NIGERIA

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Shooting Stars head coach, Gbenga Ogunbote has defended his players following their defeat against Bendel Insurance.

The Oluyole Warriors suffered a two-nil away defeat against Bendel Insurance at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium.

Ogunbote said his team has moved on from the defeat as they gear up for the next league match.

Shooting Stars will take on Gombe United in a matchday three fixture in Ibadan

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The chairman of the Imo Football Association, Ifeanyi Dike, has called on the state government to revive state tournaments to foster unity and the discovery of talents.

The FA chairman made the call when he paid a courtesy visit to Imo State Commissioner for Sports, Youth, and Social Development, Emeka Okoronkwo.

He urged the commissioner to start the process of bringing back the inter-school football tournament and the Imo Governor’s Cup, arguing that they had previously served as avenues for the identification of potential players for the Heartland Football Club.

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Nigerian international, Victor Boniface has scored his seventh Bundesliga goal of the season as Bayer Leverkusen defeated Cologne three-nil at the BayArena.

Bayer Leverkusen scored twice in the first half through Jonas Hofmann and Jeremie Frimpong.

Boniface scored Bayer Leverkusen’s third goal of the game.

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ENGLAND

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Arsenal star, Gabriel Martinelli scored a dramatic late winner as the team earned a statement victory over defending Premier League champions Manchester City at Emirates Stadium.

A largely disappointing game was given a stunning finale four minutes from time just as both sides looked certain to have to settle for a point.

Making his return from a hamstring injury as a substitute, Martinelli’s strike deflected in off Nathan Ake to earn Arsenal a first league win over City since December 2015.

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Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta has suggested that his team defeated Manchester City one-nil in Sunday’s Premier League tie because his players adjusted in the second half and were really efficient against the visitors during the encounter.

Arteta explained that the Gunners were more aggressive and convincing against Pep Guardiola’s side.

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Arsenal ace Oleksandr Zinchenko has responded to criticism after former Premier League stars Martin Keown and Michael Owen slammed him.

Both Keown and Owen had singled out Zinchenko for blame following Arsenal’s recent UEFA Champions League defeat to RC Lens, with the latter describing him as “sluggish.”

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Manchester United legend, Gary Neville has labelled Arsenal goalkeeper, David Raya a ‘nervous wreck’ during the Gunners’ game against Manchester City. 

Neville weighed in the debate after Raya showed some shaky moments during the  game. 

Raya joined Arsenal from Brentford on-loan with an option to buy in the summer, and has since displaced Aaron Ramsdale in goal. 

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Brighton Captain Lewis Dunk scored a dramatic equaliser for the team to deny Jurgen Klopp three points on his eighth anniversary as Liverpool boss.

In an absorbing encounter, Simon Adingra fired past Alisson to give Brighton the lead after catching out Alexis Mac Allister, who was making his first return to his former club.

Klopp’s side levelled when Dunk’s misplaced pass ended with Darwin Nunez setting up Salah to sweep home, before Liverpool’s Egyptian forward struck from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time.

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Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has admitted his surprise after Pascal Gross avoided a red card in their draw at Brighton despite clumsily gifting away a penalty.

Midfielder Gross was not booked after hauling down Dominik Szoboszlai inside the box, with Mohamed Salah stepping up to convert and hand the visitors the lead.

It is believed Gross controversially evaded punishment because VAR officials did not view the opening for Szoboszlai as a ‘clear goalscoring opportunity’.

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Wolves and Aston Villa settled for a share of the points after two goals in the space of two second-half minutes at Molineux.

Hwang Hee-chan opened the scoring early in the second half when he latched on to Pedro Neto’s cross, poking in at the near post with Wolves’ first shot on target in the game.

Celebrations were short-lived, as Aston Villa hit back inside two minutes with defender Pau Torres’ first goal for the club.

The draw moved Wolves up to 14th and four points clear of the relegation zone heading into the international break, while Aston Villa stayed fifth.

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West Ham United manager David Moyes says he was “thrilled with a point” after Mohammed Kudus scored an 89th-minute equaliser to deny Newcastle United victory in a pulsating match at London Stadium.

