Liverpool take it on the chin again, fall apart at Anfield to Madrid after taking a 2-0 lead......

CC™ Sports

By Tom Gott 

Liverpool fell to their heaviest European home defeat on Tuesday as they were mauled 5-2 by Real Madrid at Anfield in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah both scored early on to put Liverpool 2-0 up in a first half which was defined by goalkeeper errors, but Real fired back and doubles from Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema, with an Eder Militao header sandwiched in between, sealed a famous comeback for Los Blancos.

A high-intensity press from Liverpool forced a handful of errors from Real in the opening seconds and Cody Gakpo could have easily done better with a half-chance that came from one of those mistakes.

It didn't matter, however, as Nunez flicked Liverpool ahead after just three minutes, running onto Salah's cross and flexing his confidence with an audacious touch to convert past Thibaut Courtois.

Salah then struck wide ten minutes later, before Courtois handed him an absolute gift. The Belgian got his feet all wrong in possession and kneed the ball right to Salah, who could not miss.

There was nothing fortunate about Vinicius' strike soon after. The Brazilian cut inside and curled a glorious strike into the bottom corner of Alisson's net, giving Real a much-needed boost after a chaotic start to the game.

Vinicius equalized just after the half-hour mark, and this time, it was a howler from Alisson, who passed the ball right at his international teammate and could only watch on as the ricochet bounced into the back of his net.

Two minutes into the second half, Real's comeback was complete as Militao powered home a header from a Luka Modric free-kick. About as simple as they come.

Benzema was wheeling away in celebration soon after as his strike took a cruel deflection off Joe Gomez and left Alisson on his backside as it trickled into the net.

Real Madrid began to take control of proceedings and dominated possession, and they grabbed a fifth goal as Benzema sat Alisson down and picked his spot beyond three defenders into an unguarded net.

That fifth strike appeared to knock the stuffing out of proceedings, and while neither side slowed down, you could feel a sense of acceptance from both teams as Liverpool's focus switched to preserving their already-hurt reputation.

Indeed, there were just the seven goals for fans to enjoy on one of the most famous nights in the Champions League's recent history.

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Turkey Earthquake: Ghana legend and former Chelsea and Newcastle United star Christian Atsu found dead

Christian Atsu - Getty Images

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By Deji Komolafe - Deputy Editor

“What makes this news even more tragic is that Atsu had cancelled his flight scheduled to leave Turkey at 11pm after he scored a dramatic late goal to help his team Hatayspor win their Turkish Super Lig match against Kasimpasa, the night before the earthquake.

He cancelled his 11pm flight and then at 4am, the deadly earthquake struck. Absolute tragedy!”

According to reports, the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that shook Turkey and Syria and left the country in ruins claimed around 41,000 lives. Despite the fact that rescue operations are still looking, the number of those who are still missing has not been announced. Meanwhile, the Ghanaian star’s death has been made public knowledge. 

Noteworthy that the Turkish Süper Lig challengers Hatayspor first claimed Atsu had been rescued with injuries after the catastrophe, but the club quickly reversed its stance and then claimed the former Everton player was still missing.  

Days later, the player’s agent, Nana Sechere, publicly stated that his client had passed away, claiming that the corpse was found beneath the wreckage of his house over two weeks after the Turkey earthquake. It was confirmed on Saturday morning that Atsu was killed by the earthquake, which has claimed more than 45,000 lives and injured thousands more.

Millions of people have been left without water, electricity and heating in southern Turkey and northern Syria.

The 31-year-old has played 64 times for Ghana since making his debut under Kwesi Appiah in 2012, tallying 10 goals and 9 assists.

May his soul rest in peace.

Eating Fufu (a Yoruba delicacy) helped me score against Chelsea – Karim Adeyemi

Karim Adeyemi - Getty Images

CC™ - Editor-in-Chief

Borussia Dortmund winger Karim Adeyemi revealed that the reason for his remarkable pace is his consumption of the Nigerian (Yoruba) dish, Fufu.

He disclosed this information in the post-match interview against Chelsea on Wednesday night.

Adeyemi said, “I eat a lot of African food! It’s called Fufu, and it’s a Nigerian (Yoruba) food which is very good. I also have good genetics from my Nigerian dad!” 

The 21-year-old scored the only goal in the game, taking on a solo run against an uninspiring Chelsea defense to show the world how much of a deadly attacker he is.

Consequently, his goal awarded him the Man of the match.

Despite representing the German senior team, he still carries his African heritage with him as footage emerged of him devouring “Fufu’ with his father.

He joined Dortmund from RB Salzburg in July 2022 for €38 million and has scored five goals in 23 appearances for the German side who believe it was a good investment

BVB will now carry their single-goal advantage handed by Adeyemi to face the Blues at Stamford Bridge on the 7th of March.

Bola Tinubu's Islamist running-mate urges northern voters to reject Abubakar Atiku of the PDP for opposing Sharia rule

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Political Staff

The vice presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Kashim Shettima, said northerners should reject the Peoples Democratic Party, flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar, for opposing the enactment of Sharia rule across the region.

