A 15-year-old has revealed that a wonder goal he scored in the Ghanaian second division was inspired by PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe, with Manchester’s heavyweights already said to have made inquiries about the prodigy.
Mizak Asante scored a sensational effort at the Accra Sports Stadium while starring for Golden Kicks against Mobile Phone People FC in a vital Division Two Middle League play-off match.
Picking the ball up on the edge of the 18-yard box, he twisted and turned around three men before forcing a helpless fourth to sit on his back.
With the goalkeeper fast approaching to protect his near post, Asante then dribbled past him before blasting into the roof of the net at a difficult angle.
His 83rd-minute screamer was enough to force penalties in a shootout that Golden Kicks won, and the youngster has since given his thoughts on his phenomenal goal.
“If you watch the goal closely, you’ll realize that when the ball first came to my left, the player I dribbled first pulled himself away from the challenge because he wanted to avoid the penalty. We already had one penalty we missed and they didn’t want to concede another,” he explained to local media.
“When I watch the video, I [can see that I] realized that the guy on my left pulled himself away. But the guy who came in for the second tackle guessed that I’ll be taking the ball back to my right, and since I had the idea he’ll take that guess, I didn’t.
“I will thank Allotei, my team mate who was on my right because after I had meandered my way through and was one-on-one with the keeper. He shouted out to me.
“Because of that, the keeper thought I was in a very tight angle, so he [the keeper] decided to cover the passing angle to Allotei so I decided to hold on to the ball and keep moving towards goal. That was why the keeper fell.”
Asked to name his inspiration and favorite player, Asante listed a fellow wonderkid in World Cup winner Mbappe.
“Oh, I watch a lot of players but the one I like very much is Kylian Mbappe,” he admitted. “I like how direct he is with the ball and his pace, as well. It’s Kylian Mbappe I really want to play like.”
Now said to be on the verge of a call up to the Ghana national team’s U-17s – one of his “biggest targets” and a “dream” he says he is praying for – Asante’s chairman has also reported attention from a number of European clubs including Manchester United and Manchester City.
The name on the lips of every Ghanaian football fan after his heroics over the weekend is Mizak Asante. In one moment, the 15-year-old prodigy announced himself on the national football scene.
“Before Mizak scored this goal we had already shown his highlights – and those of other players – to clubs abroad,” said Joseph Epton to an Accra radio station.
“But he was the only player we had feedback about.
“It has come from Manchester United, Manchester City, Juventus and Genk.”
That space was too small to dribble the goalkeeper ♂️
The fiancée of UFC icon Jon Jones was found with blood on her clothing and face before the star was arrested in Las Vegas last week, according to disturbing new details of a police report of the incident.
Former light-heavyweight champion Jones was arrested for misdemeanor domestic battery and felony tampering with a vehicle last Friday, just hours after being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
A police report seen by MMA Fighting states that officers had responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at Caesar’s Palace, after which they were told that Jones was no longer at the scene.
The MMA icon was soon located walking nearby and during his arrest “smashed his head into the front hood of the [Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department] patrol vehicle, leaving a medium size dent as well as chipping of some of the paint on the vehicle,” according to the report.
Jones, 34, is said to have been an “emotional rollercoaster” while in police custody, accusing law enforcement of “ruining the biggest night of his life” and at one point feigning that he would run off while joking that he would “like to take us [officers] all on and see what we could do.”
Jones’ fiancée Jessie Moses – who is the mother of his three children – is said to have told police that the MMA star had returned to their hotel room after earlier heading out for the night.
Moses was observed with blood on her clothing and lower lip, and when asked if Jones had been physical with her, Moses is quoted as replying “a little bit, yeah.”
“He touch[ed] the back of my head and pulled my hair a little bit but he did not hit me or anything,” Moses is said to have clarified when asked what she meant.
Moses reportedly declined to allow pictures to be taken of her injuries or to take a domestic violence card with information about a restraining order.
Moses was said to be reluctant to talk about Jones and “seemed very scared as to [his] release from jail.”
According to the report, the initial call to police came when a bloodied and tearful Moses approached the security desk at Caesar’s Palace asking for a key to her room, while one of her children asked: “Can you call the cops?”
Jones denied to police that he had pulled Moses’ hair or hit her, but admitted that the pair had been going through difficulties.
According to MMA Junkie, when Jones told Moses he was taking $10,000 to go to a strip club it started an argument in which he told her to “f*ck off.”
Jones was released from custody on Friday after posting bail and is due to appear in court next month.
The former longtime UFC light-heavyweight has thus far not commented publicly on the arrest, which came shortly after he had appeared at a glitzy ceremony to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame for his classic 2013 fight with Alexander Gustafsson.
