WINNAZ

Mohamed Salah has been named African Player of the Year for the second time in succession.

Salah defended his crown after scoring 44 goals for Liverpool and Egypt in 2018, the 26-year-old finishing as the 2017-18 Premier League Golden Boot winner with 32 goals.

Liverpool team-mate Sadio Mane and Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also made the three-man shortlist for the award.

The nominees for the main award made up the front three in CAF's Africa Best XI of the year, with Guinea's Naby Keita providing further Liverpool representation in a midfield completed by Atletico Madrid and Ghana's Thomas Partey and Manchester City and Algeria's Riyad Mahrez.

The back-four was split between Serie A and the Premier League, with Juventus and Morocco's Mehdi Benatia alongside Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly – an international colleague of Mane's.

Ivory Coast duo Serge Aurier and Eric Bailly won approval thanks, in part, to their displays for Tottenham and Manchester United, while Uganda's Denis Onyango of South African club Mamelodi Sundowns was recognised as Africa's best goalkeeper.

Morocco full-back Achraf Hakimi, currently on loan at Borussia Dortmund from Real Madrid, was named African Youth Player of the Year. Hakimi's national-team boss Herve Renard collected Men's Coach of the Year.

Thembi Kgatlana and Desiree Ellis made it a South African double in the women's player and coach categories, although Nigeria's third consecutive triumph at the Africa Women Cup of Nations saw them scoop the team award.

In November, Mauritania qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations finals for the first time in their history – a feat good enough to secure Men's National Team of the Year.

Danny Rose conceded Tottenham were made to work hard for their 1-0 EFL Cup semi-final win over Chelsea at Wembley.

Harry Kane's 26th-minute penalty gave Spurs a slender first-leg advantage in a game very much at odds with the resounding 3-1 Premier League win Mauricio Pochettino's side chalked up at Wembley three months ago.

"It was a lot different to the game we played in the league," England left-back Rose told Sky Sports. "I didn't play in that one, but it looked comfortable for the boys.

"Tonight was hard work. It was a great team performance, everyone dug in and I think we deserved it in the end.

"We tried to get the second but it was one of those games and Chelsea played really well. Now, we take the lead into the reverse fixture in a couple of weeks."

And Rose thinks the state of play could lead to a more open and expansive encounter at Stamford Bridge.

"There's going to be a bit more pressure on them to come out and attack us now, but we're one of the best counter-attacking teams in the league so we're looking forward to it," he added.

"We won't go there and try to protect the lead, we'll play our game."

Maurizio Sarri accused English officials of not knowing how to use VAR after his team's 1-0 EFL Cup semi-final defeat to Tottenham, while Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is also not a fan of the system in its current guise.

Harry Kane gave Tottenham a slender advantage to take into the second leg at Stamford Bridge in two weeks' time after he dispatched a 26th-minute penalty.

The England captain was brought down by Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, but only after the linesman had flagged for offside.

Referee consulted his video assistant, whose pictures showed Kane to be level with Cesar Azpilicueta, and proceeded to book Kepa and award the spot kick.

Sarri told Sky Sports that Chelsea's own images suggested the Tottenham striker was offside, although his main complaint concerned the early offside flag as he argued that stopped his defenders from retrieving the situation.

"I saw a few minutes ago the video from our camera. It was offside," said the former Napoli boss.

"Our camera was in line with Kane and it was offside. But it's not important.

"It was really important for the man [assistant referee] to follow the ball. It [the offside flag] did not help our defenders.

"I don't think English referees are ready to use the system

"If you are not sure with this system you have to follow the ball and then at the end of the action you have to decide. On this occasion, he stopped."

As such, Sarri is apprehensive over the proposed full-scale introduction of VAR in the Premier League from next season, having observed teething problems in his homeland.

"They have to study this system because in Italy the first period was very difficult," he added.

"It is very strange that in the Premier League they don't have the system and in the Carabao Cup there is the system."

Despite being the beneficiary of the game's major talking point, Pochettino sounded a similarly cautionary tone to Sarri – the ex-Espanyol boss having not enjoyed what he has seen from VAR in LaLiga.

"I don't like, I don't like," he told Sky Sports. "Today we get the benefit but watching another league like LaLiga, no one is happy.

"For me the benefit is nice but I am not happy doing it like this

"I prefer the technology but in a different way – being clear about how we are going to use.

"I am pro-technology, you cannot stop evolution. But waiting how we wait for the benefit like this…

"I think it is not clear how we use the rules. The photos we use, we have to be clear how we use them."

Pochettino added: "I am watching LaLiga every week and no one is happy – the big clubs or the small clubs. That is a good example for us.

