Christopher Nkunku came off the bench to score the winner four minutes from time as Chelsea ground out a 1-0 win at Bournemouth on Saturday.

The Blues rode their luck at the Vitality Stadium as Robert Sanchez saved a first-half penalty from Evanilson and Bournemouth twice hit the woodwork.

But the strength in depth from Chelsea’s bloated squad, assembled for over £1 billion ($1.3 billion) in transfer fees, paid off late on.

Jadon Sancho, introduced as a half-time substitute, impressed on his first appearance since joining from Manchester United on the final day of the transfer window.

Nkunku span onto Sancho’s pass and produced a clinical low finish for his first Premier League goal of the season.

There was still time for a Premier League record to be set as referee Anthony Taylor dished out 14 yellow cards, surpassing the previous high of 12.

However, Chelsea will care little about the fractious nature of a scrappy game as victory lifts Enzo Maresca’s men up to seventh with seven points from their opening four games.

“You cannot come here and win without getting your shirt dirty,” said Maresca on his side’s ability to battle through their lack of cohesion after another turbulent summer in the transfer market.

Sancho was one of 10 new signings after bringing to an end his disastrous spell at United.

However, the England international shone on loan at Borussia Dortmund in the second half of last season, helping the German giants reach the Champions League final.

“First of all it is amazing to make my debut for Chelsea. Just being back playing I’m very grateful,” said Sancho.

“I’ve been working hard for this moment and I’m just happy that I got my chance.”

It was a case of what might have been for Bournemouth as Marcus Tavernier and Ryan Christie hit the woodwork, either side of record signing Evanilson’s missed spot-kick.

“We had more everything, more shots, more corners but at the end what really matters is to score and they did it at the end,” said Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola.

AFP

The 8th National Youth Games was officially declared open by President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba, Delta State.

Tinubu, who was represented by the Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh, said that the NYG has become a vision of hope for the nation’s sports.

“There is no better time than now to stage this National Youth Games after our participation at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics. Though our athletes did better at the Paralympics, there is an urgent need to re-strategise for Nigeria’s sports to return to winning ways. One of the reasons our sports is on the decline is age falsification. We need to get it right at this level.

“My administration is dedicated to repositioning sports for a better tomorrow. When I came here for the opening ceremony of the seventh edition of the National Youth Games last year, I was barely two weeks old in office. I can proudly say that there is a drastic improvement in the opening ceremony this year.”

Tinubu urged all Nigerians, particularly stakeholders in the sports industry, to join hands with the Sports Ministry in its desire to change the face of the nation’s sports.

Earlier in his welcome speech, Governor Oborevwori said the aim of hosting the National Youth Games is to discover young athletes to replace aging ones, adding that Delta being the home of sports in Nigeria would continue to lead the way.

Oborevwori said: “Nigeria’s performance at major international sporting events is on the decline. It may not be the problem of the sports minister. We need to tackle the issue together. I expect old records to be broken and new ones set in this year’s National Youth Games. Delta is proud to partner with the Federal Ministry of Sports in hosting this Games to reposition our sports.

“There is a good result from hosting these games because, you can see this last Olympics in Paris, our daughter, Favour Ofili did very well even though she did not win a medal. She is a product of these games.

“So, in this year’s games, we are looking for a talent better than Ofili. I assure our people that this year will be better than last year.”

He urged all the athletes to compete fairly saying: “You are on your way to winning medals for Nigeria at the Olympic Games.”

Oborevwori also urged the sports ministry to as a matter of urgency reverse the age limit of participation in the National Youth Games to its original U-17 from the present U-15 so that athletes discovered can easily form the bedrock of the National U-20 teams.

The Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC), Chief Solomon Ogba, said all that is needed to make Nigerian youths happy throughout the Games have been put in place.

He thanked the governor for giving the LOC and Delta Sports Commission the moral and financial support to host the Games.

Meanwhile, the rush for medals begins this morning as cyclists from the various states hit the road.

Over 6,000 athletes and 1000 officials are taking part in the Games.

Meanwhile, athletes and officials at the Stephen Keshi Stadium observed a one-minute silence for an official said to have died on his way to the Games.

Although the identity of the official or his function at the Games was not revealed as at press time, he was said to be leading a team to Asaba when he died on the way to the Delta State capital.

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has dismissed Cristiano Ronaldo’s recent criticism of his comments regarding Red Devils’ chances of winning the Premier League.

Ronaldo, speaking on a podcast with his former United teammate Rio Ferdinand, criticised Ten Hag’s pre-season comments where the manager stated that United was “a long way away” from winning the Premier League for the first time since 2013. Although Ronaldo agreed that his old club may not be ready to win the league, he argued that Ten Hag, as the manager, should not have sent such a message.

When asked about Ronaldo’s remarks ahead of Man United’s trip to Southampton, Ten Hag clarified that Ronaldo had essentially agreed with him. “No, he said this, if you read the article very well,” Ten Hag responded. “He is entitled to his opinion. It’s OK. He is far away in Saudi, far away from Manchester.”

Following consecutive defeats by Brighton and Liverpool, United faces Southampton knowing that another loss would mark their worst start since the 1986-87 season when Ron Atkinson was replaced by Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ten Hag provided updates on his squad, confirming that full-back Luke Shaw, who has yet to play for United this season despite making three appearances for England at Euro 2024, remains unavailable.

Striker Rasmus Hojlund will also miss the game as he recovers from a hamstring injury suffered during the summer tour in the United States. On a positive note, new signing Manuel Ugarte is fit, though the £50.2 million Uruguay midfielder only returned from international duty on Thursday.

In the wake of the Liverpool defeat and a two-week break, Ten Hag’s future has become a hot topic of debate, with many speculating that the 54-year-old might not last the season, especially as co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe begins to assert his influence. Despite the uncertainty, Ten Hag, who recently returned to manage his former club FC Utrecht in a charity match, remains focused and unfazed by the speculation.

“It doesn’t impact me,” Ten Hag said. “I know where we are in the process what we have to do and where we are going. I have said before that we are still in a transition period. We have to integrate a lot of young players into the team and still have to deal with injuries and bring players back into the team.”

He added, “Before anyone thinks about excuses, no, we have to win every game. I know that. The team knows that. It doesn’t matter who is available.”