The WEB GIST

There were four minutes left when Lionel Messi scored the goal that allowed Barcelona to depart the Vicente Calderón top of La Liga and believing they could actually win it. This was not a good game, but it was a very good result for Luis Enrique’s side on their last visit to this stadium, due to be bulldozed in the summer.

Although the occasion revealed the flaws in their football, and while Real Madrid were at that stage yet to kick off against Villarreal and still have a game in hand to play against Celta de Vigo, by the end of it Barcelona were top, for a few hours at least. How they got there is another question. The answer, as so often, was Messi.

This was not Messi’s best game and it certainly was not Barcelona’s, but there they were. And there he was. With the score at 1-1 in the 86th minute and the game heading towards a conclusion that suited no one, he clipped a free-kick into the Atlético area and followed it. When the ball came back to him, via Luis Suárez, Messi’s first shot was blocked but he reacted quickest to nudge the rebound past Jan Oblak from six yards. It hadn’t been the tidiest of goals and it wasn’t the tidiest of games. Barcelona did not convince, yet this was their 17th consecutive league match without defeat.

They were fortunate to win it. They opened the scoring when, after three rebounds, the ball dropped to Rafinha to score on 64 minutes. The lead was then cancelled out by Diego Godín’s near-post header six minutes later. Another free-kick had led to the third, via a rebound or two of its own. And that, in a way, was the portrait of the afternoon at the Calderón. Even before that goal Barcelona knew they would leave here top, on goal difference, but surely with the sensation that they could not possibly stay there. After it, the sensation shifted. They’re still standing, and ahead of everyone else.

On a slow pitch , the ball holding up, Atlético had been on top throughout the first half, alternating pressure and patience but always a step quicker than their opponents. Luis Enrique had opted for three central defenders but if he sought control or protection, he did not get it; instead he got a flat performance, lacking in presence or play.

Godín, Gabi and Antoine Griezmann all had shots inside 20 minutes. Barcelona were not finding a way out. Corners came and went, all at one end, none dealt with comfortably. Marc-André ter Stegen made a superb save from Griezmann and then cut out a cross from the Frenchman. He was up quickly and looking for the one outlet Barcelona seemed to have: Neymar, who allowed his team to breathe even when he ultimately lost the ball, which he often did. As the half closed, Barcelona had found a way into it, Oblak producing a superb save from a Messi free-kick and then denying Gerard Piqué, while the second-half continued in similar vein.

Suárez missed at one end, Griezmann at the other. And that, it seemed, was that. But three scrappy goals followed. Rafinha, then Godín, then Messi. There was still time for Piqué to hook one off Fernando Torres’s head, yards out. The chance had been created by a long throw. It had been that kind of match, but it could prove a significant one for Barcelona.

In the end, perhaps it was just inevitable that Zlatan Ibrahimovic would insist on having the final say. Southampton had given everything to drag themselves level and, for long spells, it had felt as if Manchester United were about to fall to one of the more improbable comebacks of any Wembley final. It would need a flint heart not to feel sympathy for the losing side but this is why José Mourinho was so determined to being Ibrahimovic to his club: the big moments on the occasions that really matter.

The clock had ticked into its 87th minute when United’s new talisman applied the decisive header. The same player had opened the scoring with a free-kick in the first half and his second goal brought a measure of relief as well as jubilation bearing in mind the exceptional effort Southampton had put into giving their opponents an almighty scare.

Manchester United 3-2 Southampton: EFL Cup final – as it happened
The magnificent Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice, the second a late header to shatter an heroic Southampton and settle a thrilling final
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Mourinho is certainly entitled to wonder why his side made life so difficult for themselves once Jesse Lingard continued his run of Wembley goals by doubling their lead seven minutes before half-time. For that, Southampton deserve immense credit. It is possible to lose while also playing with distinction and they managed both here on a day when Manolo Gabbiadini, their £14m signing from Napoli, was a worthy contender to be recognised as the game’s outstanding player.

Gabbiadini’s first goal arrived in first-half stoppage-time, followed by another three minutes into the second half, and he would have had a hat-trick but for a trigger-happy linesman raising his flag to rule out one when the game was goal-less. United’s supporters of a certain generation have spent many years grizzling about Bobby Stokes’s goal in the 1976 FA Cup final – once described as so far offside that Southampton’s match-winner was almost in Hendon – but this one undoubtedly went in their favour and, for Southampton, it will be of little consolation that football’s law-makers will be convening at Wembley on Friday to discuss the merits of video replays.

