Premier League
Guardiola hails ‘brilliant’ players as Man City hammer Leeds 7-0
Manchester City crushed Leeds United 7-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday (Dec 14) to make it seven Premier League wins a row and move four points clear at the top of the table.
City lost this fixture last season and also drew away to Leeds and manager Pep Guardiola, a big fan of his opposite number Marcelo Bielsa, said those results should be remembered as context.
“We lost five points to them last season. Everyone knows what it is (like) to play Leeds,” he said. “When you get these results it’s because individually they (the players) are brilliant. We are proud of the way we’re playing.”
Bielsa’s Leeds were simply brushed aside by a City side who were at their very best after they took an eighth-minute lead through Phil Foden.
Foden slotted home, after Leeds ‘keeper Illan Meslier had come out to stop an effort from Rodri, for the 500th Premier League goal scored by the club in 207 games under Pep Guardiola – the fastest any team has reached that landmark.
The Spaniard’s counterpart, Leeds’ Argentine manager Marcelo Bielsa, could do nothing to halt a rampant City and his team’s wide-open approach certainly did little to help.
Five minutes later the lead was doubled when Jack Grealish met an inswinging cross from Riyad Mahrez with a firm header which flashed past Leeds keeper Illan Meslier.
Kevin De Bruyne made it 3-0, showing pace and a clinical finish, as he latched on to a fine through ball from the impressive Rodri.
Shortly after the restart Mahrez added the fourth, given far too much space on the corner of the box, to pick his spot and place the ball, with the aid of a heavy deflection, in the bottom corner.
De Bruyne blasted in a spectacular, unstoppable drive from over 20 metres out, the Belgian, looking back to his very best, thundering the ball centrally.
John Stones slotted home the sixth after a fine double save from Meslier and then substitute Nathan Ake headed in a Foden corner to make it 7-0.
The loss was 16th-placed Leeds’ joint biggest defeat since joining the Football League in 1920.
They lost 8-1 to Stoke in 1934, 7-0 to West Ham in 1966 and 7-0 to Arsenal in 1979.
City have 41 points with Liverpool and Chelsea, who both play on Thursday, on 37 and 36 points respectively.
-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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