight back.

The game ended in stalemate on the day, but Borussia Dortmund qualified 5-4 on aggregate and have progressed to the quarterfinal of the Champions League, while the defending champions of the Europa League have been eliminated.

Do you think Dortmund can win the Champions League?

video source: SuperSport YouTube

Five-time Ballon d'Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo, and his Juventus teammates have crashed out of the UEFA Champions League, following a 3-2 win after extra time at the Allianz Stadium.

The Portuguese side took the lead in the 19th minute after Merih Demiral brought down Mehdi Taremi in the box, and Sergio Oliveira coolly finished from the spot-kick. Federico Chiesa pulled one back for the Old Lady 4 minutes after the restart with a curler inside the box. The Italian then scored a header to give Juve a 2-1 lead in 63rd from a Juan Cuadrado cross. Oliveira then levelled for Porto with a long-range low shot in the 25 minutes into extra time. Adrien Rabiot gave Juventus a 3-2 lead, but the Portuguese side qualified on away goal rule.

Ronaldo's quest to win the Champions League title is gone for this campaign, as Juventus have crashed out of the round of 16 for the second time in a row. Porto, on the other hand, have progressed to the quarterfinal round.

Do you think Juventus will sack Pirlo?

video source: SuperSport YouTube

My11 looks at the biggest performing Nigerians in the world of football at the weekend, and below are the selected Naija superstars.

Simy Nwankwo | The Nigerian looks to have found his scoring boots again, as he was solid in Crotone’s 4-2 win over Torino. He gave 3 key passes in the match. More than any other player and capped his brilliant performance by scoring 2 goals for his side.

Sadiq Umar | The Nigerian Olympic star is enjoying his season in the Spanish second division with Almeria, scoring goals aplenty. At the weekend, he scored another goal, taking his goal tally to 14 league goals for the season.

Paul Onuachu | The lanky striker is the most prolific Naija striker this season with incredible numbers so far this campaign. In Genk’s 2-0 victory over the weekend, Onuachu scored his goal number 25 and sits at the top of the goalscorer chat in Belgium.

Who should be Super Eagles top striker?

image source: scorenigeria.com.ng

Naija Super Eagles striker, Simy Nwankwo, Gareth Bale, and Harry Kane all scored 2 goals each for their respective clubs as they lead Round 26 of My11 Team of the Week. We will be looking at the 3-4-3 formation.

Goalkeeper:

Sam Johnstone | The Englishman was solid in goal as West Brom push for Premier League survival, and in their goalless draw against Newcastle, Johnstone had a brilliant performance, making a total of 5 saves, helping his team keep a clean sheet.

Defenders:

Luke Shaw | the Englishman is regaining the form that made Manchester United cash in on him as, and in the Manchester Derby, Shaw put up a solid performance defensively and offensively. He scored the second goal for the Red Devils to secure the 3 points.

Milan Skriniar | The Slovakian had a man-of-the-match performance in Inter Milan’s 1-0 win over Atalanta, and he was solid all round. He won 3 tackles, 5 interceptions, and 5 clearances, and he scored the only goal in the encounter, helping his side keep a clean sheet.

Diogo Dalot | The Portuguese is enjoying life in Italy, as the on-loan Manchester United full-back was instrumental in AC Milan’s win, in their charge to get back to the top of the Serie A table. Dalot won 4 interceptions and scored one of the 2 goals in the clash.

Midfielders:

Casemiro | The Brazilian was brilliant in the Madrid derby, as he was a nemesis to the Atletico midfield and attack. Defensively, he won 6 tackles, 2 interceptions, 2 clearances, and blocked a shot. Offensively, he gave 3 key passes, won 3 aerial duels, and he gave the assist for Real Madrid’s equalizer.

Mikel Merino | The Spaniard was the hero in Real Sociedad’s narrow win over Levante. He won 7 aerial duels, 4 tackles, 2 clearances, and 1 interception, scoring the only goal in the encounter.

