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Three quick thoughts from Chelsea 4-2 Tottenham in the FA Cup semifinals at Wembley on Saturday. • 1. Hazard makes the difference for Chelsea • Antonio Conte's gamble to leave Eden Hazard and Diego Costa on the bench paid off as Chelsea beat Tottenham 4-2 in a compelling FA Cup semifinal. Hazard came off the bench with half an hour to go, and his compelling cameo changed the game. He scored the goal that sent Chelsea in front for the third time and then set up Nemanja Matic to score the fourth. Chelsea go into next month's FA Cup final with a chance to win the Double. Hazard and Costa will also be relatively fresh for their team's Premier League match against Southampton on Tuesday, where a victory would bring the title a step closer. Willian gave Conte's team the lead twice in the first half. Harry Kane and Dele Alli both leveled with brilliant goals, but Hazard had the last word. Chelsea started well. Nathan Ake, in for Gary Cahill, m...

Three quick thoughts from Chelsea 4-2 Tottenham in the FA Cup semifinals at Wembley on Saturday. • 1. Hazard makes the difference for Chelsea • Antonio Conte's gamble to leave Eden Hazard and Diego Costa on the bench paid off as Chelsea beat Tottenham 4-2 in a compelling FA Cup semifinal. Hazard came off the bench with half an hour to go, and his compelling cameo changed the game. He scored the goal that sent Chelsea in front for the third time and then set up Nemanja Matic to score the fourth. Chelsea go into next month's FA Cup final with a chance to win the Double. Hazard and Costa will also be relatively fresh for their team's Premier League match against Southampton on Tuesday, where a victory would bring the title a step closer. Willian gave Conte's team the lead twice in the first half. Harry Kane and Dele Alli both leveled with brilliant goals, but Hazard had the last word. Chelsea started well. Nathan Ake, in for Gary Cahill, m...

Manchester United will face Spanish side Celta Vigo in the semi-finals of the Europa League. The Premier League side have won the European Cup three times but have never triumphed in the continent's secondary club competition. Dutch side Ajax, winners in 1992, come up against French club Lyon in the other last-four tie. The first legs will be played on 4 May with the second leg on 11 May, and the final in Stockholm, Sweden on 24 May. United manager Jose Mourinho won the competition with Porto in 2003 and comes up against La Liga club Celta, who have never won a major European competition. Ajax, who beat Schalke 4-3 on aggregate to reach the last four, are also experienced European campaigners. They have won the Champions League/European Cup four times previously and the Europa League/Uefa Cup once, beating Torino in the 1992 final. In the Champions League draw, holders Real Madrid play city rivals Atletico Madrid and French side Monaco take on Italian...

Holders Real Madrid will face rivals Atletico Madrid in the semi- finals of the Champions League - a repeat of last year's final. Zinedine Zidane's side could become the first club to retain the trophy in the Champions League era in the final on 3 June in Cardiff. French side Monaco take on Italian club Juventus in the other last-four tie. The first legs will be played on 2 and 3 May, with the return legs taking place the following week. Real, aiming to win Europe's premier club competition for a 12th time, beat German champions Bayern Munich 6-3 on aggregate to reach the last four. Atletico, meanwhile, ended Premier League champions Leicester's fairytale run in Europe, edging the Foxes 2-1 over two legs. Juventus claimed an impressive 3-0 aggregate win over Barcelona while Monaco defeated Borussia Dortmund 6-3.. Tweet @Am_Lastborn

Singer 9ice, has opened up on his career, relationship with former label mate, Olamide and producer, ID Cabasa. Speaking with Saturday Beats, 9ice talked about his hit song Gongo Aso revealing he never knew it would be that successful. In his words: ¤ “Although people believe that ‘Gongo Aso’ is my best album, to me, my album, ‘Tradition,’ still remains my best album in terms of content and lyrics. What you believe would sell might not sell but it does not mean that it is not good. I never knew ‘Gongo Aso’ would be a successful album. In fact, that was not even the title of the album. The initial title of the album was ‘My dictionary, your diary’; but when the song became very popular, ID Cabassa suggested that we make the song the title of the album. The song, ‘Gongo Aso’ was not supposed to be part of the album. I had finished recording the album when the song came to me and Cabassa said we should destroy all the promo copies we had made and promote the song....

Brazil has officially become the first country to qualify for next year's World cup in Russia after the South American nation defeated Paraguay 3-0 on Wednesday morning, and then watched Peru's inflict a 2-1 victory over Uruguay. The win over Paraguay, inspired by country captain Neymar, was Brazil's 13th match without a loss, booking their place in Russia. In Brazil's group, Colombia, Uruguay and Chile occupy the remaining three guaranteed World Cup spots.. Brazil even though they lost their first game during qualifying, to Chile, have not lost in the 13 subsequent matches. A run which means Brazil sits on 33 points after 14 matches, with 10 wins, one loss and three draws. “When I look at my family — the players — and when we talk to the fans and see how happy they are, that’s when you think ‘I’m part of something very special,'” Head coach, Tite said after Brazil’s qualification was confirmed. Congrats to them! Tweet @Am_Lastborn

Football star, business man and World Footballer of the year, Cristiano Ronaldo has broken another record! The Real Madrid star scored two goals against Hungary last week, his 69th and 70th goal for his country, Portugal, and then followed it up with another goal against Sweden his 71st, which automatically put him among the top 10 highest goalscorers for national sides in the history of football. Congrats to him! Tweet @Am_Lastborn

Following its sale to new investors, Keystone Bank on Tuesday announced the appointment of Alhaji Umaru H. Modibbo and Mr. Hafiz Bakare as board Chairman and acting Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer respectively. The lender also announced the appointments of Mrs. Yvonne Isichei as Executive Director as well as Mrs. Titilayo Tairat Adebiyi and Mr. Bulus Bunken Dan-Habu- as Non-Executive Directors. A statement from the lender’s Head, Corporate Communications, Omobolanle Osotule, said the new board is a transitional governance arrangement, which follows: ¤ “the successful conclusion of the divestment of Keystone Bank Limited by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), which culminated in the Completion Meeting of 23 March 2017 and the formal handover of the bank to the Sigma Golf- Riverbank Consortium (the Consortium).” • According to the statement: ¤ “The transitional governance arrangement, which will take effect from the 1st of Apri...