Nobody can know what would have happened had that goal stood, but it is certainly worth remembering on the next occasion Mourinho complains about perceived refereeing injustices.

Eight minutes later, Oriol Romeu scythed down Ander Herrera in a central position 30 yards from goal. Romeu was shown the game’s first yellow card but the real punishment for Southampton came in the form of Ibrahimovic’s formidable right boot. From that distance, however, Fraser Forster will have to accept a portion of blame bearing in mind the shot was only two-thirds of the way across his goal. It was a leaden-footed attempt to reach the ball and a bad day for a lapse of this nature.

This was essentially the reason why Southampton’s players finished the match on their knees. They moved the ball around confidently and, on either side of Gabbiadini, Nathan Redmond and James Ward-Prowse were difficult, elusive opponents. Defensively, however, they were unable to show why they had shut out Liverpool over two legs in the semi-final and become only the second team in history – Tottenham in 1981-82 being the other – to reach this final without conceding a single goal.

Lingard’s goal was a case in point. From United’s perspective it was a slick exchange of passes involving Juan Mata, Anthony Martial and Marcos Rojo before Lingard slotted an expertly placed shot into the bottom corner of the net. Equally, Southampton had plenty of players back without getting close enough to the ball. Lingard’s shot went through the legs of Maya Yoshida and, at that stage, it was difficult to see any other conclusion than a straightforward United win.

Instead, Southampton’s players shook their heads clear and came back with a level of determination and skill that seemed to surprise their opponents. Gabbiadini’s first goal came from close-range, clipping Ward-Prowse’s low delivery through David de Gea’s legs when the United goalkeeper might have been better advised going for the cross with his hands rather than his feet. Claude Puel had been facing the ordeal of a half-time team-talk at 2-0 down, but that goal dramatically changed the complexion of the match and when they came out for the second half they were straight on the attack.

As well as Gabbiadini’s second goal, they could also reflect on the header that Romeu, getting the better of Paul Pogba directed against the post from one of Ward-Prowse’s corners. Gabbiadiani’s equaliser was superb, waiting for a header to drop in a congested penalty area before firing a swivelling shot past De Gea, despite the close proximity of two United defenders, and there was no doubt in those moments that Southampton fancied themselves to complete the recovery.

Ibrahimovic had other ideas, scoring with a precise header from Herrera’s cross to register his 26th goal of the season and put Mourinho level with Sir Alex Ferguson and Brian Clough with his fourth League Cup triumph.

Reigning World Footballer of the Year, Cristiano Ronaldo, his arch rival and FC Barcelona talisman, Lionel Messi, former France captain and coach of Real Madrid, Zinedine Zidane, former African Footballer of the Year, Abedi Ayew Pele, among others are set for an international novelty football match in Abuja, between the African football stars and the rest of the World  aimed at campaigning against trafficking, insurgency and terrorism.

Ronaldo and Messi
The match which will be played at the Abuja National Stadium on May 21 is being organized by Next2None Support Initiative with the theme; Africa My Africa.

Addressing the media in Abuja over the weekend, chairman of Next2None Support initiative, Barr. Ndukwe Sam Obu said his organization decided to use football for its campaign because it speaks the language of love, peace, hope and unity.

According to him, other such football icons like Diego Maradona of Argentina, Ruud Gulit, former African and World footballer of the year, George Opone Weah, Thierry Henri, former African footballer of the year, Nwankwo Kanu and former Super Eagles captain, Austin Jay Jay Okocha amongst others have confirmed their arrival for the match.

Ndukwe further said since most of the victims of human trafficking with those that play football, the event will help them  know that they can do other meaningful activities.

Also speaking at the briefing, Nze Elvis Agukwe, the international coordinator of the project said the proceeds from the novelty match would be given to the victims of human trafficking and insurgency.

