Premier League
Erik ten Hag accepts blames for Brentford battering of Man United 
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said he had the “main responsibility” for a humiliating 4-0 loss away to Brentford on Saturday (Aug 13) that left the one time kings of English football bottom of the Premier League.
Brentford, who only ended a 74-year absence from English football’s top flight with promotion to the Premier League in August 2021, scored four goals inside the opening 35 minutes to spark joyous scenes at their west London ground.
United fell behind in woeful fashion when goalkeeper David de Gea somehow let a Josh Dasilva shot slip through his grasp before Mathias Jensen struck as the visitors failed to play out from the back.
Ben Mee then exposed United’s frailty from set-pieces for his first Brentford goal and Bryan Mbuemo rounded off a stunning counter-attack 10 minutes before half-time.
Former Ajax manager Ten Hag had seen his United reign begin with Brighton recording their maiden win at Old Trafford last week, but this defeat plunged the Red Devils to the bottom of the table for the first time in 30 years.
‘Open-heart surgery’
“You have to take responsibility on the pitch as a team and as individuals, that’s what we didn’t do,” Ten Hag told Sky Sports.
“What I asked them to do is play with belief and take responsibility for the performance. We have to work on that.”
He added: “The manager is responsible as well. He has the main responsibility and I’ll take that and work on that.”
In a separate interview with the BBC, the United manager said his team had to be “ready for the battle”.
United were last crowned champions of England in the 2012/13 season in manager Alex Ferguson’s final campaign before retirement.
But while Ten Hag was keen to bolster his squad, he was adamant the team he sent out at Brentford were far better than this result indicated.
“It is clear we need players, but I don’t want to think about that in this moment,” he said.
“The good players we had should have been better. I hoped for a better start, but still I have to believe because I have seen good things but the two games from now are disappointing.”
Former Manchester United and England full-back Gary Neville, a longstanding critic of the Glazer family, the club’s US-based owners, slammed the hierarchy at Old Trafford for failing to give Ten Hag adequate support.
“Manchester United have known for eight to 10 months they needed to rebuild the squad for the summer,” said Neville, now a Sky pundit.
“(Former manager) Ralf Rangnick said it was open-heart surgery.
“To not get the players in early, the quality of the players, the number of players that Erik ten Hag needed to be able to start the season, is baffling and difficult to forgive.”
-AFP
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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