Premier League
Misfiring United seek revival and rare double in Manchester derby
Manchester United can claim a league double over Manchester City for the first time in five years and Ruben Amorim needs that victory more than ever in a season where the club are headed for their worst finish in Premier League history.
United have only two wins from their last seven games but form is rarely a factor in the Manchester derby and Amorim can take heart from the fact that his side snatched an unlikely victory the last time the two sides met.
But while City, who corrected their course after plummeting down the table, look primed to qualify for the Champions League and potentially win the FA Cup, United have lost their way to cast a pall of gloom over the home of the 20-times champions.
A 1-0 loss at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday left United 13th in the table after 13 defeats. A loss to Pep Guardiola’s City side would see the Old Trafford club equal their forgettable 2023-24 record of 14 defeats in a Premier League season.
With forwards Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund misfiring, a desperate Amorim threw defender Harry Maguire into the attack in the forlorn hope that a big man could strike against Forest.
The pressure has been mounting on the Portuguese manager who has admitted he does not have time to turn things around.
“We know that this season is going to be like that – win momentum, lose momentum. We continue going into the next match,” Amorim said.
But one big man he will not have to worry about is City striker Erling Haaland. The Norwegian netted twice on his last visit to Old Trafford but an ankle injury will keep him out until the end of the season.
That would come as a huge relief to any defender but United will still be on high alert with City’s January recruit Omar Marmoush on a hot streak having netted in his last three games.
“He has a good sense, good numbers for the short time he’s been with us. Dynamic, good pressing, really pleased for him,” Guardiola said after the Egypt international scored on Wednesday in City’s 2-0 win over Leicester City.
GABRIEL SIDELINED
Arsenal travel to Everton in the early game on Saturday without defender Gabriel, the third of Mikel Arteta’s players to have been sidelined with a season-ending injury.
The Gunners are 12 points behind Liverpool and running out of games to catch Arne Slot’s team, who need 13 points from their last eight games to seal the title.
“With eight games to go, every game is a challenge – starting with Fulham, who are having a very good season as well,” Slot said.
“We are not working on theories about how many points (are needed). We are taking the challenge of Fulham.”
Seventh-placed Aston Villa, who are three points off the top four, host Forest in third, with boss Unai Emery trying to balance domestic ambitions with their Champions League quarter-final against his former club Paris St Germain next week.
At the other end of the table, Tottenham Hotspur host bottom side Southampton, who are trying to avoid finishing the season as the worst team in Premier League history.
With 10 points from 30 games, a draw would bring Saints level with the 2007-08 Derby County side that finished the campaign with a paltry 11 points.
-Reuters
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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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