Omonia FC nearly held Manchester United to a 0-0 draw on Thursday night and while the team ended up conceding right at the death, they put on a heroic display. None more so than their keeper.
Up until the moment Scott McTominay fired home a 93rd-minute winner, the Red Devils cut a frustrated side for the majority of the game, creating very few real chances given the embarrassment of talent in the matchday squad.
Meanwhile, Omonia goalkeeper Francis Uzoho – a lifelong United fan – had what looked to be the game of his life playing under the lights at Old Trafford.
Even he thought it seemed to suit him and after an incredible performance, he couldn’t hide his joy in an incredibly wholesome and heartfelt post-match interview which has since gone viral.
"It's a dream come true for me!"
Omonia goalkeeper and Manchester United fan Francis Uzoho was delighted with the chance to play at Old Trafford… 🤩
We’re equal parts crying and grinning from ear to ear. We think we might have just found our new favourite footballer and his name is Francis Uzoho.
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The 23-year-old Nigerian keeper admitted that Omonia drawing United in the Europa League was an exciting prospect for him and that getting to play at Theatre of Dreams was “a dream come true”.
Perhaps the best part about the whole interview is that after reporter Danny Jamieson asked “was the best performance of your career?”, he simply replied, “arguably, yes”.
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The fact he couldn’t stop smiling the entire time leads us to believe he was more confident in that answer than he was letting on. The match highlights pretty much belong to him.
When asked if he was disappointed with the result he said no and insisted his team “had a great game” and was massively “proud” of his teammates for their incredible effort.
Uzoho made 12 saves throughout the game, including several big ones to deny efforts from Ronaldo, Rashford, Fred and a thunderbolt from Casemiro which he touched on to the bar. For context, of United’s 34 shots, 13 were on target, of which he saved all but the winner.
Let’s have it right: United should have been winning this game anyway and fans will have surely been hoping for more goals. However, man of the match Francis Uzoho made sure it was never easy for them and the only thing we enjoyed more than watching him live out his dream was that post-match interview.
Odds on ten Hag signing this top Red as a backup Ighalo style?
Featured Image — Manchester United (via Twitter)
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
14th October 2022 
