ETHAN NWANERI struck 13 minutes into his Marseille debut after joining on loan from Arsenal to help his new club to a 3-1 win over high-flying Lens in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Amine Gouiri’s deflected effort put Marseille ahead early at the Velodrome, and 18-year-old Nwaneri soon doubled the lead.
The England U21 international gathered the ball just inside his own half and advanced unchallenged towards the edge of the Lens box, shifting inside on to his left foot and sweeping home from 20 metres.
Gouiri netted again on 75 minutes to all but seal victory, tapping in a cross from Timothy Weah, before Lens grabbed a consolation through substitute Rayan Fofana.
Nwaneri joined Marseille on Friday until the end of the season after struggling for minutes for the Premier League leaders this term, following a breakthrough 2024-25 campaign, in which he scored nine times and earned a new five-year deal with the Gunners.
Roberto De Zerbi left out the league’s top scorer, Mason Greenwood, for the visit of Lens, in a bid to keep him fresh for Wednesday’s vital Champions League trip to Club Brugge.
Instead, he thrust Nwaneri straight into the team along with fellow new signing Quinten Timber, the twin brother of Arsenal defender Jurrien, against a side who had won eight in a row and 11 of their past 12 games to mount an unexpected title challenge alongside Paris Saint-Germain.
Lens had managed to maintain their one-point lead in recent weeks, but reigning French and European champions PSG climbed above them on Friday after a 1-0 win at Auxerre.
Monaco’s problems showed few signs of abating as they drew 0-0 at Le Havre to leave the principality club with just one victory in nine outings, dropping them down into 10th place.
Lorient extended their unbeaten run in the league to eight games with a 2-0 win at Rennes, who passed up the opportunity to move into Champions League places.
Bayern's Harry Kane pictured during the game with Augsburg. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Elsewhere, Augsburg stunned Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich 2-1 on Saturday to end a 27-match unbeaten league run for their Bavarian rivals dating back to March.
Second-placed Borussia Dortmund made the most of the slip with a 3-0 win at Union Berlin in Saturday’s late game to cut their deficit to eight points, keeping alive their slim hopes of challenging Bayern this season.
Hiroki Ito’s opener gave the defending champions an early lead, but Augsburg fought back with two goals in six second-half minutes from Arthur Chaves and Han-Noah Massengo.
“We have to accept it — it wasn’t undeserved. It wasn’t like Augsburg dominated us, but a win for us would not have been deserved either,” Bayern’s Joshua Kimmich told Sky Germany:
“Augsburg were more aggressive towards the end. It wasn’t the top level we wanted to deliver, but what’s most crucial is how we react to it.”
Bayern have been unstoppable this season. They had recorded the best opening half of a season in Bundesliga history and dropped just four out of a possible 54 points in 18 games.
The hosts looked set for a routine victory when Ito headed in a Michael Olise corner after 23 minutes.
Unfancied Augsburg last won a match in early December but fought back when Chaves made the most of a mistake from Bayern’s back-up goalkeeper Jonas Urbig to level on 76 minutes.
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Massengo then finished off a superb team move to put Augsburg in front and on track for their first win in Munich since 2015.
Olise hit the post deep in stoppage time, but Augsburg held on for a memorable victory.
- Dortmund edge closer -
Emre Can converted an early penalty, Nico Schlotterbeck headed in against his former club, and Maximilian Beier scored late on as Dortmund won at Union to stay on the fringes of the title race.
“Bayern are almost unbeatable. When they make mistakes, we need to be there,” Schlotterbeck told Sky Germany. “I don’t want the title to be decided in March. That means we need to keep it up for as long as possible.”
Arriving in the German capital after a disappointing Champions League defeat at Tottenham on Tuesday, Dortmund captain Can slotted home after Serhou Guirassy was clumsily fouled in the box with 10 minutes gone.
Just after the break, Schlotterbeck headed in a Julian Ryerson corner to double Dortmund’s lead.
Not tempted to avoid celebrations against his former employers, the German centre-back produced his now trademark flexed bicep in front of the elated visiting fan block.
With six minutes remaining, Beier turned in a Jobe Bellingham cross to ensure victory.