He described terrorism and human trafficking as twin evils that require the support of every well meaning individual and organization

Arsene Wenger 'sorry' for Arsenal's handball goal against Hull

Craig Burley and Sebastian Salazar analyse Arsenal's 2-0 win and the controversy surrounding Alexis Sanchez' first goal.
LONDON -- Arsene Wenger says he feels "sorry" for Hull City after Alexis Sanchez scored with his hand in Arsenal's 2-0 win but said his team have had several other decisions go against them lately.

Sanchez put Arsenal ahead in the 34th minute at the Emirates when the ball bounced off Hull goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic onto his wrist and into the net. Referee Mark Clattenburg allowed the goal to stand, but apologised to the Hull players after seeing replays of the incident during the half-time break. 

Arsenal
2
Hull City
0

When asked if the goal had been "fair," Wenger said: "Honestly I don't know. I'm responsible for many things, but not for the refereeing decisions.

"So I feel sorry for Hull, but I feel that we had as well to cope recently with some decisions where you didn't ask me this question. But I'm sorry, I want the right decision to be made."

Wenger this week called Chelsea's opening goal in the 3-1 win over the Gunners last weekend "absolutely scandalous" because of Marcos Alonso putting his elbow in Hector Bellerin's face when winning an aerial duel against the Spanish right-back, who had to be substituted with a head injury.

Leroy Sane had also appeared to be offside when Manchester City took the lead in their 2-1 win in December.

"There are some other goals that we conceded, like at Man City, that nobody said that it was offside," Wenger said.

Alexis Sanchez scored with his hand as Arsenal took the lead against Hull.
The Frenchman also acknowledged that his team needed a break after last week's two losses that left them 12 points behind leaders Chelsea.

"Of course. When you lose two games on the trot when you're at Arsenal, you face a good storm, and there is only one answer, to win the next game, or you face even more," Wenger said. "I'm at Arsenal for 20 years, I know that, and when you look one day if I lost three Premier League games on the trot, you will be surprised."

The second goal also came after a handball, as Sam Clucas stopped a header from Lucas Perez with his arm in injury time. Clucas was sent off and Sanchez doubled the lead from the penalty spot.

There was little to argue about with that decision, but Hull also felt Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs should have been sent off for a professional foul on Lazar Markovic when he bundled him over as he was clear on goal in the 55th. Gibbs escaped with a yellow card and told Sky Sports that he knew he was taking a risk when he made the challenge.

"Yeah, definitely I take a chance," Gibbs said. "I did actually go for the ball. Mark [Clattenburg]'s view was that the ball was going away from the goal."

The two decisions left Hull manager Marco Silva aggrieved.

"Of course I'm not happy. I think we didn't deserve this result. Some important decisions were not good for us today," Silva said.

The 30-year-old Bolt cemented his status as an all-time great by completing an unprecedented 'triple triple' in Rio 2016, becoming the only man to win all three sprint events at three Olympic Games.
But the gold the Jamaican won in the 4x100m relay in Beijing 2008 will no longer count after governing body the International Olympic Committee (IOC) disqualified the Caribbean island's sprint team Wednesday.
Re-analysis of Carter's samples from Beijing resulted in a positive test for the prohibited substance methylhexaneamine.
All four members of the team -- Bolt, Asafa Powell, Michael Frater and Carter, a bronze medalist at the 2013 World Championships -- lose their titles.
Speaking last summer about the Carter situation, Bolt -- the 100m and 200m world record holder -- said returning one of his golds would be "heartbreaking," but added that he would not have a problem doing so.
Bolt's agent Ricky Simms and the Jamaican Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) were not immediately available for comment.

Prohibited
Traces of methylhexaneamine -- on the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) prohibited list since 2004 -- were found in Carter's sample when 454 samples from the Beijing Games were retested by the IOC last year.
Initially sold as a nasal decongestant in the US until 1983, methylhexaneamine was reclassified in 2011 as a "specified substance" and has been used more recently as an ingredient in dietary supplements.
The 31-year-old Carter has been a key member of Jamaica's dominant relay team, running the first leg as they won World Championships gold in 2011, 2013 and 2015, as well as gold at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.

Nesta Carter set his personal best of 9.78 seconds in August 2010.
The sixth fastest 100m runner in history, Carter has not run competitively since news of the failed test first emerged in June 2016.
World record holder Bolt has said he will retire from athletics after the 2017 World Championships in London, saying last year that he would only run the 100m.
The IOC also announced that Russia's Tatyana Lebedeva, 40, was stripped of the triple jump and long jump silver medals she won in Beijing after reanalysis of her samples tested positive for the steroid turinabol.

