Premier League
Everton’s 68-year top flight run in danger after Burnley loss
Everton’s run of 68 years in the English top flight is in real danger of ending after they slumped to a 3-2 defeat at fellow strugglers Burnley on Wednesday (April 6), leaving manager Frank Lampard grasping for answers.
Everton have won just two of the nine games since former Chelsea player and manager Lampard was brought in to secure their top-flight survival after Rafael Benitez was sacked in January.
The Merseysiders gave up a 2-1 lead in the second half with an awful defensive mistake from Ben Godfrey helping the Clarets create an 85th-minute winner converted by Maxwel Cornet.
“The only talking we can do is on the pitch. We’ve got nine games to play. I will give everything for these nine games,” said Lampard.
His team looked distraught at the final whistle but the words from Lampard’s opposite number Sean Dyche were damning.
“You sense a team doesn’t know how to win a game. I said to our players that this lot don’t know how to win a game away from home,” said Dyche, when asked what he told his team at the break after two Richarlison penalties gave the visitors the advantage.
Everton have one away win all season and the worst record on the road in the division with six points from 15 games.
Burnley certainly played with a belief which belied their own lowly position but the win moves them above Watford to 18th place, one point away from Everton and the safety zone.
Tough games
Everton host Manchester United on Saturday – the first of a series of tough games in their run-in – and Lampard said his team’s self-belief was now the main issue.
“The effort is there, belief will be tested,” he said. “When you lose, it’s a test of belief. The players are disappointed at the end. In terms of the general performance, I didn’t hate it at all. The goals are not goals that we should concede.
“I don’t need picking up. I’m the one that needs to be picking people up. As much as it feels not great tonight, tomorrow you’ve got to focus on Saturday.
“Manchester United will be a completely different game, with an understanding of the pressure that’s now on it. We can’t pretend tonight didn’t happen, we have to be on a good edge against United.”
While Everton have never dropped out of the Premier League, Burnley are relative veterans in relegation struggles under Dyche and he said the formula for survival was a familiar one.
“You have to score at the right time, not concede at the right time and get wins. That has been the story of our seasons in the Premier League,” he explained.
“Tonight we got on the right side of the margin but it is only one win, I just said that to the players, and it is a good atmosphere in the changing room and the stadium, but it doesn’t change anything. We have nine more of them to go.”
-Reuters
Premier League
Manchester United tighten hold on third in the Premier League with win over Aston Villa
Manchester United’s Matheus Cunha buried a second‑half strike off a pinpoint through ball from Bruno Fernandes for a club-record 16th Premier League assist in a season to lift the hosts to a 3-1 victory over Aston Villa on Sunday.
Casemiro and substitute Benjamin Sesko scored United’s other goals in a result that tightened United’s grip on third place in the standings on 54 points after 30 games, while fourth-placed Villa have 51 points.
United, who were playing their first game in 11 days, were keen for a victory after interim boss Michael Carrick’s seven-game unbeaten run ended in a 2-1 loss to 10-man Newcastle United on March 4.
With 22 points from a possible 27 under Carrick’s leadership, Sunday’s win will invariably lead to more questions about his chances of becoming United’s permanent manager.
“It was a slightly different game today going into it being so close in the league and making the small jump we could if we won, off the back of a defeat,” Carrick said. “It was a small test and we haven’t really had that.
“The boys dealt with it really well, had a really good week and applied themselves well. Everything is so so encouraging. We’ve got a lot to play for.”
The game looked headed for a draw before Cunha scored from the left side of the box in the 71st minute, with Fernandes recording his 100th assist for the club across all competitions.
With eight games left, Fernandes is also four shy of matching the Premier League record for assists in one season of 20 held by Thierry Henry (2002-03) and Kevin de Bruyne (2019-20).
“He’s had so many big moments, to score a goal, to make a pass,” Carrick said of Fernandes. “Training or games, he’s always there. Really good with the corner. The pass to Matheus was fantastic to cap off a good performance all around.”
Sesko put the game out of reach 10 minutes later with a blistering shot from the centre of the box.
Casemiro put United ahead in the 53rd minute with a glancing header from a Fernandes corner.
Ross Barkley levelled in the 64th with a shot from the middle of the area. After a lengthy VAR check to determine whether the ball glanced off an offside Amadou Onana, the goal stood.
A better second half salvaged a decent game after a dreary first 45 minutes plagued by errant passes and slipping players.
United did have some decent first-half chances including a header from Amad Diallo that goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez stretched backwards to keep out of the net. Diogo Dalot had a terrific chance inside the box that he launched over the bar.
Leny Yoro’s block spoiled one of Villa’s best chances and led to a long-range shot from Fernandes at the other end that he sent just wide of the post.
Villa have not won a league game since February 11, and an animated manager Unai Emery spent much of the afternoon stomping his feet and waving his arms in frustration.
“How we are progressing after we did fantastic months in October, November, December, the last two months we are struggling,” Emery said. “It’s Manchester United here at home, and they are now in good moment. And of course, they played a very intelligent match.
“I think we can get better. The result at the end was a bad result for us. We must accept it and try to analyse now to get better for the next challenge.”
-Reuters
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England and Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has been handed a 15-month suspended prison sentence by a Greek court over a 2020 incident in Mykonos, Sky Sports reported on Wednesday.
In 2020, Maguire was found guilty of repeated bodily harm, attempted bribery and violence against public employees after his arrest in a brawl in which two police officers were assaulted.
Maguire, who was detained for two days following the incident and denied any wrongdoing, was handed a suspended prison sentence of 21 months and 10 days but was granted a full retrial after appealing against Greek court convictions on multiple charges.
In accordance with the Greek judicial process, the filing nullified Maguire’s conviction before a full retrial in a more senior court. His retrial was postponed many times.
Maguire faced allegations of non-serious assault, resisting arrest and attempted bribery. The 32-year-old was convicted on all three counts but will face no prison time. His legal team will appeal against the guilty verdict, Sky Sports reported.
Maguire’s brother Joe and friend Christopher Sharman were also found guilty of offences related to the incident and received suspended prison sentences in 2020. They also denied any wrongdoing.
-Reuters
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Arsenal maintained control of the Premier League title race as they chiselled out a nervy 2-1 win over London rivals Chelsea to open up a five-point lead at the top of the table on Sunday.
Jurrien Timber’s 66th-minute header from a Declan Rice corner ensured Arsenal took three precious points, but it was a nervy afternoon in north London.
Mikel Arteta’s side moved to 64 points from 29 games, with Manchester City, who have played a game fewer, on 59.
Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber celebrates scoring their second goal with Gabriel Magalhaes REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Defender William Saliba had given Arsenal the lead in the 21st minute from a trademark corner routine.
But it had looked as though an own goal by Piero Hincapie just before halftime would prove costly for the hosts until Timber came to their rescue.
Chelsea, whose six-match unbeaten league sequence under new manager Liam Rosenior was halted, ended the match with 10 men after Pedro Neto was sent off for a second yellow card.
-Reuters
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