Premier League
MANCHESTER UNITED FIGHT BACK TO BEAT BRIGHTON
Manchester United edged closer to a top-four finish in the Premier League after Mason Greenwood headed an opportunist late winner to secure a 2-1 home win over struggling Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday (April 4).
Former United striker Danny Welbeck had headed Brighton into a 13th-minute lead before Marcus Rashford equalised in the 62nd minute and Greenwood popped up on the edge of the six-yard box to complete the Old Trafford side’s comeback in the 83rd.
The result left second-placed United on 60 points from 30 games, 14 behind leaders Manchester City who have played a game more and four ahead of third-placed Leicester City.
Brighton stayed 16th on 32 points, six points above the relegation zone.
United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was pleased with his side’s hard-fought win and said David De Gea and England’s Dean Henderson, picked ahead of the Spaniard, were now neck-and-neck in the pecking order for first-choice goalkeeper.
“It’s always difficult to play Brighton,” Solskjaer told the BBC. “We have had good results and we’ve had to earn them the hard way. We managed to find a way in the second half.
“We had to come in at halftime and compose ourselves as we didn’t create much after they scored.”
“I’ve got two great keepers, two numbers ones. David de Gea spent a while back home and then he had internationals so he hadn’t played for about a month. He’ll definitely play football for us again.”
Static defence
Welbeck fired Brighton ahead with a composed finish after Henderson saved his initial header with United’s static defence giving him time and space to pick his spot after Neal Maupay swung in a cross from the right.
Lewis Dunk shaved the crossbar for Brighton with a 19th-minute header and Jakub Moder also came close for the visitors on the stroke of halftime before United moved up a gear in the second half.
Rashford levelled when he took a Bruno Fernandes pass in his stride and beat goalkeeper Robert Sanchez with a clinical side-footed finish into the far corner from inside the penalty area.
Maupay’s shot flashed across the face of goal in the 72nd before Greenwood got on the end of a speculative Paul Pogba volley in the 83rd to find the net and turn the tide as Dunk was unable to clear his header off the line.
Visiting manager Graham Potter conceded Brighton were still far from assured of staying in the top flight.
“I’m confident in terms of the team, the way we’re playing and the personality in the team but until you get the points you can never relax,” he said.
“We took the lead and were probably the team which carried the most threat in the first half. We just missed that final pass. Man United responded in the second half without creating too many chances. They scored from not too much.”
-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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- OBITUARY6 days ago
BREAKING: Nigerian Goalkeeping Legend Peter Rufai is dead
- Nigerian Football6 days ago
Football Agent John Shittu Demands Retraction and ₦250 Million Damages from Samson Siasia Over Bribery Allegation
- WAFCON4 days ago
Nigeria, Tunisia Set for High-Stakes WAFCON 2024 Clash in Casablanca
- OBITUARY4 days ago
Peter Rufai and I, Ike Shorunmu, pays tribute to late mentor
- OBITUARY6 days ago
Peter Rufai looked lean when I last saw him, says mourning NFF President, Gusau
- OBITUARY6 days ago
Family issues statement on Peter Rufai
- WAFCON3 days ago
WAFCON 2024: At last, Super Falcons break opening match losing streak
- WAFCON7 days ago
With a new trophy, Morocco, the Kingdom of Light, ignites a new WAFCON era