Wayne Rooney, a teenager when he arrived at Manchester United more than a decade ago, beamed with delight on Saturday after plundering a stoppage-time equaliser to become the club’s all-time leading goalscorer.

A free-kick agaist stoke city brought his 250th goal for United and, by being both exquisite and dramatic, it was a fitting way for Rooney, on as a substitute, to surpass Sir Bobby Charlton’s record.

“[It means] a hell of a lot,” said Rooney, his joy diluted by the fact that his goal earned just one point rather than the three United had been seeking. “It’s difficult at the moment to be over-pleased because of the result – two points dropped – but in the grand scheme of things it’s a huge honour for me. It’s something I never expected when I joined the club but I’m really proud and hopefully there’s a lot more to come.”

This was Rooney’s 546th appearance for United since joining the club from Everton as an 18-year-old in 2004 and during that time he has established himself as England most prolific mark man, with 53 goals from 119 caps so far, surpassing Charlton’s mark of 49. The World Cup winner’s United record had stood for 44 years and he was on hand to witness Rooney eclipse it. He led the tributes. “He’s a true great for club and country,” said Charlton. “It’s fitting he is now the highest goalscorer for both United and England.”

It was perhaps also fitting that the goal came against a team managed by Mark Hughes, one of many excellent former strikers below Rooney in the United’s roll of honour. “It’s an unbelievable achievement,” said Hughes. “Sir Bobby’s record stood for 40-odd years and a lot of good strikers have been and gone in that time and not got anywhere near it. Clearly we didn’t want to have it happen today but it is fair to say he has done that throughout his career. You only have to give top players one opportunity. He had to produce a ball that was right on the money and that’s what he’s done.

“United players through the years have to score goals right at the death and at that late stage you think maybe the game is slipping away from them. The little bit of magic from Wayne has got them something from the game.”

José Mourinho, meanwhile, lavished praise on Rooney but also expressed the hope that finally reaching the milestone will clear the air around United. He suggested that the loud and protracted yearning for Rooney to break the record had been becoming an irritating sideshow. “It’s been going on too long,” said Mourinho. “I think it’s an amazing achievement, something not to forget, and I think you should speak abut Wayne’s record today and tomorrow for 24 hours a day and then let him be a normal guy.

“Obviously he is a legend in the history of our club and English football, but the record is in his pocket and now we just want to let him be a normal player and try to score more goals.”

On Sunday Rooney will be presented with a lifetime achievement award by the Football Writers’ Association in a ceremony that had been arranged before the goal at Stoke. Mourinho said that made the timing of his goal all the better. “It comes at exactly the most beautiful moment you could chose.”

Mourinho was aghast, however, with the finishing of the rest of United’s players on a day when his team spurned several chances, a recurring problem this term. “Sometimes I’m on the bench and I’m tired of seeing my team play so well and create so many chances but it’s always dramatic to score a goal.

“I’ve been saying for a long time that one day we will score every chance and somebody will go home with six or seven in the basket but the reality is that never arrives and we always struggle so much to score.”

Sam Allardyce had made clear his initial target on returning to club management at Crystal Palace. “Let’s stop losing,” he had offered when outlining his early ambitions and, after three days and two training sessions, he can at least argue he has succeeded in his primary aim. After eight defeats in Alan Pardew’s last 10 games in charge, this would normally feel like an improvement. Yet the point accrued at Watford felt wasteful.

Allardyce will better understand why this team have infuriated too often this season. His side had eclipsed the hosts up to the break but rather shrunk thereafter as ambition gave way to jangling nerves. Watford were worthy of their equaliser, though Palace’s mood was hardly improved in what time remained. Wilfried Zaha was booked for simulation after crumpling under Miguel Britos’ contact in the area, and had to be dragged down the tunnel by the visitors’ coaching staff after the home side’s mascot, Harry the Hornet, dived in comic fashion in front of him after the final whistle.