"We still have six months to improve that system."

Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri praised Callum Hudson-Odoi's maturity after the teenager's performance against Tottenham in the EFL Cup.

Hudson-Odoi, 18, is linked with a move to Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, but started in his side's 1-0 loss to Spurs in the first leg at Wembley on Tuesday.

Sarri was happy with the attacker's performance and said Hudson-Odoi had shown no signs of being distracted by the transfer speculation.

"Odoi in the last week has been very normal. I have seen him every day in training, he has been really very normal," he told a news conference.

"He is improving, in the last match he played very well and also today I think a very good match.

"He played like a player of 25 or 26 years, I think – very good match of application, very good in the defensive phase, very, very good.

"He was completely normal in this period. I don't know, maybe he doesn't read anything."

Harry Kane's first-half penalty settled the first leg, with Chelsea to host Spurs in the second match on January 24.

But Sarri said his team deserved better, labelling their performance "one of the most important" of the season.

"I think we deserved more. In this match we played better than the opponents," he said.

"We were in control of the match, we defended very well against opponents who are very dangerous in the offensive phase, I think we deserved more.

"We played about 70 balls in the opposing box against 11 balls from Tottenham in our box, 18 shots against seven, five goal opportunities against two, so we deserved more.

"I am really disappointed with the result but I am happy with the performance. In my opinion this one is one of the most important performances of my team in the season."

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino talked up the significance of his side's 1-0 win over Chelsea in the EFL Cup semi-final first leg on Tuesday.

Harry Kane's first-half penalty at Wembley was enough for Spurs to take a narrow advantage halfway through the tie.

As Pochettino eyes his first trophy at the helm, he felt the first-leg win was a good step for his team.

"I think we were very competitive. I am so pleased. We played against one of the best teams in England, of course and in Europe, a team that have been building to win titles," he told a news conference.

"They have unbelievable players. I think to win this type of game is an amazing, huge experience for us, to be more mature. Of course, it's only half-time, it's a small advantage, 1-0, but we need to be competitive in the second leg.

"Of course, give credit to Chelsea. Because in the second half they pushed a lot, and made us play a little bit deeper.

"But of course I'm very happy because we were competitive and in the end, we won the game."

Kane dispatched a spot-kick for his 20th goal of the season, the penalty awarded with the help of the video assistant referee (VAR).

Pochettino, who questioned the use of the VAR, praised Kane's ability from the penalty spot.

"He was very calm, relaxed, quality and has confidence in himself. That is what you need," he said.

"That is his talent of course. Not only his practice, his talent as well."

Spurs are next in action at home to Manchester United on Sunday, with the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final on January 24.

Liverpool midfielder James Milner urged his team to bounce back, saying "blips" were normal during a season.

Jurgen Klopp's men suffered consecutive defeats for the first time this campaign, bowing out of the FA Cup at Wolves after losing to Manchester City in the league.

Milner, whose side visit Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, said every team had to go through difficult periods in a season.

"We have to make sure we bounce back and look at where we can get better," he told UK newspapers, via the Liverpool Echo.

"You're never going to go a full season without having blips. I think the start of this season we weren't playing our best but we were getting results.

"Back-to-back defeats now, which really isn't good enough for us, but you have blips in a season. It's about how you respond.

"I think you've seen the character in the squad in the last few years and the players we have to know we will bounce back."

Liverpool's defeat at Manchester City saw their lead atop the Premier League reduced to four points.

After the trip to Brighton, they have home clashes against Crystal Palace and Leicester City to complete January.

Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel praised the "incredible" Ousmane Dembele, but added the Barcelona star was "a little crazy".

Dembele, 21, has faced criticism over his discipline this season, but has also found form for the LaLiga giants.

The forward has scored 10 goals and provided five assists in 23 games in all competitions, helping Barca sit top of the league table.

Tuchel worked with Dembele for a season at Borussia Dortmund in 2016-17 and he said there was no doubting the France international's talent.

"Ousmane is an incredible player, he's really talented. I could watch his amazing skills in every training session," he told a news conference on Tuesday.

"He's also a great human being. He's a little crazy. He's a really nice boy but a little crazy. He loves to laugh but can also have very serious conversations. It's never boring with him.

"If he's focused enough, he can reach any level. When I talked to him for the very first time, he told me that he wanted to play for Barcelona. That's where he is now.

"It means he can reach any level, but he needs to remain focused and improve each day. During training sessions he was as talented using his left or right foot.

"He's a good boy. I had a good year with him."

Tuchel's PSG face Guingamp in the Coupe de la Ligue quarter-finals on Wednesday.