Premier League
Chelsea cruise back to winning ways against Bournemouth
Kai Havertz and Mason Mount’s early strikes helped Chelsea ease to a 2-0 win over Bournemouth on Tuesday to snap a dismal run of five Premier League games without a win.
Graham Potter’s side endured a torrid spell before the World Cup but sparkled on their return to Stamford Bridge against the struggling Cherries to move eighth, six points shy of the top four with a game in hand to come.
However, victory came at a cost as defender Reece James limped off on his return from the knee injury which kept him out of England’s World Cup campaign.
James cruised through the first half but called for a substitution early in the second, pointing to his knee before going to ground and being replaced by Cesar Azpilicueta.
Potter, aiming to avoid overseeing a fourth consecutive Chelsea league defeat for the first time since 1998, handed Denis Zakaria his Premier League debut.
The Swiss midfielder broke forward well to drive Chelsea up the pitch in the first half, while the effervescent duo of Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic led the Bournemouth defence on a merry dance
Sterling provided the opener with an incisive low cross to the back post where Havertz slid in to convert in the 16th minute.
Pulisic could easily have won a penalty when he was pulled back but referee Simon Hooper waved away his appeals.
Mount doubled the lead with a well-taken drive from the edge of the box in the 24th minute as Chelsea stepped up another gear before Pulisic had another goal disallowed for a foul by Havertz in the build-up.
After three games in all competitions without scoring a goal, the Blues were determined to end their disappointing streak and get their season back on track.
Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers did well to deny James after a dynamic burst forward, then made an even better save to foil Sterling before the break to keep his team in the game.
Havertz fired wide and Mount forced Travers into a smart low stop as Chelsea tried to put the game out of sight.
In the end they didn’t need to as Bournemouth failed to threaten other than Jaidon Anthony’s late free-kick that was beaten away by Kepa Arrizabalaga.
A fifth defeat in six league games leaves Gary O’Neil’s men in 14th just three points above the relegation zone.
-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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