Premier League
LEICESTER CITY HELICOPTER CRASH: WITH OR WITHOUT THE CLUB OWNER’S BODY, FUNERAL HOLDS ON SATURDAY
The funeral of the Leicester City owner who died in a helicopter crash is to begin in Thailand on Saturday BBC reports.nnVichai Srivaddhanaprabha died along with two members of his staff, the pilot and a passenger when the aircraft came down in a car park moments after taking off from the King Power Stadium.nnDetails announced in Thailand said the ceremony would begin in the evening with Buddhist bathing rituals.nnCrash investigations are still taking place at the football ground.nnNusara Suknamai, Kaveporn Punpare, pilot Eric Swaffer and his partner Izabela Roza Lechowicz also died in the crash on Saturday.nnPolice have now formally identified four of the victims and coroners are still to formally identify the fifth.nnThe funeral details, issued to Thai media, said a bathing ceremony would start at a temple in Bangkok on 3 November.nnThis will be followed by recitation ceremonies over seven days. The date of a cremation ceremony has not been set yet.nnBecause of Mr Vichai’s contributions to various charities, the funeral has been described as “royal sponsored”.nnThe BBC understands a funeral ceremony would take place with or without the 60-year-old’s body.nnAs investigators work to find the cause of the crash, aviation experts analysing video footage said it suggests there was a problem with the tail rotor before the helicopter started spinning.nnEarlier this week, Mr Vichai’s son, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha – known as Top – said he would now try carry on his father’s “big vision and dreams” for Leicester City.nnA huge display of floral and footballing tributes has been left outside the stadium and a steady stream of people have been signing a book of condolence at the ground since it opened on Tuesday.nnFamilies of those who died, players and members of the wider Leicester community have also been visiting the memorial, and club staff and players have been offered counselling.nnFormer manager Claudio Ranieri visited the site on Thursday with Mr Vichai’s family to lay his own wreath.nnRanieri, 67, was appointed manager of the Foxes in 2015, guiding them to the Premier League title a year later in what many called “a fairytale” for the club.nnCurrent manager Claude Puel said his players made the decision to go ahead with the Premier League match at Cardiff City on Saturday.nnThe club’s Carabao Cup match with Southampton, originally scheduled for 30 October, was postponed following the crash, and Mr Puel said the result of Saturday’s game is “not important”.nnSpeaking in a press conference on Thursday, Puel added: “Playing football has not been at front of our minds this week.”nn”But for this weekend, and all the matches thereafter, we play to honour a man who did so much for our club,” he said.nnIn Leicester, two sisters are planning a memorial walk from the city centre to the King Power Stadium on 10 November, with thousands of people expected to attend.nnPupils at a Leicester school were allowed to wear Leicester City shirts or something blue with their uniform on Thursday in recognition of the club chairman.nnAnd Leicester Cathedral said it would be ringing its bells for an hour on Friday evening in memory of all those who died.nnLeicester City have confirmed they will travel by road to their game at Cardiff on Saturday rather than fly, as it was felt insensitive to go by plane given the circumstances of Mr Vichai’s death.nn nn
Liverpool will have to wait for a few more days to be crowned Premier League champions despite a 1-0 victory at Leicester City after Arsenal kept their slender hopes just about alive with a 4-0 romp at 10-man Ipswich Town on Sunday.
Trent Alexander-Arnold came off the bench to score Liverpool’s winner in the 76th minute at the King Power Stadium to restore their 13-point lead at the top with five games left.
While Liverpool can almost taste a record-equalling 20th English crown, Leicester’s defeat confirmed their relegation back to the Championship after just one season.
The Midlands club have now been relegated from England’s top flight a record 13 times.
Chelsea secured a massive win in their bid to qualify for the Champions League as they came from behind to beat Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage with Pedro Neto scoring in stoppage time.
The win pushed Chelsea above Nottingham Forest in to fifth place, the last spot for qualification to the Champions League, although Forest play at Tottenham Hotspur on Monday.
Chelsea have 57 points from 33 games, two behind third-placed Newcastle United and one behind Manchester City. Forest and Aston Villa are level with Chelsea on 57 points.
Wolverhampton Wanderers guaranteed their safety as they beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford. Pablo Sarabia’s stunning free kick wrapped up a fifth successive league win, the first time Wolves have achieved that in the top flight since 1970.
