Premier League
GUARDIOLA PRAISES ‘INCREDIBLE’ SILVA AS MAN CITY ROUT NEWCASTLE
Pep Guardiola praised David Silva as the “incredible” Manchester City playmaker turned on the style one more time in Wednesday’s (July 8) 5-0 rout of Newcastle.
Silva scored a superb free-kick and set up goals for Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling at the Etihad Stadium.
The 34-year-old is leaving City at the end of the season after a decade’s outstanding service.
Although all games are currently being played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus, Guardiola wants Silva to return for a farewell game to allow City fans to give him a proper send-off.
“It is not the game today, which was incredible, but what he has done over 10 years,” Guardiola said.
“When the people come back to the Etihad Stadium we will do a farewell game for one of the legends of this club.
“He is maybe the best in the small spaces. Moving between the lines I have never seen anyone like him.
“He has come back from lockdown in incredible form and rhythm. If he decides to play on he can play anywhere. There is no doubt about this.”
With City’s record goalscorer Sergio Aguero a long-term absentee after knee surgery, Guardiola needs Jesus to start firing on all cylinders.
He finally stepped up to the plate with the first-half strike.
It was Jesus’ 19th goal of the season, but just his second in his last 12 Premier League matches, banishing a nine-game barren run in all competitions.
Riyad Mahrez increased City’s lead and Federico Fernandez’s own goal was followed by Silva’s free-kick and a late Sterling strike.
Guardiola’s side have only pride to play for in the remainder of the Premier League season after Liverpool took the title.
But second-placed City, who won the League Cup in March, still have silverware in their sights as they await the result of their appeal against a two-season ban from European competition.
They face an FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal on July 18 and the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Real Madrid in August, with City holding a 2-1 lead.
After losing two of their last three league games, Guardiola had warned his players to cut out the mistakes that have blighted their season.
With that in mind, Guardiola was encouraged by the ruthless way they put Newcastle to the sword.
‘NO DOUBTS’
“At Southampton I had no doubts about the way we played but this game is about winning,” he said.
“Now we have four weeks to finish second, score a lot of goals. We want to score goals, respect the football and prepare well for Arsenal and (Real) Madrid.”
Guardiola insisted this week that Jesus had produced “one of his best performances of this season” in Sunday’s defeat at Southampton.
The 23-year-old repaid Guardiola’s faith in the 10th minute, meeting Silva’s pass with a close-range finish for his first goal since netting at Real Madrid in February.
City midfielder Phil Foden dragged his shot wide from a tight angle after a dangerous burst into the Newcastle area.
Guardiola’s men were in complete control and doubled their lead in the 21st minute.
Foden sent Kevin De Bruyne away down the left side of the Newcastle area and the Belgian’s cut-back was slotted home by Mahrez for his 12th goal of the season.
City’s relentless pressure produced a third goal in the 58th minute when Jesus’s raid panicked Matt Ritchie into a desperate clearance that cannoned off Fernandez into his own net.
In the final months of his last season with City, Silva remains a class act and he made it four with a fine free-kick that left Dubravka rooted to the spot in the 65th minute.
Sterling’s 90th-minute tap-in made it 17 goals for City in their four home games since the restart.
-AFP
England and Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has been handed a 15-month suspended prison sentence by a Greek court over a 2020 incident in Mykonos, Sky Sports reported on Wednesday.
In 2020, Maguire was found guilty of repeated bodily harm, attempted bribery and violence against public employees after his arrest in a brawl in which two police officers were assaulted.
Maguire, who was detained for two days following the incident and denied any wrongdoing, was handed a suspended prison sentence of 21 months and 10 days but was granted a full retrial after appealing against Greek court convictions on multiple charges.
In accordance with the Greek judicial process, the filing nullified Maguire’s conviction before a full retrial in a more senior court. His retrial was postponed many times.