Shettima, a hardline Islamic fundamentalist and reputed Boko Haram sponsor, urged the northern voters to reject Atiku at the February 25 polls because he fought against the Islamic legal system in the North.

He stated these while addressing the party faithful at an APC local government conference.

“This person you call your own says you should not call him ‘Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, but rather Atiku Abubakar,” Shettima told his audience in the Hausa language. “Your person says he is the only person that fights against Sharia in the north. Is that your person?”

Shettima’s remarks is his latest attempt to whip up ethno-religious rhetoric against the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate.

Recall that Shettima at the Emir's Palace in Daura, Katsina, publicly challenged Atiku to come out and mention eight people he has mentored in the North; or the capital projects he executed in the North while he served as vice president between 1999 to 2007.

The APC vice presidential candidate told his audience that Atiku’s presidency would not serve the North’s ethno-religious interests.

2023 Election: Nigerian military responds to ‘Atiku meeting, coup plot’

CC™ Politico News

By Wale Odunsi

The Armed Forces of Nigeria has condemned the allegation that some of its officers met with a presidential candidate over the 2023 election.

Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode alleged that the Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and top military personnel met.

A rebuttal Saturday evening by Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, Acting Director Defence Information, denied the military was involved in a plan to disrupt the general polls.

The spokesperson said the “wicked and very malicious propaganda indicated that a so-called Thursday meeting plotted a Coup d’etat to establish unconstitutional order”.

The Armed Forces expressed dismantled that “politically exposed persons can denigrate themselves into joining agents of destabilization and violence in making false claims just to heighten tension in the polity”.

SOURCE: VANGUARD

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The Human Brain - A complex but detailed assembly

Editor's Corner

The human brain is probably the most complex but unique creation present in the anatomy of humans. It would be an understatement to refer to the brain as just an extraordinary creation as I would actually go out on a limb and call the brain the most extraordinary creation in the human anatomy. 

The human brain is home, one can say, to everything that makes us tick. In addition to the human mind as well as our various intricate personalities, the brain is the abode of human consciousness, passion, emotion and purpose.

This article marks the beginning of my attempt to find answers to some of the puzzling questions I have always had as to why people do some of the things they do and what the primary triggers for their action or inaction might be. One case that came to mind for me was that of the Vietnamese father in the news a couple of years ago, for killing his four young children. What could have motivated this man to take the life of his own children? The human brain is an organ that essentially is built to learn, hence was this man’s action as a result of some form of defective learning behavior? 

While nature may play a dominant role in our lives, does nurture (one’s environment and learned experiences) however have a more defining role in how we see, interpret and react to events or episodes in our lives? In asking all these questions and having read the details of this particular event, I started to wonder as to what part of his brain cell may have ‘misfired’ and why to lead him to ‘rationalize’ taking the lives of his own children.

In learning to become familiar with our brain, we look to understand not only how its various parts work, but more importantly how we nourish, protect and develop it. I would propose that the human brain in its most basic as well as most complex element is constantly changing and evolving with each experience we encounter. Did the Vietnamese father above therefore ‘readjust’ his notion of what was rational as a result of certain negative experiences in his life or was his action merely a projection of his own self-worth due to a defective processing of information by his brain. 

Was there a critical disconnect between the two hemispheres thus resulting in this defective ‘rationalization’ or was his behavior more as a result of systematic desensitization to what’s wrong as a result of observational learning (modeling) of deviant but admired behavior within the larger American society?

In a society where serial killers, rapists and murderers are ‘revered’ and gain notoriety even over their victims, does the nurture aspect of human brain development through information processing then cloud the Grey area between what is socially acceptable behavior and what is deviant or anti-social behavior? I would hazard a guess that in his native Vietnam, such behavior would lead possibly to immediate execution of the perpetrator or some form of punishment that aims to discourage such anti-social behavior. 

I would also presume that in his native Vietnam, serial killers, rapists and murderers would never be ‘revered’ like the Charles Mansons and Jeffrey Dahmers of the United States; people who actually had movies made about them as well as books written about them.

Therefore it seems as though the human brain, although home to everything from a nature perspective that makes us tick, is however subject to the varying complexities of an individual’s environment and how the same individual reacts or relates to varying stimuli within the said environment. So, while we may nourish our brain by eating the right kinds of foods, getting the right amount of sleep, while also engaging in physiological exercises aimed at maintaining the brain structure at optimum capacity and productivity, the environment might be perhaps the most critical deciding factor as to whether or not information is processed constructively or defectively. 

I would suggest that this might however be open to debate as there are several instances where we can probably show that although the influence of the environment might be a very strong one, how an individual actually processes information on a consistent basis as well as having the right chemical balance within the brain structure may be more of a deciding factor as to the ultimate state of our minds.

Thus, the question arises again. How well do we really know our brain? But more importantly, how do we do our part in ensuring that this most delicate and intricate part of the human ‘anatomy’ remains an asset to the human mind and ambition. The search for answers continues and we are all a part of the process.

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