Tag: English Premier League

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COVID-19: 16 NEW CASES ANNOUNCED IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE AFTER RECENT TEST.

Sixteen new positive cases were reported among Premier League players and staff in the latest round of Covid-19 testing, the league has announced.

The positives represent a drop of 20 compared to the last set of figures, and came from 3,115 players and staff who were tested between Monday and Sunday last week.

The Premier League has gone back to twice-weekly testing following an increase in coronavirus infections in the UK.

The league has been affected by a number of postponements since December, with Aston Villa’s last two matches having been called off due to an outbreak at the midlands club.

Players hugging and kissing during goal celebrations have been in the spotlight over the last week, with the league’s chief executive Richard Masters suggesting clubs could practise safer celebrations in training to “get the hang of it”.

It is understood the league felt there was some progress in how the protocols were observed by players at the weekend, but that the situation will continue to be monitored closely.

It is understood the first 10 of the 16 positives were recorded in testing which took place between Monday, January 11th and Thursday, January 14th, with the remaining six picked up in the testing period between Friday, January 15th and Sunday, January 17th.

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AUBAMEYANG SCORES BRACE AS GUNNERS SINK NEWCASTLE.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice in a match for the first time this season as Arsenal earned a comfortable 3-0 win over Newcastle United.

Aubameyang had already struck a post and fired over in the first half before he put the Gunners ahead in the 50th minute.

The Gabonese striker collected a long pass from Thomas Partey, got the better of Emil Krafth and fired high past Karl Darlow.

Bukayo Saka doubled the lead 10 minutes later when he swept home a pinpoint pass from Emile Smith Rowe.

Aubameyang struck again from close range after excellent work by Cedric Soares to cross from the byline.

Andy Carroll had the Magpies’ best chance when he thumped a shot wide on 59 minutes.

Arsenal, unbeaten in five Premier League matches, climb to 10th place with 27 points.

Newcastle are now winless in seven top-flight encounters and remain 15th on 19 points.

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UNITED RETAIN TOP SPOT AFTER EARNING A POINT AT ANFIELD.

Manchester United kept their place at the top of the Premier League table with a goalless draw at defending champions Liverpool, as goalkeeper Alisson’s heroics denied them a victory at Anfield.

Liverpool enjoyed much of the first-half possession and created several chances, including Andy Robertson’s half-volley over the crossbar and Roberto Firmino’s tame effort into the hands of David De Gea.

Man Utd came close to breaking the deadlock with their only shot of the opening period, Bruno Fernandes’ free-kick flying inches wide of Alisson’s goal.

After the break, Harry Maguire denied Roberto Firmino a tap-in before Mohamed Salah fired wide for the hosts.

Alisson then kept out Fernandes with a fine reaction save before superbly keeping out Paul Pogba’s close-range strike late on, either side of Thiago forcing De Gea to palm his long-range shot wide.

A 12th match unbeaten takes Man Utd to 37 points, two more than second-placed Leicester City.

Liverpool are three points behind Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team in third.

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TOTTENHAM BEAT SHEFFIELD UTD TO ENTER TOP FOUR.

Brilliant goals from Harry Kane and Tanguy Ndombele helped Tottenham Hotspur move up to fourth in the table with a 3-1 win at Sheffield United.

Spurs went ahead on five minutes when Serge Aurier headed in a Son Heung-min corner from close range.

Jose Mourinho’s side added a superb second goal five minutes before the break.

Kane produced an exquisite turn from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s pass before firing beyond Aaron Ramsdale from outside the penalty area for his 12th league goal of the season.

Sheff Utd responded on 59 minutes when David McGoldrick scored with a firm header from John Fleck’s excellent cross.

But any hopes of a second-half fightback were diminished by Ndombele three minutes later, when he sublimely lobbed the ball beyond Ramsdale from an acute angle after a dinked through-ball by Steven Bergwijn.

Spurs move ahead of Manchester City, who have two matches in hand, on 33 points. Sheff Utd remain bottom, 11 points from safety.