Maguire faced allegations of non-serious assault, resisting arrest and attempted bribery. The 32-year-old was convicted on all three counts but will face no prison time. His legal team will appeal against the guilty verdict, Sky Sports reported.
Maguire’s brother Joe and friend Christopher Sharman were also found guilty of offences related to the incident and received suspended prison sentences in 2020. They also denied any wrongdoing.
-Reuters
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Arsenal maintained control of the Premier League title race as they chiselled out a nervy 2-1 win over London rivals Chelsea to open up a five-point lead at the top of the table on Sunday.
Jurrien Timber’s 66th-minute header from a Declan Rice corner ensured Arsenal took three precious points, but it was a nervy afternoon in north London.
Mikel Arteta’s side moved to 64 points from 29 games, with Manchester City, who have played a game fewer, on 59.
Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber celebrates scoring their second goal with Gabriel Magalhaes REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Defender William Saliba had given Arsenal the lead in the 21st minute from a trademark corner routine.
But it had looked as though an own goal by Piero Hincapie just before halftime would prove costly for the hosts until Timber came to their rescue.
Chelsea, whose six-match unbeaten league sequence under new manager Liam Rosenior was halted, ended the match with 10 men after Pedro Neto was sent off for a second yellow card.
-Reuters
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Premier League
Manchester United climb to third in Premier League table with come-from-behind win over Palace
Manchester United produced a stirring second-half comeback to defeat Crystal Palace 2–1 at Old Trafford on Sunday, with captain Bruno Fernandes inspiring the turnaround that lifted the hosts into third place in the Premier League standings.
Trailing inside four minutes after a dominant start by Palace, United responded through a Fernandes penalty before his pinpoint free-kick was headed home by Benjamin Sesko to seal victory against the 10-man visitors.
The win extended interim manager Michael Carrick’s unbeaten run to seven matches since taking charge in mid-January. United now have 51 points from 28 games and are unbeaten since the January 5 dismissal of Ruben Amorim, climbing into third for the first time since May 2023. Palace remain 14th on 35 points.
“It feels like a big result, we were behind and had to show some character,” Fernandes told Sky Sports. “There are a lot of games to go still, and it is important that we don’t feel that we are in the position that we need to be. We need to make as many points as we can.”
Palace, under Oliver Glasner, were electric in the opening half hour, capitalising on sluggish United play. Defender Maxence Lacroix powered home a header from a corner after muscling past Leny Yoro, scoring the earliest goal United have conceded this season.
The visitors nearly doubled their advantage when Daniel Munoz latched onto an Ismaila Sarr through ball, but goalkeeper Senne Lammens produced a crucial save.
United gradually found their rhythm before the break. Sesko forced Dean Henderson into action with a header from a Fernandes cross, and the Palace keeper also tipped a Fernandes free kick over the bar.
The turning point arrived in the 57th minute when Fernandes converted from the penalty spot after Matheus Cunha was dragged down by Lacroix. Following a lengthy VAR review, Lacroix was shown a red card, reducing Palace to 10 men.
Eight minutes later, Fernandes’ delivery again proved decisive as Sesko rose highest to nod home the winning goal.
United pushed for a third, with Casemiro’s volley drawing a diving save from Henderson and substitute Amad Diallo testing the keeper from distance in stoppage time. Joshua Zirkzee saw efforts blocked, while Kobbie Mainoo’s fierce strike drifted narrowly wide.
Carrick praised his team’s resilience. “The biggest thing for us to take from the game is really the first time that we have been in that situation going in at halftime,” he said. “Being in that position and how we react and showing that personality and belief… to then come back as we did in the second half is the biggest thing for me today.”
Palace pressed late but could not find an equaliser. Glasner admitted his side had let the game slip. “It feels like there was more possible today. A great first 30 minutes, but the red card changed it completely. The second goal just happened too quickly.”
For United, the victory reinforces growing belief under Carrick that a top-four finish—and a return to Europe’s elite competition—is firmly within reach.
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