There is history between Zaha and Watford, from the play-off final in 2013 and a league game here last season, but the provocation felt unnecessary. The same might be said of the reference to a “pint of wine” over the Tannoy system, a reference to the newspaper sting which cost Allardyce his role with England after 67 days, as the home club wished their fans well for what remains of the festive season. Palace may have to get used to that.

Watford’s late recovery rather masked the reality they had been horribly disjointed for long periods, their approach initially disrupted by the loss of Daryl Janmaat, who had departed on a stretcher within the opening five minutes, then Valon Behrami before the quarter-hour mark and the resultant positional switches. Their play was too one-paced for comfort, the threat sporadic even against a defence as jittery as Palace’s backline.

There is pressure mounting on Walter Mazzarri after recent results and, had Palace taken the opportunity to extend their lead to two goals at the interval, the sense of grumbling discontent from the majority in Vicarage Road might have overwhelmed the hosts.

Yet that chance was missed. Sebastian Prödl’s under-hit back-pass had been collected by Christian Benteke with Heurelho Gomes, running away from goal, clipping the striker. The Belgian took the spot-kick himself, stuttering his run up as ever, but his effort was weak and blocked by the diving goalkeeper. It was the ninth save Gomes has made from 30 Premier League penalties at two clubs, a remarkable record even if Benteke’s attempt was dismal. In that context, Palace had actually departed at the interval the more frustrated.

Their dominance up to then would have merited a more imposing lead. They had been impressive as an attacking force, Zaha tormenting Younès Kaboul and Juan Camilo Zúñiga down the left while Andros Townsend finally showed flashes of form on the opposite flank. It was the England winger’s slick turn away from two opponents and beautifully weighted pass which was dispatched by Yohan Cabaye on the turn midway through the opening period, the Frenchman having been played onside by Kaboul, for the midfielder’s second goal of term. He might have registered a few minutes earlier only to drill marginally wide of a post after Prödl blocked Benteke on the edge of the box.

Cabaye was excellent in the playmaker role, swapping with the busy Jason Puncheon and charged with prompting Palace’s counter-attacks. Yet, when he was starved of possession, this became an ugly scrap into which Watford grew.

There was an inevitability to what followed, nerves steadily gripping with the visitors panicked into conceding a corner from which Damien Delaney grappled with Prodl on the edge of the six-yard box, tugging up the Austrian’s shirt, and was penalised. Troy Deeney, initially left out here and on the pitch only after those early changes, duly thumped his 100th goal for the club beyond Wayne Hennessey. His 99th had come a little under 800 minutes of playing action previously, back at the start of October. It was enough to earn Watford their point.

The Super Falcons of Nigeria have moved up two places from 37th to 35th in the latest FIFA world rankings released on Friday.

They retained their number one position on the continent, after winning the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations in Cameroon .

The Black Queens of Ghana who finished third at the AWCON, also moved up from 46th to 45th and are second in Africa.

AWCON hosts Cameroon retain their 47th position and are third on the continent.

World champions USA maintain their number one position with Germany second and France third. Canada are fourth, while England are fifth.

Celtic were knocked out of Europe as a Lionel Messi double gave Barcelona a 2-0 Champions League win at Parkhead.

The Argentinian, who scored a hat-trick in the 7-0 home win over the Hoops in the opening Group C fixture, struck from close range in the 23rd minute and doubled his tally from the spot 10 minutes after the break.

Brendan Rodgers' side put up a better show than they did in the Nou Camp but remain bottom of the section with two points and travel to Manchester City next month for the final fixture unable to finish third for a Europa League spot.

+1
Barcelona's Lionel Messi showed Celtic no mercy

Despite all the home side's efforts - and they really put in a shift - it was a mostly comfortable win for Luis Enrique's side who qualify for the knockout stages as group winners.

Celtic fans turned up in the hope of a repeat of the 2-1 win over Barcelona four years ago, rather than in any expectation.

Barcelona, though, travelled to Glasgow carrying their worst start to a LaLiga campaign in a decade but they were boosted by the return of Messi after he recovered from illness.

Fellow forward Luis Suarez was back from suspension while Gerard Pique shrugged off a knock to take his place in the defence.

Celtic defenders Jozo Simunovic and Emilio Izaguirre and midfielder Tom Rogic were back in the side but striker Leigh Griffiths failed a fitness test on a tight hamstring.

