Premier League
Liverpool clash threatens more misery for bottom-rooted Man United
Rooted to the bottom of the Premier League for the first time in 30 years, Manchester United’s disastrous start to the season on and off the field could still get worse when they face Liverpool on Monday (Aug 22).
Always one of the biggest clashes in the English football calendar, Liverpool’s visit to Old Trafford has taken on even more importance after a difficult few weeks for both clubs.
Liverpool’s title hopes have already been hit by draws against Fulham and Crystal Palace to leave Jurgen Klopp’s men four points adrift of defending champions Manchester City.
However, Liverpool’s woes of an early season injury crisis and the absence of Darwin Nunez due to his ill-discipline that cost the Uruguayan a red card on his home debut, pale into insignificance compared to United’s troubles.
Erik ten Hag is off to the worst start of any United manager for over 100 years after a 4-0 humbling at the hands of Brentford followed Brighton’s first ever win at Old Trafford on the opening weekend of the season.
A large-scale protest by United fans is planned before kick-off aimed at the club’s owners, the Glazer family.
“A fish rots from the head,” said the Manchester United Supporters Trust this week with pressure rising on the Americans to consider selling the club.
Elon Musk joked he was buying the Red Devils this week, while Britain’s richest man Jim Ratcliffe has signalled his interest.
The lack of a coordinated transfer strategy has left ten Hag to work with largely the same squad that suffered 5-0 and 4-0 thrashings at the hands of Liverpool in their two meetings last season.
Ten Hag, though, also has questions to ask after pushing for the signing of Lisandro Martinez from his old club Ajax despite the Argentinian centre-back’s diminutive frame seemingly being unsuited to the rigours of the Premier League.
Martinez was hauled off at half-time against Brentford with United already trailing 4-0, but ten Hag conceded afterwards all 11 of his starting line-up could have been replaced.
Brentford players covered 13.8 kilometres more in that match and ten Hag reportedly responded by cancelling a planned day off to make his squad run that distance the day after defeat last Saturday.
But it is on the pitch he needs a response with Liverpool also wounded for their trip to Manchester.
City’s transformation into the dominant club in English football over the past decade thanks to the flow of investment from Abu Dhabi appeared the blueprint for Newcastle to follow under the ownership of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.
But Newcastle’s first summer transfer window under the new regime has been surprisingly quiet with Nick Pope and Sven Botman the only new faces at St James’ Park.
They have still enjoyed a strong start to the season with four points from their first two games, but City’s visit will give an early indication as to how seriously the Magpies could challenge for a top-four finish.
Leicester are the only Premier League club yet to spend any money in the window and manager Brendan Rodgers is not expecting that to change due to the state of the club’s finances.
“I spent my summer holidays convincing players to come but when I come back the reality of the situation is there and we are unable to follow through with it,” said Rodgers on Thursday.
“I don’t run the finances of the club. I run the football department and if they say we can’t sign a player I trust the club that it’s the case.”
The Foxes’ long-serving captain Kasper Schmeichel joined Nice earlier this month and more key players could still leave with Wesley Fofana a target for Chelsea, while Newcastle have had bids rejected for James Maddison.
After just one point from their opening two games, Leicester badly need a win when Southampton visit on Saturday to lift the mood around the King Power ahead of a tough run of fixtures that includes trips to Chelsea and Tottenham in their next five games.
-AFP
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said his side’s defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday was “an accident waiting to happen” after William Saliba was sent off in the first half.
Bournemouth won 2-0 thanks to goals from Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert after Saliba was shown a red card for a challenge on Evanilson after 30 minutes as Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the campaign.
It is the third time this season Arsenal have been forced to finish a match with 10 players, leaving Arteta frustrated that his side’s lack of discipline cost them points.
“We are obviously very disappointed with the result and gutted because we have to play again in that context,” he said. “This time was even more difficult than the previous two we faced this season.
“Playing for 65 or 68 minutes with 10 men at this level is just an impossible task. It’s an accident waiting to happen, not to get the points.
“I cannot fault the team for their effort, their commitment, how intelligent they are to play in the way that we have to do it.”
Declan Rice was sent off in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at home to Brighton earlier in the season, while Leandro Trossard was also shown red in the 2-2 draw against title rivals Manchester City.
Arsenal host Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday.
-ESPN
Joe Aribo scored a goal for Southampton on Saturday,but it was not enough to curb the club’s miserable run as they succumbed to a last-minute defeat by Leicester who snatched victory by 3-2.
Leicester scored three second-half goals to come from behind and stun 10-player Southampton, denying them a first Premier League win of the season.
The result means Saints have set a club record for the longest winless run in their entire top-flight history, having failed to emerge victorious from any of their last 21 Premier League encounters.
Inside five minutes, Joe Aribo had crashed a header onto the crossbar and inside seven minutes, the hosts had taken the lead. Kyle Walker-Peters led the charge after a quick free-kick and dropped the ball off to Ryan Manning, who squared for Cameron Archer to coolly slot in and send a wave of both relief and belief around St Mary’s.
Jordan Ayew scored in the 98th minute as Leicester staged a second-half comeback to earn a 3-2 win at Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday, with the 10-man hosts setting a club record of 21 matches without victory in the English top-flight.
Leicester moved up to 13th in the standings with nine points from eight matches, while Southampton fell to 20th – level on points with Wolverhampton Wanderers, who face champions Manchester City on Sunday
“It’s just unbelievable, that’s why we play football. We didn’t have a good first half,” Ayew told Sky Sports.
“Second half we got ourselves back together and attacked the game properly. It’s just an unbelievable feeling.
“It’s a good step forward to move up the table. We’re going to continue fighting and it’s not going to be easy so well done the lads and everyone.”
Having failed to win in their last 13 matches in the 2022-23 season when they were relegated, Southampton are without a win in the Premier League since they beat Leicester in the same fixture in March 2023.
Southampton shot out of the blocks and took the lead in the eighth minute when Ryan Manning squared for Cameron Archer to finish a sweeping counter-attack, before midfielder Joe Aribo added to their tally with a side-footed effort.
Leicester defender Wout Faes nearly scored a spectacular own-goal five minutes into the second half by sending a diving header straight at his own keeper Mads Hermansen, who spared the Belgian’s blushes with a deft save.
The visitors grew into the contest in the second half and created some half-chances before pulling one back in the 64th minute.
Buonanotte turned in a cross after a driving run from substitute Abdul Fatawu and the goal signalled the beginning of Southampton’s unravelling.
Minutes later, Vardy was denied on the line by an excellent Aaron Ramsdale save, but Leicester were awarded a penalty after a VAR review found that the forward was held back by Ryan Fraser.
Fraser was sent off and Vardy stepped up, blasting his effort past Ramsdale to equalise.
Leicester smelled blood and pushed forward in their quest for a winner, which came deep into stoppage time when Ayew’s low shot went through a sea of bodies and crept into the bottom corner, breaking the hearts of home fans at St Mary’s Stadium.
-Reuters
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