Month: January 2023

Fulham put their struggles against London rivals firmly behind them with a 3-0 victory over nine-man Crystal Palace, winning a Premier League derby in the capital for only the second time in 29 attempts.

But Palace contributed to their own downfall at Selhurst Park, with Tyrick Mitchell sent off in the first half and James Tomkins following suit before the hour.

Bobby Decordova-Reid put Fulham ahead after 31 minutes before Mitchell was shown a straight red card after 34 minutes and Tomkins – making his first Premier League start for exactly a year – saw a second yellow after 57.

Fulham skipper Tim Ream then scored his first Premier League goal after 71 minutes and Aleksandar Mitrovic nodded in his 10th of the campaign 10 minutes from time.

To mark the passing of their World Cup-winning former England right-back George Cohen last week, Fulham came out in warm-up tops with ‘Cohen 2’ on the back, and a rousing minute’s applause preceded kick-off.

They began brightly and a free-kick from distance by Andreas Pereira forced a fingertip save from Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita.

The home side found it difficult to make an impression as Pereira and Harrison Reed controlled the midfield.

Palace’s only clear chance of the first half came in the 27th minute, when a Fulham error allowed Michael Olise to find Jordan Ayew coming in from the right.

The Ghana World Cup man did well to get his shot in before Antonee Robinson could block, but his effort hit the crossbar.

However, Fulham took the lead their early dominance had deserved just after the half-hour mark.

Mitchell hesitated as he went for Joachim Andersen’s under-hit pass and Kenny Tete intercepted before playing the ball forward to Mitrovic on the right. The Serbia striker flighted a perfect cross for Decordova-Reid to glance a header past Guaita.

Palace’s task became even harder three minutes later when Mitchell mis-controlled a pass from Tomkins and made a juddering contact with Tete’s shin in an attempt to win the ball back. Referee Andy Madley had no hesitation in showing a red card, the decision quickly upheld by VAR.

Tomkins, booked earlier for a foul on Mitrovic, departed after 57 minutes after being shown a second yellow card when his raised arm made contact with the Serbian as he ran past the Palace defender.

Pereira hit the outside of the post as Fulham tried to capitalise on their numerical advantage, and Ream finally doubled the away side’s lead when he hooked in a fierce left-foot shot after Mitrovic had nodded back Pereira’s corner from the right.

Referee Madley consulted the monitor after VAR suggested that the ball had hit Mitrovic’s arm, but the goal stood.

Mitrovic then headed home the third himself from close range from Willian’s bouncing pass to wrap up a convincing win.

Chelsea have completed the signing of Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk.

The Ukraine international has signed an eight-and-a-half-year deal, with the Blues paying Shakhtar a reported £62million – possibly rising to £88m.

The 22-year-old was in attendance for Chelsea’s game against Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

“I’m so happy to sign for Chelsea,” Mudryk told the club’s website.

“This is a huge club, in a fantastic league and it is a very attractive project for me at this stage of my career. I’m excited to meet my new team-mates and I’m looking forward to working and learning under Graham Potter and his staff.”

Mudryk had looked poised to sign for London rivals Arsenal before a last-minute intervention from recruitment head Paul Winstanley and co-owner Behdad Eghbali on Saturday, with the pair flying to Turkey to negotiate the deal.

He becomes the 14th first-team signing since Todd Boehly bought the club last year, with total spending for his short reign now totalling over £350m.

Portugal international Joao Felix signed on loan from Atletico Madrid for around £9m as the club’s fourth January buy last week, before being sent off on his debut at Fulham on Thursday.

Raheem Sterling, Wesley Fofana and Kalidou Koulibaly have also arrived this season for significant transfer fees as Boehly set about rebuilding Chelsea’s squad.

The pressure eased on Chelsea manager Graham Potter as his side claimed just a second Premier League victory since October with a 1-0 win against Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge.

Kai Havertz headed the winning goal just after the hour as the hosts celebrated the £62million signing of Ukraine winger Mykhailo Mudryk, who was paraded on the pitch at half-time, with a vital win to cut the gap on the top four to eight points.

It was a poignant day in West London as Chelsea marked the death of former player Gianluca Vialli before the match, with a host of the Italian’s former team-mates returning to pay their respects.

It contributed to a feeling of togetherness between players and supporters at Stamford Bridge, as the team put a torrid last seven days – which culminated in a red card for new signing Joao Felix in defeat at Fulham last Thursday – behind them.

