Premier League
LAMPARD SAVOURS WIN OVER OLD MENTOR MOURINHO
When the final whistle blew on Sunday, jubilant Chelsea coach Frank Lampard ran to the visiting fans to throw his coat into the crowd in celebration, as if their 2-0 Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur had been a cup final victory.
For Lampard, it was not only his most significant league win in charge of Chelsea, against one of their biggest rivals, after a run of four defeats in five games.
It was also a triumph of tactics over his former mentor Jose Mourinho who, as Chelsea manager 15 years ago, turned Lampard from a promising player into the club’s all-time top goal-scorer and one of England’s best midfielders of his age.
Lampard’s Chelsea were in control from start to finish on Sunday. Two first-half goals by Willian, one of them a penalty, could have been followed by others.
Spurs were taken by surprise by the visitors’ formation which included three central defenders and the return of left-back Marcos Alonso to add attacking threat.
Mourinho said Lampard had resorted to the same three-at-the-back system that was familiar to the team after former Chelsea coach Antonio Conte used it to win the league title in the 2016-17 season.
“They played in a system where they are very comfortable with, a system where they played for two years with Antonio Conte,” Mourinho said.
Lampard bristled at the suggestion. “I’m not trying to clone anyone’s system,” he said.
“The way that I play, the message that I give is different. The players took the plan on incredibly well as we all saw.”
Lampard said he played three central defenders to snuff out the threat from Spurs’ ability to get their attackers behind the back line, while the use of wing-backs helped to stretch the hosts’ typically compact defence.
“We had an element of protection in the way it worked but it also allowed us to have loads of control of the ball,” he said.
He also rejected Mourinho’s comment that Antonio Rudiger deserved “an Oscar” for his part in an incident that left Spurs with 10 men for the last 30 minutes after Son Heung-min was sent off for raking his studs on the Chelsea defender’s midriff.
But Lampard stressed there was no bad feeling towards his former coach.
“To go up against a manager I respect so much from my playing days and for everything he’s done in the game, and win, that obviously feels good,” Lampard said.
“Even if we had anything on the line during the heat of the 90 minutes, which we didn’t, it wouldn’t change that. What Jose’s done in his career and did for me as a player, means I have respect forever for him on that one.”
-Reuters
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.
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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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.
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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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.
“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.
-Reuters
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