Premier League
Arsenal and Spurs lose as Man United are back into fourth place race

Fourth placed Tottenham Hotspur suffered a surprise 1-0 home defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion and Arsenal lost at Southampton allowing Manchester United back into the race for a Premier League top four place.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick for United in an unconvincing 3-2 win over Norwich City as fan protests against the club’s owners returned to Old Trafford.
With the title-chasing top two of Manchester City and Liverpool in FA Cup semi-final duty — with Juergen Klopp’s side winning 3-2 at Wembley L2N2WE073 – the focus in the league turned to the battle for the fourth Champions League spot behind third placed Chelsea.
The results leave Spurs in fourth, on 57 points from 32 games. Fifth-placed United are level on 54 points with Arsenal, who have a game in hand.
Antonio Conte’s Spurs produced a lacklustre display and looked set for a frustrating stalemate before Leandro Trossard made things even worse with a 90th-minute winner.
Trossard cut in from the left and beat Hugo Lloris with a low angled shot with the outside of his foot to end Spurs’ run of four straight wins.
Conte was disappointed but said his team needed to embrace the pressure of holding on to fourth place.
“Now there are six games to go. This race is a big opportunity for us to start to try to cope with the pressure, because when you play without targets… instead, we deserve to stay in this race and go for a place in the Champions League,” he said.
Arsenal looked to be favourites for that place at the start of the month but they have now suffered three straight losses with the latest reverse coming against a Southampton side who had been winless in five.
Jan Bednarek got the decisive goal, one minute before halftime after Mohamed Elyounoussi evaded the offside trap and crossed for the defender to finish past goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
Arsenal were on top for large parts of the game but came up against Southampton keeper Fraser Forster in inspired form.
“It’s a really difficult one to take. The way we controlled the game makes it difficult to understand how we lost the game,” said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.
“We performed but didn’t get a result. We need both. You have to put the ball in the net. You have to make the decisive moments count to win football matches and at the moment we’re not doing that,” added the Spaniard.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s 50th club career hat-trick earned below-par United three vital points.
A first-half double from veteran striker Ronaldo seemingly put the hosts on course for a comfortable win in the sunshine, with Norwich struggling to keep pace.
However, Kieran Dowell’s goal out of nowhere in first-half stoppage time got the visitors back in the contest, before Finnish forward Teemu Pukki completed the Norwich comeback to stun Old Trafford into silence seven minutes after the break.
Fans who protested against the club’s owners ahead of the match were singing “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” in the second half as their team were second best to a team seven points adrift of the Premier League safety zone. read more
United’s France midfielder Paul Pogba was booed by his own fans as he was substituted before Ronaldo stole the show once again with a superbly taken winner 14 minutes from time.
“The results elsewhere were good. But it doesn’t make sense to look to other results. We need to raise our game,” said United’s interim manager Ralf Rangnick.
19th placed Watford slipped further towards the drop with a 2-1 home defeat to Brentford leaving them on 22 points, six behind 17th placed Everton having played two games more.
Norwich are bottom on 21 points from 32 games while 18th placed Burnley, who sacked manager Sean Dyche on Friday and are on 24 points, play at seventh placed West Ham on Sunday.
-Reuters
Premier League
Maguire handed suspended prison sentence for 2020 brawl

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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Premier League
Timber header earns Arsenal crucial win over Chelsea

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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
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.
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
-
WAFCON5 days agoBREAKING: CAF Postpones WAFCON 2026
-
World Cup1 day agoIraq coach calls for delay to World Cup playoff amid travel shutdown
-
DIPLOMACY1 day agoMorocco Backs Gulf Security, Condemns Iranian Attacks Against Brotherly Arab States
-
OBITUARY6 days agoNigerian Sports Journalism Mourns Oyeniyi Oyeleke and Tonex Chukwu
-
MLS1 week agoTrump to Host Lionel Messi and Inter Miami at the White House
-
DIPLOMACY14 hours agoTrump calls on Australia to give asylum to Iranian women’s soccer players
-
World Cup6 days ago‘I really don’t care’ if Iran plays in World Cup, Trump tells Politico
-
OBITUARY13 hours agoBreaking! Former Super Eagles Coach Adegboye Onigbinde Dies Four Days After Clocking 88