Premier League
Newcastle thrash Sheffield United 8-0 away with eight different goal scorers
Newcastle United ruthlessly put Sheffield United to the sword with a dazzling 8-0 victory at Bramall Lane on Sunday, with eight different players scoring, to leave the home side bottom of the Premier League standings.
The victory was Newcastle’s biggest away from home and the Blades’ largest ever defeat while Eddie Howe’s side became the first team in Premier League history to have eight different goal scorers in one game as they moved up to eighth in the standings.
Newcastle showed no signs of a hangover from midweek after their first Champions League game in 20 years — a goalless draw away at AC Milan — and they took a 3-0 lead by halftime before switching gears in the second half to go into the record books.
“We shared them (goals) around a bit today… I thought we were really good from the start and when the goals came I felt the confidence in the team returned,” Howe told Sky Sports.
“The big thing for us was that we really wanted to score and we weren’t content with three. I want that mentality to run through the team.”
The Blades started on a positive note to give the home fans some cheer, days after their club’s women’s team midfielder Maddy Cusack died aged 27, with the match kicking off after a minute’s silence.
But Newcastle went in front when Anthony Gordon — an early substitute for the injured Harvey Barnes — kept the ball in play on the goal line and found Sean Longstaff who fired home.
Newcastle doubled their lead at the half-hour mark from a corner when Dan Burn peeled away from his marker despite having his shirt tugged and the towering defender headed in Kieran Trippier’s cross at the far post.
Four minutes later, Trippier turned provider again from another set piece, this time from a free kick, as Sven Botman directed a glancing header into the back of the net.
THREE ASSISTS
The English fullback got his third assist of the game and his first from open play when he found space on the right wing and crossed the ball for Callum Wilson to head home from close range.
Gordon curled in Newcastle’s fifth from outside the box which led to Blades fans heading for the exits just after the hour mark before Miguel Almiron ran circles around the defence to net their sixth with help from Bruno Guimaraes.
Guimaraes then got on the scoresheet himself when the ball fell kindly to him in the box from a rebound and he fired home before substitute Alexander Isak completed the rout with a late goal.
Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom said his team needed to learn from the defeat.
“It’s the nature of the performance that we’re upset about… We can’t afford to put ourselves behind in that fashion if we want to compete,” Heckingbottom said.
“It’s the second half that I’m upset with. Regardless of the errors which led to goals, we need to make sure we learn from that. A lot of things I saw in the second half, I’ve never seen here.
“These games are not going to define our season. It’s about accumulating points. While there are huge things we have to learn from, we also have to keep a calm head about this sort of game.”
-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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