Tag: English Premier League

Categories
football Slides Sports News

Manchester City rout Arsenal ; Liverpool-Chelsea draw

The 5-0 loss means Arsenal is without a point, or even a goal, from its three matches so far this season.

Manchester City didn’t need Harry Kane or Cristiano Ronaldo to destroy Arsenal.

With four different scorers in the 5-0 win on Saturday, maybe the attacking options currently available to Pep Guardiola are enough to defend the Premier League title.

Or perhaps it’s just a sign of Arsenal’s frailties that City so easily dismantled a side that has now lost all three league games without scoring. And the fact City played against 10 men for 55 minutes after Granit Xhaka was sent off for a two-footed lunge on Joao Cancelo.

“That is why we did not need to buy a striker,” Guardiola said. “We tried but it was not possible. It is a fantastic squad. I have to say thank you for the players they have given me.”

It was a great end to a week where City had to give up on its attempt to bring Tottenham striker Harry Kane to the Etihad Stadium and thought it could sign Cristiano Ronaldo before Manchester United stepped in.

Having lost its opening game to Tottenham, City was already playing catch-up. But while City moved onto six points, four of the teams with perfect starts dropped points in their third games on Saturday.

Title contenders Liverpool and Chelsea drew 1-1 at Anfield. West Ham was held 2-2 by Crystal Palace and Brighton lost 2-0 to Everton. Only Tottenham is still in the running for a third consecutive win when Kane leads the London club into Sunday’s game against Watford.

It’s not only Arsenal on zero points after three games. Norwich, which lost 2-1 to Leicester after conceding goals from Jamie Vardy and Marc Albrighton, is yet to get off the mark. Newcastle picked up its first point in a 2-2 draw against Southampton. Brentford is on five points in its first-ever Premier League season after drawing 1-1 at Aston Villa, with Ivan Toney’s goal wiped out by Emi Buendia’s first since joining the hosts in the offseason.

Kai Havertz’s header was canceled out by Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah’s penalty after Reece James was sent off for handling. Liverpool’s attack lacked a cutting edge _ even with a man advantage _ as Chelsea’s defense marshalled by Andreas Christensen proved too robust to break down.

“He started in the central position and finished the game in the right position, because we decided to bring on Thiago (Silva) and stay with the back five,” Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said. “Andreas is very strong, he’s super talented. … I think he feels the trust, he knows what to do, he can absolutely help, he’s a top defender and a top guy. I have the feeling he’s growing every week in confidence and personality.”

WEST HAM HELD

West Ham twice threw away the lead secured by Pablo Fornals and then Michail Antonio, with Conor Gallagher equalizing both times for Palace. But Patrick Vieira is still waiting for his first win in charge of Palace, which has two points.

PENALTY SPAT

Everton was already leading through Demarai Gray’s first-half strike when it won a penalty after the break at Brighton. Richarlison grabbed the ball after Seamus Coleman was taken down in the box by Joel Veltman. Everton’s designated penalty-taker, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, had to convince Richarlison to hand the ball back so he could score from the spot.

COMEBACK

After Callum Wilson’s opener for Newcastle was canceled out by Mohamed Elyounoussi, the St. James’ Park hosts looked set again for a first win of the season when Allan Saint-Maximin netted in the 90th minute. But Jamaal Lascelles’ challenge on Stuart Armstrong allowed James Ward-Prowse to level for Southampton from a penalty in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

Categories
football Slides Sports News

Marcus Rashford back in Manchester United training

Marcus Rashford is already back training with Manchester United despite only undergoing an operation on a long-standing shoulder issue earlier this month.

The 23-year-old has been unavailable for selection for his side’s first two matches of the 2021-22 campaign due to the surgery that occurred in the early stages of August.

Rashford is unlikely to be able to make his return until October at the earliest, but Man United have released footage of the England international on the grass at Carrington.

“He seemed very happy with the surgery. He’s working in the gym. We see him every day so he’ll be chomping at the bit when it gets nearer to the time when he can come back,” Red Devils boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said at the weekend when questioned on the attacker’s progress.

Rashford, who made five appearances for England at Euro 2020, scored 21 goals and registered 15 assists in 57 appearances at club level during the 2020-21 season.

Man United will be looking to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday afternoon.

Categories
football Slides Sports News

Romelu Lukaku breaks his duck as Chelsea give Arsenal the blues

Romelu Lukaku scored on his second Chelsea debut to set them on their way to a comfortable Premier League win over London rivals Arsenal.

