The Nation Newspaper

Category: Sports

  • United announce deal for Amass

    United announce deal for Amass

    Manchester United, on Saturday, announced that defender Harry Amass has left the club to join Norwich City on loan for the remainder of the season.

    The Red Devils disclosed this in a statement on their website ahead of their Premier League clash with Arsenal on Sunday.

    Amass had recently returned from loan earlier this month, and is now set to embark on another temporary spell in the Championship with Norwich.

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    The 18-year-old is Man United’s 253rd Academy graduate, making his senior debut for the club against Leicester City on his 18th birthday, back in March 2025.

    He was also named Man United’s Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year last season, during which he made six first-team appearances.

    “Everyone at United would like to wish Harry all the best in his time at Carrow Road,” Man United’s statement partly read.

  • EPL: Bournemouth stun Liverpool with stoppage-time winner

    EPL: Bournemouth stun Liverpool with stoppage-time winner

    Amine Adli scored a stoppage-time winner as Bournemouth ended Liverpool’s 13-match unbeaten run in a Premier League thriller at Vitality Stadium.

    After a goalmouth scramble, Adli finished in the fifth minute of time added on to send the home fans wild after Liverpool had initially come from two goals down to level.

    With 10 minutes to go, Dominik Szoboszlai scored his second free-kick of the week to equalise for Liverpool after Virgil van Dijk had initially pulled a goal back.

    A calamitous seven-minute spell for Liverpool saw Arne Slot’s side go two goals down on the south coast.

    Evanilson gave the Cherries the lead in the 26th minute after Van Dijk failed to clear the ball and Joe Gomez was injured as he clashed with goalkeeper Alisson while trying to block Evanilson’s strike.

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    With Gomez off the pitch and Wataru Endo ready to replace him, Liverpool did not kick the ball out and carried on playing with 10 men for seven minutes.

    In the 33rd minute, Alex Jimenez got on the end of a through ball from James Hill and finished through Alisson’s legs to double Bournemouth’s lead.

    Liverpool then made the change and showed great resilience to come back into the game with Van Dijk heading in Szoboszlai’s corner on the brink of half-time, before Mohamed Salah, from a free-kick, rolled the ball into the path of Szoboszlai who fired into the bottom corner past Djordje Petrovic to level.

    Both sides had chances to win it in normal time with Alisson tipping Ryan Christie’s effort over before Petrovic pulled off a great stop to deny Florian Wirtz.

    Adli’s last-gasp winner stood after a video assistant referee (VAR) check for a possible foul in the build-up, meaning Liverpool tasted defeat for the first time since November.

    Yet to win a Premier League game in 2026, Liverpool remain fourth in the table, while Bournemouth rise to 13th.

    BBC SPORTS

  • EPL: Man City see off Wolves to return to winning ways

    EPL: Man City see off Wolves to return to winning ways

    Omar Marmoush scored his first Premier League goal of the season to help Manchester City return to winning ways by easing past bottom side Wolves at Etihad Stadium.

    Pep Guardiola’s side had suffered a miserable start to 2026 by not winning any of their four league games, and the Spaniard decided to give star striker Erling Haaland and midfielder Phil Foden a rest by dropping them to the bench.

    The duo came on in the second half by which time their team-mates had already made a positive impact to put City back on track in the top-flight.

    Both sides set their stalls out early on, with visitors Wolves opting to sit back with a five-man defence, but City exerted their dominance by carving them open at will inside the first 10 minutes.

    Debutant Marc Guehi almost made a dream start in a City shirt but his header at the back post was straight into the grasp of goalkeeper Jose Sa inside the first five minutes.

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    City grabbed the lead a minute later when Marmoush stabbed home Matheus Nunes’ whipped cross, before Semenyo latched on to a ball over the top but his first-time strike was bundled away by Sa.

    The hosts doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time to effectively seal the points when Bernardo Silva fizzed a pass into the feet of Semenyo, who converted a cool finish from the edge of the area – and he also rattled the crossbar in the second half.

    Yerson Mosquera’s flicked header clipped the crossbar for Wolves late on, but Rob Edwards’ side have now won just once all season and lie 14 points adrift of safety.

    BBC SPORTS

  • EPL: Romero’s late goal rescues Spurs at Burnley

    EPL: Romero’s late goal rescues Spurs at Burnley

    Cristian Romero rescued a point for Tottenham Hotspur late on just as under-pressure head coach Thomas Frank faced further embarrassment against struggling Burnley at Turf Moor.

    Burnley were on the brink of recording their first Premier League win in 14 games at Turf Moor until captain Romero powered home an 89th-minute header.

    Frank, whose position has been under internal scrutiny at Spurs, bought time with a midweek Champions League win against Borussia Dortmund, but it remains to be seen if this draw makes his position any more secure.

    Burnley goalkeeper Martin Dubravka was outstanding with a string of fine saves, but the manner in which Spurs threatened to subside against Scott Parker’s struggling side left Frank facing the fury of his own fans once more.