Over 400 kilometres away from Munich, Bayer Leverkusen fans celebrated Bayern’s loss, chanting “the only unbeaten champions,” celebrating as their record of being the only undefeated Bundesliga title-winners, which they managed in 2023-24, remained intact.
Leverkusen beat Werder Bremen 1-0, with former Real Madrid defender Lucas Vazquez scoring the only goal to snap a three-game losing streak, and climbed to sixth in the table.
Elsewhere, surprise-package Hoffenheim tightened their grip on a top-four spot with a come-from-behind 3-1 win at struggling Eintracht Frankfurt.
Frankfurt, who sacked coach Dino Toppmoeller last Sunday, took the lead through Arnaud Kalimuendo, but Hoffenheim turned the game around with three goals in 13 second-half minutes.
Max Moerstedt and Ozan Kabak scored before Aurele Amenda put through his own net as Hoffenheim, relegation battlers last season, continued their impressive turnaround.
RB Leipzig cruised past Heidenheim 3-0 to move up to fourth, thanks to goals from Ridle Baku, Antonio Nusa and captain David Raum.
Mainz beat Wolfsburg 3-1 to continue their recent resurgence. Rock-bottom at Christmas, Mainz have claimed nine points from their past six matches to climb into the relegation playoff spot.
Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe netted twice to earn Real Madrid a 2-0 win at Villarreal on Saturday and take his side top of La Liga.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s team moved two points clear of rivals Barcelona, who host Real Oviedo on Sunday.
La Liga’s top scorer Mbappe reached 21 goals for the season in the competition to help Madrid see off a spirited Villarreal side, now fourth in the table.
Arbeloa’s side have won three consecutive matches across all competitions, and victory at Villarreal could be a vital step in the revival of their season.
After the shock Copa del Rey defeat at second-tier Albacete in Arbeloa’s first match at the helm, his Madrid have started to take shape.
The coach has made clear how important his star players are, and none has been more crucial this season than Mbappe, who has netted 34 times across all competitions.
“(Mbappe and Vinicius) are the best players in the world, they are players who can really unbalance teams, we try to get the ball to them as much as possible,” Arbeloa told Real Madrid TV.
“They’re two players who… I’m really happy to have in this state of form and above all, because of the great work they are doing.
“They are really committed to the team, they are the first who are pressing… they’re giving this effort and solidarity that we need from them, so I’m very happy that their reward comes in the form of goals.”
It was a lively but imprecise start at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica, as the game glowed but neither side was able to seriously threaten.
Georges Mikautadze lashed a volley narrowly wide after veteran forward Gerard Moreno found him with a floating cross.
At the other end, Madrid midfielder Arda Guler fired straight at Villarreal stopper Luiz Junior after some tidy footwork, and then shot high over the bar at the end of a swift break.
Villarreal’s Juan Foyth limped off hurt in a blow for the hosts, who created a good chance for Pape Gueye just before the break.
The Senegal midfielder, a champion at the Africa Cup of Nations last weekend, powered narrowly wide of the post.
Vinicius, who excelled in Madrid’s Champions League 6-1 rout of Monaco in midweek, also came close with a rasping effort across Luiz Junior’s goal and wide.
The 25-year-old Brazil forward went a 13th straight La Liga match without scoring, but was involved as Mbappe opened the scoring two minutes into the second half.
- Mbappe makes the difference -
Vinicius came into the box from the left flank, and his low cross was blocked, but Mbappe was on hand to squeeze home his 20th league goal of the campaign from close range.
Villarreal had the better of the second half as they worked hard to pull level, but Moreno spurned their best chance by firing inches over when well-placed.
In stoppage time, Mbappe was clumsily felled by Alfonso Pedraza in the box, and the French forward cheekily dinked home the resulting penalty to seal Madrid’s victory.
Mbappe’s team-mate Brahim Diaz, who missed a similar attempted Panenka penalty for Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations final, was on the pitch to see it as he returned to action for his club.
“We have to be a bit more accurate in attack against these kinds of teams,” admitted Villarreal midfielder Alberto Moleiro.
The Yellow Submarine are now 10 points behind leaders Madrid, having played one fewer match than Arbeloa’s side.
Elsewhere Espanyol, fifth, fell to a 3-2 defeat at Valencia that left them seven points behind Villarreal.