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MASON MOUNT ON TARGET AS CHELSEA BATTLE 10 MAN FULHAM TO VICTORY.

A late goal from Mason Mount proved the difference as Chelsea battled to victory against 10-man Fulham.

Chelsea had the best of a goalless first half at Craven Cottage, with Mount smashing a shot off the bar, before a low strike by Hakim Ziyech was tipped wide by Alphonse Areola.

A minute before half-time, Fulham’s task got harder as Antonee Robinson was sent off for a reckless challenge on Cesar Azpilicueta.

After the break, Chelsea continued to press for an opener with substitute Tammy Abraham heading a great chance straight at Areola.

The deadlock was finally broken on 78 minutes, when Areola palmed a cross from Ben Chilwell out into the path of Mount, who steered the ball in.

Fulham stay 18th, with 12 points, after a first defeat in six matches, while a first win in four lifts Chelsea to seventh on 29 points.

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ANTONIO’S EARLY STRIKE HELP WESTHAM EDGE BURNLEY AT THE LONDON STADIUM.

Michail Antonio’s ninth-minute goal made it back-to-back victories for West Ham United as they beat Burnley to move up to eighth.

The West Ham forward, making his first league start since 30 November, tapped in at the far post from Pablo Fornals’ left-wing cross to make it 10 goals across his last 12 starts in the competition.

West Ham nearly doubled their lead when Angelo Ogbonna headed against a post, before Chris Wood flashed a shot wide for Burnley as it remained 1-0 at half-time.

Antonio was denied a second when his header was cleared off the line by Ben Mee, who missed a chance to equalise, along with substitute Jay Rodriguez.

West Ham have 29 points, while Burnley drop to 17th on 16 points, four points above the relegation zone.

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CAVALEIRO’S SECOND HALF HEADER EARNS FULHAM A POINT AT TOTTENHAM.

Ivan Cavaleiro’s towering header salvaged a point for Fulham against Tottenham Hotspur in an entertaining 1-1 draw in north London.

Spurs took the lead on 25 minutes when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg arrowed a fine pass to Sergio Reguilon, who in turn picked out Harry Kane with a pinpoint cross that the striker met with a diving header.

Son Heung-min also brought a good close-range save from Alphonse Areola, while Kane sent another header over the crossbar.

Fulham also showed plenty of threat, with Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa denied by Hugo Lloris and Ruben Loftus-Cheek hooking an effort just wide.

After the break Son raced clear but his low strike hit the post on 71 minutes.

Three minutes later, substitute Ademola Lookman found space for a brilliant cross, and Cavaleiro did the rest with a bullet header.

More fine work by Lookman soon teed up Loftus-Cheek, but Lloris was alive to the danger.

In the final minute, Reguilon had the ball in the net for Spurs, but his effort was ruled out for offside and Fulham secured their fifth consecutive Premier League draw.

Spurs are sixth on 30 points, while Fulham lie 18th on 12 points.

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PREMIER LEAGUE REFS TO WARN CAPTAINS OF MORE RESPONSIBILITIES AMIDST TIGHTER COVID-19 RULES.

Premier League referees will warn captains “the eyes of the world are on us” in a bid to stamp out goal celebrations amid tighter coronavirus restrictions.

Match officials will specifically remind Premier League players of their responsibilities through pre-match meetings with captains, the PA news agency understands.

Chief executive Richard Masters wrote to all the Premier League clubs on Tuesday, reiterating the importance of adhering to new, stricter coronavirus protocols.

Players still celebrated goals in Tuesday night’s three fixtures, but Premier League bosses are understood to expect their latest warnings to have an impact across the next round of fixtures.

Masters’ letter would only have been received by clubs late on Tuesday afternoon, so the six teams preparing for matches might not have been brought up to speed before kick-off.

Players have been told to avoid hugging, handshakes and swapping shirts as the coronavirus protocols are raised in the wake of several outbreaks at clubs and a clutch of postponed matches.

