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MAN CITY MUST BEAT LIVERPOOL TO RETAIN EPL, SAYS SILVA

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Manchester City midfielder, Bernardo Silva has said that it would be difficult for his team to reel in Liverpool if they did not win their Premier League encounter tonight.

Third-placed City host Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium with the visitors top of the league on 54 points from 20 games, seven points ahead of Pep Guardiola’s side, who are one point behind second-placed Tottenham Hotspur.

“We know the pressure is a little bit more on us,” Silva told reporters. “Because if we don’t win, it will be very difficult to go after them.

“We have to think that we have to win every game possible to try to reach them, to close the gap a little bit and that’s what we’ll try to do in the next game.

“We know we are seven points behind and if we win it will be only four. Seven or four is very different, but we’ll put some pressure into them.”

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Liverpool are unbeaten in the league and also hold the best defensive record, having conceded only eight goals.

“They’ve had a lot of clean sheets. An impressive defence,” Silva added before also recognising their opponents’ strength across the field.

“The front three, everyone knows how good they are. They work a lot. The midfielders they work a lot, they press a lot.

“This season they’ve been doing very well in the Premier League and the Champions League so it’s two very good teams, and we’ll try to win the game,” he noted.

Meanwhile Liverpool manager Jurgen Kloop is of the view that his players will need all their fighting qualities to overcome the “best team in the world” in Manchester City.

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Shortly after City manager Pep Guardiola described table-toppers Liverpool as Europe’s best team in his news conference, Klopp returned the compliment with interest and said City could not be taken lightly despite a dip in form.

Defeats by Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Leicester City last month have left Guardiola’s side in third place with 47 points, seven points behind unbeaten Liverpool and one behind fellow title contenders Tottenham Hotspur.

“We have to be brave, we have to be full of desire, angry again, all that stuff – like in all the other games – but with the knowledge that the opponent is still the best team in the world,” Klopp told a news conference.

“I said it weeks ago because it’s 100 percent my opinion; the way they play and all the things they have achieved and the things they will achieve. Nothing has changed, only the points changed, but not the preparation for the game.

“And we are a very, very, very good football team as well. That’s why we have the amount of points, that’s why we had the results, that’s clear. But we prepare for one game.”

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James Milner missed Liverpool’s last two games due to a hamstring injury but the midfielder is in contention to feature against his former side.

“He was back in training with us yesterday for the first time, so we will see,” Klopp said.

“His influence on the team is massive… experience is always important if you know how to use it.”

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Former Arsenal soccer player Partey charged with five counts of rape

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 Premier League - Arsenal v Manchester City - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - February 2, 2025 Arsenal's Thomas Partey during the warm-up before the match REUTERS/David Klein/File Photo

Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.

Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.

Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.

Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.

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He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.

-Reuters

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Rashford, Garnacho among five players seeking Man Utd exit

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Premier League - Manchester United v Newcastle United - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - December 30, 2024 Manchester United's Marcus Rashford warms up as a substitute during the match REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo

Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.

Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.

Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.

Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.

Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.

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United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.

“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”

Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.

Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.

-Reuters

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Fernandes rejects Al-Hilal offer to stay at Manchester United

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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.

The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.

“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.

“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”

Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.

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“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.

“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.

“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”

The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.

However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.

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-Reuters

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