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Arsenal loanee scores on Marseille debut
Updated at 20.25
French Ligue 1 results on Saturday:
German Bundesliga results on Saturday:
Spanish La Liga results on Saturday:
ETHAN NWANERI struck 13 minutes into his Marseille debut after joining on loan from Arsenal to help his new club to a 3-1 win over high-flying Lens in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Amine Gouiri’s deflected effort put Marseille ahead early at the Velodrome, and 18-year-old Nwaneri soon doubled the lead.
The England U21 international gathered the ball just inside his own half and advanced unchallenged towards the edge of the Lens box, shifting inside on to his left foot and sweeping home from 20 metres.
Gouiri netted again on 75 minutes to all but seal victory, tapping in a cross from Timothy Weah, before Lens grabbed a consolation through substitute Rayan Fofana.
Nwaneri joined Marseille on Friday until the end of the season after struggling for minutes for the Premier League leaders this term, following a breakthrough 2024-25 campaign, in which he scored nine times and earned a new five-year deal with the Gunners.
Roberto De Zerbi left out the league’s top scorer, Mason Greenwood, for the visit of Lens, in a bid to keep him fresh for Wednesday’s vital Champions League trip to Club Brugge.
Instead, he thrust Nwaneri straight into the team along with fellow new signing Quinten Timber, the twin brother of Arsenal defender Jurrien, against a side who had won eight in a row and 11 of their past 12 games to mount an unexpected title challenge alongside Paris Saint-Germain.
Lens had managed to maintain their one-point lead in recent weeks, but reigning French and European champions PSG climbed above them on Friday after a 1-0 win at Auxerre.
Monaco’s problems showed few signs of abating as they drew 0-0 at Le Havre to leave the principality club with just one victory in nine outings, dropping them down into 10th place.
Lorient extended their unbeaten run in the league to eight games with a 2-0 win at Rennes, who passed up the opportunity to move into Champions League places.
Elsewhere, Augsburg stunned Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich 2-1 on Saturday to end a 27-match unbeaten league run for their Bavarian rivals dating back to March.
Second-placed Borussia Dortmund made the most of the slip with a 3-0 win at Union Berlin in Saturday’s late game to cut their deficit to eight points, keeping alive their slim hopes of challenging Bayern this season.
Hiroki Ito’s opener gave the defending champions an early lead, but Augsburg fought back with two goals in six second-half minutes from Arthur Chaves and Han-Noah Massengo.
“We have to accept it — it wasn’t undeserved. It wasn’t like Augsburg dominated us, but a win for us would not have been deserved either,” Bayern’s Joshua Kimmich told Sky Germany:
“Augsburg were more aggressive towards the end. It wasn’t the top level we wanted to deliver, but what’s most crucial is how we react to it.”
Bayern have been unstoppable this season. They had recorded the best opening half of a season in Bundesliga history and dropped just four out of a possible 54 points in 18 games.
The hosts looked set for a routine victory when Ito headed in a Michael Olise corner after 23 minutes.
Unfancied Augsburg last won a match in early December but fought back when Chaves made the most of a mistake from Bayern’s back-up goalkeeper Jonas Urbig to level on 76 minutes.
Massengo then finished off a superb team move to put Augsburg in front and on track for their first win in Munich since 2015.
Olise hit the post deep in stoppage time, but Augsburg held on for a memorable victory.
- Dortmund edge closer -
Emre Can converted an early penalty, Nico Schlotterbeck headed in against his former club, and Maximilian Beier scored late on as Dortmund won at Union to stay on the fringes of the title race.
“Bayern are almost unbeatable. When they make mistakes, we need to be there,” Schlotterbeck told Sky Germany. “I don’t want the title to be decided in March. That means we need to keep it up for as long as possible.”
Arriving in the German capital after a disappointing Champions League defeat at Tottenham on Tuesday, Dortmund captain Can slotted home after Serhou Guirassy was clumsily fouled in the box with 10 minutes gone.
Just after the break, Schlotterbeck headed in a Julian Ryerson corner to double Dortmund’s lead.
Not tempted to avoid celebrations against his former employers, the German centre-back produced his now trademark flexed bicep in front of the elated visiting fan block.
With six minutes remaining, Beier turned in a Jobe Bellingham cross to ensure victory.