Having failed to net in his 15 appearances during his first Chelsea spell, Lukaku needed just a quarter of an hour to make his mark as the Blues ran out 2-0 winners at the Emirates Stadium.

Reece James laid on Lukaku’s goal before scoring the second himself, with Arsenal unable to mount a serious challenge to get back into the contest.

Lukaku moved back to west London from Inter Milan last week and revealed he spoke to former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba in the build-up to this game – and he clearly took something from the conversation.

Drogba himself hit 13 goals in 15 games against Arsenal and Lukaku followed suit, sweeping home a low James cross from close range – netting his first Chelsea goal 3,648 days after his first appearance.

Arsenal had started well enough but the goal took the wind out of their sails, Pablo Mari and Rob Holding struggling to contain Lukaku with £50million summer signing Ben White absent due to a positive Covid test

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta had already lost Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Willian and Alex Runarsson to Covid ahead of an opening day defeat at newly-promoted Brentford.

He had called on the returning Arsenal fans to help bridge the gap between the club and the current Premier League elite – but rousing support was in short supply when Mason Mount picked out James inside the box and he fired home Chelsea’s second 10 minutes before half-time.

In fact, large swathes of the home fans jeered as the players trudged off in the swirling rain at the interval

The hosts should have arguably been given a chance to pull one back from the spot before then as the returning Bukayo Saka – given a warm welcome before kick-off – went down under pressure from James with neither referee Paul Tierney nor the VAR seeing enough to award a penalty.

Arsenal made a lively start to the second half, Saka forcing Edouard Mendy into his first meaningful save with a driven shot.

Holding then had a fine chance to halve the deficit with a header but could only steer his effort wide of goal.

Arteta then brought on Aubameyang for the tiring Saka. The last thing Arsenal needed at this stage was further fitness setbacks but that is exactly what happened as Kieran Tierney limped off, to be replaced by Nuno Tavares.

Chelsea once again took control of proceedings and Lukaku was denied a second goal of the afternoon when his diving header was brilliantly saved by Bernd Leno.

Gabriel Martinelli was the next Arsenal player to be forced off with injury as Folarin Balogun took his place for the closing stages.

The visitors saw out the game with ease, Leno saving well from Kai Havertz with plenty of home fans heading for home before the full-time whistle

Categories
football Slides Sports News

Result: Harry Kane makes first appearance of season as Tottenham edge Wolves win

Harry Kane made his first appearance of the season for Tottenham as they claimed a 1-0 Premier League win on Nuno Espirito Santo’s return to Wolves.

The England captain was not involved in the opening two games of the season following his late return from holiday amid his desire to join Manchester City.

But with Spurs holding firm, he came on in the 72nd minute of a match that was decided by Dele Alli’s 10th-minute penalty.

Alli struck home from 12 yards after he was fouled by Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa as Nuno’s side made it two 1-0 wins from two Premier League matches.

It is two 1-0 defeats for Wolves as Bruno Lage waits for his first points since becoming Nuno’s replacement, but there were positive signs as they dominated large parts of the game.

Adama Traore was their biggest threat, but he missed the biggest chance as he was denied by Hugo Lloris when through on goal.

Even though he is keen to leave, Kane would have loved to have been on the pitch as Spurs were awarded an early penalty.

Sergio Reguilon’s incisive throughball found Alli and as he tried rounding Sa, the Wolves goalkeeper wiped him out with Stuart Attwell pointing straight to the spot.

With Kane on the bench, Alli assumed responsibility from the spot and confidently sent Sa the wrong way to give his side the lead, with his first Premier League goal since March 2020.

That was Tottenham’s only shot on goal in the first half as Wolves completely dominated, with Traore causing mayhem down the left.

The winger has been linked with a move to Spurs and he showcased his strengths in style with a marauding display.

He had the pace and power to beat Japhet Tanganga and as he surged into the area, he picked out Joao Moutinho, whose first-time flick teed up Jimenez but the Mexico striker curled the ball just over from the edge of the area.

Lage’s side continued to pin Spurs back and they had plenty of dangerous moments but lacked any clear-cut chances that tested Lloris.

The France goalkeeper was forced into a low save from a Ruben Neves drive from distance as Tottenham survived until half-time.

The second half followed a similar pattern as Wolves pinned the visitors back and the chances began to rack up.

Lloris had to make a smart low save to keep out Francisco Trincao’s effort from Nelson Semedo’s cut-back before the keeper proved why he has managed 300 Premier League appearances for Spurs.

Eric Dier got caught in possession on the halfway line, Neves sent Traore clean through but Lloris stayed big and saved the one-on-one chance.

