Premier League
BEN CHILWELL SHINES AS CHELSEA THUMP PALACE 4-0
Chelsea settled their stuttering start to the season with a 4-0 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday (Oct 3) as Ben Chilwell marked his league debut for the Blues by scoring the opening goal and creating another for Kurt Zouma.
Jorginho sealed the win with two late penalties in a second-half demolition of Palace who had stifled Chelsea in a goalless first half.
Chilwell punished the visitors for their first defensive error, scoring from close range in the 50th minute after Mamadou Sakho fluffed a clearance and allowed Cesar Azpilicueta to cross.
Chelsea doubled their lead in the 66th minute when Palace failed to clear a corner and Zouma headed home after a cross by Chilwell.
Jorginho made sure of the win when he converted two penalties in the space of five minutes late in the game.
Chelsea coach Frank Lampard sounded as happy with his team’s first clean sheet of the season as the four goals they scored and he lauded the impact of Chilwell.
“I thought Ben Chilwell was fantastic in his contribution in all senses,” Lampard said.
“He gets his goal, he gets an assist and he was always ready to join in… He looked like he’d played for us for a long time.”
Lampard made six changes to the team that salvaged a 3-3 draw after being 3-0 behind at West Bromwich Albion last weekend, four of them at the back as he gave league debuts to left back Chilwell and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
Chilwell, who moved from Leicester City in August, showed his pace down the wings and fired crosses into the Palace box all match.
“It was a brilliant team performance, and I’m obviously very happy with my personal performance,” Chilwell told BT Sport.
“The gaffer said at halftime we need to be more creative in the final third, and in the second half we showed that.”
Mendy, signed from Rennes of France to replace out-of-form Kepa Arrizabalaga, had a quieter afternoon.
He had to wait 63 minutes before having to make his first save against a Palace side intent on thwarting their hosts until they went behind.
Chelsea’s defence, which leaked six goals in their first three league games of the new season, looked stronger with former Paris St Germain centre half Thiago Silva in commanding form alongside Zouma.
Lampard was asked about reports that Bayern Munich had renewed their interest in Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi and wanted to sign him before the transfer deadline on Monday.
“There is no definitive answer but by Monday, we will have one,” he said. “At the minute, I want Callum part of my squad.”
-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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