Manchester City host Brighton and Tottenham entertain Fulham on Wednesday night, and Premier League chiefs hope their latest directives will now start to sink in.

Referees are understood to have been told by Premier League bosses to remind players that Government support for football to continue is based around compliance with the strict protocols that were enhanced still further last week.

Officials have been told to tell captains “the eyes of the world are on us and we need to set an example”.

Sports minister Nigel Huddleston threw his support behind Masters’ warning to Premier League clubs, issuing his own message to clubs on Wednesday morning.

Everyone in the country has had to change the way they interact with people and ways of working,” the Conservative MP for Mid Worcestershire tweeted.

Footballers are no exception. Covid secure guidelines exist for football.

“Footballers must follow them and football authorities enforce them – strictly.”

The Premier League’s Covid officers have been granted extra powers to check dressing rooms and team buses to ensure compliance with social distancing measures.

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UNITED READY TO COMPETE FOR THE TITLE – NEMANJA MATIC.

Nemanja Matic believes Manchester United showed their title credentials by beating Burnley to go top of the Premier League on merit heading into Sunday’s mouth-watering clash at rivals Liverpool.

Paul Pogba’s second-half volley fired Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s ever-improving side to their ninth win of an impressive 11-match unbeaten league run, with Tuesday’s 1-0 victory propelling them above Jurgen Klopp’s reigning champions.

United had to dig deep, remain patient and regain their composure after frustration threatened to bubble over at the end of the first half to win at Turf Moor, where they went top at this stage of the season for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson’s victorious farewell 2012-13 season.

“I think that this kind of win shows that we are ready to compete for (the) title,” Matic, a two-time Premier League winner during his time at Chelsea, said.

“Sometimes (in the past) we looked like a team who wants to score as soon as possible, then we get panicked.

“I think today we showed more maturity, we showed that we are more clever and on this pitch here, in this stadium against Burnley, it’s always hard to win the games.

“Not to concede a goal from the long balls, set-pieces, so we prepared the game well and I think that we deserved these three points.

“In our team we have lots of quality and in these kind of games you have to use that.

“You have to be patient, not to panic, because when you have that much quality during 90 minutes one situation will decide (the game) and it was exactly what we did today.

“I’m happy. I’m happy for the team, for the team performance, for our team spirit and let’s see Sunday against Liverpool.

“It’s the biggest derby in England. We go there to compete with them, to see where we are (against) one of the best teams in the league, so I think that we are ready.”

United head to Anfield on Sunday boasting a three-point cushion over their nearest rivals – a far cry from the 30-point gap that Klopp’s men opened up over the Red Devils when they last met in January 2020.

Solskjaer has understandably downplayed the importance of going top at this stage, but Matic believes they deserve to be top of the pile.

“We played 17 games, we are top of the table, so that shows something,” he said.

“We didn’t play five or six games and you’re top, then you can say ‘maybe it’s lucky’.

“But after 17 games definitely it’s not lucky. Definitely there is a quality

But we can’t relax. We have to be concentrated until the end – to go game by game.

“Always in football the next one is the most important, the next one is the biggest final. We’re going to take like that and we will see.”

Matic was among United’s best performers at Burnley but Pogba was the star man, capping a fine display with his match-winning volley.

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EVERTON FIRE BACK TO TOP FOUR WITH 2-1 WIN AT WOLVES.

Michael Keane headed the winner to take Everton back into the top four, with a 2-1 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Keane rose highest in the 77th minute to power home a left-wing cross by Andre Gomes from six yards out to give the Toffees their third consecutive Premier League away victory.

Alex Iwobi had given Everton a sixth-minute lead when he fired home Lucas Digne’s centre from close range.

Ruben Neves levelled for Wolves eight minutes later, when he volleyed in Rayan Ait-Nouri’s left-wing cross.

Neves also hit the outside of a post with a free-kick, but Everton saw out the match safely.

The Toffees move on to 32 points – level with Leicester City and three ahead of fifth-placed Spurs – while Wolves slip to 14th on goals scored behind Crystal Palace.