Premier League
SADIO MANE PUTS LIVERPOOL 25-POINT PREMIERSHIP LEAD
Liverpool’s Sadio Mane marked his return from injury with a late goal to break Norwich City’s resistance and secure a 1-0 win on Saturday (Feb 15) to extend his side’s Premier League lead to 25 points.
On a windy evening, bottom club Norwich were proving a tough nut to crack for Juergen Klopp’s team but Senegalese forward Mane, who came on as a substitute on the hour, pounced to drill home a fine finish from inside the area in the 78th minute.
It was his first appearance since going off injured in Liverpool’s win at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Jan 23 and he marked it by claiming a 100th goal in English soccer.
A battling Norwich had defended resolutely and twice came close to taking the lead, but Liverpool’s relentless romp towards a first English title for 30 years continued.
Victory was their 34th in their last 35 league games and their 17th in succession, one shy of Manchester City’s record.
They have scored in 35 successive Premier League games and are unbeaten in their last 43.
Fifteen more points will guarantee them the title.
“It was a difficult game for different reasons,” Klopp said.
“The wind, the organisation of the opponent and the way we played in the first half made it tricky for us.
“The good thing is when you don’t play too well in the first half it’s easy to improve. Sadio was fresh and made the difference.”
Norwich, for whom Alexander Tettey struck the woodwork in the second half, remain seven points adrift of 17th-placed Aston Villa who host Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
They battled until the end, however, and Teemu Pukki fired straight at Alisson in the 89th minute after a flowing move.
“It was moment of magic from Mane to win the game,” Norwich boss Daniel Farke said. “We were pretty close to coming away with a good result. The lads left their hearts on the pitch.”
BIGGEST GAP
Liverpool began the match 55 points ahead of Norwich, the biggest ever gap between top and bottom after 25 games in the Premier League, but lacked their usual cutting edge.
They enjoyed overwhelming territorial superiority in the first half with Trent Alexander-Arnold especially dangerous in the wide open spaces down the right flank.
Yet Liverpool struggled to create clear-cut chances and it was Norwich who should have taken the lead when Lukas Rupp was picked out by a long ball but, with Liverpool’s defence nowhere having pushed up for offside, his attempted lay-off to Pukki was superbly read by Alisson who saved his side’s blushes.
“It was a must goal,” Farke said of the glaring chance.
“Two-on-one on the keeper. We should have been a bit more tidy.”
The second half was a Liverpool siege with keeper Tim Krul saving Norwich on several occasions. The Dutchman produced a fingertip save to keep out Naby Keita’s powerful effort then a magnificent double stop to deny Mohamed Salah and Keita again.
Norwich’s excursions into Liverpool territory were few and far between but one ended with Tettey’s slightly miscued effort thudding against Alisson’s near post.
It was Salah, on for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who eventually broke the deadlock with a superb finish.
Bringing down Jordan Henderson’s flighted pass with his outstretched right leg, he then swivelled on to his left foot and crashed a low shot past the helpless Krul.
With the title virtually assured, Liverpool turn their attention to their defence of the Champions League on Tuesday when they visit Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium, scene of their triumph in the final last season.
-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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