Premier League
Son roars back to form with hat-trick as Tottenham crush Leicester
Son Heung-min ended his scoring drought in stunning fashion with a sublime hat-trick as Tottenham Hotspur crushed Leicester City 6-2 to move joint top of the Premier League on Saturday.
Rodrigo Bentancur’s first goal for Tottenham was separating the sides in an entertaining tussle but Son, who started on the bench, exploded back to form with three goals in 14 minutes.
The South Korean, the Premier League’s joint-top scorer last season with 23 goals, had not scored in Tottenham’s first eight games and had lost his place to Dejan Kulusevski.
But he responded in emphatic fashion to steal the limelight, curling an unstoppable right-footer into the top corner, then a left-footer into the other side and completed his hat-trick with a goal initially ruled out for offside.
Son’s relief was palpable as he walked off with the match ball as the ecstatic home fans sang his name.
“I have been disappointed, the team has been doing really, really good but I was disappointed with my performance,” Son said. “I knew goals were coming and I wasn’t worried. I’ve always had great supporters, team mates and coaches behind me.”
Victory lifted Tottenham level on 17 points with champions Manchester City although Arsenal can regain top spot if they beat Brentford away on Sunday.
Leicester remain bottom with one point from seven games and the pressure building on manager Brendan Rodgers.
The visitors took an early lead with a twice-taken penalty by Youri Tielemans after Hugo Lloris had saved his first effort.
Davinson Sanchez brought down James Justin and although Lloris saved Tielemans’s initial spot kick he was ruled to have moved off his line after a VAR check.
Tottenham were not behind long as Kulusevski’s pinpoint cross was headed in by Kane in the eighth minute.
Tottenham went ahead in the 21st minute as defender Eric Dier marked his return to the England squad with a glancing header from Ivan Perisic’s corner.
Leicester were lively in attack though and James Maddison’s superb clipped finish sent them in level at halftime.
Bentancur seized on a mistake by Wilfred Ndidi to restore Tottenham’s lead in the 47th minute with a shot off the post but Son went on to steal the show.
He replaced Richarlison in the 59th minute and 14 minutes later he cut on to his right foot and sent a shot screaming past Danny Ward to spark wild celebrations.
He was not finished though. This time he was picked out by Kane and Son had only one thing on his mind as he stepped inside and curled a shot past Ward from outside the area.
With Leicester falling apart he was then played in by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s through ball and beat Ward.
There was an anxious wait for a VAR check and a huge roar when the original offside decision was overturned.
Tottenham are now unbeaten in 13 Premier League games and will head into the international break on a high.
-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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