Barcelona showed early flashes of their class and in the 10th minute Messi failed to control a wonderful through-ball from Sergio Busquets when he would have had only goalkeeper Craig Gordon to beat.

Messi then missed the target with a drive from 16 yards after being set up by Jordi Alba, before Ivan Rakitic headed a cross from the same player past the post.

Not that it was one-way traffic, but Celtic could only get as far as the edge of the visitors' box.

Brazilian forward Neymar was arguably the outstanding Barcelona player on show, conducting play from wide on the left and his little dink found Messi who steered it past Gordon at his near post.

It was a clinical finish, but to their credit Celtic came fighting back and there remained the suggestion that they could fashion an opportunity.

That chance came in the 36th minute when striker Moussa Dembele tested Marc-Andre ter Stegen with a decent drive from 16 yards, the goalkeeper gathering at the second attempt.

However, the visitors retained their potency going forward and it would have been 2-0 had Gordon not made a remarkable save from Suarez's point-blank header after Messi had reached the byline with a trademark burst of speed.

Winger James Forrest replaced Scott Sinclair at the start of the second half and seven minutes later he planted a cross right on to the head of Demebele but the France Under-21 striker's header, like Callum McGregor's drive moments earlier, lacked power.

Celtic paid for that glaring miss almost immediately when Izaguirre's challenge on Suarez inside the box at the other end saw Italian referee Daniele Orsato point to the spot, with Messi confidently beating Gordon with his penalty.

The home fans did their best to rally their heroes but it was with defiance rather than conviction, and a hush went around the stadium when Messi made a yard of space before screwing the ball wide of the far post.

The Parkhead side kept pushing forward but the Catalans were largely in control - Suarez missed a sitter in front of goal after being set up by Messi - and saw the game out to take their place, inevitably, in the knockout stages again

Football fans in Osogbo have commended Super Eagles’ 3-1 2018 world cup qualifier win against Algeria on Saturday in Uyo stadium.

Some of the fans said on Sunday in Osogbo that the win was heart-warming.

Some of the fans, however, said the Eagles Coach, Gernot Rohr, still have a lot of work to do on the defenders.

Mr Wole Adeniran, a football enthusiast, said the Super Eagles have started reawakening the hope of Nigerians in the team.

Adeniran, who said it had been long when the team scored three quality goals in a match, added that the hope of the Super Eagles to qualify for the world cup was getting brighter.

“I am happy for the team, especially Victor Moses and Mikel Obi who scored the goals.

“The team is now reawakening our hope again.”

Another fan of the Eagles, Mr Dele Fajuyigbe, said he was happy that Nigerian football was gradually coming back to life.

Fajuyigbe, who said that the Algerians came with determination to win the match, commended the Eagles for displaying team spirit during the match.

He also urged the coach to work on the defenders, saying the back room was too weak throughout  the match.

Miss Olufunke Simeon, another fan, said the performance of the players during the match was encouraging.

Simeon, who described the team as a work in progress, said before the world cup, the team would have blended together perfectly.

She said “now that the Super Eagles is sitting comfortably on the table, it is good to go.”

Victor Moses scored the first goal at the 25th minute, while Mikel Obi scored the second goal at 42nd minute and Moses again scored the third goal at the 90th minute.

With the win, Super Eagles is now at the top of the table with six points.

May this new month bring many opportunities your way, to explore every joy of life and may your resolutions for the days ahead stay firm, turning all your dreams into reality and all your efforts into great achievements may all your heart desires be granted, may the guidance, protection, mercies, grace, favour, blessing and upliftment of The LORD never cease in ur life and family and may this be the beginning of ur new things in your life  stay strong be positive and fulfill your dreams
HAPPY NEW MONTH
THE GOLDEN GIST®✔
www.thegoldengist.blogspot.com

Mario Balotelli starred once again as clinical Nice opened up a six-point gap at the top of Ligue 1 with a 4-1 thrashing of Nantes on Sunday.

The maverick forward, back in form after a nightmare spell at Liverpool, scored one and was involved in two other goals as Nice took their unbeaten run since the start of the season to 11 matches.

Wylan Cyprien scored a brace and Alassane Plea also netted while Emiliano Sala replied for the out-gunned visitors at the Allianz Riviera, as Nice played with panache and incision.

