Man City wins after dropping Haaland and Liverpool loses on stoppage-time goal

Dropping Erling Haaland worked out just fine for Manchester City.

The Premier League's most fearsome striker and top scorer was relegated to the bench on Saturday after scoring just one goal in his previous eight games, and City responded to alarming back-to-back defeats with a 2-0 win over last-placed Wolverhampton.

Liverpool's 13-match unbeaten run ended, though, after conceding off virtually the last kick of the game to lose 3-2 at Bournemouth.

Without Haaland, Omar Marmoush and Antoine Semenyo played as high wingers in a tweaked tactical setup and scored first-half goals for City. It was Semenyo’s third goal in four games since joining from Bournemouth in an $87 million deal and he also hit the crossbar in the second half.

Marc Guehi started after completing his move from Crystal Palace on Monday and helped to shore up City’s defense that was creaking in woeful losses to Manchester United and Bodø/Glimt over the past week.

Haaland entered as a substitute in the 73rd minute but didn’t have a clear-cut chance. He is likely to return on Wednesday for City's vital Champions League game against Galatasaray — unless, that is, Guardiola liked what he saw against Wolves without his star player.

“The energy was really good in the first half," Guardiola said. "The last 20-25 minutes were a bit flat but, considering the amount of games, it was a good result and hopefully we can take good energy for our game on Wednesday.”

Guardiola spent more time raging at standards of officiating after Farai Hallam, a referee taking charge of his first Premier League game, refused to give City a penalty when the score was 1-0 after Marmoush flicked the ball against Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera’s arm. Hallam stuck by his original verdict after VAR asked him to review his decision on the pitchside monitor.

“The referee made a huge debut — now everybody will know him," Guardiola said.

Second-placed City moved four points behind Arsenal, which hosts Manchester United on Sunday.

Amine Adli bundled home a scrappy winner for Bournemouth in the fifth minute of stoppage time, just when it looked as if Liverpool would earn a point after fighting back from two goals down.

Goals by Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai — with a curling shot off a free kick in the 80th — completed Liverpool's comeback but there was a twist in the tail.

“It is a cruel game if you lose in extra time after coming back from 2-0 down at halftime," Liverpool manager Arne Slot said.

Liverpool had drawn its previous four league games, so was now on a five-match winless run, and was vulnerable in fourth place in a disappointing title defense.

Cristian Romero equalized in the 90th to salvage a 2-2 draw for Tottenham at next-to-last Burnley.

Still, it was a disappointing result for under-pressure Tottenham manager Thomas Frank, who was on the receiving end of criticism from his team's own fans during a home loss to West Ham last weekend only to get some respite in a Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund midweek.

The attacks from supporters resumed at Burnley.

“The message to the fans, as I’ve said all the time, is that we’re working very hard to make sure everything is going (in) the right direction,” Frank said, “and that we’ll keep doing that.”

Fulham also scored late and it was a winner; Harry Wilson's strike earned a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Brighton.

West Ham's bid to escape the Premier League relegation zone gathered pace after beating Sunderland 3-1.

It was a second straight victory for West Ham, which surged into a three-goal lead by the 43rd minute thanks to Crysencio Summerville’s header, Jarrod Bowen's penalty, and a long-range strike by Mateus Fernandes.

Brian Brobbey scored for Sunderland in the second half.

West Ham, whose win at Tottenham last weekend was its first win in any competition since early November, stayed in the bottom three but was just two points behind fourth-to-last Nottingham Forest. Forest visits Brentford on Sunday.

Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Bournemouth's Amine Adli, center( 21), celebrates with teammates after scoring his sides third goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Bournemouth and Liverpool in Bournemouth, England, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, left and teammate Dominik Szoboszlai talks before a direct free kick from which Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai scores his sides second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Bournemouth and Liverpool in Bournemouth, England, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Burnley's Lyle Foster, right, celebrates with teammate Jaidon Anthony after scoring his side's second goal of the game, during the English Premier League soccer match between Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur, at Turf Moor, in Burnley, England, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Richard Sellers/PA via AP)

Manchester City's Antoine Semenyo, center, shoots and hits the bar during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers in Manchester, England, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Manchester City's Erling Haaland sits in the dug out before the start of the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers in Manchester, England, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

West Ham United's Crysencio Summerville scores his side's first goal, during the English Premier League soccer match between West Ham United and Sunderland in London, Saturday Jan. 24, 2026. ( Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

West Ham United's Jarrod Bowen celebrates scoring his side's second goal from a penalty, during the English Premier League soccer match between West Ham United and Sunderland in London, Saturday Jan. 24, 2026. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

West Ham United's Crysencio Summerville celebrates scoring his side's first goal, during the English Premier League soccer match between West Ham United and Sunderland in London, Saturday Jan. 24, 2026. ( Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

West Ham United's Mateus Fernandes, right,celebrates scoring his side's third goal with teammate Jarrod Bowen, during the English Premier League soccer match between West Ham United and Sunderland in London, Saturday Jan. 24, 2026. ( Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said the U.S. used a secret weapon he called “The Discombobulator” to disable Venezuelan equipment when the U.S. captured Nicolás Maduro. Trump also renewed his threat to conduct military strikes on land against drug cartels, including in Mexico.

Trump made the comments in an interview Friday with the New York Post.

The Republican president was commenting on reports that the U.S. had a pulsed energy weapon and said, “The Discombobulator. I’m not allowed to talk about it."

He said the weapon made Venezuelan equipment “not work.”

“They never got their rockets off. They had Russian and Chinese rockets, and they never got one off," Trump said in the interview. "We came in, they pressed buttons and nothing worked. They were all set for us.”

Trump had previously said when describing the raid on Maduro's compound that the U.S. had turned off “almost all of the lights in Caracas,” but he didn’t detail how they accomplished that.

The president also indicated the U.S. will continue its campaign of military strikes and could extend it from South America into North America as the administration tries to target drug cartels.

“We know their routes. We know everything about them. We know their homes. We know everything about them," Trump said. "We’re going to hit the cartels.”

When asked if the strikes could occur in Central America or Mexico, Trump said: “Could be anywhere."

The U.S. on Friday carried out a strike on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the first such action since Maduro’s capture.

It marks at least 36 known strikes on boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since early September that have killed at least 117 people.

Trump said the U.S. has removed the oil aboard seven oil tankers connected to Venezuela that it has seized but wouldn't reveal where the ships are now.

“I’m not allowed to tell you,” Trump said. “But let’s put it this way, they don’t have any oil. We take the oil.”

During the interview, the president also said that he was still trying to figure out where to hang the Nobel Peace Prize that was awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, which she gave to him earlier this month. The prize was leaning against a statue in the Oval Office.

Trump also told the newspaper that the framework of an Arctic security deal he struck with NATO chief Mark Ruttte would give the U.S. ownership of the land where American bases are located.

“We’ll have everything we want,” Trump said. "We have some interesting talks going on.”

Much of the potential deal remains unclear. Leaders of Denmark and Greenland have said the island's sovereignty was non-negotiable and a NATO spokesperson said Rutte, in his conversations with Trump, did not propose any “compromise to sovereignty."

The president said he would not go to the Super Bowl and called it a “terrible choice” for Bad Bunny and Green Day to perform at the game. He attended last year's Super Bowl in New Orleans.

President Donald Trump arrives at Joint Base Andrews, Md., after attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

FILE - President Donald Trump, right, meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)