Riyad Mahrez: 'Relegation battle has helped Leicester title bid'

Riyad Mahrez scored one of Leicester's goals in the 3-1 win at Manchester City last weekend

Riyad Mahrez says last season's battle against relegation has helped Leicester in their challenge for the Premier League title this time round.

The Foxes were bottom with seven games to go last season but stayed up and now top the division by five points.

"When you go through a moment and you are down and losing your head, it gives you a lot of experience," said Mahrez.

"Now we get to test for first place. The mentality is not the same. Now we have nothing to lose."

The 24-year-old midfielder added: "Last season, it was very difficult with a lot of pressure. This year it is a positive pressure.

"If we finish first it is a bonus. If we finish three or four then it is OK. Last year, if we go down into the Championship we can't do this, this year."

Leicester have defied all expectations this season, losing only two league games (they lost 19 in 2014-15) to lead the division ahead of Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City with 13 games to go.

At the start of the campaign some bookmakers had the Foxes at 5,000-1 to win the title but they are now favourites.

"This is Leicester, it is not like Manchester City or Manchester United. They have an obligation to win things," said Algeria international Mahrez.

"We don't have an obligation, it is just a dream. A dream is better than obligation."

Mahrez, who joined Leicester from Le Havre in January 2014, has excelled this season, scoring 14 goals and providing assists for 10 more in the league.

He is one of two players in the City side, the other being striker Jamie Vardy (18), who are into double figures for goals in the campaign.

"There is not one star, two stars, three stars - we play and work for each other," continued Mahrez.

"Every team has to have two or three players who score and this year it is Jamie and me. People can say a lot about us but we are just the same, just two players from Leicester City."

In the summer, Leicester sacked Nigel Pearson, the manager who had overseen their impressive escape from relegation with seven wins from the last nine games of the season.

He was replaced by former Chelsea and Juventus boss Claudio Ranieri,who Mahrez says has brought a work-rate and tactical discipline to the side.

"We are together, very compact," he said. "We think a lot about tactics.

"We do a lot of work defensively. Me, for example, if I don't work, I don't play. Two times this year he put me on the bench because I didn't defend. I know if I don't work for the team he will drop me to the bench.

"Maybe I will start, but if I don't work, I will get taken off after 45 minutes."

Last Saturday, Leicester won 3-1 at one of their rivals for the title, Manchester City.

This Sunday, they face another as they travel to third-placed Arsenal, who are five points behind and whose boss says Leicester are favourites to win at Emirates Stadium.

"He is just saying that to take the pressure of his team," added Mahrez.

"Arsenal have to win the title because it is an obligation for them. For us it is a bonus, a dream. It will be a very difficult game. They are a big team who play in the Champions League every year.

"We don't have any pressure. We will just play how we do every game."

With BBC Sport

Paulette and Simone 104-year-old French twins say closeness is the secret

When they were born premature in 1912, doctors gave Paulette and Simone the slimmest chance of survival. But 104 years later, the French twins say there’s a simple secret to their longevity: sticking together.

With their long white hair tied back in ponytails and gold spectacles perched on their noses, Paulette Olivier and Simone Thiot are happy to pose for the camera at their retirement home in Onzain, central France.

“This will be fun!” they say in chorus.

There is no official confirmation that Paulette and Simone are the oldest twins in France, but they appear to be the likely holders of the title.

“We’re being very spoiled,” one of them says as they show off the flowers given by the local council and fellow retirement home residents to mark their 104th birthday.

Paulette and Simone were born in the central village of Limeray at 11:00 am on January 30, 1912 to Marie Lamolie, a dressmaker, and her husband Joseph, a carpenter.

Their entry to the world did not bode well.

“We were premature,” says Simone, who can still get around these days without the help of a Zimmer frame.

“We were due in March but we were born in January. They gave us a very small chance of surviving. I didn’t even weigh a kilo. And you, just three pounds,” she says to her sister.

“They had to keep us wrapped up for four months.”

Paulette, widowed at 36, worked as a hairdresser for 15 years in Algeria, then in Paris.

Simone, a dressmaker like her mother, lost her husband when she was 64.

Neither had any children.

The twins, whose only brother died in accident at the age of 99, insist it’s their lasting friendship that has kept them going all this time.

“We are still alive because we have always stayed close,” says one. “We keep our independence — each of us has her own room — but we only need to cross the corridor to see and talk to each other.

“We pity old people who are alone with no one to visit them.”

Paulette and Simone spend their time keeping up with current affairs, reading, watching television and listening to music.

Simone also regularly writes poems which she keeps in a notebook.

Any other tips for a long life? “A simple life — no excess. No alcohol. And lots of sport.

“We did gymnastics for a long time, and a huge amount of cycling — almost every day.”

2016 Caf Champions League: Enyimba suffered 1 - 0 defeat to Uganda's Vipers

Teams are starting on the road to lift the 2016 African Champions League title

Uganda's Vipers won their first ever continental club match beating visiting Enyimba of Nigeria 1-0 in the first leg of their African Champions League tie.

Erisa Sekisambu, who was part of the team at the recent African Nations Championship in Rwanda, scored the only goal of the game for the Ugandan champions in the 72nd minute.