Palace had the first real chance of the game after 20 minutes when Michael Olise allowed the ball to drop over his shoulder and drilled an effort towards Kepa Arrizabalaga’s top corner from 25 yards, which the Chelsea goalkeeper did brilliantly to finger-tip behind at full stretch.

But it was the hosts who had the best chance of the first half in the 33rd minute when Havertz rose unmarked to meet Hakim Ziyech’s whipped cross, with the forward only able to land his header onto the roof of Vicente Guaita’s goal from six yards.

Just before half-time, Conor Gallagher broke away down Palace’s right and fired a low ball across goal which Lewis Hall was unable to angle home with a first-time effort at the back post, before Ziyech saw a fierce drive from the edge of the area tipped over by Guaita as Chelsea finished the half strongly.

The hosts’ confidence grew into the second half and Havertz again went close when he latched onto Gallagher’s through ball down the left, but his low drive found the gloves of the Palace goalkeeper who held on well.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was sent on by Potter on the hour having recovered from a back injury – the first of the manager’s long list of absentees to make a return – and within a minute Chelsea had the lead.

Ziyech collected the ball near the left touchline and as his whipped cross evaded Palace’s defence, there was Havertz climbing highest to plant his header past Guaita from six yards.

Havertz should have put the game beyond Palace when he darted behind the defence to meet Mason Mount’s driven cross, but this time his direction was lacking as a wonderful chance to seal the win went begging.

And Chelsea were almost made to pay minutes later when Cheick Doucoure unleashed a fierce drive from 30 yards which required a fine stop from Arrizabalaga to preserve his side’s lead.

But the hosts held on to bring respite to Potter and, with Mudryk now on the books, breathe life back into their season.

Arsenal move eight points clear at the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 derby win at Tottenham.

Mikel Arteta’s side did the damage in the first half with Hugo Lloris putting through his own net before Gunners captain Martin Odegaard rifled home from 25 yards.

A first double over their north London rivals since 2014 ensured leaders Arsenal capitalised on defending champions Manchester City losing at Old Trafford on Saturday to further raise hope they could win the title again for the first time in 19 years.

In-form Manchester United are Arsenal’s next opponents and they will now hope for a favour from Antonio Conte’s side, who travel to City on Thursday struggling to stay in the top four race and with Harry Kane still one goal short of Jimmy Greaves’ club scoring record.

There were unsavoury scenes at full-time with Aaron Ramsdale appearing to be kicked by a Tottenham supporter who jumped onto the advertising hoarding behind the goal of the South Stand before Arteta was able to lead his players away to celebrate with their own fans.

Both teams had injury concerns ahead of the match and while Dejan Kulusevski returned for Spurs, Rodrigo Bentancur missed out and Bukayo Saka was able to shake off his minor hamstring issue to start for the visitors.

Results elsewhere this weekend only heightened the importance of the match and it did not take long for the leaders to get into their groove with in-form Eddie Nketiah denied by Lloris in the seventh minute.

Lloris’ hesitancy in possession proved the catalyst for the chance and his next involvement produced the opener after another error.

Saka created space by the byline and his cross, which took a slight deflection off Ryan Sessegnon, fooled Lloris, who could only parry the ball into his own net.

It was not the first mistake by the Spurs captain in a big game this season but Tottenham almost levelled instantly when Sessegnon found Son Heung-min inside the area, only for Ramsdale to make a fine low stop with his legs.

It was a fleeting moment of attacking intent from Conte’s side who quickly found themselves back on the ropes.

Lloris saved from Odegaard soon after before Thomas Partey was denied another north London stunner by the woodwork.

Partey, who scored a superb curled effort in the 3-1 win in October, let fly with a volley from 25 yards that thundered against the base of the post after pin-ball in the Spurs area.

A second goal for Arsenal felt inevitable and it arrived eight minutes before the break.

William Saliba won the first ball before Partey and Saka combined to release Odegaard in space and the Gunners captain rifled into the bottom corner from range for his eighth goal this season.

It was fully deserved for the visitors and while Spurs improved, with Kane denied by Ramsdale, it remained 2-0 at the break.

The traditional second-half team were true to their word after the restart with Kulusevski firing over before Kane was denied by another fine Ramsdale save.

