Premier League
Perfect start for Ten Hag as United trounce Liverpool 4-0 on tour
Manchester United got their pre-season off to a flying start with a 4-0 rout of a lacklustre Liverpool in Thailand on Tuesday, giving new manager Erik ten Hag a big boost in his first match in charge.
Liverpool looked jaded and on the back foot for much of the match against a United side with superior fitness who capitalised on a slew of first-half errors in Bangkok with three goals in the space of 21 thrilling minutes.
The result is unlikely to trouble Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp. The German picked an experimental side, while United were nearly at full strength and Klopp played three separate outfield teams for half an hour each with the first two including a number of youngsters.
Yet United still outclassed their biggest rivals with Jadon Sancho, Fred, Anthony Martial and Facundo Pellistri all on the scoresheet and delighting Ten Hag, who praised his side’s spirit
“I know we have good players, now we have to construct a team,” he said.
“We have to not overestimate this result, we have to be careful. But still I’ve seen some really good things … we have a lot of creativity and speed up front, we have the potential.”
The encounter had a pre-season feel with Liverpool using more than 30 players and United over 20.
Liverpool had the best of the early action and drew roars from the crowd of 50,000 before United went ahead after 12 minutes, when a Bruno Fernandez cross was poorly handled by the Liverpool defence, allowing Sancho to fire into the bottom corner.
Liverpool came close to equalising soon after when new signing Fabio Carvalho’s shot beat goalkeeper David de Gea and cannoned off the far post, with Luis Diaz hitting the upright in the ensuing scramble.
But the fightback was brief, with Liverpool’s shaky back line exposed on the half-hour mark when Fernandez and Martial combined to lay the ball off to Fred, whose deft finish sailed over outstretched keeper Alisson Becker into the net.
United made it three moments later when Martial robbed Rhys Williams and coolly lifted the ball over Alisson, while Diogo Dalot almost added a fourth when his shot rattled the post.
United made 10 changes at halftime, after which Liverpool emerged better organised, with chances from their 75 million euros ($75.42 million) striker Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah, who was frustrated late on by De Gea and the woodwork.
United fended off a late Liverpool rally and completed the demolition with 14 minutes left, Pellistri latching onto an Eric Bailly pass on the counter and converting with ease after a one-two with Amad Diallo.
“The goals we gave away for United we really should get an assist for it to be honest,” Klopp said.
“But I saw a lot of good stuff from our guys as well.”
-Reuters
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said his side’s defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday was “an accident waiting to happen” after William Saliba was sent off in the first half.
Bournemouth won 2-0 thanks to goals from Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert after Saliba was shown a red card for a challenge on Evanilson after 30 minutes as Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the campaign.
It is the third time this season Arsenal have been forced to finish a match with 10 players, leaving Arteta frustrated that his side’s lack of discipline cost them points.
“We are obviously very disappointed with the result and gutted because we have to play again in that context,” he said. “This time was even more difficult than the previous two we faced this season.
“Playing for 65 or 68 minutes with 10 men at this level is just an impossible task. It’s an accident waiting to happen, not to get the points.
“I cannot fault the team for their effort, their commitment, how intelligent they are to play in the way that we have to do it.”
Declan Rice was sent off in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at home to Brighton earlier in the season, while Leandro Trossard was also shown red in the 2-2 draw against title rivals Manchester City.
Arsenal host Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday.
-ESPN
Joe Aribo scored a goal for Southampton on Saturday,but it was not enough to curb the club’s miserable run as they succumbed to a last-minute defeat by Leicester who snatched victory by 3-2.
Leicester scored three second-half goals to come from behind and stun 10-player Southampton, denying them a first Premier League win of the season.
The result means Saints have set a club record for the longest winless run in their entire top-flight history, having failed to emerge victorious from any of their last 21 Premier League encounters.
Inside five minutes, Joe Aribo had crashed a header onto the crossbar and inside seven minutes, the hosts had taken the lead. Kyle Walker-Peters led the charge after a quick free-kick and dropped the ball off to Ryan Manning, who squared for Cameron Archer to coolly slot in and send a wave of both relief and belief around St Mary’s.
Jordan Ayew scored in the 98th minute as Leicester staged a second-half comeback to earn a 3-2 win at Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday, with the 10-man hosts setting a club record of 21 matches without victory in the English top-flight.
Leicester moved up to 13th in the standings with nine points from eight matches, while Southampton fell to 20th – level on points with Wolverhampton Wanderers, who face champions Manchester City on Sunday
“It’s just unbelievable, that’s why we play football. We didn’t have a good first half,” Ayew told Sky Sports.
“Second half we got ourselves back together and attacked the game properly. It’s just an unbelievable feeling.
“It’s a good step forward to move up the table. We’re going to continue fighting and it’s not going to be easy so well done the lads and everyone.”
Having failed to win in their last 13 matches in the 2022-23 season when they were relegated, Southampton are without a win in the Premier League since they beat Leicester in the same fixture in March 2023.
Southampton shot out of the blocks and took the lead in the eighth minute when Ryan Manning squared for Cameron Archer to finish a sweeping counter-attack, before midfielder Joe Aribo added to their tally with a side-footed effort.
Leicester defender Wout Faes nearly scored a spectacular own-goal five minutes into the second half by sending a diving header straight at his own keeper Mads Hermansen, who spared the Belgian’s blushes with a deft save.
The visitors grew into the contest in the second half and created some half-chances before pulling one back in the 64th minute.
Buonanotte turned in a cross after a driving run from substitute Abdul Fatawu and the goal signalled the beginning of Southampton’s unravelling.
Minutes later, Vardy was denied on the line by an excellent Aaron Ramsdale save, but Leicester were awarded a penalty after a VAR review found that the forward was held back by Ryan Fraser.
Fraser was sent off and Vardy stepped up, blasting his effort past Ramsdale to equalise.
Leicester smelled blood and pushed forward in their quest for a winner, which came deep into stoppage time when Ayew’s low shot went through a sea of bodies and crept into the bottom corner, breaking the hearts of home fans at St Mary’s Stadium.
-Reuters
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