Following a positive case for star midfielder N’Golo Kante, who will not play against Juventus in the Champions League, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has stressed he will not cajole his team into getting their Covid vaccines.
World Cup winner Kante, who was Man of the Match in the Blues’ Champions League final victory against Manchester City last season, will also miss a vital clash against Southampton in the Premier League at the weekend after contracting the disease.
In his pre-match press conference ahead of playing Italian giants Juve in Turin, Tuchel was asked if he would recommend that his squad get vaccinated to prevent further absences.
“It’s easy to say yes and get approval from a lot of people. But do I have the right to say this? I’m not sure,” Tuchel confessed.
N'Golo Kante has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss Chelsea's upcoming UCL game against Juventus and their Premier League match with Southampton. pic.twitter.com/N0E3IsjQcz
“I can make a decision for myself, and everyone else has to think and decide whether they want to take risks. This is a serious question,” he pointed out.
“Vaccination seems like real protection to me. I got vaccinated. I made the decision myself. But I don’t think I have the right to make recommendations.”
“This may go too far,” Tuchel went on.
“I am a football coach, I am not at all an expert on the topic of coronavirus. I’d rather leave this to the professionals.”
Tuchel believes his players must make their own choices regarding a Covid-19 vaccination pic.twitter.com/cTEaJEbtoi
“Everyone here is adults living in a free country and society. People have the right to make their own decisions. We do something and then we are responsible for our actions.” Tuchel continued.
“We don’t want to lose players, but we don’t get mad at N’Golo. I care about his condition as well as the well-being of all injured Chelsea players.
“I don’t know what the percentage of those vaccinated at Chelsea is. I just do not know. We only reflect the situation in society. The players are adults and have the right to freely choose whether they want to be vaccinated. We have to accept this. This is more or less all I can say about it.
“I know the situation is far from over. I hope there will be as few infections as possible, but I definitely do not have a clear solution,” the German concluded.
The development comes amid reports of low vaccination rates among Premier League players and the top flight’s authorities struggling to get big stars to front campaigns that encourage fellow pros to get their jabs.
Last week, the Daily Mail reported that some clubs have as few as six players vaccinated against the virus, though some outfits including Wolves, Brentford and Leeds United have achieved vaccination rates ranging from 89-100%.
Lionel Messi scored his first goal for his new club with a sensational strike as Paris Saint-Germain gained Champions League revenge on Man City – then predicted that his partnership with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar will grow.
It took 74 minutes for Messi to weave his magic and seal the 2-0 victory. Driving forward from inside the City half on the right, he exchanged passes with Kylian Mbappe, who cleverly heeled the ball back into his path outside the penalty area, before curling a magnificent effort beyond Ederson’s dive and into the far corner of the net.
City arguably deserve credit for bossing much of the game. PSG avenged their lackluster showing against these opponents that sent them out at the quarterfinals stage last season. Those talking points are reduced to subplots: Messi’s enduring brilliance, again, is the story of the night.
“I hadn’t been able to play recently and this was only my second game in this stadium,” Messi told Canal+.
JUST LISTEN TO THE ROAR THAT COULD BE HEARD ALL OVER PARIS
Notice how Messi instantly points to Mbappé who provided the brilliant assist pic.twitter.com/aa5n6FAtaq
“I’m adapting to my new team. The more we forwards play together, the better our relationship will be. We all need to grow together and improve and keep giving our best.”
Billed beforehand as a clash of the two most expensive teams in world football, the identity of the man who opened the scoring with only eight minutes gone would not have been among the pre-match predictions of many inside the Parc des Princes.
Mbappe and Neymar were involved, though: the France forward burst to the byline inside the penalty area on the right, firing a low cross back into the path of Neymar, who could not apply a touch.
Riyad Mahrez was also unable to apply any force to his clearance, gifting Idrissa Gueye a chance in front of goal that he crashed beyond Ederson and into the far top corner of the beaten goalkeeper’s net.
That was the midfielder’s first goal on his 24th appearance in the competition, and it was largely as good as it got for PSG with the exception of a fine Ederson stop to tip a fierce Messi effort over the crossbar.
Mahrez menaced PSG down the right in a whirlwind of stepovers and crosses, and Kevin de Bruyne must have thought he had supplied the equalizer when his classy cross from the left with the outside of his foot found Raheem Sterling’s leap inside the penalty area.
The England striker’s header beat Gianluigi Donnarumma but not the crossbar, bouncing kindly for Bernardo Silva in front of goal, who suffered the same fate as his half-volley rebounded off the same inch of the woodwork.
There was a sense that PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino would need to make changes or risk the regret of acting after one of the attacks on his defense found its mark.