Even better was to follow from the Arsenal goalkeeper, who stuck out a boot to deflect a Sessegnon effort wide after a slick one-two with Kane.

Tempers started to boil over when substitute Richarlison had words with Brazil team-mate Gabriel Martinelli and Kulusevski collided with Arteta in the technical area.

Yet those incidents and a flurry of yellow cards only proved to take the sting out of Spurs’ attempted comeback.

Nketiah squandered the chance to seal the points with 21 minutes left when Lloris raced out quickly to save his effort following Granit Xhaka’s pass to keep Tottenham’s faint hopes alive.

Despite Richarlison and Ivan Perisic coming on and Kulusevski testing the excellent Ramsdale late on, Arsenal comfortable saw out the final exchanges to move 14 points clear of their rivals.

However, there were ugly scenes after the final whistle.

After an apparent exchange of words with Richarlison, Ramsdale was on the receiving end of a kick from a supporter. Xhaka appeared to be frustrated by developments, with Arteta stepping in and the Arsenal contingent moving to the other end of the stadium to celebrate with their fans.

Barcelona convincingly beat Real Madrid 3-1 in Saudi Arabia on Sunday to win the Spanish Super Cup, their first trophy since coach Xavi Hernandez took over. Inspired by teenager Gavi, who scored himself and set up goals for Robert Lewandowski and Pedri Gonzalez, the Catalans produced one of their best performances in years against their bitter Clasico rivals. Having enjoyed great success as a player at Barca, Xavi returned in November 2021 and after a summer of heavy spending this emphatic victory is a sign his project is moving in the right direction.

Karim Benzema netted a late consolation for Madrid, who have been far from their best since the World Cup break and also fell three points behind Barcelona in La Liga last weekend.

Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti suffered his first defeat in a final since 2014, with Los Blancos surrendering the trophy they earned last season to Barcelona, who have now won the Super Cup a record 14 times.

“We knew it was a chance we had to take, we have lived through an era of changes at the club and in the dressing room, and this will reinforce us to keep fighting for more titles,” Barca captain Sergio Busquets told Movistar.

Xavi crucially deployed four central midfielders, with 18-year-old Gavi drifting inside off a nominal starting position on the left and frequently giving Madrid right-back Dani Carvajal the slip.

Barcelona broke the deadlock when Busquets pressed well after a loose Antonio Rudiger pass, leading to Lewandowski feeding Gavi, who slotted home confidently.

Gavi turned provider for the second, running on to De Jong’s pass and sliding the ball across for Lewandowski to finish clinically.

“(Gavi) is a kid that excites us all, when you see him compete like that, putting his soul out there, he’s a character that is contagious for the team, he has an innate capacity for leadership,” Xavi told a press conference.

“It comes from inside him, it’s spectacular. At 18, I have said it many times, but don’t let it stop, he has no ceiling this boy.”

Gavi, who won the Golden Boy award in 2022, was the game’s outstanding performer and showed Barcelona are in good hands both now and for years to come.

Madrid’s own young star Vinicius Junior was shackled by Ronald Araujo, the Uruguayan playing at right-back to directly subdue the Brazilian’s threat.

“Today I think we were lacking, we went out there giving 90 percent, 80 percent, and in a final against a rival like this, you can’t do that,” Madrid midfielder Fede Valverde told Movistar.

Courtois denied Dembele after a brilliant Alejandro Balde run and the overworked Belgian stopper was keeping Madrid’s slim hopes alive.

By contrast, Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen went untested until the 70th minute, by when his side had netted their third.

Lewandowski released Gavi, who crossed for Pedri to tap home at the back post as Barcelona romped to a compelling victory.

The only blot on Barcelona’s copybook was a late Benzema strike, finishing after his first effort was blocked.

“To say it was humiliation is disrespectful,” Ancelotti told a news conference.

“We lost a game against Barcelona like we beat them in the league. They played better and they deserved it, full stop.”

The biggest blow for Madrid may prove to be the morale boost the victory is for their rivals.

Although Xavi will ultimately be judged on his performance in major competitions — and Barcelona have already been eliminated from this season’s Champions League — he was thrilled by the victory.

“It brings a lot of calm, confidence, because what we planned worked brilliantly, we beat Madrid, dominating the whole game,” said Xavi.

“I’ll take how we played from this, it is very important to me. The trophy, yes, but how (we won it).

“We have three trophies to play for this season and this gives us confidence.”

Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy has been found innocent of six counts of rape and one guilty of sexual assault against four young women.

He was first under arrest in November 2020 and was put off by his club in August 2021, after he was charged for raping.

The prosecution has required a retrial on the two counts the jury futile to reach a judgement on and it has been arranged for 26 June.

According to Matthew Conway, prosecuting, said: “The probationary has made a conclusion. We have made a conclusion today, which is to continue on these counts in two separate hearings and we search for today a temporary case management.”

A declaration from Manchester City said: “Given there are exposed materials related to this case, the club is not in a position to comment further at this time.”

The accusations and test had been “complete abyss” for Mr Mendy, the court heard, with his life in football “over” as he would “never escape” the accusations.

Mr Mendy’s lawyer said he was “pleased” to have been clean of sex attacks on four women and looked forward to clearing his name at a retrial over two other accusations and “transforming his life”.

Marcus Rashford scored a superb solo effort as Manchester United moved into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 victory over Burnley at Old Trafford.

Returning to action after the World Cup – and for their first match since Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure – Erik ten Hag’s men took the lead in the 27th minute through a close-range finish from Christian Eriksen, one of the various players on show that had been at the tournament in Qatar.

The advantage was then doubled by another 12 minutes into the second half when Rashford, scorer of three goals for England during the World Cup, went on a run taking the ball from his own half to the visitors’ box and drilled it into the net.

Vincent Kompany’s Championship table-topping Burnley threatened a number of times in attack – and almost benefited from some errors by United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka – but could not spring an upset.

Aside from the obvious absence of Ronaldo, following his exit by mutual agreement last month in the wake of his explosive TalkTV interview, other players who had been at the World Cup missing from United’s squad included finalists Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane, and fellow centre-back Harry Maguire, who was ill.

But there were five back from Qatar – Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Eriksen, Casemiro, being utilised as a central defender, and Tyrell Malacia – included in a strong starting XI as Ten Hag made four changes from the 2-1 Premier League win at Fulham on November 13. Also, Luke Shaw, Antony and Fred were among the substitutes, and all got on in the second half.

Former Manchester City captain Kompany named a side showing two adjustments from their 3-1 win over Middlesbrough on Saturday, with long-serving forward Ashley Barnes one of those coming in.

As well as being post-Ronaldo, this was also a first competitive outing for United since the news their owners the Glazers were open to relinquishing control of the club, with a sale among the considerations in a “process to explore strategic alternatives”.

Some anti-Glazer chants could be heard from the stands in the opening stages of the game, while on the pitch, Barnes sent an early header wide, with the flag raised for offside, and Alejandro Garnacho, fed by Fernandes, hit a shot that was blocked by Bailey Peacock-Farrell’s boot.

United then grabbed the lead when Aaron Wan-Bissaka, making his first start of the season, stretched on the right to connect with Fernandes’ delivery and the resulting cross was met by Eriksen, who fired in.

Anthony Martial saw an effort caught by Peacock-Farrrell, before Manuel Benson struck into the United side-netting and brought a good save from Dubravka.

Moments later, Dubravka survived two scares in quick succession, firstly seeing Casemiro clear a goal-bound ball after the goalkeeper had misjudged an attempted punch, then hacking the ball away himself having miscontrolled a backpass.

Peacock-Farrell then made another stop in the 40th minute, keeping out Martial’s deflected strike.

Scott McTominay sent an attempt off-target shortly after the break, before inadvertently giving the ball to Benson, who skewed wide.

Rashford then produced a moment in keeping with his fine World Cup form, bursting forward with the ball from United’s half, advancing between two defenders as he got to the Burnley area and cracking a low shot beyond Peacock-Farrell.

Burnley made a decent push to hit back, with substitute Darko Churlinov shooting wide and Barnes over, both from good positions, and the latter then sending another effort wide in the final 10 minutes.

Antony saw a drive saved by Peacock-Farrell at the other end before the final whistle confirmed United’s place in the last eight.

Lionel Messi is now side by side with Cristiano Ronaldo in goals scored in Europe’s top five league after scoring his 696th goals. 

The Argentinian superstar scored the second goal for PSG  in the 72minutes of second half against Angers on Wednesday night.  

The goal itself was a perfect team effort, started and finished by Messi. He calms the ball outside the box before latching onto a through ball and sliding it past the keeper. 

