WELCOME TO AOP'S BLOG

  Wolverhampton player Raul Jimenez had surgery Sunday night on a fractured skull suffered during Wolves' trip to Arsenal, and is now recovering in hospital.   Raul is comfortable following an operation last night, which he underwent in a London hospital. It was an head to head collision with Arsenal's defender David Luiz after a cross into the box as they both went down after the collision. Raul was taken out of the field to the hospital for further treatment after which shown that he had a fractured skull. Wolves won the game with a 2-1 victory over North London club Arsenal.

Arsenal coach Mike Arteta has given updates on his feelings towards the match against Wolves in his post match conference interview. He described the loss as "painful" after seeing his side creating less chances throughout the game. Arteta also send his best wishes to Raul Jimenez on his head collision with David Luiz which see the Wolverhampton player streched out with five minutes into the game. Read the full interview:   On David Luiz and whether the incident affected the players... It was a really tense situation because the collision was surprising and straightaway you could see the reaction of the players, asking for the doctors to come on the field, which is never a good reaction.  Then I just had news from David that the doc made all the tests and followed all the protocols to make sure that he was fine. He responded really well to all of them, but it was a nasty cut.  David wanted to continue and he continued, but at half-time we decided to take him out because he wa

Chelsea's boss Frank Lampard has given his comments on their game they played against Tottenham on Sunday. Lampard feels that neither Chelsea nor Tottenham are title contenders instead he's focusing on his side tight schedule of game. Lampard says he isn't thinking about whether his side or Spurs are title contenders yet and is instead focusing on ourselves as the league is tight at the top with lots of teams around them. He also talked about Tothenham goalkeeper Lloris World class save which he sees as one of the best so far to deny Mason Mount. On our best chances, Frank says Lloris made 'a world-class save' to deny Mason Mount and we needed to get a better connection to some of the crosses put into the box. Chelsea currently occupies 3rd on the league table two points short of 2nd place Liverpool and table toppers Tottenham Hotspur.

PSG forward Neymar jnr has praised Cristiano Ronaldo for his consistency over a decade ago. He stressed that he respects the Balloon d'or winner because of the impact he has made in football history.  "I respect Cristiano Ronaldo greatly because he has made football history. He‘s been at the top of the game for 10 years now. I’m trying to get close to that level.”  Neymar played in Laliga with Ronaldo before switching to the Ligue 1 giant PSG and the latter also leaving Real Madrid to join Italian side Juventus.

  Diego Maradona was buried on Thursday in a private ceremony attended by only two dozen people in his home country Argentina. Only family members and close friends were permitted at Jardin Bella Vista cemetery for the final religious ceremony and burial of Maradona next to the graves of his parents, Dalma and Diego. Maradona died Wednesday of a heart attack in a house outside Buenos Aires where he had been recovering from a brain operation. Only family members and close friends were permitted at Jardin Bella Vista cemetery for the final religious ceremony and burial of Maradona next to the graves of his parents, Dalma and Diego. Many people accross the world also followed the burial rites.

 League 4 matches were played across Europe yesterday night. Italian club Napoli wore a shirt written "Maradonna 10" at their back in honor of former club player  Diego Maradona who died on Wednesday with a win over Rijeka. Jose Mourinho's men Tothenham Hotspur and Arsenal registered a convincing win over Ludogorets and Molde. See the full results here; AEK Athens FC - FK Zorya Luhansk 0:3 Braga - Leicester 3:3 CSKA Moscow - Feyenoord 0:0 CSKA Sofia - Young Boys 0:1 Gent - FK Crvena zvezda 0:2 LASK - Antwerp 0:2 Liberec - Hoffenheim 0:2 Lille - AC Milan 1:1 Maccabi Tel Aviv - Villarreal 1:1 Molde - Arsenal 0:3 Qarabag - Sivasspor 2:3 Sparta Prague - Celtic 4:1 Wolfsberger AC - D. Zagreb 0:3 AZ Alkmaar - Real Sociedad 0:0 Bayer Leverkusen - H. Beer Sheva 4:1 CFR Cluj - AS Roma 0:2 Dundalk - Rapid Vienna 1:3 Granada CF - Omonia 2:1 Napoli - Rijeka 2:0 Nice - Slavia Prague 1:3 PSV - PAOK 3:2 Rangers - Benfica 2:2 St. Liege - Lech Poznan 2:1 Tottenham - Ludogorets 4:0

Former BBNaija housemate Ozoemena chukwu has been selected as the brand manager of Juventus academy in Nigeria. Ozo was part of the housemates that reached the final stage in this year's live show, which he showed much interest in sports during his time in the lockdown house. "I’m pleased to announce my new role as the brand manager of Juventus Academy in Nigeria(@JAcademyNigeria). Looking forward to this exciting new journey." - Ozo tweeted He will serve as the club's representative in Nigeria. Juventus FC is one of the best football club in the club with a large percentage of world class players.

