New signings star in Man City opening win and Richarlison shines for Tottenham

Tijjani Reijnders and Erling Haaland starred as Manchester City opened its Premier League campaign by crushing Wolverhampton 4-0 on Saturday.

On a great day for City's new signings, Reijnders played a part in the first three goals — scoring one himself — and Rayan Cherki came off the bench to grab a late fourth.

Coach Pep Guardiola made Reijnders a priority signing from AC Milan to compensate for playmaker Kevin De Bruyne's departure. He also snapped up the technically gifted Cherki from Lyon, where he made his debut at the age of 16.

Reijnders prised the Wolves defense open with a delightful flick over the defense to allow Rico Lewis the space to pick out Haaland to score his first from a low cross in the 34th minute.

Three minutes later, Oscar Bobb played Reijnders in down the left and the Netherlands midfielder arrowed a superb first-time shot into the bottom right corner from just inside the penalty area.

City's third in the 61st came when Reijnders expertly took down a high ball, swapped passes with Bobb down the right and pulled the ball back for Haaland to finish with a crisp drive.

Just six minutes after going on, France international Cherki bamboozled the Wolves defense and picked his spot from 20 meters out.

Elsewhere, Newcastle lacked a cutting edge without its star striker Alexander Isak and drew at Aston Villa 0-0.

Tottenham looked far sharper, dispatching newly promoted Burnley 3-0 with Brazil forward Richarlison scoring twice.

Isak was left out as he tries to push for a move to defending champion Liverpool. New signing Anthony Elanga looked dangerous on the right of Newcastle's attack, but the visitors could not make the most of their possession.

Villa's Ezri Konsa was sent off in the 66th minute for pulling back Anthony Gordon as he raced through on goal.

West Ham lost at promoted Sunderland 3-0, and Fulham equalized deep into stoppage time for 1-1 at Brighton.

Mohammed Kudus set up Richarlison from the right flank for both of his goals, the second of which was an exquisite scissor kick in the 60th.

Brennan Johnson latched onto Pape Sarr's pass shortly after to make it 3-0 for Europa League winner Tottenham, which lost midweek to Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup.

Forward Eliezer Mayenda and center half Dan Ballard scored with headers in the second half for Sunderland before Wilson Isidor sealed the win with an injury-time goal.

Matt O’Riley’s penalty early in the second half for Brighton punished a foul by Fulham’s Sander Berge on Georginio Rutter as he ran into the penalty box.

But Brighton failed to deal with a corner and Rodrigo Muniz fired in the equalizer in the sixth minute of injury time.

A moment’s silence was observed at those Premier League games in memory of the former Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Diogo Jota.

Before facing City, Wolves fans displayed a giant tifo of Jota, who played two seasons in the Premier League with the West Midlands club before joining Liverpool in 2020.

A banner under the tifo in his memory read “We’ll remember you when you walk in fields of gold,” and fans at Molineux Stadium chanted his name after a moment's applause was held while a Portuguese flag was flown.

They chanted his name again in the 18th minute, in reference to the jersey number he wore at Wolves.

On Friday, Liverpool players and fans paid moving tributes to Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, at Anfield before and during the league-opener against Bournemouth. The Portuguese brothers died in a car crash in Spain last month.

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Manchester City's Rayan Cherki, center, celebrates with teammates after scoring his sides during the English Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City at Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, England, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

Manchester City's Erling Haaland, right, celebrates with Manchester City's Tijjani Reijnders after scoring his sides third goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City at Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, England, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

Fans pay a tribute to late Liverpool player Diogo Jota ahead of the English Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City at Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, England, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

Brighton and Hove Albion's Matt O'Riley, front, celebrates scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Brighton and Hove Albion and FC Fulham in Brighton, England, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)

Sunderland's Habib Diarra, left, attempts a shot towards goal during the English Premier League soccer match between AFC Sunderland and West Ham United in Sunderland, England, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)

Tottenham Hotspur's Richarlison, left, celebrates scoring the opening goal during the the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)

Aston Villa's Boubacar Kamara, left, and Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon, right, challenge for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Newcastle United in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025.David Davies/PA via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

The U.S. Coast Guard boarded the tanker, named Veronica, early Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media. The ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” she said.

U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”

Several U.S. government social media accounts posted brief videos that appeared to show various parts of the ship’s capture. Black-and-white footage showed at least four helicopters approaching the ship before hovering over the deck while armed troops dropped down by rope. At least nine people could be seen on the deck of the ship.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, the ship was partially filled with crude.

Days later, the Veronica became one of at least 16 tankers that left the Venezuelan coast in contravention of the quarantine that U.S. forces have set up to block sanctioned ships, according to Samir Madani, the co-founder of TankerTrackers.com. He said his organization used satellite imagery and surface-level photos to document the ship movements.

The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the Treasury Department for being associated with a Russian company moving cargoes of illicit oil.

As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”

Speaking to reporters at the White House later Thursday, Noem declined to say how many sanctioned oil tankers the U.S. is tracking or whether the government is keeping tabs on freighters beyond the Caribbean Sea.

“I can’t speak to the specifics of the operation, although we are watching the entire shadow fleet and how they’re moving,” she told reporters.

But other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

Associated Press writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro’s capture and the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, not the Galileo.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)