Iheanacho Seals UCL Spot
Manchester City clinched the final Champions League spot thanks to the goal by Kelechi Iheanacho which earned them a 1-1 draw against Swansea at Liberty Stadium.
City rivals, Manchester United and Bournemouth game scheduled for Old Trafford was abandoned due to security fears after a suspected bomb was found in the stands.
Manchester United will have to defeat Bournemouth with an 18-goal margin when their match is eventually played, to beat City to fpurth place.
Iheanacho put Manchester City ahead in the sixth minute after Sergio Aguero’s initial shot was saved.
On the stroke of half-time, Swansea drew level through Andre Ayew whose strike took a slight deflection to make it 1-1.
At St. James’ Park, Tottenham Hotspur missed the chance to finish second as they lost 5-1 to 10-man Newcastle.
While at the Emirates Olivier Giroud’s hat-trick and a goal from Mikel Arteta gave Arsenal a 4-0 against Aston Villa.
Georginio Wijnaldum put Newcastle ahead in the 19th minute before Aleksandar Mitrovic doubled their lead on 39 minutes.
Erik Lamela made it 2-1 when he reduced the deficit in the 61st minute.
Spurs were handed a lifeline following a straight red card to Mitrovic for a foul.
But on 73 minutes, Wijnaldum grabbed his second before two more goals from Rolando Aarons and Daryl Janmaat secured the emphatic win.
Arsenal finished second behind Leicester on 71 points while Spurs ended in third with 70 points.
Iheanacho was born in Imo state. As a youth he represented Taye Academy in Owerri. His performances for Nigeria in the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup led to interest from clubs in Europe. Teams following his progress included Arsenal, Sporting Clube de Portugal and Porto.
In December 2012 Iheanacho travelled to England to discuss a move to Manchester City. He signed a pre-contract agreement with the club, stating his intent to formally sign for Manchester City on his 17th birthday in October 2014. In the interim, he returned to Nigeria. As the year drew to a close, the Confederation of African Football named him the Most Promising Talent of the Year for 2013 at the CAF Awards.