Sterling rolled a shot wide at the start of the second half and Donnarumma needed a second attempt at gathering a cross as the momentum continued to be with Pep Guardiola’s players, who looked more like the home side.
Not for the first time, Mahrez slipped Kevin de Bruyne in on the penalty area on the right, racing beyond Nuno Mendes with a diagonal run before Donnarumma stopped his low angled shot with an outstretched foot in another heroic intervention by the new signing.
Neymar raced onto a short Messi pass beyond the halfway line on the right, rampaging into the penalty area without convincingly appearing to have full control of the ball. Fleet-footed Walker was able to catch up and distract him, sending his shot into the side netting.
Messi had produced a surprisingly quiet performance until then by his standards, although Pochettino will undoubtedly have thought twice about any inclinations to save his star signing for another game after the controversy switching him out caused on his previous appearance.
“They were great opponents,” Messi acknowledged. “It was very important for us to win the match after our [1-1 opening Champions League] draw against Brugge. I’m very happy to have scored.”
Jack Grealish, the most expensive Premier League signing of the summer, had a muted impact, and Phil Foden, making only his second appearance of the season, replaced him midway through the second period.
The first player from Luxembourg ever to in the Champions League did it with a last-minute wondergoal as Sheriff Tiraspol produced a huge upset to beat Real Madrid, whose starting stars included Eden Hazard and Karim Benezema.
On a night of firsts, the Moldovan champions secured one of the greatest surprises in the history of the competition by beating the 13-time champions at a stunned Bernabeu, where the least experienced side to take part this season beat the most historically successful team in European football in dramatic fashion.
Uzbek winger Jasurbek Yakhshiboev headed the opener after 25 minutes, although most onlookers would still have tipped heavyweights Madrid to earn a point or three after narrowly winning at reigning Italian champions Inter Milan in their Group D opener.
Madrid rained in 31 attempts on goal to their visitors’ four in an increasingly desperate attempt to restore parity, finally drawing level when usually-reliable hitman Karim Benzema converted a 65th-minute penalty.
What a strike to win it for Sheriff against Real Madrid!
Not to be denied, Sheriff secured the points at the death when Sebastien Thill, a Luxembourg international who scored the only goal for his nation in a memorable Euro 2016 qualifier against North Macedonia, half-volleyed an unstoppable long-range effort beyond former Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, sealing a shock win in the 90th minute.
Thill is on loan to Sheriff from a Luxembourg club that plays at a stadium with a capacity of well under 5,000 – a capacity that is around a 16th of Madrid’s vast home stadium.
“We’re so happy today,” said thrilled Thill, who played seven times for former Russian Premier League side Tambov in 2020.
“We played a really good game. The side were so brave with how we played and luckily enough I was able to score a bit of a stunner.”
The Liga leaders started with an illustrious lineup including Eden Hazard, Chelsea’s Player of the Season before he joined Madrid in a deal that could be worth around $203 million.
Boss Carlo Ancelotti was also able to introduce the likes of Germany international Toni Kroos, $70 million striker Luka Jovic and former Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric as his side toiled for answers.
“More than worried, we’re annoyed,” said the revered coach after his greatest setback since he rejoined the club from Premier League Everton earlier this year.
“We played with intensity and were looking good. We lost because of small details, even though the side played well.
“We could have been better when it came to the final third but it’s tough to explain.
“We had chances, we were creating out wide and Jovic came on and had a couple of opportunities. I think that, in the end, everything went well for them and badly for us.
“It’s small details that cost us this game. It’s a lesson for us in the future as it’s a defeat we didn’t deserve.”
Ancelotti described the group as “wide open“, with Sheriff now three points clear of Madrid in pole position to qualify in one of the top two places that would ensure a place in the knockout stages.
As you marvel at #Luxembourg international Sebastien Thill’s winner in Madrid, watch his father Serge Thill score the best goal I’ve ever seen with my own eyes. This was the season they changed the laws so you could score straight from the kickoff.https://t.co/3yt2310j7o
Also worth mentioning: Sebastien Thill (Sheriff Tiraspol), Olivier Thill (Vorskla Poltava), and Vincent Thill (now also at Vorskla Poltava) are brothers. All three play for #Luxembourg but are still to be ligned up together. Both their parents played for the national team too.
The club had to play eight qualification games to reach the group stage, serving notice of their threat when they beat competition regulars Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 in their decisive qualifying tie.
“We aren’t thinking about the last 16 yet as we still haven’t done anything extraordinary,” claimed manager Yuriy Vernydub. “We’re just going forward step by step.
“We have four very important games to go and, when it comes to the final group stage game, then we’ll talk about the next round.
“I’m happy to play a game like that against Madrid. I’m so full of emotion and thankful to my boys for what they’ve done. They went out there as a side, and we deserved it.”
