Premier League
TALKING POINTS FROM THE PREMIER LEAGUE WEEKEND
Manchester City extended their lead at the top of the Premier League over the weekend as they won 1-0 at home to Sheffield United while Manchester United were held to a 0-0 draw away to Arsenal. Here are the other key takeaways.
1. Liverpool back in groove
Liverpool will say goodbye to January with momentum building after two wins in a week revived hopes their title defence is far from a lost cause despite Manchester City’s form.
The way they played in the second half of Sunday’s (Jan 31) 3-1 win at West Ham United was reminiscent of the free-flowing football they produced for most of last season.
It was achieved without Sadio Mane who was injured but Mohamed Salah scored two sublime goals to suggest the Egyptian is over his mini league drought.
2. Gloom descending on Tottenham
Jose Mourinho said his players were “too sad” to play well in the first half of their 1-0 defeat at Brighton and Hove Albion, suggesting they reacted badly to going behind and perhaps were missing injured talisman Harry Kane.
While the absence of Kane, injured in the defeat by Liverpool on Thursday, was a factor for a tepid display, it cannot be used to explain a dreadful slump in form.
Tottenham topped the table in December but have since won only twice in nine league games and fans are questioning a style of football that, while initially getting results, is now both hard on the eye and not especially effective.
With Chelsea up next for Spurs, Mourinho needs to find some reason for happiness for fans of the north London club.
3. Tuchel shakes things up at Stamford Bridge
New Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel surprised many Blues fans with his line-up for Sunday’s game against Burnley.
Marcos Alonso, who was out of favour under Frank Lampard, made his first appearance since September, at the expense of England’s Ben Chilwell. Cesar Azpilicueta was again favoured over Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi started for the second time while former Ajax star Hakim Ziyech did not make the bench.
After opening the scoring in Chelsea’s comfortable 2-0 win, Azpilicueta said the new coach was giving everyone a chance.
“We started from zero with the new manager and we have to keep the competition because it’s healthy,” he told BT Sport. “I think it gives everybody the opportunity and everybody to give the maximum to be in the team.”
4. Southampton struggle again as goal drought continues
It’s hard to believe that it’s only three months since Southampton topped the table for the first time in the Premier League era; since then the goals have dried up, and they struggled again in their 1-0 loss to Aston Villa on Saturday.
Admittedly, two key VAR decisions went against them but all too often their shots were either blocked or flew harmlessly wide, and once Villa went ahead they seemed to lose their way completely.
As a season that promised so much continues to unravel, Ralph Hasenhuettl faces an uphill task to get them firing on all cylinders again.
5. Wolves looking over their shoulder
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ longest winless run under Nuno Espirito Santo has seen the club slide from seventh to 14th after an eighth game without victory and they now sit nine points above the relegation zone.
Wolves look a shadow of the exciting team that was characterised by creativity and speed, with their sharp counter-attacks now replaced by slow build-up play.
-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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