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RB Leipzig have confirmed the appointment of Jesse Marsch as their new manager, following the departure of Julian Nagelsmann to Bayern Munich.

Nagelsmann revealed earlier this week that he will be leaving Leipzig for Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich, with the club sourcing his replacement from their sister club, Red Bull Salzburg.

American coach Marsch will move to take charge of Leipzig, part of the Red Bull stable of clubs along with Salzburg, for the start of the 2021-22 season.

How was the move announced?

Leipzig confirmed the appointment on Thursday morning with a video showing a whiteboard with their "plans" for next season, with the manager's initials written as JN, for Nagelsmann. A hand then appears, changing the initials to JM, for Marsch.

The club then followed this with a statement officially confirming the move, stating Marsch will become Leipzig manager from July 1, on a two-year deal until 2023.

It marks a return to familiar territory for former New York Red Bulls manager Marsch, who spent a season as assistant at Leipzig before taking the No 1 job at Salzburg.

What has been said?

RB Leipzig CEO Oliver Mintzlaff said of the 47-year-old manager: "With Jesse Marsch we were able to sign our dream candidate as the new head coach and quickly fill the most important position in the sporting field with a top coach.

"Jesse has done an excellent job in all of his previous positions and has developed step by step. It is naturally a great advantage that he has already worked for RB Leipzig for a year.

"Jesse knows the club, the city of Leipzig and above all our club and game philosophy. In addition to his qualities as a coach, Jesse is characterised above all by his positive and ambitious manner he can inspire people in and around the club extremely and take them with him.

"We look forward to working with Jesse Marsch so that we can continue on our chosen path with him and continue to develop the club. "

The announcement comes after Salzburg confirmed on Wednesday evening that Marsch was in talks with Leipzig about a move.

Who is Jesse Marsch?

The coach, linked with jobs at Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham and Celtic, is closely affiliated with the Red Bull stable, having spent three-and-a-half years in charge in New York and a season as No 2 to Ralf Rangnick at Leipzig before his two seasons in charge at Salzburg.

The two-time USMNT international won the Austrian league and cup double in the 2019-20 campaign and is well placed to do the same in 2020-21, leading the Bundesliga by seven points and into the Austrian Cup final against LASK.

He also became the first American to coach in the group stage of the Champions League, with Salzburg competing in the last two seasons.

Further Reading

The 2021 FIFA Arab Cup is set to be a huge opportunity for elite teams from the Arab world, feels H.E. Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC). 

 The draw for the same was held at the Katara Opera House in Doha on Tuesday. 

The Arab Cup will feature 23 Arab teams from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Top-nine ranked teams given a spot in the group stages, with seven teams out of the remaining 14 set to progress to the group stage after winning a single-leg playoff. 

Hassan Al Thawadi hailed the concept behind the tournament, noting that this is the first-time elite Arab teams will be competing in a FIFA-sanctioned tournament. Several top sides from the region will be part of the tournament including Qatar, Iraq, Tunisia, UAE, Syria, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Egypt.

"This tournament will see elite teams from across the Arab world compete in a FIFA-sanctioned tournament for the first time," he said on the sidelines of the group stage draw for the tournament. 

The Arab Cup is set to act as a preparatory competition to test the operational readiness of Qatar ahead of the 2022 World Cup which will be held in the Middle-East nation. It will be held from 30 November 2021 and the final is scheduled for 18 December 2021 - exactly a year before the 2022 World Cup final is set to take place. 

Al Thawadi felt that the tournament will not just be a test of Qatar's preparations but also will excite the football fans in the region. 

“A tournament of this magnitude – played exactly a year before the World Cup – is sure to excite our football crazy region as we continue preparations for 2022. We look forward to hosting the FIFA Arab Cup and using the tournament to confirm our plans for the World Cup, which is just around the corner," he added.

Nasser Al Khater, CEO, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 LLC, also echoed the thoughts of Al Thawadi and stressed how the infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup will be put to test by fans, officials and players. 

"Following the successful hosting of the FIFA Club World Cup in 2019 and 2021, the FIFA Arab Cup provides Qatar with yet another opportunity to test our plans and preparations ahead of the FIFA World Cup," he said. 

"Fans, players and officials will have the opportunity to use World Cup infrastructure, including stadiums, training sites and other facilities. We greatly look forward to hosting national teams from across the Arab world as we build up to the biggest sporting event in our region’s history in 2022.” 