Liverpool were wasteful at Leicester with numerous chances going begging and Mohamed Salah suffering a frustrating afternoon including hitting both posts with an early shot.
Salah hit the woodwork again moments before the ball came out to Alexander-Arnold who fired a left-footed shot through the crowd to give his side the points — ripping off his shirt and celebrating wildly with the travelling fans.
“We just keep going, mentally we’re really strong,” manager Arne Slot, whose side could be crowned champions if Arsenal lose at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday, told Sky Sports.
“They enjoy playing football and it helps when you are playing for something special. Today (Alexander-Arnold) knows when it matters most he can just bring a bit more which is something all the top, top players have.”
DISTANT SECOND
If Arsenal avoid defeat by Palace, Slot’s side will seal the title if they beat Tottenham Hotspur at home next Sunday.
“We will focus on Tottenham and looking forward again to a home game and I think the stadium will be full,” Slot, who can become the first Dutch manager to win the English title, said. “It’s a nice game to look forward to.”
Liverpool have 79 points with Arsenal a distant second on 66. Arsenal may have their eyes now on a Champions League semi-final against Paris St Germain, but they showed against Ipswich they will not hand over the title to Liverpool.
Leandro Trossard opened the scoring early on and Gabriel Martinelli made it 2-0 after a delightful flick by Mikel Merino.
Ipswich were reduced to 10 men before halftime as Leif Davis crudely raked his studs down the back of Bukayo Saka’s calf and the second half was academic.
Trossard grabbed his second in the 69th minute and Ethan Nwaneri added a late fourth to leave Ipswich stuck in 18th place on 21 points. They will be relegated if they drop points again or 17th-placed West Ham United pick up one more point from their remaining five games.
Chelsea were heading for a damaging defeat at neighbours Fulham as the hosts led with Alex Iwobi’s 20th-minute goal.
Substitute Tyrique George equalised with an instinctive shot in the 83rd minute, his first Premier League goal, before winger Neto swivelled and unleashed a thunderous strike in stoppage time to send the away fans wild.
Manchester United reached the Europa League semi-final with an astonishing comeback win against French club Olympique Lyonnais on Thursday but their Premier League woes returned against Wolves.
They are in 14th place and have now lost eight Premier League home games this season, their most defeats at Old Trafford in a league campaign since 1962-63.
“Wolves scored in the only opportunity they had. we had many chances, and we didn’t score. If you don’t score goals, you are not going to win games,” manager Ruben Amorim said.
-Reuters
Egyptian outlet, Ahram, has reported that Mohamed Salah has signed a new contract with Liverpool, extending his stay at Anfield beyond the 2024-25 season as he prepares for what could be the final chapter of a storied career with the club.
While the terms of the agreement were not disclosed, British media reports indicate the 32-year-old forward has signed a two-year extension, keeping him at the club until at least 2027.
Salah, who joined Liverpool from AS Roma in 2017, has become a modern-day icon at Anfield.
The Egyptian international has scored 243 goals in 394 appearances—third on the club’s all-time scorers list—and has helped the Reds secure seven major trophies, including the Premier League and Champions League titles.
“I had my best years here,” Salah told the club’s website. “Hopefully it’s going to be 10. I signed because I believe we can still win big trophies together.”
He has maintained his prolific form this season, scoring 32 goals and providing 22 assists in 45 appearances across all competitions. His 27 Premier League goals currently lead the division.
During his time with Liverpool, Salah has won the Premier League Golden Boot three times, been named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year twice, and claimed two FWA Footballer of the Year awards.
Now entering the latter stages of his career, Salah remains focused on adding more silverware to his collection and further cementing his legacy at Liverpool.
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Leicester City’s Jeremy Monga, who became the second-youngest Premier League player when he made his senior debut in Monday’s 3-0 loss to Newcastle United, had to wear a blank shirt because it is sponsored by an online cryptocurrency gaming platform.
Britain’s Gambling Act 2005, which underwent a review in 2020, prohibits players under 18 from wearing kits displaying gambling sponsors. Monga, an England U16 international, made his senior debut at 15 years 271 days old.
Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri remains the youngest Premier League player in history, having debuted in the competition when he was 90 days younger than Monga.
Leicester, who suffered an eighth straight loss in the league without scoring a goal, are 19th in the standings, 15 points below the safety zone.
-Reuters
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