Newcastle looked to be heading for a fifth straight win when Alexander Isak’s second-half double turned the game around, following Tomas Soucek’s eighth-minute opener for the Hammers.

Kudus’ first Premier League goal since joining West Ham in the summer, a driven effort into the bottom corner, ensured the points were shared in the capital.

West Ham and Newcastle stayed seventh and eighth in the table as both sides returned to action after wins in Europe.

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West Ham Boss, David Moyes, says the team’s forward, Jarrod Bowen has signed a new contract with for the club.

Bowen, who joined from Hull City for eighteen million pounds on a five-year deal in 2020, had reportedly been a target for Liverpool and Newcastle.

He scored forty-five goals in one hundred and sixty-six games for West Ham, including the winner in the Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina in June.

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Sheffield United’s Chris Basham says he is “devastated” by the severe lower-leg injury he suffered in his team’s three-one loss at Fulham.

The centre-back, who has had the first of two planned operations, sustained the injury to his standing leg as he attempted a cross in the first half.

Basham also thanked Fulham defender Tim Ream for the support he offered.

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Defending champions Chelsea women, scored deep into stoppage time to draw with Manchester City in the Women’s Super League after two costly dismissals for the home side.

Guro Reiten poked in from close range after a scramble in the box to make it one-all in the 96th minute to cancel out Chloe Kelly’s opener, after Alex Greenwood and Lauren Hemp were both sent off for Manchester City women.

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 OTHER LEAGUES

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James Tavernier scored twice as managerless Rangers made a “small step in the right direction” by taking advantage of an early red card to beat St Mirren and leapfrog their hosts into second place in the Scottish Premiership.

The visiting captain tucked away a spot-kick after Ryan Strain was sent off for a deliberate handball on the half-hour mark.

Despite a couple of fine saves from Zach Hemming, Rangers rarely looked like extending their lead until Abdallah Sima slotted the second with twenty minutes remaining and Tavernier launched a stunning, stoppage-time strike.

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Wayne Rooney has left his role as coach of Major League Soccer side DC United by mutual consent after they missed out on the MLS Cup play-offs.

Manchester United’s record goalscorer took up the role with the Washington-based side in July 2022.

He had previously spent eighteen months at the club as a player before he joined Derby as player-coach in January 2020.

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OTHER SPORTS

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In Cricket, Virat Kohli has made a crucial 85 as World Cup hosts India overcame an early collapse to begin their campaign with a six-wicket win over Australia.

Steve Smith (46) and David Warner (41) top-scored in Australia’s total of 199 after they won the toss and batted.

India were in trouble after the loss of early wickets left them teetering on 2-3 before Kohli and KL Rahul rebuilt.

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In Formula one, Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell collided at the start before Max Verstappen went on to dominate the Qatar Grand Prix.

The crash caused Hamilton’s retirement and dropped Russell to the back of the field, from where he fought back in impressive fashion to finish fourth.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took second and third after holding position in the final stages.

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In Rugby, World Cup winner Matt Dawson says he will be “astounded” if Owen Farrell starts at fly-half ahead of George Ford in England’s quarter-final match.

England were seven minutes away from defeat against Samoa before substitute Danny Care’s decisive try.

Ford was taken off after fifty-one minutes and Dawson hoped that was to protect the Sale man for the next game.

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In Tennis, World number two Iga Swiatek has claimed her fifth title of the year with victory over Liudmila Samsonova in the China Open final.

The Pole added to her titles in Doha, Stuttgart, Roland Garros and Warsaw with a 6-2, 6-2 victory in Beijing.

Swiatek, did not face a break point in either set as Russia’s world number twenty-two Samsonova struggled to cope.

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In Golf, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship will now be a three-day event, finishing on Monday, after heavy rain rendered all three courses unplayable for the second successive day.

No play was possible at the DP World Tour event, held across Kingsbarns, Carnoustie and St Andrews courses, and areas of the courses remained waterlogged on Sunday.

It means the third – and now final – round in Angus and Fife has been pushed back to Monday.