Premier League
Liverpool and Chelsea cancel each other out in Anfield stalemate
Liverpool and Chelsea continued their disappointing seasons as the injury-hit mid-table teams played out an uninspiring 0-0 draw at Anfield in the Premier League on Saturday.
Chelsea thought they had raced into a third-minute lead when Kai Havertz fired home from close range after a corner, only for VAR to rule the German offside.
On Juergen Klopp’s 1,000th game in management, Liverpool seemed shorn of confidence as they looked to avoid three straight league defeats, only creating half chances with new signing Cody Gakpo missing the best of them in the first half.
The visitors introduced big-money January signing Mykhailo Mudryk in the second half but, while he looked lively, the Ukrainian was unable to lift the Blues, who earned a point that leaves them 10th, level on 29 points with Liverpool in eighth.
Both sides are nine points off the top four with Chelsea having played 20 games to Liverpool’s 19.
“I thought the performance was good,” Chelsea boss Graham Potter told BT Sport. “I am happy with the team, the energy, what we tried to do.
“At Anfield, it is always tough. It is a clean sheet and a point, we move forward. Overall, a positive day, apart from the fact we wanted three points.”
Klopp claimed Liverpool’s 3-0 loss at Brighton & Hove Albion last time out was the worst of his Anfield tenure, but things did not get much better against Chelsea.
The home side looked to be up against it once more from the off at Anfield as Havertz fired home from close range but, after a lengthy VAR review, the German was ruled to be offside.
Chelsea still should have gone into the break in front but another January arrival, defender Benoit Badiashile, headed too close to goalkeeper Alisson from close range.
After the break, substitute Darwin Nunez went close for Liverpool, Mudryk fired into the side-netting following a mazy run while Carney Chukwuemeka should have done better with a late opportunity for the Blues, but a draw was a fair result.
Liverpool have failed to win any of their last three Premier League games, while it is the first time they have failed to score in consecutive games in the competition since March 2021 against Fulham and Chelsea.
“When you’re in a tough period and a tough moment in the team, I think it’s important that you stick together and fight for those clean sheets and that’s where it starts,” Liverpool’s James Milner told BT Sport.
“It’s not the best football matches that we are playing but it’s small steps to get where we know we can be.”
-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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