Over 400 kilometres away from Munich, Bayer Leverkusen fans celebrated Bayern’s loss, chanting “the only unbeaten champions,” celebrating as their record of being the only undefeated Bundesliga title-winners, which they managed in 2023-24, remained intact.
Leverkusen beat Werder Bremen 1-0, with former Real Madrid defender Lucas Vazquez scoring the only goal to snap a three-game losing streak, and climbed to sixth in the table.
Elsewhere, surprise-package Hoffenheim tightened their grip on a top-four spot with a come-from-behind 3-1 win at struggling Eintracht Frankfurt.
Frankfurt, who sacked coach Dino Toppmoeller last Sunday, took the lead through Arnaud Kalimuendo, but Hoffenheim turned the game around with three goals in 13 second-half minutes.
Max Moerstedt and Ozan Kabak scored before Aurele Amenda put through his own net as Hoffenheim, relegation battlers last season, continued their impressive turnaround.
RB Leipzig cruised past Heidenheim 3-0 to move up to fourth, thanks to goals from Ridle Baku, Antonio Nusa and captain David Raum.
Mainz beat Wolfsburg 3-1 to continue their recent resurgence. Rock-bottom at Christmas, Mainz have claimed nine points from their past six matches to climb into the relegation playoff spot.
Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe netted twice to earn Real Madrid a 2-0 win at Villarreal on Saturday and take his side top of La Liga.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s team moved two points clear of rivals Barcelona, who host Real Oviedo on Sunday.
La Liga’s top scorer Mbappe reached 21 goals for the season in the competition to help Madrid see off a spirited Villarreal side, now fourth in the table.
Arbeloa’s side have won three consecutive matches across all competitions, and victory at Villarreal could be a vital step in the revival of their season.
After the shock Copa del Rey defeat at second-tier Albacete in Arbeloa’s first match at the helm, his Madrid have started to take shape.
The coach has made clear how important his star players are, and none has been more crucial this season than Mbappe, who has netted 34 times across all competitions.
“(Mbappe and Vinicius) are the best players in the world, they are players who can really unbalance teams, we try to get the ball to them as much as possible,” Arbeloa told Real Madrid TV.
“They’re two players who… I’m really happy to have in this state of form and above all, because of the great work they are doing.
“They are really committed to the team, they are the first who are pressing… they’re giving this effort and solidarity that we need from them, so I’m very happy that their reward comes in the form of goals.”
It was a lively but imprecise start at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica, as the game glowed but neither side was able to seriously threaten.
Georges Mikautadze lashed a volley narrowly wide after veteran forward Gerard Moreno found him with a floating cross.
At the other end, Madrid midfielder Arda Guler fired straight at Villarreal stopper Luiz Junior after some tidy footwork, and then shot high over the bar at the end of a swift break.
Villarreal’s Juan Foyth limped off hurt in a blow for the hosts, who created a good chance for Pape Gueye just before the break.
The Senegal midfielder, a champion at the Africa Cup of Nations last weekend, powered narrowly wide of the post.
Vinicius, who excelled in Madrid’s Champions League 6-1 rout of Monaco in midweek, also came close with a rasping effort across Luiz Junior’s goal and wide.
The 25-year-old Brazil forward went a 13th straight La Liga match without scoring, but was involved as Mbappe opened the scoring two minutes into the second half.
- Mbappe makes the difference -
Vinicius came into the box from the left flank, and his low cross was blocked, but Mbappe was on hand to squeeze home his 20th league goal of the campaign from close range.
Villarreal had the better of the second half as they worked hard to pull level, but Moreno spurned their best chance by firing inches over when well-placed.
In stoppage time, Mbappe was clumsily felled by Alfonso Pedraza in the box, and the French forward cheekily dinked home the resulting penalty to seal Madrid’s victory.
Mbappe’s team-mate Brahim Diaz, who missed a similar attempted Panenka penalty for Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations final, was on the pitch to see it as he returned to action for his club.
“We have to be a bit more accurate in attack against these kinds of teams,” admitted Villarreal midfielder Alberto Moleiro.
The Yellow Submarine are now 10 points behind leaders Madrid, having played one fewer match than Arbeloa’s side.
Elsewhere Espanyol, fifth, fell to a 3-2 defeat at Valencia that left them seven points behind Villarreal.
– © AFP 2026
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