    All time Argentine football legend Diego Amando Maradona was confirmed dead at the late hours of yesterday. Football players around the world including current and old paid tribute to the greatest number 10 of all time including fellow compatriot Lionel Messi and Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo. Also Read: https://www.aoplite.com.ng/2020/11/football-legend-diego-maradona-dies-at.html AOP Blog has compiled tributes paid by some players together. They are as follows; A very sad day for all Argentines and football. He leaves us but does not leave, because Diego is eternal. I take all the cute moments lived with him and wanted to take advantage to send condolences to all his family and friends. RIP. - Lionel Messi Hoje despeço-me de um amigo e o Mundo despede-se de um génio eterno. Um dos melhores de todos os tempos. Um mágico inigualável. Parte demasiado cedo, mas deixa um legado sem limites e um vazio que jamais será preenchido. Descansa em paz, craque. Nunca serás esquecido  &

Argentina soccer legend Diego Maradona has died at the age of 60, a source close to his family confirms. Regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the game, he became a household name after inspiring his country to World Cup glory in 1986.  Diego Maradona led Napoli to their only two Serie A titles and will forever be beloved by the city.Fans have gathered in Naples to mourn.  Diego Maradona Honours include: FIFA World Cup - 1986, Two Serie A title,UEFA Cup, Copa del Rey, Argentine Primera Division Individual award are:  FIFA Player of the Century, World Cup Golden Ball, FIFA Goal of the Century and he scored 259 goals in 491 matches.

Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo, Argentine forward Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich forward will all compete for the Best FIFA Men's Player of the year's award.   See the full list of the award list; Best FIFA Women’s Player:  Lucy Bronze (England / Olympique Lyonnais / Manchester City WFC), Delphine Cascarino (France / Olympique Lyonnais), Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway / FC Barcelona), Pernille Harder (Denmark / VfL Wolfsburg / Chelsea FC Women), Jennifer Hermoso (Spain / FC Barcelona), Ji So-yun (Korea Republic / Chelsea FC Women), Sam Kerr (Australia / Chelsea FC Women), Saki Kumagai (Japan / Olympique Lyonnais), Dzsenifer Marozsán (Germany / Olympique Lyonnais), Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands / Arsenal WFC), Wendie Renard (France / Olympique Lyonnais)   Best FIFA Men’s Player: Thiago Alcântara (Spain / FC Bayern München / Liverpool FC), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal / Juventus FC), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium / Manchester City FC), Robert Lewandowski (Poland / FC Bayern M

Sergiño Dest scores his first goal for Barcelona yesterday with a sumptuous finish. He is the 10th U.S. International to score in the Champions League and the first for Barcelona. Dest scored the second goal for his team in the 52nd minute of the game, other goalscorers are M. Braithwaite with 2 goals and Antonine Griezmann. The 20year old right back joined FC Barcelona from Holland super giant Ajax making 5 appearances and scoring one goal in the process. Barcelona tops the log with 12points disposing Juventus to second position to only 9 points in a two-horse race group.

UEFA Champions leagues matches for round 4 were played yesterday.  English clubs Chelsea and Manchester United recorded a win, with the former securing theirs at the verge of 90 minutes in away from home.  Also, Spanish clubs FC Barcelona and Sevilla got a win away from home. Pirlo's men Juventus came from behind to secure a home victory. See Results; FC Krasnodar 1 : Sevilla 2 Rennes 1 : Chelsea 2 Borussia Dortmund 3 : Club Brugge 0 Lazio 3 : Zenit St. Petersburg 1 Dynamo Kyiv 0 : Barcelona 4 Juventus 2 : Ferencvaros 1 Manchester United 4 : Istanbul Basaksehir 1 Paris Saint-Germain 1 : RasenBallsport Leipzig 0

  The 63rd GRAMMY Awards are right around the corner, airing Sunday, Jan. 31, on CBS, but the nominations are here now! Find out who is nominated in each of the 83 categories in the full nominees list below The 63rd edition nomination list is as follows;   1. Record Of The Year Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s), if other than the artist. BLACK PARADE Beyoncé Beyoncé & Derek Dixie, producers; Stuart White, engineer/mixer; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer   COLORS Black Pumas Adrian Quesada, producer; Adrian Quesada, engineer/mixer; JJ Golden, mastering engineer   ROCKSTAR DaBaby Featuring Roddy Ricch SethinTheKitchen, producer; Derek "MixedByAli" Ali, Chris Dennis & Liz Robson, engineers/mixers; Susan Tabor, mastering engineer   SAY SO Doja Cat Tyson Trax, producer; Clint Gibbs, engineer/mixer; Mike Bozzi