Premier League
ANOTHER AXE FALLS ON PREMIERSHIP COACH AS PELLEGRINI IS SACKED
Manuel Pellegrini was sacked as West Ham United manager on Saturday after a 2-1 home defeat by Leicester City that put the Foxes’ distant pursuit of Premier League leaders Liverpool back on track.
Yet, Tottenham Hotspur’s hopes of moving into the top four stalled in a 2-2 draw at bottom club Norwich City.
Carlo Ancelotti and Nigel Pearson continued to revive their respective new clubs with Everton and Watford claiming their second Christmas wins, but once again the use of VAR dominated the airwaves and social media with further controversies.
The day’s major drama came at the London Stadium where West Ham’s defeat proved the final straw for the club’s owners, who after the Leicester defeat announced Pellegrini’s dismissal.
After the loss had left the Hammers just one place above the relegation zone in 17th place, joint chairman David Sullivan announced in a statement: “It is with great disappointment that we’ve had to make this decision.
“We felt it was necessary to act now in order to give the new manager as much time as possible to try and achieve that goal.”
After heavy defeats by Manchester City and Liverpool, Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers had made nine changes to his side for the trip to West Ham – the most by a Premier League manager so early in the season since 2010.
But Leicester had too much for flimsy West Ham as goals by Kelechi Iheanacho and Demarai Gray, who also missed a penalty, helped close the gap at the top to 10 points, albeit with Leicester having played two more games than Liverpool.
The win, less than 48 hours after a 4-0 home drubbing by Liverpool, lifted Leicester four points above third-placed Manchester City and revealed the depth in the squad.
“It was such a quick turnaround it was a game I felt we had to be fresh,” Rodgers, who was also without the league leading scorer Jamie Vardy who was excused duty after becoming a father again on Saturday, said.
Not for the first time in the league, several VAR interventions overshadowed the action, none more so than at Norwich where the hosts thought they had gone 2-0 up against Tottenham, only for Teemu Pukki’s effort to be ruled out for an offside decision not detectable by the naked eye.
Not surprisingly, VAR once again came in for a roasting.
“Here we go again. More nonsense from VAR. Pukki goal ruled out when level,” Match of the Day pundit Gary Lineker said on Twitter.
Earlier in the day Brighton & Hove Albion’s Dan Burn had a goal wiped out by VAR, although it was not costly as his side beat Bournemouth 2-0 to ease away from trouble.
Crystal Palace’s Max Meyer also had his goal ruled out for offside after a VAR check as Palace drew 1-1 at Southampton.
Tottenham twice trailed at bottom club Norwich but Harry Kane’s late penalty earned them a point.
Norwich, for whom Mario Vrancic scored early, could feel hard done by though as Pukki’s goal was ruled out.
“I thought we wanted to support the attacking players and if there was any doubt it should go to the offensive players,” Norwich manager Daniel Farke said.
Christian Eriksen levelled for Spurs only for a Serge Aurier own goal to hand the Canaries the lead before Kane fired in a spot kick on his 200th Premier League appearance.
Victory would have taken Tottenham above Chelsea into fourth but they remained fifth, two points behind.
Everton continued in an upward direction under Ancelotti who has won both of his matches in charge.
Two goals by Dominic Calvert-Lewin sealed a 2-1 victory at Newcastle United that lifted Everton into the top half.
Watford beat Aston Villa 3-0 and, despite remaining second from bottom, fans are dreaming of a great escape of the sort Pearson engineered at Leicester City in 2014-15.
Pearson’s side played for more than half an hour with 10 men after defender Adrian Mariappa was sent off but they already led through Troy Deeney’s opener in the 42nd minute. Deeney then slotted home a penalty and Ismaila Sarr added a third.
Iranian winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh scored his first Brighton goal with Aaron Mooy also on target against Bournemouth.
Danny Ings earned Southampton a point in a 1-1 draw at home to Crystal Palace who had taken the lead through James Tomkins.
-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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