The league leaders were quickly in control of proceedings and Balotelli was at the heart of it as they opened the scoring.

The Italy star ran onto Younes Belhanda’s chip over the top and although he was stopped in his tracks by desperate last-gasp defending, the ball broke to Cyprien to slot into the empty net.

Nice’s Italian forward Mario Balotelli (C) vies with Nantes’ French midfielder Adrien Thomasson (L) during the French L1 football match Nice (OGCN) vs Nantes (FCN) on October 30, 2016 at the “Allianz Riviera” stadium in Nice, southeastern France. AFP
Nice were piling on the pressure and the Nantes backline cracked again as Balotelli ran onto a long ball from Jean Seri and calmly took a touch before placing the ball past Remy Riou and into the bottom corner.

Nantes weren’t completely out of contention and Yacine Bammou should have done better than fire over from Lucas Lima’s cross 10 minutes before half-time.

Nice kept coming, though, and Ricardo Pereira’s goal-bound shot was blocked by Diego Carlos.

But the hosts shot themselves in the foot at the start of the second period as Mathieu Bodmer tried to dribble the ball out of defence on the edge of his box.

He was robbed by Sala, who stroked a sumptuous shot into the top corner on 47 minutes.

Suddenly Nice were reeling and struggling to hold on against a rejuvenated Nantes, with Sala and Mariusz Stepinski spurning good chances.

But the tide turned again on the hour mark as Plea rose ahead to head home Seri’s corner.

Minutes later a sublime flick from Balotelli sent Pereira scampering towards goal and he pulled the ball back for Cyprien to drill home.

Second-placed Monaco lost ground in the title-race with a 1-1 draw at Saint-Etienne on Saturday.

Kamil Glik put Monaco ahead after five minutes but the hosts pulled level just 13 minutes later through Loic Perrin.

Champions Paris Saint-Germain are behind Monaco only on goal difference after winning 1-0 at Lille on Friday night thanks to a goal from Uruguay forward Edinson Cavani.

Diego Costa’s sublime strike sealed Chelsea’s 2-0 success against Southampton on Sunday as the Blues chalked up a fourth successive Premier League victory.

Costa doubled Chelsea’s lead with a fine finish from 25 yards after Eden Hazard had put Antonio Conte’s side ahead early in the first half at St Mary’s.

Inflicting Southampton’s first home league defeat since February gave Chelsea four league wins in a row for the first time since April 2015, when they were on the verge of lifting the title under Jose Mourinho.

While it is too early to predict another Chelsea charge to the title, the Blues have hit a promising vein of form since Conte switched to his preferred system with a three-man defence.

Chelsea’s Brazilian-born Spanish striker Diego Costa (C) celebrates scoring their second goal with Chelsea’s Nigerian midfielder Victor Moses (L) and Chelsea’s Spanish defender Marcos Alonso (2L) during the English Premier League football match between Southampton and Chelsea at St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton, southern England on October 30, 2016. AFP
Their win on the south-coast lifted them above Tottenham into fourth place in the table and within one point of leaders Manchester City.

Southampton remain in mid-table after a first defeat in six league games stalled their recent fine run.

After making a host of changes for the midweek League Cup defeat at West Ham, Conte returned to the line-up that thrashed Manchester United last weekend, which meant captain John Terry was back on the bench.

For the all focus on Terry’s omission, it was the presence of Hazard, who didn’t start against the Hammers, that proved the most significant team change.

Just seconds after kick-off, the Belgium midfielder underlined his threat with a clever run and cut back on the right side of the penalty area that ended with Costa unable to prod past Saints goalkeeper Fraser Forster.

Southampton boss Claude Puel should have been well aware of the need to stifle Hazard after working with the Chelsea star when he was a teenager at French club Lille.

– Menace –

But if Puel had warned his players, they clearly failed to take note because Hazard was barely opposed as he put Chelsea ahead in the sixth minute.

Allowed to advance unchecked onto a Victor Moses pass, Hazard glided into the same area of the penalty box he had threatened from before, and this time he tricked Steven Davis with an astute cutback before drilling a low shot past Forster.