    Spurs were on top in a scrappy first half, finally taking the lead after 38 minutes following a spell of pressure that pushed a passive, tentative Burnley back.

    Dubravka punched the air in defiant celebration after a superb double save from Wilson Odobert and Conor Gallagher, but was powerless when Van de Ven pounced to flash home a powerful finish.

    It was no more than Frank’s side deserved, but Spurs then switched off at the back in first-half stoppage time, allowing Axel Tuanzebe to sweep home Kyle Walker’s cross.

    Dubravka kept Spurs at bay, blocking Dominic Solanke’s header from Xavi Simons’ cross before diving to turn away Djed Spence’s long-range effort.

    Burnley then stunned Spurs by taking the lead 14 minutes from time, subsitute Lyle Foster scrambling home after his first effort had been saved by Spurs keeper Guglielmo Vicario.

    Spurs poured forward, the heroic Dubravka saving from Mathys Tel and Simons hitting the bar before Romero struck.

  • EPL: Man City get first win in five league games after beating Wolves

    EPL: Man City get first win in five league games after beating Wolves

    Omar Marmoush scored his first Premier League goal of the season to help Manchester City return to winning ways by easing past bottom side Wolves at Etihad Stadium.

    Pep Guardiola’s side had suffered a miserable start to 2026 by not winning any of their four league games, and the Spaniard decided to give star striker Erling Haaland and midfielder Phil Foden a rest by dropping them to the bench.

    The duo came on in the second half by which time their team-mates had already made a positive impact to put City back on track in the top-flight.

    Both sides set their stalls out early on, with visitors Wolves opting to sit back with a five-man defence, but City exerted their dominance by carving them open at will inside the first 10 minutes.

    Debutant Marc Guehi almost made a dream start in a City shirt but his header at the back post was straight into the grasp of goalkeeper Jose Sa inside the first five minutes.

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    City grabbed the lead a minute later when Marmoush stabbed home Matheus Nunes’ whipped cross, before Semenyo latched on to a ball over the top but his first-time strike was bundled away by Sa.

    The hosts doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time to effectively seal the points when Bernardo Silva fizzed a pass into the feet of Semenyo, who converted a cool finish from the edge of the area – and he also rattled the crossbar in the second half.

    Yerson Mosquera’s flicked header clipped the crossbar for Wolves late on, but Rob Edwards’ side have now won just once all season and lie 14 points adrift of safety.

  • Bundesliga: Kane blanks as Bayern suffers first league loss

    Bundesliga: Kane blanks as Bayern suffers first league loss

    Bayern Munich’s 27-game unbeaten run in the Bundesliga came to an abrupt end on Saturday as struggling Augsburg produced a shock victory at the Allianz Arena.

    Japanese defender Hiroki Ito had headed Bayern in front midway through the first half, but goals from Arthur Chaves and Han-Noah Massengo inside the final 15 minutes turned the match in the visitors’ favour.

    Bayern suffering a first league defeat of the season looked unlikely when Ito headed in from a Michael Olise corner in the 23rd minute, giving the former Crystal Palace winger a league-leading 14th assist of the campaign.

    However, Bayern looked unusually vulnerable in defence and were lucky that Robin Fellhauer’s vicious strike in first-half injury-time hit the woodwork.

    If that was a warning sign for Vincent Kompany’s side, it wasn’t heeded.

    Minutes after Elvis Rexhbecaj blazed over when through on goal, Chaves beat Bayern goalkeeper Jonas Urbig to a corner to head into an unguarded net.

    Urbig started in place of the rested Manuel Neuer as one of four changes Kompany made to his side, but never really looked comfortable.

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    Having lost each of the eight matches in which they fell behind this season, here Augsberg turned things around when Massengo finished off a stunning team goal nine minutes from time to stun the defending champions.

    Bayern pushed hard for an equaliser but Olise – who now has four goals and seven assists in his past five league outings – hit the crossbar from distance with the final kick of the match.

    Harry Kane had a quiet afternoon and could not help Bayern score at least twice for what would have been a record-extending 27th Bundesliga game.

    This surprise defeat means Bayern remain 11 points clear of closest challengers Borussia Dortmund at the top of the table, having played one game more.

    Augsburg, who were winless in their previous five matches, move up to 13th in the standings, four points clear of the relegation play-off place.

    BBC

  • LONDON CALLING: Rejuvenated Red Devils out to disrupt Gunners’ title march

    LONDON CALLING: Rejuvenated Red Devils out to disrupt Gunners’ title march

    Michael Carrick could hardly have asked for a better start to his second temporary Manchester United tenure, but another difficult task awaits away to Premier League leaders Arsenal tomorrow..

    The Red Devils were deserved 2-0 victors in last weekend’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford, where Manchester City were cut apart by some superb counter-attacks. The “United way”, if there is such a thing, was very much on show.

    United had only 31.8% possession, yet they recorded 11 shots and hit the target with seven; City only had seven attempts in total. United’s shots amounted to 2.27 expected goals, to City’s 0.45.