H.E. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, President of the Qatar Football Association (QFA), was of the opinion that apart from testing Qatar's facilities, the Arab Cup also provided an opportunity for Qatar's national team to gain valuable competitive experience ahead of the World Cup. By virtue of being the hosts, the Asian champions have secured automatic qualification for the World Cup. 

"Qatar is very excited to host the FIFA Arab Cup later this year. National teams from across the region will have the opportunity to participate in a high-profile tournament which is sure to capture the attention of fans everywhere.

"This is also an important step for the national team’s development and the entire country as we fine-tune preparations for the FIFA World Cup in 2022.”  

It was mixed feelings for Nigerians and South Africans as Enyimba defeated Orlando Pirates 1-0 in the final Group A match in the Caf Confederation Cup.

Fatai Osho’s men started Wednesday’s encounter in search of a win to confirm their place in the knockout stage but they found it difficult to break their South African visitors until the 95th minute.

Cyril Olisemah tapped in a late match-winning goal that fired the Nigeria Professional Football League giants to the top of Group A with nine points after six matches.

Despite the loss in Aba, Orlando Pirates qualified for the next round as the second-best team in the group with nine points after the same number of games.

In their reactions to the result, South Africans were disappointed to see the Buccaneers drop points at the Enyimba International Stadium while Nigerians are praising the resilience shown by Fatai Osho’s men.

Enyimba reached the Caf Confederation Cup quarter-final and eased the pressure on coach Fatai Osho with a 1-0 win over Orlando Pirates on Wednesday night.

Cyril Olisema’s last-gasp effort settled the keenly contested encounter in Aba, which the People's Elephant had to win to make certain they did not crash out at the group stage of the competition.

All four sides in Group A started the final round of matches with a chance of progressing, and it was ultimately ES Setif and Al Ahli Benghazi who bowed out of the tournament.

This was billed as a must-win contest not only for the two-time African champions' hopes of competing for the trophy, but also for Osho, whose future came under intense scrutiny after consecutive defeats to ES Setif and Al Ahly Benghazi.

The South Africans showed an intent to win from the first blast of referee Helder Martins de Carvalho’s whistle – getting a corner kick in the first minute – however, Ntsikelelo Nyauza headed Vincent Pule’s kick into the waiting hands of goalkeeper John Noble.

Enyimba’s first chance came in the fifth minute, but captain Stanley Okorom shot tamely at goal after a good work from Orok Gabriel who sped through the visitors’ backline.

Orlando Pirates’ best chance of the first 45 minutes came through Linda Mntambo’s freekick that rattled Noble’s crossbar, before Siphesihle Ndlovu failed to divert the rebound inside the net.

Wayne Sandilands made a brilliant save to keep out an Okorom strike, although the Aba Elephants were certainly improved after the interval and saw another chance go begging when Anayo Iwuala dragged a shot narrowly wide.

Sandilands was again at full stretch to claw away Olisema’s cross before Victor Mbaoma's follow-up somehow flew over the crossbar and into the stands.

Josef Zinnbauer's men were more reserved as the contest approached the half-time break, although they had just 46 per cent of the ball and their tactic of relying on the counterattack kept their hosts under proper check.

In the 41st minute, Bucs were hit by an injury setbeck as Tshegofatso Mabasa was stretchered off injured following a challenge by Daniel Darkwah.

Coach Osho made two attacking changes in the second half – bringing in Tosin Omoyele for Mbaoma and Samada Kadiri for Orok – yet, they could not help the scoreline as the Aba giants looked uncoordinated upfront.

Anayo should have put Enyimba ahead four minutes after the hour mark but he could only clip the ball over the bar with just the goalkeeper to beat.

Omoyele thought he'd broken the deadlock in the 90th minute but his effort was cancelled for an offside.

Nevertheless, the NPFL side had the last laugh as Olisema tucked Anayo’s assist past goalkeeper Sandilands to send the home side into ecstasy.

With this result, Enyimba finished as group winners while the Bucs slipped into the second spot on the head-to-head rule, although both will take their place in Friday's quarter-final draw.

Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez has admitted his match-winner against Paris Saint-Germain was a miss-hit.

Mahrez curled home a 25-yard free-kick that went through the PSG wall and beyond Keylor Navas to give Pep Guardiola's side a vital first-leg advantage in their Champions League semi-final.

