Premier League
Man United’s Garnacho scores overhead stunner in 3-0 win at Everton
Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho scored with a magical overhead kick in the third minute to send the visitors on their way to a 3-0 win on Sunday over an Everton team already reeling in their first Premier League game after being docked 10 points.
The 19-year-old Argentine leapt acrobatically to meet Diogo Dalot’s cross, firing the ball into the opposite corner past stranded goalkeeper Jordan Pickford before celebrating with a Cristiano Ronaldo-style pirouette at Goodison Park.
A Marcus Rashford penalty and clever Anthony Martial finish wrapped up the victory in the second half
Garnacho’s stunning strike drew comparisons to Wayne Rooney’s famous goal for United in the 2011 Manchester derby.
“Superb – something amazing and I have no words to describe it. It is out of this world. Special from a special kid,” said United captain Bruno Fernandes.
“I still expect more from him we are aware of his capabilities, we know what he can do in football.”
Erik ten Hag’s United team are now sixth in the standings on 24 points after 13 games, while Sean Dyche’s Everton side, who were 14th before their points deduction for breaches of the league’s financial rules, are second-bottom on four points.
Rashford doubled United’s lead with a penalty in the 56th, awarded after VAR ruled Martial was tripped by Ashley Young. Fernandes handed the ball for the spot kick to Rashford, who had only scored once this season and not since Sept. 3.
“Because Marcus needed a bit of confidence, he needed his goal – he is an excellent penalty taker,” Fernandes said. “I was sure he could score that penalty and Marcus did it perfectly.”
Martial then sent hundreds of Everton fans heading to the Goodison Park exits in the 75th minute when he ran onto Fernandes’s pass and dinked it over Pickford for an easy goal.
United, who had stumbled to their worst start to a season in 61 years, have won five of their last six games and their five wins and 15 points since the start of October are a league-best.
Everton had a flurry of shots near the end of the first half, the best being Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s shot from the edge of the box that Andre Onana pushed away before Dwight McNeil’s follow-up was cleared off the line by a sliding Kobbie Mainoo.
“A lot of the performance was right,” Dyche told Sky Sports. “In the first half (United) had a great finish, it changed the feel of the early part of the game. Then we got a grip on the game. We had chances but couldn’t take them.
“A pretty decent performance from our point of view.”
United dominated the second half although deflated Everton did have some more opportunities including Vitalii Mykolenko’s shot in the 77th minute that hit the crossbar.
Only goal difference is keeping Everton above basement side Burnley who are the only team with fewer league points at home this season than the Toffees – zero against four.
Everton fans turned Goodison into a sea of pink in protest at their points punishment, holding bright pink signs that read “Corrupt” under the Premier League’s lion’s head logo. They booed loudly during the pre-game playing of the league’s anthem.
“Ten points taken away from anyone will change their season,” Dyche said. “Until the appeals process goes through we have to play away the noise.”
-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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