    Carrick’s team had three goals disallowed and hit the woodwork twice, but strikes from Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu got them the victory their performance merited.

    After facing second in the Premier League at home, Carrick’s United now head to the Emirates Stadium to take on Mikel Arteta’s leaders.

    Carrick remains unbeaten as United manager (P4 W3 D1) including his three-game caretaker spell in 2021, but most importantly, the manner of their performance against City won’t have gone unnoticed by Arsenal boss Arteta.

    He won’t be underestimating the challenge at hand, even if the Gunners are 15 points clear of United ahead of Sunday’s meeting. It is Arsenal vs United, after all, one of English football’s vintage rivalries.

    In fact, Carrick’s first and only Premier League victory in his previous stint as United’s caretaker boss came against Arteta’s Arsenal, a 3-2 win at Old Trafford in December 2021.

    However, it’s fair to say the Arsenal of 2026 are a different beast, and Arteta has generally had the upper hand in meetings with United. He has won 67% of his 12 Premier League games against them (W8 D2 L2), the highest win rate of any manager to face them at least five times.

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    For all of their issues, though, United do have what it takes to trouble the best teams, posting positive attacking numbers for most of the season. They rank third in the Premier League for goals (38), behind Arsenal (40) and Man City (45), second for xG (40.6), and they lead the way for shots (362) and shots on target (126).

    And, although it’s a small sample size of just two games (one being vs Burnley), United rank first in the Premier League for xG (4.81), shots attempted (41), shots on target (17), xG differential (+4.12) and shot difference (+27) since Ruben Amorim’s departure.

    But shutting teams out is arguably what Arsenal do best.

    Arteta’s side have not faced a single shot on target in either of their last two Premier League matches, the fifth time this season they have stopped their opponents from having one. It is the most occasions a team have managed this in a single season since Chelsea in 2020-21 (five). Similarly, only Man City (in 2017-18 and 2019-20) have done so more often in a season (six in each) since at least 2003-04.

  • Slot rules out January signings for Liverpool

    Slot rules out January signings for Liverpool

    Arne Slot has admitted he doesn’t expect Liverpool to make any signings in the January transfer window but said the club will always look for opportunities in the market.

    Liverpool twice broke the British transfer record last summer, spending close to £450 million ($609m) on new signings.

    However, long-term injuries to striker Alexander Isak and defenders Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni have left the Premier League champions short on options in both attack and defence heading into the second half of the season.

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    Despite their injury troubles, Slot doesn’t anticipate any incomings before the window closes on Feb. 2 unless the right player becomes available.

    “That is what I expect,” Slot said. “But I always say when there is an opportunity in the market where we think we can strengthen the squad this club will always try to do so. But at this moment I expect it to stay mainly the same.”

  • Kane reveals secret for sensational scoring form

    Kane reveals secret for sensational scoring form

    Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane revealed a hidden motivation behind his brilliant season with the German giants – a schnitzel for every goal he scores.

    After chalking up the best opening half of a campaign in Bundesliga history, Kane’s Bayern host Bavarian rivals Augsburg today.

    With just one loss in 29 games, Bayern have their sights set on a historic third treble, more than any other team in Europe.

    In the Bundesliga, Bayern have dropped just four points, equalling the best return at this stage of a season, and have scored a record 71 goals at an average of 3.94 per game.

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    They sit 11 points clear atop the Bundesliga, are through to the last 16 of in the Champions League with a match spare and are also in the quarter-finals of the German Cup.

    The England captain said a local restaurant near his house in the south of Munich delivers his “favourite German dish”, schnitzel, for every goal he scores.

    With 34 goals this season, 21 of which have come in the league, Kane’s goalscoring exploits have given his private chef more than a few nights off.

     “It’s like a ritual,” Kane said Wednesday. “I can’t say I eat every one of them, but they get delivered and me and the family or someone staying in the house will enjoy them.”

  • Arbeloa banks on Vinicius’ revival to lift-off Madrid

    Arbeloa banks on Vinicius’ revival to lift-off Madrid

    Real Madrid roared back to life this week, led by a superb Vinicius Junior, who is looking to confirm his own resuscitation and that of his team at Villarreal on Saturday in La Liga.

    Second-placed Madrid can move top of the table with a victory before leaders Barcelona host Real Oviedo on Sunday and crush the threat of another title contender at the same time as they head to Spain’s east coast.

    Marcelino Garcia Toral’s Villarreal are third, seven points behind Madrid and eight off champions Barca, and a defeat would virtually write off any chance of a first ever title.

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    An emphatic 6-1 victory over Monaco on Tuesday in the Champions League helped brighten the gloom in the Spanish capital and earn new coach Alvaro Arbeloa a modicum of credit.

    It was the first glimpse of what his team might look like, after the Copa del Rey last 16 defeat against Albacete in his first match at the helm was the performance of a club deep in the doldrums, two days after Xabi Alonso’s departure.