The goal was set up by a deep pass from Keziron Kizito but it was Sekisambu's skill that ultimately beat the Enyimba defence.

He was left with plenty to do as he picked up the ball cut into the area before dribbling past Akabueze John Uche feigning to pass and finally hitting the ball into the roof of the net.

There was some groans around the Nakivubo Stadium in central Kampala as fans thought he has only hit the side netting but they soon turned to cheers as they realised what he had done.

Vipers overcame the two-time African and current Nigerian champions without several key players including striker Farouk Miya, who has joined Belgian club Standard Liege.

The second leg is on the last weekend of February in the Nigerian city of Aba.

The first leg ties continue over the weekend with Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns will again lead another charge by South African clubs to rule the continent.

The South African Premier Soccer League (PSL) is one of the richest leagues on the continent, but only Orlando Pirates have been crowned African champions and that was as far back as 1995.

Last year, champions Kaizer Chiefs and Sundowns crashed out of the competition in the first round.

'Amakhosi', as the Chiefs are known by their fans, lost 1-0 at home and then 2-0 in the return leg to Raja Casablanca of Morocco.

Sundowns exited the annual tournament after they failed to defend a 1-0 home win at eventual champions TP Mazembe, who won 3-1 in front of their fans to advance.

Both clubs play away from home this weekend, but they are expected to go past their weekend opponents, Zimbabwe's Chicken Inn and Volcan Club of Comoros Island.

The PSL season has reached the halfway mark, but the league in Zimbabwe has not yet started, while that in the Comoros began only last weekend.

"The game against Sundowns is going to be one hell of a fixture that will require maximum concentration, seeing they are halfway through their season and we're just coming out of pre-season," Chicken Inn coach Joey Antipas said ahead of the match in Bulawayo on Saturday.

Sundowns star midfielder Teko Modise said they will make the most of their chances in this year's competition.

"Yes we are ready for the Champions League. We are professional footballers and it is our job to stay ready for all kinds of competition," he said.

"We have to keep playing the way we do and capitalise on the chances that we get. It is always best to win at home and then finish what you started away.

"That will be the main strategy when playing the CAF (Champions League)."

Coach Paul Aigbogun, who guided Warri Wolves to finish as runners-up last season, has teamed up with the Aba outfit and so too several of the country's top league stars like goalkeeper Theofilus Afelokhai from Kano Pillars and Kwara United midfielder Dare Ojo.

Wydad Casablanca of Morocco, Kenya's Gor Mahia, Horoya from Guinea, Club Africain of Tunisia as well as Stade Malien of Mali are some of the notable clubs who will also be in Champions League action this weekend.

With BBC Sport

Retrenchments: NECA pleads for Labour Minister's understanding of workplace issues

The Nigeria Employers' Consultative Association (NECA) on Friday advised the Minister of Labour ànd Productivity to show understanding with private employers intending to sack workers because of the dwindling economic situation.

The Director- General of NECA, Mr Segun Oshinowo, said while answering questions from journalists in Lagos that it was not enough to direct the Oil and Gas companies not to sack their workers.

According to him, the minister should also consider the dwindling prices of oil in the international market and the massive loss of profitability by the companies.

``I disagree with the position of the Minister, Dr Chris Ngige, on his directive to Private Sector employers, especially the Oil and Gas companies, not to sack their workers.

``Even in the face of dwindling oil prices in the international market and massive loss of profitability by the companies,’’ Oshinowo said.

The NECA DG said that the minister should have shown some understanding during a meeting with the employers’ representatives on the challenges faced in managing their businesses, given the scarcity of foreign exchange and reduced purchasing power in the country.

``The reality is that retrenchment is not a palatable option for any business. No employer will take pleasure in declaring redundant employees that it has invested in developing over the years,’’ he said.

The NECA boss said that job security cannot be decreed by ministerial pronouncements, but could only be encouraged and promoted through strong macro-economic fundamentals and an enabling environment.

He said that it was the voice of the right of an employer to determine the optimal staff level he would need to sustain his company’s operations.

Oshinowo said that where an employer has found it necessary to carry out some retrenchment, it would respect the laws of the land and laid down procedures for redundancy.

``Employers' expectation from the Minister of Labour and Productivity is that he will work hand-in-hand with other Government Ministries in the establishment of the desired enabling environment that will ensure business sustainability, competitiveness and job creation,’’ he said.

The NECA director general, therefore, urged the minister to carry his constituents along in the management of workplace issues. 


By NAN

Army confirms handover of 3 Major-Generals, others to EFCC

The Nigerian Army has confirmed the handover of three serving Major- Generals, a retired Major-General, and eight other serving senior officers to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for investigation.

This is contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday by the acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman.

However, Usman did not state the offences for which the officers were being investigated by the anti-graft agency.

``The Nigerian Army wishes to inform the public that 12 Army officers have been sent to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for investigation.

``This comprised three serving Major-Generals, one retired Major-General, three Brigadier-Generals, four Colonels and a Lieutenant Colonel,’’ the statement quoted Usman as saying.

He added that officers found culpable at the end of the EFCC investigation would be tried by a military court martial.

It was recalls in the report that the anti-graft agency recently confirmed the investigation of some senior serving and retired Air Force officers in its ongoing probe of military procurement.

By NAN