It was the first time Hazard had scored in three consecutive league games for Chelsea, but Southampton recovered their composure and almost grabbed an equaliser when Dusan Tadic’s low free-kick was turned away by Thibaut Courtois.

Hazard remained a menace and brought Forster into action with a low shot from the edge of the area.

That was the signal for Chelsea to turn up the heat and Costa should have scored just before half-time when he fired straight at Forster from Nemanja Matic’s pass.

A sweeping Chelsea move early in the featured eye-catching passes from N’Golo Kante and Marcos Alonso and almost brought an own goal from Saints captain Jose Fonte as he stretched to clear from Costa.

Costa wasn’t to be denied however and the Spain forward doubled Chelsea’s lead in the 55th minute.

Taking a short pass from Hazard 25 yards from goal, Costa set his sights and unleashed a majestic shot that curled past Forster into the far corner for his eighth Chelsea goal this season.

Conte’s team were in complete control now and Costa nearly made it three when he volleyed narrowly wide at the near post before Hazard’s drive drew a smart stop from Forster.

Charlie Austin thought he’d given Southampton a late lifeline when he rifled the ball under Courtois, but his effort was ruled out for offside as Chelsea’s revamped rearguard secured a fourth successive league clean-sheet.

46 years on it remains the most potent of footballing images. A carnival blur of gold, green and blue, it was a moment in which time seemed to stop, a moment which appeared to defy all known laws of the game. Brazil’s fourth and final strike in the 1970 World Cup final in Mexico City, perfect in its construction, ruthless in its delivery, was a goal which encapsulated an era, a finish that defined a team. This was Brazilian football at its most gloriously poetic, the jogo bonito given vibrant expression.

The final flurry in a masterclass of a performance on the biggest of all stages, it came from the right boot of Carlos Alberto. At the end of a glorious, cavalier passing move, he had been set up by a ball from Pele that appeared to the millions watching around the world on television to be aimless and misdirected. But the moment the number ten rolled the ball out to the right flank, the moment we saw Alberto haring in from the edge of the screen to meet the pass with perfect timing and belt the ball it hard and low into the corner of the Italian goal, everyone watching knew they were observing history in the making.

Yet Alberto later admitted that at the time it all seemed rather routine. That was what the Brazil side of 1970 did: they played football on another orbit altogether. It was only later that he realised it was something special. And how special. That the goal was not scored by the dazzling creative lights of Pele, Jairzinho, Rivelino or Tostao but by the right back, a position reckoned normally to be the most prosaic member of a football team, provided further testament to the all-round splendour of that Brazil.

And for Alberto, who has died of a heart attack aged 72, it was a goal that lived with him for the rest of his life. The perfect, life-enhancing victory in 1970 gifted him a unique position in Brazilian society. As captain of the team - or as he was invariably known in reference to the esteem with which he was held “The Captain” - he gained a sometimes unwanted position as a symbolic bulwark against national decline; it was against him and his goal that so many subsequent Brazil sides were judged. Regular disappointment only enhanced his reputation: he was named in the world team of the 20th Century in 1998 and the Fifa 100 for the greatest living players in 2004.

Carlos Alberto with the World Cup trophy CREDIT: REX FEATURES
As leader of that glorious, technicolor Brazil team, Alberto’s word was reckoned the law. Across his 53 caps, he ruled the dressing room through the strength of his personality, his gravelly voice forever holding sway. After he retired as a player, finishing his career in the lucrative environs of the North American Soccer League playing for New York Cosmos alongside Pele and Franz Beckenbauer, he became a coach. But despite leading Flamengo to the Brazilian championship in 1983, his career in the dug out never paralleled his success as a player. His last managerial post was in Azerbaijan in 2005.

Carlos Alberto has died of a heart attack CREDIT: EPA
Latterly he had carved a role as a popular, no-nonsense television pundit, roundly critical of those in yellow who failed to live up to the glorious template he and his colleagues had set in 1970.

“I remember when beating these was a matter of obligation, not celebration,” was his studio summary of Brazil’s last outing, a scrappy win against Ecuador earlier this month.

Rare was the broadcast in which no comparison was made to what he had done in the Azteca Stadium. Maybe no man should ever be judged by one goal alone. But if he is to be, it is best it is a goal as vibrant, vivid and majestic as Carlos Alberto’s.