IN ENGLAND
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Manchester United has produced an impressive performance to beat Liverpool two-one at Anfield.
United defender Harry Maguire’s late header secured the team’s first win since January 2016 and inflicted Liverpool’s fourth successive defeat.
Manchester United’s first goal was scored by Bryan Mbeumo, while Liverpool’s only goal was scored by Cody Gakpo.
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A superb individual goal from Morgan Rogers and Emiliano Buendia’s late winner helped Aston Villa to a comeback two-one win over Tottenham, who missed the chance to go second in the Premier League.
Buendia proved to be the match-winner when he cut inside to shoot into the bottom corner in the 77th minute with boss Unai Emery bouncing in celebration on the touchline.
Villa’s win, only their third in the league this season but fifth on the trot in all competitions, while Tottenham’s only goal was scored by Rodrigo Bentancur.
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IN NIGERIA
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Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, endured a heavy 4-1 defeat against Canada in their opening match of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup on Sunday.
Canada wasted no time taking the lead, as Gabriella Istocki scored in the 2nd minute.
However, Nigeria responded in the 30th minute through Queen Joseph, who equalised before halftime to make it 1-1.
The second half belonged to Canada, with Milisa Kekic restoring their lead in the 73rd minute.
Julia Amireh then added two late goals in the 80th and 86th minutes, completing a 4-1 victory for the Canadians.
Nigeria will now look to bounce back in their next group match against France on Wednesday to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive.
Canada, on the other hand, will square up against Samoa, with a victory securing them a place in the next round.
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Warri Wolves has stunned Enyimba two-one in their Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL, matchday nine encounter in Aba.
Mohammed Hussaini diverted the ball into the net to hand Warri Wolves the lead in the 18th minute.
Edidiong Ezekiel equalised for Enyimba two minutes before the hour mark.
Wolves scored the winning goal through Tejiri Emonena in the 67th minute.
Ikorodu City put an end to Nasarawa United’s unbeaten streak, handing the Solid Miners a two-nil defeat, and Shooting Stars defeated Abia Warriors two-nil, while Niger Tornadoes thrashed Plateau United four-nil.
Barau FC stunned Kano Pillars two-one at the Sani Abacha Stadium.
Yahaya Ibrahim scored the winning goal as Kwara United beat Katsina United one-nil in Ilorin.
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Mamelodi Sundowns has thrashed Remo Stars five-one in the first leg of their CAF Champions League second round tie in Abeokuta.
Tashreeq Matthews, Peter Shalulile, Miguel Reisinho, Arthur Sales and Tsiki Ntsabeleng scored a goal each for Mamelodi Sundowns, while Remo Stars’ only goal was scored by Samson Olasupo.
The reverse fixture will hold at Loftus Versfeld Stadium next week.
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Super Eagles winger Ademola Lookman is in action as Atalanta played out a goalless draw against Lazio in the Serie A game.
The Nigerian international, who was making his third appearance, is yet to register a goal for Atalanta this ongoing season.
Atalanta dominated possession with long spells of fairly ineffective passing moves, whereas the first real save saw Toma Basic’s free kick sting Marco Carnesecchi’s gloves.
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Team Nigeria has finished second overall at the World Powerlifting Championship in Cairo, Egypt.
At the end of the championship Team Nigeria amassed three gold, four silver and four bronze medals.
China emerged champions with a total of fifteen medals which comprise ten gold, three silver and two bronze.
Hosts Egypt placed third with two gold, one silver and four bronze medals, Iran occupied fourth with two gold, two silver and two bronze.
In fifth place was Brazil who secured one gold, three silver and two bronze medals.
The highlight of Nigeria’s participation at the championship was Folashade Oluwafemiayo breaking the world record in the women’s eighty-six kilograms event.
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Team Nigeria’s men’s and women’s hockey teams returned home on Sunday after representing the country at the African Hockey Cup of Nations in Ismailia, Egypt.
The Nigerian teams gave spirited performances against Africa’s top sides, including South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, and hosts Egypt.
The men’s team secured a bronze medal, their best finish in recent years, after defeating Kenya 3–1 in the third-place playoff.
Nigeria’s James Samaila emerged as the tournament’s top scorer, netting eight goals to cap an impressive campaign for the men’s side.
The women’s team, who had won bronze in previous editions, also gave a strong showing, narrowly missing out on a podium finish this time.
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Mofifuoluwa Atilola defeated Adesewa Olaniyan on Sunday to win gold in the U-18 girls’ final of the second Ayida Foundation’s Lagos Schools Tennis Tournament
The competition was staged at the Lagos Lawn tennis Club, Onikan, Lagos.
The U-18 girls’ final was an intense showdown, with Atilola and Olaniyan engaging in a fierce competition for the coveted gold medal.
Atilola, 12-year-old, beat Olaniyan 6-1, 6-0 to secure the title, confirming her status as a top contender in the tournament.