However, the Algeria international has now confessed the ball did not go where he intended.

What did Mahrez say?

Speaking about his goal after the game, the former Leicester player told City's website: "I wanted to go around the wall to be honest and I missed it, it went between the two players and fortunately it was in.

"I was so happy, I knew we could win here and to score to make it 2-1 for the team was amazing."

Mahrez also revealed that team-mate Benjamin Mendy predicted Mahrez would score the winner 24 hours previously.

"It's all because of Ben," added Mahrez. "He asked God and God gave me this goal."

The bigger picture

Though there was a touch of fortune about Mahrez's goal, it was a fully deserved victory for Manchester City.

They were second best in the first half and found themselves 1-0 down at the break courtesy of Marquinhos' header.

However, whatever Guardiola said at half-time did the trick as the Premier League side dominated the second period, levelling through Kevin De Bruyne before Mahrez's free-kick winner.

City could seal the Premier League title this weekend if they win at Crystal Palace and other results go their way.

They will then turn their attentions to Tuesday's second leg against PSG at the Etihad, with a place in the final tantalisingly within reach.

Further reading

Former Rangers striker Ally McCoist has backed Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho to convert Timo Werner’s missed chance in Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Real Madrid on Tuesday.

10 minutes into the first-leg of the Uefa Champions League semi-final match, Werner had the opportunity to give the visitors the lead at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano before Christian Pulisic opened the scoring a few minutes later.

The Germany international missed a close-range chance that was saved by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and McCoist suggested that he was not sharp enough to finish.

The 58-year-old explained that Iheanacho who has scored 12 goals in his last 10 matches in all competitions for Leicester City, would have done better without thinking.

“If you’re in the Real Madrid dressing room, it’s a great save. You’re patting your goalkeeper on the back, saying ‘What a save, kept us in it,’ because it is a good save,” McCoist told talkSPORT.

“But from a Chelsea point of view, when the ball gets headed back to him by Mount, I can see him thinking about it.

“I can see him thinking about that chance, whereas [Kelechi] Iheanacho doesn’t think about it, if he’s on a run. Iheanacho just comes in and doesn’t think about it. He might still miss it, but he just comes in and just goes bang, does it naturally and that’s it.

“It might sound a crazy thing to say, I can see a slight split-second hesitancy in Werner and that’s me watching him thinking about it.

“I think Manchester City look as if they’ve got goals all over the place in their team, whether it’s Foden, Sterling, De Bruyne.

“I’m not sure Chelsea will have enough goals in the team. They’ve clearly got goals in the team, with Mount and Pulisic and boys like that, but I’m not sure they’ve got enough goals in the team, without someone getting them, maybe 15-20.”

On Saturday, Werner ended his 14-game goal drought in Thomas Tuchel’s side with his winning goal in their 1-0 Premier League win over West Ham United.

He has scored 11 goals so far in 45 appearances for Chelsea since his permanent signing from RB Leipzig last July.

Pep Guardiola says his Manchester City players remained calm after their victory over Paris Saint-Germain, knowing that their Champions League semi-final is far from over.

City have a 2-1 advantage ahead of the second leg at the Etihad Stadium after turning around the first leg with second half goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez.

But PSG have won away at European giants Manchester United, Barcelona and Bayern Munich earlier in the competition and Guardiola is taking nothing for granted.

What’s been said?

“I'm sure the second leg will be different because Mauricio [Pochettino] will learn and see the game,” Guardiola said.

“We will also see the game and change something to be more fluid and aggressive in our game and do it.

“Now rest. I was happy that in the locker room afterwards the players were so calm. No cheering, just calm, because we know anything can happen in the second leg.”

The bigger picture

City were effective in shutting down the threat of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe after falling behind to Marquinhos’ 15th-minute header.

But Guardiola says his side will have to perform at the same level or even better if they are to reach the Champions League final for the first time in the club’s history.

“We faced a team that scored four goals at Camp Nou, that scored three goals in Munich - it is a team that is able to do whatever they want because they have the quality to do it,” he added.

“That's why when you start the game you are a little bit cautious. I'm not complaining. At half-time I said I'm not complaining, I understand you feel the responsibility because you want to get to the final.

“It's just to understand how to handle this and be ourselves, don't be shy. If we lose, we lose. If we don't get to the final we will try again next season, but try to play our game like we spoke without the ball.”

What next?

City head to Crystal Palace on Saturday lunchtime for a Premier League clash.