With Cristiano Ronaldo now revolving out for Al-Nassr, the race is on between Lionel Messi and  Cristiano Ronaldo to accumulate as many career goals as imaginable before eventually calling time on their careers. 

Ronaldo has a two-year agreement with the Saudi Arabian side and currently leads Messi by five on 701 total club goals having scored five for Sporting Lisbon at the start of his career. 

Messi goals for Barcelona and PSG, scoring 672 goals in 778 appearances for the Catalan side. It means he’s gotten the 696 total in 86 fewer games than his rival.

Ronaldo scored 118 for Man United in his first stint at the club, 450 at Real Madrid, 101 at Juventus and another 27 goals at Old Trafford before his unpleasant exit. 

Messi will have plenty of scoring opportunities in France and carried on his form the led Argentina to the World Cup. 

He has 13 goals this season in 20 games with eight coming in Ligue 1. 

It was Messi’s first game back from the World Cup and he played the full 90 minutes from Christophe Galtier’s side. 

PSG lead the league by six points ahead of Lens and only a disastrous collapse will stop them lifting the title again.  

Liverpool held off Aston Villa’s plucky challenge to close the gap on the Premier League’s top four.

Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk struck in the first half before Stefan Bajcetic’s first senior goal made it 3-1.

Victory moved them five points adrift of the Champions League spots, remaining sixth, ahead of Friday’s visit of Leicester.

Yet they rode their luck against mid-table Villa, who put up a fight but missed chances and lacked the quality when it mattered most despite Ollie Watkins’ strike.

Jurgen Klopp had seen second-placed Newcastle move 11 points clear with a stroll at Leicester so knew victory was imperative not just to keep in touch with the Magpies but reel in the top four.

It looked like it may be a difficult night when Emi Buendia teed up Watkins inside the opening 60 seconds but he lacked the power to beat Alisson Becker.

It was a miss which summed up Villa’s attacking threat – all promise and no quality – and one they would quickly rue.

Darwin Nunez dummied Andy Robertson’s cross, leading to Robin Olsen and Tyrone Mings colliding and the defender needing treatment.

If the stoppage unsettled Villa, it failed to deter the visitors who took the lead once play resumed on five minutes.

Robertson’s corner was only cleared to Trent Alexander-Arnold 40 yards out, he bent a brilliant pass to Robertson who nipped in ahead of John McGinn and rolled a perfect ball for Salah who could not miss.

Yet there was still encouragement for Villa with Watkins again escaping the defence to be denied by Alisson before the offside flag was correctly, but belatedly, raised.

Liverpool hardly looked secure at the back and Leon Bailey miscued from 12 yards as Villa Park’s usual frustration raised its head early. More consternation followed when Watkins’ tame header was easy for Alisson.

The difference was Liverpool’s ruthless quality and they almost had a second after 21 minutes when Joel Matip headed in Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick, only to have strayed fractionally offside.

There was space to exploit at both ends and Nunez twice underlined the point by heading over before seizing on Ezri Konsa’s slice by firing straight at Olsen.

Villa could have been 3-0 down but equally could have been ahead such was the game’s generous nature and Salah was next up, dragging wide after half an hour.

Nunez’s movement was causing Villa serious issues and Olsen – who hardly looked convincing deputising for World Cup winner Emi Martinez – turned his low effort wide.

But, from the resulting corner, the hosts failed to clear and Salah teed up Van Dijk to rifle in, via a small deflection off Konsa.

Nunez should have added a third before the break, instead steering at Olsen from close range, but a two-goal cushion gave the Reds a perfect second-half platform.

It was one which suddenly looked unstable when Watkins drilled into the corner seconds after the re-start, but was offside, and McGinn fluffed a stooping header.

Liverpool, though, should have killed the game after 50 minutes when Salah broke quickly from a Villa free-kick only for Olsen to deny him.

The Reds needed to calm the game as Villa remained a threat but they failed and Watkins pulled a goal back after 59 minutes, nodding in Douglas Luiz’s cross.

A frantic match moved up a notch with Villa Park reenergised but it was the erratic Nunez the next to miss when, put through by Salah, he dragged woefully wide of the far post with 15 minutes left.

Finally, Liverpool took the sting out of Villa and eventually ended their hopes with nine minutes left when Bajcetic showed impressive composure to round Olsen and squeeze a shot through Mings’ legs after Nunez’s cross.

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