Premier League
Iheanacho, Ndidi swim out of relegation waters with Leicester’s with comeback win over Wolves
Leicester City came from behind to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 with goals from Kelechi Iheanacho and Timothy Castagne on Saturday to snap a 10-match run without a victory in all competitions and keep alive their Premier League survival bid.
Leicester had claimed one point from their previous nine league games and the long-awaited victory moved Dean Smith’s side out of the drop zone and up to 17th with 28 points — above Everton on goal difference. Wolves are 13th with 34 points.
Smith, who was appointed manager until the end of the season after Leicester sacked Brendan Rodgers, celebrated his first home match with a win despite the absence of playmaker James Maddison who missed the game due to illness.
“It was a hard-fought victory. I thought we created the bigger chances in the game. We started well, had a tough period and showed a lot of character in that second half,” Smith told the BBC.
Leicester were the better team in the opening stages but Wolves scored first against the run of play when Mario Lemina pinched the ball from an unsuspecting Youri Tielemans before finding Matheus Cunha who fired home in the 13th minute.
Leicester hit back seven minutes before halftime when Jamie Vardy was brought down in the box by goalkeeper Jose Sa and Iheanacho stepped up to calmly slot the penalty past the Portuguese keeper after sending him the wrong way.
“A lot of the goals we have given away, looking back at them, have been individual mistakes. From then up until the penalty their movement was sharper and brighter than ours,” Smith added.
Patson Daka had the opportunity to give Leicester the lead on a counter-attack 10 minutes into the second half but Sa was up to the task to keep him out with a reflex save while Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s shot from the rebound went over the bar.
Leicester’s sustained pressure finally paid off after 75 minutes when full back Victor Kristiansen found space down the left flank and cut the ball back for Castagne, who finished first time to give the home side the lead.
“You could see the fans were happy because we tried to play better football than before, more aggressive,” Castagne said.
“That is a big one today, everyone was thinking it was going to be tough. We have a bit more confidence and know we can do it.”
Leicester survived a VAR check for a handball in the box late in the game while the King Power Stadium crowd held their breath in the 88th minute when Wolves won a free kick and Ruben Neves stood over the ball.
But goalkeeper Daniel Iversen dived well to deny the midfielder’s shot that was heading for the top corner.
-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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