The away side were on the rack but had the chance to kill the game with a rare foray forward.

Lloris’ goal-kick sent Steven Bergwijn through on goal and the Dutchman forced Sa into a fine low save with a low curling shot and then got up quickly to block Son’s rebound before another Son shot was blocked.

With Spurs up against it, Kane was introduced in the 72nd minute for his first appearance of the campaign.

Visiting supporters greeted his arrival with a chant of ‘Harry Kane, he’s one of our own’ and he immediately improved his side

He could have had a fairytale return to the side eight minutes after his arrival as he was played in after a brilliant piece of skill by Bergwijn, but his shot was saved by Sa from a narrow angle.

As Wolves pressed for an equaliser, chances opened at the other end for Tottenham as Dier had a header from a corner well saved and then Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg had a shot blocked.

Kane went over to the Spurs fans at full-time to celebrate the win and was well received as his future remains up in the air

Categories
football Sports News

Result: Mason Greenwood earns Manchester United a draw at Southampton

Mason Greenwood sealed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side a hard-fought point at Southampton as Manchester United equalled the top-flight’s longest unbeaten away record.

The first match in front of a full St Mary’s crowd in almost 18 months also saw these sides do battle for the first time since Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men conceded nine without reply at Old Trafford in February.

There was no further humiliation on Sunday as Saints put in a promising performance, taking the lead when Che Adams’ strike deflected in off Fred before Greenwood secured a 1-1 draw and United’s place in the history books

Solskjaer’s side went the whole of last season without losing a league game on the road and this result on the south coast took their unbeaten league away run to 27 matches, putting them level with Arsenal in 2003/04.

Saints threatened to stop that run on Sunday and went into half-time ahead, having stood firm during a strong start by the visitors before Adams ended a fine team move with a strike from the edge of the box that went in off Fred.

Bruno Fernandes was furious that Jack Stephens was not punished for a foul in the build-up, but his mood improved 10 minutes into the second half when Greenwood struck through a crowd.

United tapered off after a strong start to the second period, with summer signing Adam Armstrong having a couple of chances to fire Saints to a first home win against United since 2003.

James Ward-Prowse had the first effort of the game when forcing David De Gea into action with a long-range free-kick, but United settled and somehow failed to score seven minutes in.

Harry Maguire and Paul Pogba strained to reach a Fernandes set piece, with the ball looping onto the bar before Mohammed Salisu blocked Anthony Martial’s headed follow-up and impressive teenager Tino Livramento cleared.

Greenwood dragged wide from distance and Salisu blocked a Pogba strike as the visitors continued strongly, with the France midfielder then heading over a Luke Shaw free-kick.

Southampton were angered by a break in play after Moussa Djenepo accidentally caught Greenwood in the face, but it worked in their favour as it allowed them to regather their thoughts.

Armstrong bent over from the edge of the box following some Djenepo stepovers, with St Mary’s erupting in the 30th minute.

Fernandes was furious having felt he was fouled on the right by Stephens, who left the Portuguese in a heap and continued to fizz across to Djenepo. The winger’s first-time ball was smartly flicked on by Armstrong to Adams, who took a couple of touches and struck home from 20 yards via a deflection off Fred

Fernandes was booked for his remonstrations with the officials after the goal and Saints threatened a second, with Livramento superbly bursting down the right only to just overhit a cross.

Alex McCarthy denied a close-range Nemanja Matic header shortly before half-time, which started with Southampton apologising to supporters and promising refunds after thousands of fans’ entry was delayed.

Jan Bednarek came on for Theo Walcott at the break as Saints went to a three-man backline, which was holding its breath when United appealed for handball after a Pogba effort struck Salisu.

Armstrong sent over a smart cross and Livramento lashed over at the other end, before United levelled in the 55th minute

Pogba poked a Fernandes ball on to Greenwood, whose shot beat McCarthy and found the back of the net in front of the raucous travelling support.

Jadon Sancho replaced Anthony Martial and Pogba was soon leading the Southampton defence a merry dance before hitting a left-footed shot just across the face of goal.

Greenwood headed onto the roof of the net and McCarthy produced an unorthodox save to deny a Fernandes header.

Until that point De Gea had precious little to do but came to the rescue in the 73rd minute. Pressing Ward-Prowse took the ball off Maguire and Adams threaded through Armstrong to get a shot on goal.

The Saints new boy wasted a great chance shortly after when Adams glanced on a corner to him at the far post, but he failed to get a telling touch on it.

De Gea punched a Ward-Prowse free-kick clear as Saints ended the match on top to earn a deserved point.

