Editor…In Ranieri’s First Game In Charge Of The Hornets
Ekong, Dennis Hapless As Liverpool Run Riot, Maul Watford °In Ranieri’s First Game In Charge Super Eagles stars William Troost Ekong and Emmanuel Dennis were in action at Anfield midday Saturday in Watford’s 5-0 defeat to Liverpool in their Matchday eight of the English Premier League.
Both Nigerians have played in all of their club’s league games this season with Dennis scoring twice thus far. Liverpool who temporarily went above Chelsea in the table on 18 points, two points above the Blues after the mauling scored in the ninth minute when Mohamed Salah set up Sadio Mane who finished beautifully for Jurgen Klopp’s men as he becomes the latest centurion with 100 goals in the division.
Mane is just three goals shy of Salah’s Premier League goals and further four goals adrift of Didier Drogba, the duo being the first three African players to score 100 goals or more in the English top flight.
The Reds doubled their lead in the 37th minute when Roberto Firmino prodded the ball home from close range from James Milner’s exquisite cross. Salah saw his rasping shot ripped over the bar by Watford goalkeeper Ben Forster but there was no keeping away the third goal in the 52nd minute of the game when Firmino got to the end of a split shot to tap in for the third goal of the day.
The Video Assistant Referee deemed it a legitimate goal after an initial check for offside by Mo Salah. Salah then made it 4-0 just two minutes later with a glorious finish after outwitting three defenders to go level with Drogba on 104 goals in the Premier League. Joao Pedro and Ismaila Saar combined effectively as the game peters away but Watford’s efforts to have the one-sided match end respectfully were fruitless Firmino added one more goal for his hattrick. The defeat was the heaviest suffered by Watford’s head coach Claudio Ranieri in his managerial career.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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