Guardiola’s side need two victories to secure the title and they could win it this weekend if they win and second-placed United lose at home to Liverpool.

But he is likely to make plenty of changes to his side with the second leg against PSG next Tuesday.

Further reading

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola told his players to hold onto the ball more in the second half of their Champions League win against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, says Kevin De Bruyne.

City came from behind to beat the French side in the first leg of their semi-final tie, with De Bruyne scoring in the second half to cancel out Marquinhos' early header. Riyad Mahrez then scored from a free-kick seven minutes later to seal the win for the visitors.

And De Bruyne says the turnaround was a result of his side's more patient approach after the break.

What did De Bruyne say?

Asked what instructions Guardiola gave his players at half-time, the Belgium international told BT Sport: "Just play a little bit more with the ball. The first half, we were a bit too rushed, trying to go forward too quickly and that's not the way we are set up as a team.

"In the second half we tried to find space more patiently. They're a tough team to play against. The progression we made as a team was good."

How did De Bruyne score?

De Bruyne scored the equaliser when he appeared to attempt to find a team-mate with a cross from outside the box, but the ball went curling beyond PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas and into the net.

He says he could have gone for a second when City were given a free kick, but he let Mahrez take it after the Algeria international asked for it.

"It set up in a perfect position. It's so difficult for the goalkeeper because he expects someone to touch it," he said of his goal.

"We kept going and with the second goal Riyad is good for us. He asked me if he could take it and I said: 'Yes, if you believe in yourself'. He scored. Who am I to say something?

"There is still a game to go and we have to concentrate on that."

What next for Man City?

Guardiola's team return to Premier League duty on Saturday with an away game against Crystal Palace.

Then on May 4 they will host PSG in the second leg of the semi-final tie, followed by a home game against Chelsea next Saturday.

Further reading

Football enthusiasts took to social media to salute Pep Guardiola for his tactics after Manchester City sealed a 2-1 comeback win over Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.

Marquinhos' 15th-minute opener was not enough for the hosts as City turned the first-leg of the Uefa Champions League semi-final encounter around with second-half goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez.

After winning the League Cup on Sunday, the victory at Parc des Princes boosted City's chances of qualifying for their maiden Champions League final.

However, Guardiola’s tactical prowess has got fans talking on social media after securing a crucial win without a striker in his team.

De Bruyne and Mahrez’s goals came through set-pieces and even a PSG player lying on the floor could not stop the Algeria star’s free-kick in the 71st minute.

Riyad Mahrez scored while Idrissa Gueye was sent off as Manchester City secured a 2-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg semi-final of Wednesday’s Champions League game.

Mahrez has been in fine form for the Citizens this season and against the French champions, he was handed a starting role and helped his side move closer to reaching the final of the top European competition.

Senegal international Gueye was shown a straight red card in the encounter for a serious foul play on Ilkay Gundogan. 

Pep Guardiola’s men started the game on the back foot, allowing the Parisians to dictate the pace in the opening 15 minutes which saw then concede as early as the 15th minute.

Marquinhos powered home a fine header past goalkeeper Ederson Moraes after connecting with Angel Di Maria’s cross to put PSG in front.

The Citizens made frantic efforts to try and level proceedings before the half-time break, with Mahrez attempting a header towards goal in the 32nd minute.

Notwithstanding Manchester City’s efforts, the first half ended 1-0 in favour of the French side who dominated the encounter.

After the restart, the Citizens stepped up their quest to avoid defeat and were rewarded for the showings when Kevin De Bruyne levelled matters for the side in the 64th minute after he was set up by Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Having made several attempts to hit the back of the net, the moment eventually came for Mahrez to score from the free-kick in the 71st minute.

The Algeria international curled home a superb kick, leaving goalkeeper Keylor Navas with no chance to seal the victory for City.

Six minutes later, the Parisians suffered a further blow when they were reduced 10 men after Gueye tackled Gundogan from behind and was subsequently shown the red card.

Mahrez will hope to deliver another five-star performance in the second leg, scheduled for May 4 at Etihad Stadium.

The winger has now bagged 12 goals and provided seven assists in 44 appearances across all competitions this season.

Senegal midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate has revealed how he and Ghana striker Jordan Ayew have had to come together with their other Muslim colleagues at Crystal Palace to get through the period of Ramadan.