Categories
football Slides Sports News Transfer News

Manchester United offer Paul Pogba £400k-a-week contract

Paul Pogba reportedly has a £400k-a-week contract offer on the table as Manchester United seek to tie him down to fresh terms.

The former Juventus man is yet to commit his future to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side beyond 2022, with Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain ready and waiting to pounce should he become available on a free transfer.

United are thought to be desperate to extend Pogba’s stay at the club, although the World Cup-winning Frenchman is supposedly in no rush to make a decision on his next career move.

according to The Athletic, Pogba has been offered a new deal worth £400k per week until the summer of 2025, which would take him past David de Gea as the club’s highest earner.

However, the report adds that the midfielder is unlikely to sign a new deal before the end of the current transfer window, but he is of the view that United now have a squad capable of competing for the biggest honours.

Pogba assisted four of United’s five goals in last week’s Premier League win against Leeds United and has also found the back of the net 38 times in 207 games for the Red Devils.

Categories
Slides Sports News Transfer News

Tottenham Hotspur join Kurt Zouma race

Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly joined the race to sign Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma.

The Frenchman was initially tipped to head to Sevilla as part of a player-plus-cash deal for Jules Kounde, but a move for the 22-year-old appears to have hit a roadblock for the Blues.

Zouma has since been heavily linked with a transfer across the capital to West Ham United, although the centre-back’s wage demands are supposedly threatening to scupper a switch to the London Stadium.

Now, Sky Sports News reports that Spurs are keen to bring in a new centre-back after striking a deal for Cristian Romero, and Zouma features on the Lilywhites’ list of potential targets.

The report adds that West Ham are still in the race, but with Chelsea’s £25m valuation hindering negotiations, Zouma is happy to see out his Stamford Bridge deal, which expires in 2023.

The 26-year-old watched on from the bench during his side’s 3-0 win over Crystal Palace at the weekend, and he has registered 10 goals from 151 games in a Chelsea shirt

Categories
football Slides Sports News

KICK IT OUT CONDEMNS ALLEGED HOMOPHOBIC CHANTING AT BILLY GILMOUR

Alleged homophobic chanting by Liverpool supporters aimed at Norwich’s on-loan midfielder Billy Gilmour has been condemned by Kick It Out.

The abuse is alleged to have taken place during Liverpool’s 3-0 win at Carrow Road on Saturday.

A statement on Twitter from anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out said: “We are disappointed that only two weeks into the English football season, we have already seen numerous incidents of discrimination at stadiums up and down the country.

“The use of the term ‘rent boy’ in chants by a portion of Liverpool fans at Carrow Road was unquestionably homophobic and has no place in our game. We have also had reports of incidents at other games and are awaiting further clarification.

“As always, we thank those who reported these incidents to us, and urge fans to do the same if they witness discrimination of any kind in football in the future. We will continue to liaise with all relevant clubs and the football authorities to identify and hold accountable those responsible.”

On Saturday, Liverpool LGBT+ fans group Kop Outs tweeted: “Great result today marred by homophobic chanting by some of our fans targeting Chelsea loanee Billy Gilmour. If you can’t support without resorting to bigoted nonsense, you don’t understand.”

That was retweeted by the official account of Liverpool, who said: “The chant is offensive and inappropriate – a message we have repeatedly communicated alongside Kop Outs. We urge supporters to remember the inclusive values of the club and to refrain from using it in the future.”

Scotland international Gilmour, 20, made his competitive debut for Norwich in Saturday’s game after joining the club on a season-long loan from Chelsea in July.

Categories
football Sports News

WESTHAM COME BACK TWICE TO BEAT NEWCASTLE 4-2 AT ST JAMES’S PARK

West Ham twice came from a goal down to start their Premier League campaign with a 4-2 victory against Newcastle in front of a bumper 50,673 attendance at St James’ Park.

Callum Wilson and Jacob Murphy struck either side of Aaron Cresswell’s 18th-minute leveller to put the hosts 2-1 ahead at the interval, after which three Hammers goals in 14 second-half minutes settled the contest.

Said Benrahma dragged the away side level again before Tomas Soucek put West Ham ahead for the first time, reacting quickly after Michail Antonio had seen his penalty saved by Freddie Woodman on his Premier League debut.

Antonio struck beyond the young goalkeeper soon afterwards as West Ham avenged a pair of defeats by Newcastle last season, with boos from the home support at the final whistle underlining the task facing Steve Bruce.