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OTHER LEAGUES
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Players have refused to move for the first fifteen seconds of matches in La Liga on Saturday as protests at the Spanish league’s decision to stage a game in Miami continued.
The high-profile fixtures involving Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, who had home games against Girona and Osasuna, followed the precedent set by Oviedo and Espanyol.
There were identical protests in the game between Sevilla and Mallorca, and the game between Villarreal and Real Betis.
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Beleaguered Dundee has provided the shock of the Scottish Premiership season so far by beating Celtic two-nil at home for the first time in 37 years to leave Brendan Rodgers’ side five points off top spot.
After Celtic fans’ protest against the board delayed the start of the play as the pitch had to be cleared of balls, travelling supporters were only further angered by another flat showing.
Dundee’s two goals were scored by Clark Robertson and Cameron Carter-Vickers.
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Rangers’ move to make Kevin Muscat the club’s next head coach has fallen through.
Muscat is in charge of Chinese side Shanghai Port, who are still in contention for the Super League title in a race which could run into November or December.
The two parties have been in advanced discussions to bring the former Ibrox player to Glasgow, but the potential delayed start to his tenure made the deal unworkable for both parties.
It comes after ex-Rangers boss Steven Gerrard turned down the chance to return to the club and former Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl pulled out of the running.
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Forest Green Rovers manager Robbie Savage says more action needs to be taken against the vile abuse he has suffered from opposition fans.
Savage’s side were beaten four-two at Carlisle United in the National League and the former Wales midfielder said he was subjected to abuse that crossed the line.
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OTHER SPORTS
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In Basketball; Team Miami fell just one point shy of the title at the FIBA 3×3 Macau Masters Sunday, coming up short in the championship tilt against Lugano (SUI) after going 3-1 through the tournament.
Miami took down top seeded Ub (SRB) en route to the title game.
In the final, Henry Caruso, who finished with a game-high 11 points, was firing on all cylinders in an MVP-like performance to put Miami up 20-17 with 2:30 left to play.
From there, Lugano’s lockdown defense limited Miami to several disjointed offensive possessions late, and the Swiss took advantage.
Team Miami would not find a rhythm in stretching the halfcourt, struggling for just 1-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc in the contest, as Lugano’s four unanswered buckets gave them the sneaky come-from-behind title.
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In Boxing; On Saturday, 25th October, at The O2 Arena in London, Joseph Parker vs Fabio Wardley headlines a Queensberry Promotions card, live on DAZN Pay-Per-View.
Parker is the WBO mandatory and first in line to challenge Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight title.
Should Wardley win, he will be the WBO mandatory and next in line. It really is all or nothing for both.
Parker (36-3, 24 KOs), despite winning his last six fights, has endured a frustrating year, having not fought since stopping Martin Bakole earlier this year.
Wardley (19-0-1, 18 KOs) had a limited white-collar journey before turning professional, where he has progressed rapidly.
Last time out, he looked in trouble against Justis Huni before landing a big right hand, stopping the Australian.
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In Tennis, a resurgent Daniil Medvedev has claimed his first title for 882 days with victory over Corentin Moutet in the Almaty Open final.
Now working with Thomas Johansson and Rohan Goetzke, Medvedev has steadily improved in the past month – culminating in a hard-fought 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Frenchman Moutet.
It is Medvedev’s first title since the 2023 Rome Masters and first on a hard court since March of that year.
Victory also means Medvedev has won twenty-one titles at twenty-one different tournaments.
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In Cricket, England has booked their place in the semi-finals of the Women’s World Cup with a thrilling four-run win over co-hosts India in Indore.
Set 289 to win, India were cruising at 234-3 with opener Smriti Mandhana well-placed on 88.
The opener’s soft dismissal, caught down the ground off spinner Linsey Smith in the 42nd over, was the turning point as the co-hosts completely threw away their winning position.
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In Rugby, England centre Henry Slade scored two tries and kicked 13 points as Exeter continued their resurgence with a thumping Prem win over Harlequins.
The Chiefs scored three tries in a 10-minute first-half spell to stun Quins, with Slade at the heart of things as he set up Immanuel Feyi-Waboso’s opener before being put through by Australian debutant Len Ikitau two minutes later.
Harvey Skinner made it 24-0 at the break as he capitalised on a Harlequins error, while Greg Fisilau went over in the corner four minutes after half-time for a bonus-point try.
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In Golf, Tommy Fleetwood made his son Frankie’s dream come true after sealing his eighth European tour title with a two-shot victory at the DP World India Championship.
After rolling in for a seven-under-par final round of 65 to finish on 22 under at Delhi Golf Club, the Ryder Cup star said his eight-year-old son had never had a chance to run on to the 18th green to congratulate him.
He was not present for Fleetwood’s maiden PGA Tour victory in August and was not old enough to attend the world number five’s last win on the DP World Tour, in January 2024.
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
Everyone competing in the women’s category… is complying with competition eligibility rules. They are women in their passports and it is stated in there that they are female.
Words from IOC spokesman Mark Adams on the gender row that blew up over Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting.
