Sports
Chelsea beat Servette to give Maresca first win

Chelsea secured their first victory under new coach Enzo Maresca with a 2-0 victory over Servette in their Conference League play-off round first leg on Thursday.
The hosts struggled to break down their opponents in the first half at Stamford Bridge before Christopher Nkunku put them in front with a 50th-minute penalty, just his fourth goal for the club.
Noni Madueke moved Chelsea closer to a group-stage place ahead of next week’s second leg by firing home from Enzo Fernandez’s pass.
Tiemoko Ouattara almost pulled one back for Swiss side Servette late on when his deflected strike hit the crossbar.
It was a welcome win for Chelsea after suffering a 2-0 loss in Maresca’s debut game against Manchester City at the weekend.
The Blues are making their return to European competition after finishing sixth in the Premier League last season under Mauricio Pochettino.
Elsewhere, Greek club Panathinaikos suffered a 2-1 defeat at 10-man Lens in their first leg, with Wesley Said scoring what proved to be the winner for the Ligue 1 side.
Former Spain and Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea endured a difficult debut as Fiorentina were held to a 3-3 home draw by Hungarians Puskas Akademia.
Irish club St Patrick’s kept their hopes of qualifying for the group stage of a European tournament for the first time alive, drawing 0-0 with Istanbul Basaksehir.
In the Europa League play-offs, Dutch giants Ajax thrashed Jagiellonia 4-1 in Poland, with English forward Chuba Akpom scoring a hat-trick.
Besiktas blew a 3-1 lead to draw 3-3 with Lugano in Switzerland, while Scottish outfit Hearts lost 1-0 at Viktoria Plzen.
-
Special Feature2 days ago
Matawalle: The inertia of the saddest minds, by Lawal Umar Maradun, Ph.D.
-
National News2 days ago
African Union Simulation names Ooni of Ife grand patron of traditional institutions
-
National News2 days ago
CAN to Tinubu: Don’t spare terrorists hiding behind religion
-
National News2 days ago
Africans fume, react to Pope election
-
Business2 days ago
NNPCL crucial to our operation — Dangote
-
Sports2 days ago
Flick chasing Guardiola’s ‘Clasico’ record
-
National News2 days ago
Tinubu didn’t come to manage Nigeria, but for transformation – City Boy Movement DG
-
Opinion7 hours ago
Open letter to Tunji Olawuyi Ajuloopin, by Femi Ogunshola