Premier League
MOURINHO’S TOTTENHAM POSE TRICKY TEST FOR LIVERPOOL
Spurs manager Jose Mourinho would love to be the one who ends Liverpool’s year-long unbeaten run in the Premier League, and Saturday’s (Jan 11) game could be closer than the standings suggest.
The late match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be the first between Jurgen Klopp’s men and a Mourinho side since Manchester United dismissed the Portuguese after a 3-1 defeat at Anfield in December 2018.
“Don’t sack Mourinho,” the crowd chorused mockingly during that 2018 humiliation, so revenge in North London would be sweet.
Spurs have been shockingly leaky, and some are expecting a classic demonstration of Mourinho’s bus-parking expertise in defence and a few tactical tricks.
“The way Spurs used to play under Mauricio Pochettino, you would have expected them to come out and have a go at us but I can’t see that happening under Jose Mourinho,” former Liverpool striker John Aldridge wrote in a column for the city’s Echo newspaper.
“I am sure they will try to soak up pressure and hit us on the break with Lucas Moura, Son (Heung-min) and Dele Alli.
“They will allow us to have possession and try to break them down, no doubt that is how Mourinho will play because I think he is very intimidated by Liverpool.”
The match could still be an awkward trip for the visiting Reds who beat Tottenham in last year’s Champions League final and have a near-perfect record of 58 points out of 60 this season to sit 13 points clear at the top.
Mourinho, who replaces the sacked Pochettino at Spurs in November, has only twice been on the winning side against Klopp in their 10 previous games as opponents.
To do it again, Tottenham will have to rise to the challenge without injured captain Harry Kane.
Former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp suggested it could still be a lot closer than the 28-point gap between Liverpool and sixth-placed Spurs, who have kept only two clean sheets this season.
“I can’t see any other result but Liverpool winning the title, but Tottenham away will be a tough game, make no mistake about that,” he told Sky Sports.
“They’ll want to break that Liverpool unbeaten run and it will be a tight game for sure – you wouldn’t write Tottenham off, they’ve got outstanding players in the team.”
Second-placed Leicester City host Southampton on Saturday.
The Foxes thrashed the Saints 9-0, the biggest ever top flight away win in English soccer, in the reverse fixture in October but Southampton have tightened up considerably since that humiliation, conceding only 13 goals in 11 games.
Four more goals for Leicester would set another record, however, as the most one club has put past another in the league.
Leicester have top-scoring striker Jamie Vardy back in action, with the England international turning 33 on Saturday, after he missed three matches with a calf problem but centre-back Wes Morgan is out with a groin injury.
Third-placed champions Manchester City, looking for a fifth win in a row in all competitions, travel to relegation-threatened Aston Villa on Sunday.
Chelsea, fourth, are at home to Burnley while Manchester United, fifth and without injured defender Harry Maguire, host bottom side Norwich City.
–Reuters
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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