It has been a frustrating summer for the Magpies head coach and while he added to his squad with the acquisition of Joe Willock, unveiled to a deafening reception before kick-off, he was unable to call upon the midfielder, who was not registered in time for this fixture.

David Moyes, who guided West Ham to a surprise sixth-place finish last term and Europa League football, has also endured what he termed a “difficult” window although they were well worth their three points on Sunday.

Miguel Almiron was alert at the near post to block Soucek’s header in a frenzied start, where Newcastle took the lead in the fifth minute through their new number nine’s header, continuing his fine run against the Hammers.

Allan Saint-Maximin was the architect, twisting and turning with abandon on the right to confound Declan Rice before an inch-perfect cross allowed Wilson to bag his ninth goal in 11 career top-flight games versus West Ham.

Moyes’ side rallied and deservedly equalised, albeit in fortuitous circumstances as Cresswell’s teasing low ball drifted beyond the outstretched leg of Soucek before Jarrod Bowen tapped in after the ball had crossed the line. An offside flag was raised against Bowen but the goal stood after consulting the video assistant referee

Bowen had an excellent opportunity after ghosting past several Newcastle defenders only to be denied by Woodman, whose godfather and England boss Gareth Southgate was watching on.

Wilson’s audacious backheel was kept out by Lukasz Fabianski while Almiron’s shot deflected on to the top of the crossbar.

But Newcastle retook the lead five minutes before the end of an entertaining first half as Murphy stooped to head home after Matt Ritchie’s cross from the by-line had just evaded the leaping Wilson.

West Ham hit back again eight minutes after half-time, with Benrahma getting in-between two defenders to head in at the back post following a cross from Antonio, who did well on the left after initially miscontrolling.

Antonio then saw a bullet header cannon off the bar and ricochet into Murphy, who scythed down Pablo Fornals in the area in an attempt to claim the loose ball. Referee Martin Atkinson pointed to the spot and while Woodman guessed right to save Antonio’s effort low to his left, Soucek was first to the rebound and bundled in after 63 minutes.

It took only another three minutes for West Ham to seize complete control as Antonio finally got on the scoresheet on the counter, getting the ball on to his right foot and drilling low into the corner beyond a helpless Woodman.

Newcastle huffed and puffed thereafter, with substitute Ryan Fraser seeing a shot just miss the target, but the Tynesiders found stubborn resistance from West Ham and a substantial amount of jeers greeted the final whistle.

Categories
football Sports News

PEP GUARDIOLA SCARED OF ANOTHER MANCITY SLOW START TO THE SEASON

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admits he fears another slow start this season but insists there will be no complaining or crying.

City dropped points in five of their opening eight Premier League games last year after a late finish to the previous pandemic-hit campaign denied them any significant break or pre-season preparation.

Things have been slightly better this summer but still well short of ideal with a number of international players having only resumed training a matter of days before Sunday’s league opener at Tottenham.

City turned the situation around spectacularly last year as they embarked on a 28-game unbeaten run from late November to take command of the title race and ultimately win it at a canter.

Guardiola expects the same mental fortitude may be needed again.

The Spaniard said: “Before, it was four or five weeks for preparation in pre-season, now (Thursday) is the first day we were all together. It is completely different.

“It is similar to last season when we played against Wolves without any friendly games having been played. People asked me how the team was and I didn’t know! I hadn’t seen them.

“That is why the mentality, and being strong in the head will be important. We know we are still a way from our best condition.

“We couldn’t have a pre-season for 75 or 80 per cent of the players but the most important thing we did last season was adjust, adapt and not complain.

“Day by day, week by week, game by game, we rejoined the players to the team dynamic and put them in the best condition. That’s why we had success last season because we did not cry in the beginning.

“We looked at what we could do to improve the team and when we arrived in some moment we started to win and win and win, and during four months we were unbeatable. That is why we won the Premier League and we arrived in the last stage of all the competitions.

“I think now we are not ready but we will see.”

Guardiola has already defended the club’s spending after their British record £100million signing of Jack Grealish last week prompted questions from some quarters over how they could still comply with Financial Fair Play regulations

With the club continuing to be linked another potential big-money signing in Harry Kane, the City boss felt the need to do so again, particularly after some remarks from Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp on Friday. The German said he could not understand the seemingly limitless spending power of some clubs.

Guardiola said: “We spend because we can do it. We don’t spend when we cannot do it. We invest what we can invest.

“We could spend £100million on Jack Grealish because we sold (players) for £60million. In the end we spent £40million. That is the reality the club said to me.

“We have limits for Financial Fair Play. If they are not agreeing they can go to the court, make a statement and we will defend (ourselves).”