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MANCHESTER UNITED DIDN’T GIVE ME MORE TIME LIKE THEY DID SOLSKJAER – MOYES

West Ham United manager David Moyes have said that his Manchester United counterpart Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is building an exciting team having been given time on the job, something the Scot felt he was not afforded at Old Trafford.

Moyes, who replaced long-term United manager Alex Ferguson in 2013, was dismissed after only 10 months in charge.

“Ole had a difficult start, but the difference between Ole and me is that he’s being given time. He’s bringing players in from the academy, which United have always stood for,” Moyes told a news conference.

“They have got really exciting young players of their own now… It’s a wonderful club and a brilliant place to be, and the biggest club in the world, for me. It’s always a special place to go and I’m looking forward to going back.”

Solskjaer’s United were on an unbeaten run of 19 matches in all competitions before losing to Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday.

West Ham have won their last two league games, scoring seven goals to climb to 16th on 37 points, with two rounds remaining and Premier League survival in sight.

Moyes said Czech midfielder Tomas Soucek, who joined on loan from Slavia Prague in January, was part of his future plans.

“He’s a West Ham player, simple as that,” Moyes said.

The Hammers forced United to a draw on Wednesday night, making Solskjaer’s men wait till the final game day to earn a champions league spot.

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Villereal hire Emery

Former Arsenal manager Unai Emery has been appointed as manager of La Liga side Villarreal on the three-year deal.

The 48-year-old Spaniard succeeds Javi Calleja, who left the club despite a fifth-placed finish that secured a Europa League spot.

Emery has been out of work since being sacked by Premier League Arsenal in November after 18 months in charge.

He has managed Sevilla and Valencia in the Spanish top flight, as well as Paris St-Germain in France.

Emery took over from Arsene Wenger at Arsenal in May 2018 after winning three successive Europa Leagues with Seville and a Ligue 1 title with PSG.

But he was dismissed by the Gunners after their worst run without a victory for 27 years.

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West Brom promoted to the premier League

West Bromwich Albion won promotion back to the Premier League despite failing to beat QPR in their final Championship game of the season.

A point at The Hawthorns was enough for Slaven Bilic’s Baggies to go up in second place behind Leeds United, thanks to Brentford’s home defeat by Barnsley.

Albion’s draw would have been enough anyway, but Barnsley’s winner gave the Baggies a two-point cushion.

Ryan Manning put QPR ahead before Albion turned it round with goals either side of the break from Grady Diangana and Callum Robinson.

Eberechi Eze’s stunning equaliser earned Rangers a point but was not enough to deny Albion a record fifth promotion to the Premier League.

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Chelsea drop to fourth as they lose to liverpool

Liverpool celebrated receiving the league trophy for the first time in 30 years in style as the new champions overcame Chelsea in a thriller at Anfield.

Jordan Henderson – currently out injured – was presented with the trophy by Reds legend Sir Kenny Dalglish on a special podium built on the Kop after Jurgen Klopp’s side made it three full unbeaten Premier League seasons at Anfield.

Chelsea, who now need a point from their final game at home to Wolves on Sunday to confirm a place in the top four – and next season’s Champions League – started well.

But Liverpool moved through the gears after Naby Keita broke the deadlock with a rising 25-yard drive that thundered in off the bar, and they added further first-half goals – a fine Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick and Georginio Wijnaldum’s powerful strike.

Olivier Giroud scrambled in for Chelsea on the stroke of half-time but their hopes of a comeback appeared to be snuffed out 10 minutes after the break, when Roberto Firmino headed in his first league goal of the season at Anfield from Alexander-Arnold’s cross.

Substitute Christian Pulisic then had a dramatic impact as he sparked a Chelsea fightback, creating a goal for Tammy Abraham then scoring another himself on the turn as this entertaining game took an unexpected turn.