Following the sale of Keystone Bank to Sigma Golf-Riverbank Consortium by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), the new investors have finally taken possession with a view to repositioning the bank immediately. A statement from the bank said the handover took place last Friday after the Completion Board Meeting to consummate the acquisition and pave way for the takeover was held the previous day (Thursday) with representatives of Sigma Golf- Riverbank Consortium (the Buyer), AMCON (the Seller), Board and Management of Keystone Bank as well as the advisers to the buyer (KPMG Professional Services, Boston Advisory Services, Giwa Osagie & Co., Pan-African Capital Limited) and the Seller (FBN Capital Limited, Citibank Nigeria Limited, Banwo & Ighodalo, CrosswrockLaw). Recall that AMCON had announced on Tuesday 21stMarch 2017 that Sigma Golf-Riverbank Consortium had acquired Keystone Bank Limited. The Completion Meeting signified the effe...

A total of 193 pupils in grades 3, 4 and 5 (the grades in which one is meant to turn nine to 11) fell pregnant between 2014 and 2016. If pregnant school children from grades 6 and 7 are added, this number increases to 1 449, reports The Citizen . ¤ "This information should shock every South African. Young girls, most under the legal age of 16, are having their futures undermined, likely through being taken advantage of or abused," said Sonja Boshoff, DA MP and member of the portfolio committee on basic education. • She added that the DA would urgently submit further parliamentary questions to find out if these girls were under the age of 16 and, if so, whether any charges had been instituted against those responsible, as this would be statutory rape. ¤ “We will also investigate whether these girls have since returned to school, following the birth of their child, what support the school and the department of basic education have provided them ...

Ekiti state governor, Ayo Fayose, has promised to tone down his crticism of President Buhari and his government. Fayose made the promise when he spoke with the Minister of Works, Roads and Housing Babatunde Fashola at the Ekiti state government house. Fayose said this when he was thanking Fashola of the Federal government roads being constructed in the state. ¤ "If we would be getting this much of help, we wouldn't be criticizing the Federal government like this and maybe bcause of you now, I would tone down". Tweet @Am_Lastborn

Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy has revealed he received death threats after it was alleged by UK Media outfits that he played a major role in the sacking of former coach Claudio Ranieri, barely 9 months after winning the club's first premier league title. Leicester City prior to Ranieiri's sack were languishing in the relegation zone and the club owners shockingly made the decision to sack the Italian manager, replacing him with Craig Shakespeare. It had been reported that senior players such as Jamie Vardy and Schmeichel had asked the owners to sack Ranieiri – but the players have categorically denied the claims And now Jamie Vardy has revealed that he received death threats from Leicester fans over the alleged gang-up. In an interview published by Guardian UK newspapers on Tuesday morning, Vardy said: ↓↡ “The story is out there, then people pick it up and jump on it and you’re getting death threats about your...

Former Enugu state governor, Sullivan Chime, has decamped from PDP to APC. Speaking to newsmen in Enugu after announcing his defection, Chime said his decision to defect is based on the fact that PDP is a dead party. ¤ "The PDP, we used to be members of is dead. The party I joined in 1999 and had the opportunity of leading in the state for eight years is no longer in existence. We have two groups claiming to be in charge of the party as chairman. These two, none of them can actually lay claim to the chairmanship of the party. There is no provision in PDP’s Constitution for interim caretaker committee led by Sen. Ahmed Maikarfi. The PDP convention has no power to set up a caretaker committee and did not seek to amend the party’s constitution” he said Tweet @Am_Lastborn

Manchester United fined £20,000 by Football Association for failing to control players in FA Cup against Chelsea The Red Devils face a punishment for their conduct at Stamford Bridge • Manchester United have been fined £20,000 by the Football Association after accepting a charge of failing to control their players during Monday's FA Cup defeat at Chelsea. United's run in the competition was ended at Stamford Bridge by Jose Mourinho's old club on a night when Spaniard Ander Herrera was dismissed in the 35th minute for a second caution following a foul on Eden Hazard. Several United players surrounded referee Michael Oliver after he brandished the red card at Herrera and that earned the club a misconduct charge, and the standard punishment of £20,000 has now been applied. If United had challenged the charge and it had been proven, the fine would have gone up to £30,000. An FA statement read: "Manchester United have been fined £20,000 aft...

Thoughts on that draw? United have a little history with Anderlecht – the sides have met six times in European competition, with United winning four and losing two. Their last meeting, in October 2000, saw the Brussels club win 2-1 – a result that helped them pip their opponents to top spot in their Champions League group. A more positive omen for United is that their record win in any competition came against Anderlecht – a 10-0 triumph way back in the 1956 European Cup. ¤ The draw in full • Anderlecht v Manchester United • Celta Vigo v Genk • Ajax v Schalke • Lyon v Besiktas ¤ Lyon v Besiktas And finally, a tricky round trip for Lyon, second favourites for the trophy behind United. ¤ Ajax v Schalke Two former winners of the UEFA Cup – Ajax in 1992, Schalke in 1997 – are drawn together. ¤ Celta Vigo v Genk Celta, the only hope for Spain to continue their recent dominance of this competition, face Genk. ¤ Anderlecht v Manchester United United wil...