Manchester City saw off AEK Athens in front of an Etihad crowd that had pockets of empty seats, prompting Enzo Maresca to comment on the drop in attendance

Manchester City hammered AEK Athens on Tuesday night but the post-match talk was dominated by the rafts of empty seats at the Etihad Stadium, which was only two thirds full.

After continued renovation, the Etihad now boasts a capacity of 61,038, and yet the official attendance was a mere 40,024. That came as no surprise with the match action often showing pockets of empty blue seats whilst large parts of the upper tier remained unsold. The match was City’s third at home in seven days following defeat by Paris Saint-Germain and victory over Ipswich.

It must also be said that AEK Athens are not the biggest sell on the fixture list, with City always expected to win relatively comfortably, which they did thanks to a Phil Foden hat-trick. He scored three in their 5-1 success with Elliot Anderson and Rayan Cherki also getting in on the act.

Enzo Maresca wasn’t concerned by the attendance, however, and told reporters after the game: “I think the ones in the stadium were good. The last game against Ipswich they were top and next week two games against Brighton and I’ve no doubt the environment will be good again.”

City fans have rallied recently in light of the guilty verdict, which was handed down by an independent panel and now threatens their place in the Premier League. An appeal has been lodged, but a major points deduction and relegation remains on the cards.

Amid accusations of cheating during a nine-year period that spanned from 2009 to 2018, City have come out fighting and their fans have waved large inflatable bananas during games, which stems back to the 1980s when fans took them to games following relegation.

City remain perfect in the Premier League, winning seven from seven to boast a three point lead over Arsenal in second. Maresca’s side face a challenging trip to Aston Villa at the weekend, they’ve lost their last three visits to Villa Park.

Alexis Mac Allister has admitted “something wasn’t right” for Liverpool under Arne Slot last season.

Slot became the seventh boss to win the Premier League in their first season in the competition when he led Liverpool to the title in 2024-25.

Yet the Reds dropped off last term, finishing fifth and failing to make significant progress in the cups.

Slot was dismissed at the end of the campaign, with Andoni Iraola coming in to replace him.

Iraola has made a strong start, with Liverpool losing only one game under the Spaniard so far. On Tuesday, the Reds recovered from 2-0 down to beat Villarreal 4-3 in the Champions League.

Mac Allister netted Liverpool’s first goal at Anfield, and he conceded that it just did not click for the Reds in Slot’s second season, as he credited Iraola for the turnaround.

“Last year was a really difficult year for all of us,”

“It was clear that I was not at the level. I am the first one to say, I have no problem.

“Something wasn’t right in the group. This manager changed it, and that’s really important.

“The way we play is quite different. I don’t like to compare. I feel good, that’s what I want and that’s what I enjoy.

“Now, it’s more man-to-man. You have to communicate less because you have to follow [the opponent]. Last year it was more of a zonal thing. With the national team we do more of a zonal thing and it works. Now, we do a one v one and it works.

“In the end, it’s about us taking the responsibility.”

Liverpool have avoided defeat in five of their six games in all competitions this season in which they have conceded the opening goal (W3 D2 L1), already more than across the entirety of 2025-26 (W2 D2 L18).

Bandits holding Saidu Abubakar, a young English language teacher and aide to a Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship aspirant in Zamfara State, have demanded an additional N10 million ransom after collecting the same amount from his family, the Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) has disclosed.

Abubakar was abducted alongside other passengers during a daylight attack along the Tsafe–Magezu axis of Zamfara State on August 25, 2026.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, YRC condemned his continued captivity, noting that the abductors circulated a video showing Abubakar and another victim, identified as an airport staff member, pleading for help to raise the fresh ransom.

According to the statement signed by YRC National Coordinator, Michael Adaramoye Lenin, and National Secretary, Francis Nwapa, the victim’s family has already paid ₦10 million to the abductors, but the bandits have demanded another ₦10 million before releasing him.

The group said the development has left Abubakar’s family financially drained while the victim remains in captivity.

“Since our last statement, Saidu’s family and friends, acting entirely on their own and without any meaningful support from those who ought to have stepped in, have scraped together and paid the sum of Ten Million Naira (₦10,000,000) to the bandits holding him,” YRC said.

“Rather than honour this payment with his release, the bandits have returned with a fresh demand for an additional Ten Million Naira (₦10,000,000) before they will let him go.”

The group described the situation as an example of what it called Nigeria’s “kidnapping economy,” where families are forced to exhaust their resources negotiating for the freedom of relatives abducted by armed groups.

YRC said it is particularly disturbing that Abubakar and the other victim were reduced to pleading for their lives in a video after being abducted while carrying out lawful activities.

“That two Nigerians, a teacher and an aviation worker, going about lawful business, should be reduced to pleading on camera for their lives because the state cannot keep its roads safe is a national disgrace,” the group said.

YRC accused the Zamfara State Government and the APC-led Nigerian Government of failing to adequately protect citizens amid the worsening insecurity in the North-West.

The group said the victims have remained in captivity for weeks despite the involvement of security agencies, noting that two people were reportedly killed during the initial attack.

“Weeks after this abduction, with two lives already lost in the initial attack, the victims remain in captivity, forced to beg for their own ransom on camera, while security agencies that consume trillions of naira in federal allocations and billions of naira in monthly state security votes have yet to secure their rescue,” YRC said.

The group questioned how huge public expenditure on security had translated into the protection of citizens, particularly on major roads where armed groups continue to operate.

“Nigerians are entitled to demand accountability: what have these enormous sums purchased, if citizens can still be abducted in broad daylight on a federal corridor and left to negotiate their own survival for weeks on end?” the group asked.

YRC described the prolonged captivity of Abubakar and other victims as a “damning indictment” of what it described as failures at both state and federal levels.

It also warned that the worsening insecurity in Zamfara and other parts of the North-West should no longer be treated as an abstract security challenge.

YRC demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Abubakar and all other victims still being held by the bandits.

The group also called on the Zamfara State Police Command, Department of State Services (DSS) and Nigerian military to intensify efforts to rescue the victims.

YRC further demanded that the Zamfara State and Federal Governments account for how security budgets and security votes have been deployed to prevent and respond to kidnappings and other attacks.

The group said it would continue to campaign for the release of Abubakar, the airport staff member, and other victims still in captivity.

“YRC will not relent in amplifying this case until Saidu Abubakar, the airport staff victim, and every other person still in captivity are safely released,” the group said.

YRC also called on media organisations, civil society groups and Nigerians to join the campaign for the victims’ safe release.