To the thunderous sound of fireworks being let off outside Anfield by celebrating fans, the champions pressed forward again and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain slammed home the fifth from Andy Robertson’s cross with six minutes left.

And then it was time for the ceremony Liverpool have waited three decades to enjoy – albeit conducted in the somewhat surreal surroundings of a virtually empty stadium.

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Pioli signs new contract

AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli has had his contract extended for a further two years until June 2022.

The 54-year-old Italian took the role in October and his initial deal expired at the end of this season.

But the former Lazio and Inter Milan manager has taken AC Milan to fifth in the Serie A table, on course to qualify for next season’s Europa League.

“I am happy and proud of the trust I have received from AC Milan,” said Pioli.

“I want to thank everyone, including our fans, who we’re really missing at the stadium, but are always close and supportive.

“Our future is today: we must be focused and determined, be united and play as one.

“We’re at the beginning of an extraordinary path. If we keep working this way, we’ll grow and be more and more competitive.”

Milan’s chief executive Ivan Gazidis added: “Stefano has shown he can deliver the vision of football we have for our club – exciting, progressive and passionate.”

AC Milan have three games of their season left and play second-placed Atalanta at home on Friday.

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Championship set for a tense conclusion

“The prize is not that somebody’s going to clap you or you’re going to get a standing ovation. The prize is the Premier League.”

That was West Bromwich Albion manager Slaven Bilic summing up Wednesday’s crucial final round of Championship matches.

After 45 games and almost 12 months of a season interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, almost everything in English football’s second tier is still to be decided.

Who will finish second and claim the huge financial rewards of a place in the top flight? Who will grab the final couple of play-off places? And who will drop down into League One?

Leeds have already wrapped up the title and a place in the top flight for the first time since 2004.

Beneath them, there is an almighty fight between West Brom, Brentford and Fulham for that second automatic promotion place. Last season, it was estimated that promotion could result in a £170m increase in revenue.

The Baggies have had a rollercoaster ride since league fixtures resumed on 20 June. They were six points clear of third-placed Fulham and 10 ahead of fourth-placed Brentford when the season was put on hold because of the pandemic.

It looked like they had blown their chances of going up after losing at Huddersfield Town on Friday, but Brentford’s amazing run of eight successive wins was halted at Stoke a day later to leave West Brom one point clear with a game to go, and Fulham only two points off second spot.

“The Championship is hard anyway,” said Bilic, who is hoping to take Albion back to the top flight after two seasons in the second tier.

“This season is longer than ever and we should be proud of what we have done so far. Now is the time to finish it off, we’ve got to do it

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Montpellier intrested in Karius

French Ligue 1 club Montpellier have expressed an interest in signing Liverpool keeper Loris Karius.

The 27-year-old German terminated a loan spell at Besiktas in May when he was nearing the end of a two-year loan stint with the Turkish side.

If Karius had joined Besiktas on a permanent basis, then the deal would have been worth about £6m to the Reds.

Montpellier have yet to make a bid for the player, who joined Liverpool for £4.7m from Mainz in 2016.

Karius last played for Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final loss to Real Madrid.

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Defeat to Man city leaves watford in relegation zone

Watford were plunged into the relegation zone in the wake of Nigel Pearson’s surprise sacking as they were hammered by a Raheem Sterling-inspired Manchester City.

The defeat, coupled with Aston Villa’s win over Arsenal on Tuesday, means the Hornets’ battle to stay up will go to the final day of the season on Sunday, when they visit Arsenal.

Pearson became the Hornets’ third managerial casualty of the campaign on Monday, leaving Under-23 coach Hayden Mullins and his assistant Graham Stack in charge for their final two games.

And they could hardly have had a tougher first assignment than against City, who completed the double over them with this win, at an aggregate score of 12-0 – a joint top-flight record for one team against another in a single season.

Sterling took the game away from the home side before half-time, firing in a rising shot to open the scoring before doubling the advantage by following up his own saved penalty – awarded for a foul on him by Will Hughes.