The ninth month of the Islamic calendar, Ramadan spans a period of 29 or 30 days where Muslims stay away from food from dawn until sunset.

Observing Ramadan has always posed a challenge to footballers, considering the high physical and energy demand of the sport.

“It depends on your head. It’s like mental. If you come in and say: 'Yeah, it’s gonna be hard,' it’s gonna be hard. The [harder] month is if you do it in the pre-season," Kouyate remarked, as reported by his club's official website.

“After [training] we go to his [Christian Benteke’s] house. He does Ramadan [with] me, Mama [Sakho] and Jordan [Ayew]. And he prays with us in the night. Yeah, it's very, very good. It's a very good experience."

While Muslims typically prefer to celebrate the end of Ramadan with family and friends, the situation may be different this year due to health and safety concerns in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"But maybe this month [isn't going to] be the same. Eid is something [that we like to] do together, enjoy the time, everything is positive, it's like a big moment for all. It's very, very good, it's an unbelievable [end to the] month for us,” Kouyate added.

Kouyate has made 30 Premier League appearances involving 29 starts for Palace so far this season. He also has a goal to his name, having registered the Eagles’ consolation strike in a 2-1 loss to Everton in September.

While Kouyate joined Palace in 2018, Ayew transferred to the club a year later, initially signing a loan deal from Swansea City.

So far this term, the Ghanaian has played 28 times for Palace in the league, starting in 21 games and scoring his solitary goal in a 4-1 triumph over Leeds United last November.

The 28-year-old is one of two Ghana internationals at Selhurts Park, the other being Jeffrey Schlupp.

Rachid Ghezzal scored and provided an assist while Georges-Kevin N'Koudou found the back of the net as Besiktas secured a 3-2 victory over Rizespor in Wednesday’s Turkish Super Lig game.

Ghezzal teamed up with the Black Eagles last summer on a season-long loan from Premier League side Leicester City and has been delivering impressive performances.

The winger was handed a starting role along with French-born Cameroonian N'Koudou and helped Sergen Yalcin’s men extend their winning run at Caykur Didi Stadyumu.

Besiktas started the encounter brightly and opened the scoring only 16 minutes into the encounter following a fine combination from the African stars.

Ghezzal sent a brilliant pass to N'Koudou, who then fired home his effort, leaving goalkeeper Gokhan Akkan with no chance.

Gokhan Tore doubled the lead in the 57th minute after a timely assist from Welinton, Ghezzal then got a goal of his own with 15 minutes left to play to hand his side a 3-0 lead.

Rizespor then attempted a comeback when Ismail Koybasi reduced the deficit in the 87th minute with a fine individual goal.

Moments before the end of the game, Damjan Djokovic scored but the effort was not enough to save Bulent Uygun’s men from defeat as Besiktas held on to their lead to secure all three points.

N’Koudou, Ghezzal, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo international Fabrice N’Sakala featured for the duration of the game.

Ghana’s Bernard Mensah was introduced into the game in the 85th minute for Adem Ljajic and made his contribution to the Black Eagles.

The victory consolidated Besiktas’ lead at the top of the table after gathering 78 points from 36 games, six points above second-placed Galatasaray.

Ghezza has now scored five goals and provided 16 assists in 27 league appearances while N'Koudou has eight goals to his credit this season. 

The African stars will be expected to help the Black Eagles extend their winning run when they take on Hatayspor in their next league game on May 1.

AmaZulu head coach Benni McCarthy has revealed one of the factors which he believes have attributed to his success with the Durban team.

Speaking after taking Usuthu to his former club Cape Town City on Wednesday night and winning 5-1 to move hot onto the heels of league leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, McCarthy explained how he believes his approach to coaching has changed since leaving the Mother City team:

"Fear. When it comes to the defence, I'm always very strict. I choose my words carefully when it comes to the defence,” he told SuperSport TV.

"I think if you don't want to be on the end of a beating that comes out of my mouth, so you try and be as disciplined as possible. And correct,” the former Bafana Bafana striker said in reference to the AmaZulu defenders.

"I don't take kindly to defenders who want to be play-makers. You know your job is to defend, so you defend - your goal, your goalkeeper - with your life.

"I'm very tough when it comes to my defenders. Higher up the pitch, I'm more relaxed, because that's where the creativity and goals come from.

"But in defence, I think the first mistake when I was on the opposite bench of the team that we played today [CT City], it was all free - the defenders didn't have fear to play football.

