Premier League
Nunez earns points for Liverpool, Man Utd outclass Tottenham
Liverpool maintained their new-found momentum as Darwin Nunez scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over West Ham United in the Premier League, but high-flying Tottenham Hotspur suffered a reality check with a 2-0 loss at Manchester United on Wednesday.
Chelsea’s run of four successive league wins came to an end as they were held to a 0-0 draw at Brentford.
Impressive Newcastle United bolstered their place in the top-six with a 1-0 victory at home to struggling Everton.
Southampton eased some pressure on manager Ralph Hasenhuttl with a 1-0 win against south coast rivals Bournemouth to climb out of the relegation zone.
Liverpool’s 1-0 win over champions Manchester City at the weekend looked like lift-off for their stuttering season but they were made to work extra hard by West Ham.
In the end they were thankful for summer signing Nunez’s first Anfield goal for the club, a superb downward header in the 22nd minute from a cross by Kostas Tsimikas.
Nunez also rattled the post with a ferocious shot but West Ham could easily have taken a point.
Jarrod Bowen’s penalty was saved by Alisson just before halftime while Tomas Soucek and Said Benrahma both had great opportunities for the visitors late on.
Liverpool moved up to seventh with 16 points from 10 games, two points behind Newcastle and three behind Manchester United.
“I don’t stand here thinking it should be an easy game for us, but we got the result and I think we deserved the result,” Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp, who was red-carded during the win over City, said. “Luck hasn’t always been on our side but maybe today we had it, or Ali, however you want to look at it.
“It is three points more, massive.”
UNITED TAKING SHAPE
After a difficult start Man Utd are slowly taking shape under Dutch manager Erik ten Hag and they added Tottenham to their wins already against Liverpool and leaders Arsenal.
But for a clutch of superb saves by keeper Hugo Lloris, United would have won by more as Tottenham squandered the chance to move into second place with a dismal display.
United rained in 18 shots on the Spurs goal in the first half without scoring, but eventually went in front when Fred’s side-footed shot deflected past Lloris in the 47th minute.
The Reds kept up the pressure and deservedly put the game to bed in the 69th minute when Bruno Fernandes powered a strike into the net after another excellent flowing move.
Newcastle, who have lost only once all season and are beginning to look like contenders for a European place, edged out Everton with a goal by Miguel Almiron.
The Paraguay international curled a shot from the edge of the box into the top corner just past the half-hour mark to condemn Everton to a third consecutive defeat.
Chelsea kept a fifth clean sheet in succession in all competitions but Graham Potter’s side could find no way past Brentford who enjoyed the better of the chances in the west London derby.
They remain fourth in the standings on 20 points, three behind Tottenham with a game in hand, but already starting to drift off the pace set at the top and facing what is already looking like a tense battle for a Champions League spot.
“They had some chances, we had some, we finished the game stronger, but it was a hard-earned point against a team who make it difficult for you,” Potter, still unbeaten after replacing Thomas Tuchel in early September, said.
Che Adams’s first-half header earned Southampton victory at Bournemouth — their first win in six games moving them up to 14th place with 11 points.
-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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