Lorenzo Insigne | The Italian led Napoli to a comfortable 3-1 win over Bologna on Victor Osimhen’s return to the team. He put up a brilliant captain’s performance and was named the man of the match. He had a game-high of 4 shots, scoring 2 goals.

Gareth Bale | The Welshman seems to be reborn, as he has put up back-to-back solid displays, with 4 goals in 2 matches. In Spurs 4-1 win over Eberechi Eze’s Crystal Palace, the on-loan Real Madrid star scored 2 goals.

Forwards:

Harry Kane | The England captain turned the London derby into a solo affair. He put up a man-of-the-match performance, having a hand in all 4 goals for Tottenham. He assisted Bale for the first 2 goals and scored the last 2 goals in the win over Palace.

Alvaro Morata | The Spaniard stepped up in Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence, and helped Juventus to a comeback win over Lazio, making sure the Old Lady scored 3 goals in 3 straight home matches. Morata scored w goals in the second half to help the home side win 3-1.

Simy Nwankwo | The Nigerian looks to have found his scoring boots again, as he was solid in Crotone’s 4-2 win over Torino. He gave 3 key passes in the match. More than any other player and capped his brilliant performance by scoring 2 goals for his side.

Manager:

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | If you can lead your team to not just end Manchester City’s 21-games winning streak, but also defeat them, and not just any venue, but the Etihad Stadium, you deserve to be the manager of the week, and Solskjaer’s tactical know how helped the Red Devils pick up all 3 points.

image source: soccernet.ng

As we celebrate International Women’s day, My11 looks at the top 5 Nigerian female players.

5.        Uchenna Kanu [Linköpings, Sweden]

Kanu was part of the Nigeria team that finished second at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and she was at her best in 2019, finishing top scorer with 10 goals as Nigeria won their maiden Wafu Women's Cup title in May. The outstanding performance, earned her a place with the women’s national team, Super Falcons at the World Cup later that year. In the same 2019, she was named the NAIA Women's Player of the Year for 2019 after a record-breaking year, and was honoured by the City of Lakeland with November 18 2019 officially declared 'Uchenna Kanu Day'. Since joining the Swedish side, she has scored 9 goals in 23 matches.

4. Osinachi Ohale [Madrid CFF, Spain]

The Owerri-born defender has progressed steadily in her career, moving from Rivers Angels in Nigeria, to different clubs in vicious parts of the world. She represented Nigerian in 4 different Women’s Cup of Nations, and she won all 4 of them in 2010, 2014, 2016, and 2018. She also featured at 3 different FIFA Women’s World Cup. She was named is the IFFHS CAF Woman Team of the Decade from 2011–2020.

3. Chiamaka Nnadozie [Paris FC, France]

After an outstanding performance at the 2018 U20 Women’s World Cup, Nnadozie was called up to the Wafu Women's Cup in Cote d'Ivoire, and she had another outstanding tournament where she was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament. She made her debut for the Super Falcons at the FIFA Women’s World Cup the following year, becoming the youngest goalkeeper to feature for the team, and she has become the first choice. She joined French side Paris FC, from Rivers Angels, after helping them win the Nigeria Women’s Football League (NWFL).

2. Desire Oparanozie [Gijon FCO, France]

Oparanozie is one of the best Nigerian strikers currently, her numbers speak for themselves. She played and scored at 2 different U20 World Cup, featured at 3 different Women’s World Cup, and represented Nigeria at 4 different African Cup of Nations, winning all 4 and scoring crucial goals in the 2014 and 2016 finals. She joined Dijon FCO in 2020, after spending 6 years at Guingamp, where the fans named a bus-stop after.

1. Asisat Oshoala [Barcelona Femini, Spain]

Asisat is arguably the greatest African Women’s player of all time, and she is the current holder and 4 of the African women's player of the year award. She was named the African player of the decade by the IFFHS CAF Woman Team of the Decade from 2011–2020. After a loan spell with Barcelona, where she scored 8 goals in 11 games, she was signed on a permanent basis. She also made history as the first African to play and score in a Women's Champions League final. She represented Nigeria at the Women’s African Cup of Nations in 2016 and 2018, and she won both.

image source: fifa.com

Following the 4-1 humiliation in the first leg, Barcelona will hope to redeem their image as they will be traveling to Paris to take on PSG at the Le Parc des Princes for the return leg.