"And I think it still haunts them till today because they never gotten it out of them.

"So the one thing I wanted to rectify was to install that a little bit more - we all want to play, but our number one priority is to defend. And that's what I've got very right, coming to AmaZulu."

Usuthu are next up in a KZN derby - on Saturday they face fellow on-form Durban side Golden Arrows, who are third on the standings and drew with Sundowns on Wednesday. The Brazilians play Orlando Pirates on Sunday.

Fulham defender Ola Aina has explained how he is looking forward to playing against his former club Chelsea in a Premier League game on May 1.

The 24-year-old spent more than a decade at Stamford Bridge, having been with the club since he was a child and featured for the senior team before permanently leaving the side in 2019.

On leaving the Blues, the versatile defender joined Italian club Torino on an initial loan move before signing a permanent deal.

Aina is currently on a season-long loan with the Cottagers and as they prepare to take on the Blues, the wing-back has revealed his eagerness for the "tough" game.

“It’s going to be a tough game, a very tough game.I came through the ranks there so I know a lot of people, a lot of coaches,” Aina told the club website.

“It’s going to be a special game for me, but nevertheless the team’s going there to do a job, and hopefully we can.

“I had great memories at Chelsea because I was there from when I was a kid to a young man, some good memories with the first team as well, being with that Premier League winning squad in 2016/17.

“I get excited for every fixture, but to play against your boyhood club is always one that you relish, and I’m looking forward to it.

“It will be difficult, even though they’ve got a lot of games. They’ve got good rotation in their squad. I think whoever plays for Chelsea against us, it will still be a difficult game as they’ve got quality players.

“That’s just how it is, but with how the Premier League is, anything can happen. Anyone can beat anyone. At the end of the day it’s 11 against 11, so I’m looking forward to it and we’ll see what happens.”

Fulham are in the relegation zone with 27 points from 33 games and Aina has urged his side to take each game as it comes while hoping they can avoid the drop at the end of the campaign.

“To the outside world, it’s looking like a massive mountain, but to us, the staff here, the boys, we just take every game as it comes,” he continued.

“We have to focus on the games one by one, and the next game’s Chelsea so we just have to focus on that, do our best, try and get a result, and that’s how we’ll be pushing on for the rest of the season.

“We have five more games to go, these are five massive finals for us, so we have to hit them head on.”

Aina has made 31 appearances for Fulham across all competitions this season, scoring two goals and providing one assist.

Kaizer Chiefs head coach Gavin Hunt says his side should have wrapped up their game against Chippa United in the first-half on Wednesday afternoon.

Amakhosi were hoping to make it two wins in a row in the PSL after securing a 2-1 win over Mamelodi Sundowns on Sunday, but they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat to the Chippa United at FNB Stadium.

Hunt was left to rue his side's missed chances in the first-half which was dominated by Chiefs and Chippa grabbed a late winning goal through Bienvenu Eva Nga in the 84th minute.  

"Obviously we dominate the ball but you got to, you know you go to work the goalkeeper a little bit more which we didn't do, enough opportunities, more than enough you know," Hunt told SuperSport TV.

"It's a problem, we haven't scored many and obviously we make one mistake the whole game and we concede, so you go to give them credit, put two big boys, forced it a little bit but we should be better.

"We dominated the ball but every time we got to the final third, the final ball let us down, you know people...so yeah, congratulations to Chippa."

The veteran tactician pointed out that he had warned his charges that Chippa would sit back and wait for a chance to counter and score. 

"I watch yesterday and I see penalties given and I go... but it's football. We can't rely on that, we need to be better, we need to score, we need to have the final pass across the face, the first half of the game should be out of sight," he continued.

"It was like a practice match, I said to the players at half-time 'We got to score the first goal here because if they score they'll just sit in and dig in,' which they did, and fair play to them."

Samir Nurkovic, Lazarous Kambole and Reeve Frosler were introduced on the hour-mark and Hunt explained that he needed fresh legs since Chiefs have played a lot of games within a short period of time. 

"Legs, we're playing every two, three days, they ran out of steam, we have to change it, we have to use the bench, so it becomes a two type of game," he added. 

"We're creating, we're not tracking, we're not getting back, we're not getting forward, there are no legs there, we have to do what we have to do.

"We have to keep going, we've been disappointed at times, unbelievable at times and disappointing so that's got a lot to do with... I know, don't worry."

