Haaland brace extends Man City's winning start in Premier League

Manila Times - Oct 18, 2026

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom — Erling Haaland struck twice as Manchester City defiantly extended their blistering start to the Premier League season with a 3-2 win against Ipswich on Saturday. Phil Foden put City ahead in the first half at the Etihad Stadium before Daizen Maeda grabbed a shock equaliser for Ipswich. Haaland netted before the interval and struck again after the break to take his tally for the season to 12. Zian Flemming's penalty came too late to stop City making it seven successive league victories. It was City's second win since the club were found guilty of more than 100 breaches of Premier League financial regulations last month. City, who are appealing against the decision, sit six points clear of champions Arsenal at the top of the table. The Gunners can close the gap if they win at Nottingham Forest on Sunday. City boss Enzo Maresca is the first manager to win his first seven games in charge in the Premier League. The Etihad stands were awash with inflatable bananas throughout as City's supporters continued to show their backing for the Abu Dhabi-owned club during their ongoing crisis. The blow-up fruit, a throwback to their supporters' craze from the late 1980s, has come to symbolise their defiance in the face...

Read full article

More News

Williams lifts Valkyries past Dream in WNBA Finals opener

Oct 18, 2026

Williams lifts Valkyries past Dream in WNBA Finals opener

SAN FRANCISCO, United States — Gabby Williams scored a game-high 26 points, including four key free throws in the final 1:18 as the Golden State Valkyries held off the Atlanta Dream 68-64 in game one of the WNBA Finals on Saturday. Williams, runner-up to Atlanta's Angel Reese in Defensive Player of the Year voting, has emerged as an offensive force for the Valkyries in the playoffs. She carried the scoring load on a tough shooting night for the hosts -- who didn't have another player score in double figures. She took some time to warm up, going scoreless in the first quarter as the Valkyries got off to a tentative start in front of a raucous crowd at Chase Center arena. "Once we all started having fun and the excitement got out, we started to kind of find our way," Williams, who erupted for 16 points in the second quarter, said in an on-court interview. "There was a lid on that basket tonight, but that's why we rely on our defense," she said. Golden State trailed by one with 1:18 remaining when Williams seized the rebound off a miss by Atlanta's Allisha Gray and was fouled by Reese. Williams made both free-throws to put the Valkyries up 65-64 and added another pair of free throws to seal the win with 4.1 seconds left. Gray, the Dream's leading scorer, returned after missing two games with a hand injury and scored 19 points. But she was scoreless in the fourth quarter, when Atlanta made just two of their 19 attempts from the floor. Reese added 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Rhyne Howard scored 12 for Atlanta. The Valkyries will host game two of the best-of-seven series on Monday. Both teams are chasing a first WNBA title. The Dream have come up empty in three prior trips to the Finals, most recently in 2013. The Valkyries, who last year became the first WNBA expansion franchise to reach the playoffs in their inaugural season, are now contending for the title in their second.