In 8 Champions League meetings between these two teams, PSG have won 4 games, while Barcelona have won just 1 match, with the other 3 games ending in a draw. The French side scored 20 goals, while the Catalan giants scored 22 goals in those clashes.

PSG will be without Neymar Jr, Alessandro Florenzi, and Juan Bernat due to injury, while Moise Kean will miss out due to a positive COVID-19 test. Barcelona, on the other hand, will be without Gerard Piqué, Ronald Araujo, Sergi Roberto, Philippe Coutinho, and Ansu Fati due to injury.

Both teams have a similar run of form, winning 4 of their last 5 games, but it will be impossible to see Barcelona qualifying for the next round ahead of PSG after the first leg result. One thing is sure, there will be goals from both sides.

You can catch the game live on SuperSport on DSTV on Wednesday, March 10 2021, by 9 pm Naija time.

After a terrible run of form in the Premier League, 2019 UEFA Champions League winners, Liverpool will want to return to winning ways as they will be hosting German Bundesliga side RB Leipzig at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest.

These two teams have only met once in the Champions League – the first leg – and Liverpool won the clash 2-0. The Reds are on a poor run of 6 straight losses at home, while Leipzig have lost just once in their last 5 matches.

Liverpool will be without Jordan Henderson, Joel Matip, Virgil Van Dijk due to injury, while Ozan Kabak and Caoimhin Kelleher are major doubts. Leipzig, on the other hand, will be without Willi Orban, Marcel Halstenberg, Marcel Sabitzer, Angeliño, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Konrad Laimer due to injury.

Liverpool have not been convincing in their last few games, but in the first leg of this clash, they ground out a win and gave themselves a huge advantage, it will take something huge for Leipzig to qualify over the Merseyside club.

You can catch the game live on SuperSport on DSTV on Wednesday, March 10 2021, by 9 pm Naija time.

After resting some key players in their 3-1 win over Lazio, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus will now focus on their task as the Old Lady will be welcoming Portuguese side, FC Porto to the Allianz Stadium.

In 5 Champions League meetings between these two teams, Juventus have won 3 games, while Porto have won only 1 match, with the last game ending in a draw. The Old Lady scored 7 goals, while the Portuguese side scored just 3 goals in those encounters.

Juventus will be without Matthijs de Ligt, Paulo Dybala, and Giorgio Chiellini due to injury, while Rodrigo Bentancur will miss out due to a positive COVID-19 test. Porto, on the other hand, will be without Chancel Mbemba and Mouhamed Mbaye due to injury.

Juventus manager did not start Ronaldo at the weekend, so he could be fresh for this must-win clash, as they hunt to win the UCL. They are on a good run of form at home, conceding just 1 goal in the last 5 home games, Porto will have a huge task at hand in this clash, but the Italian side should win it.

You can catch the game live on SuperSport on DSTV on Tuesday, March 09 2021, by 9 pm Naija time.

After a goal-fest in the first leg that ended in a 5-goal thriller, German side, Borussia Dortmund will be welcoming Spanish La Liga team Sevilla to the Signal Iduna Park for the second leg.

These two teams have only met once in the UEFA Champions League, which was the first leg and Dortmund won 3-2. Both teams are on a similar run of form, with 10 points in their last 5 games for the German side, while Sevilla have won 9 points in their last 5 matches.

Dortmund will be without Giovanni Reyna, Jadon Sancho, Raphael Guerreiro, Manuel Akanji, Axel Witsel, and Marcel Schmelzer due to injury. Sevilla, on the other hand, will be without only Aleix Vidal Parreu due to injury.

Both teams lost their last league games, but the home side look to be the better team, with young Erling Braut Haaland scoring with ease, and they head into this game with a huge advantage. Sevilla will have to win by 2-goal margin to qualify.

You can catch the game live on SuperSport on DSTV on Tuesday, March 09 2021, by 9 pm Naija time.