Chiefs are set to face Bloemfontein Celtic in a PSL match at Dr Molemela Stadium on Saturday.

Orlando Pirates will end up on the losing side when they face Enyimba in Wednesday’s Caf Confederation Cup showdown, according to Goal readers.

In what promises to be an exciting encounter at the Enyimba International Stadium, the Buccaneers must avoid defeat to secure their place in the quarter-final.

For the Nigeria Professional Football League outfit, anything short of victory would see them crash out of the competition.

As football fans await the titanic clash, we asked our readers where the pendulum would swing at the end of 90 minutes.

In a poll conducted on Goal Africa Twitter handle, a massive 72.6 percent of total votes cast believe the People’s Elephants - who have won Africa’s premier club competition two times – will pick up all points at stake against Josef Zinnbauer’s men.

For the Premier Soccer League giants, they are massive underdogs to emerge victorious as the majority of fans feel they will suffer defeat, as reflected in the 21.2 percent of votes cast in their favour.

Only 6.1% are of the opinion that the encounter would end on a no winner, no vanquished note in Aba.

Meanwhile, Enyimba striker Tosin Omoyele acknowledges the threat Josef Zinnbauer’s team could pose, while stating that his team must avoid being wasteful in front of goal.

“The game against Orlando Pirates is a very massive one for us and we are all prepared and fired up to make Nigerians proud by getting the much-needed victory,” Omoyele told Goal.

“It will definitely be a tough encounter no doubt, but we are very confident about our chances and we are hoping to get a positive result.

“Unlike in our previous matches, this one is very crucial, and we must convert all the chances that come our way to make the job easier for us.

“The South Africans are not pushovers. They are also a very solid team, but today will be our day."

In the first leg played at the Orlando Stadium, goals from Deon Kavendji and Tshegofatso Mabasa gave Orlando Pirates a 2-1 victory with Austin Oladapo getting the Nigerians' only strike.

Esther Sunday and Bassira Toure were the heroines as ALG Spor subdued Kayseri Genclerbirligi 2-0 in their Turkish Kadinlar Ligi quarterfinal encounter on Wednesday.

Before the match, Nigeria's Sunday and Mali's Toure have been in brilliant form in the 2021 Turkish campaign for their new side, scoring two and five goals in three appearances, respectively.

After their superb contributions in the group phase, coach Asli Canan Sabirli handed the African duo their second and third starting roles in the last eight tie against Kayseri.

To reach the last eight, ALG Spor pipped Fomget Genclik, Kirecburnu and Dudulluspor to top Group C with nine points, while Kayseri Gencerbirligi ended as runners-up in Group D with five points.

ALG continued from where they left off at Arslan Zeki Demirci Sports Complex until Sunday gave the holders a first-half lead, with the opener in the 33rd minute off a brilliant assist from Ebru Topcu.

After the restart, Kayseri fought hard to get back into the mix but saw their comeback dreams quashed when Toure struck five minutes from full-time to seal ALG's passage to the next round.

Red-hot Toure took the tally to six in four games, with her second-half effort and lasted the entire duration of the encounter for ALG.

On her own part, Sunday, who played the first 45 minutes of the match, has now scored three goals in four games for Sabirli's side.

The result saw ALG advance to the semi-final of the competition and they will take on the winner of the quarter-final clash between Besiktas and Atasehir Belediyespor at the same venue on May 2.

RB Leipzig are in talks to acquire coach Jesse Marsch from Red Bull Salzburg.

The German side want the American to take charge this summer after it was confirmed current coach Julian Nagelsmann will join Bayern Munich at the end of the season.

Leipzig have already settled on who they want to replace Nagelsmann and are negotiating with their sister club.

What has been said?

Salzburg spokesman Christian Kircher confirmed on Wednesday that talks have begun.

He told SID. "I can confirm that talks with Leipzig have been started."

It has been reported by German outlet Kicker that the Bundesliga side and Marsch have already reached a personal agreement.

Marsch wants Leipzig return

Marsch spent a year as assistant coach to Ralf Rangnick at Leipzig before moving to Salzburg in 2019.

The 47-year-old's contract runs until 2022, but he recently admitted that he would like to take the Leipzig job.

"Of course I understand the club very well. If you ask me what would fit best, RB Leipzig is of course a top idea," he told Sky.

Marsch was also recently linked with Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham and Celtic.

Further reading