Phil Foden added a third after Ben Foster had parried a Sterling shot before Aymeric Laporte nodded in from Kevin de Bruyne’s free-kick.

City’s fourth straight league win could have been even more emphatic but Gabriel Jesus had an injury-time header ruled out for offside.

This could well be important to Watford, with goal difference potentially a crucial deciding factor going into the weekend.

The defeat leaves the Hornets 18th, level on points but a goal worse off than Villa, with both three points ahead of 19th-placed Bournemouth.

Villa’s last-day opponents West Ham, on 37 points, are not yet safe from the drop, although a point from their game in hand at Manchester United on Wednesday will secure survival.

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Arsenal lose to Aston villa as they sit fifth

Aston Villa’s players must prepare for a “cup final” after showing “courage” to secure a priceless win over Arsenal and move out of the Premier League relegation zone with one game to go, says boss Dean Smith.

Trezeguet beat Emiliano Martinez with a powerful first-time finish after Tyrone Mings had diverted a corner into the Egypt international’s path to lift Villa out of the bottom three for the first time since 28 February.

Villa moved above managerless Watford, who had started the day 17th before a heavy 4-0 home defeat by Manchester City, on goal difference.

The Midlanders’ second win in three games sets up a dramatic final day at the bottom of the table on Sunday, which Villa will begin level on points with Watford and three points ahead of Bournemouth – with two of those three teams likely to go down.

Meanwhile, 16th-placed West Ham, who also play on Wednesday, still require one point to secure safety, although their goal difference ought to keep them up.

Villa’s last game is away to West Ham and if they win – providing Watford do not win by a margin two or more goals greater than they do – Smith’s men will secure another season in the top flight, having spent much of it in the bottom three.

“We had seen Watford play earlier and get beat. We knew we had to get a win to even catch them up,” Smith told BBC Sport. “By getting the win it puts our fate in our own hands.

“There was a lot of character and a lot of courage from the players. It was a massive performance and I am proud of the players for that but now we have to recover and get ready for our cup final.

“We’re working hard to maintain our status and the last three results have shown that.”

A 10th league defeat means Arsenal, playing in their first match since reaching the FA Cup final, will finish outside the top six for the first time in 25 years.

They can come no higher than eighth after a disappointing performance by Mikel Arteta’s side, Eddie Nketiah going closest to equalising with a header which hit the post.

However, the Gunners will still have a big say in the relegation battle when they host Villa’s rivals Watford on Sunday.

During the match, a banner reading “Back Arteta Kroenke Out’ was towed by an aeroplane over Villa Park in reference to Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke.

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Deeny denies dressing room fight

Troy Deeney has denied reports a fight broke out in the Watford dressing room during half-time in Friday’s 3-1 defeat at West Ham.

The Hornets sacked head coach Nigel Pearson on Sunday and are one place and three points above the relegation zone ahead of Tuesday’s match against Manchester City, live on Sky Sports.

“I just want to put out there, there was no fight at half-time,” the 32-year-old Watford captain said.

“It’s 2020. We don’t do that anymore. You know, certainly with all the cameras and everything, you’d certainly see a lot more if that was the case.

“The gaffer didn’t put his hands on anybody. He was just frustrated and had a firm talking to, so no one was fighting, no one was punched, no one was even tickled. I don’t know, whatever way there was: no hands thrown, let’s just put it that way.”

3:25 Watford interim head coach Hayden Mullins tells Sky Sports News he did not see Nigel Pearson’s sacking coming and only found out he was taking temporary charge on Sunday afternoon

Deeney said the timing of Pearson’s dismissal caught him off guard with interim boss Hayden Mullins due to take charge of the side for their final two games, against City and Arsenal.

“It’s strange obviously, we didn’t see it coming. I think you get to a point in football where you’re not surprised anymore but I would say that this one certainly, you know, took me back a bit,” Deeney said.