Premier League
NDIDI’S LEICESTER HIT UP TO THIRD POSITION AFTER AWAY WIN AT NEWCASTLE
Leicester climbed to third place in the Premier League as goals from James Maddison and Youri Tielemans sealed a 2-1 win against Newcastle on Sunday.
Brendan Rodgers’ side struck twice in the second half at St James’ Park.
Andy Carroll reduced the deficit with his first goal for Newcastle in over 10 years, but it was too late to rescue a point.
Leicester were good value for their first win in three league games as they extended their unbeaten run to four matches.
The Foxes are one point behind leaders Liverpool, who face Southampton on Monday.
After missing out on a top four finish on the final day of last season, Leicester look well equipped to challenge for Champions League qualification and could even pose a threat to Liverpool’s title defence.
Having taken maximum points from a visit to Newcastle for the fifth successive season, Leicester have now won seven of their nine away league games this term.
They were hardly tested by Newcastle, who are without a win in six games in all competitions as the pressure mounts on Magpies boss Steve Bruce.
Jamie Vardy surprisingly started on the bench for Leicester’s previous match at Crystal Palace, but the Foxes’ leading scorer was restored to the starting line-up along with the fit-again Maddison.
Maddison went close in the opening moments, making a menacing run towards the Newcastle area before firing just wide.
Leicester thought they had taken an early lead when Vardy accelerated onto Maddison’s precise pass, rounded Newcastle keeper Karl Darlow and slotted into the empty net.
Vardy’s joy was short-lived however as an offside flag curtailed his celebrations.
Kasper Schmeichel dashed out of his area to deny Callum Wilson a shooting chance after Joelinton’s pass sent the striker racing clear.
Newcastle once again followed boss Bruce’s defensive game-plan, allowing Leicester to dominate possession.
They should have been in front when Wesley Fofana heading wastefully over from Maddison’s corner.
Unable to apply the knockout blow in the first half, Leicester finally took the lead in the 55th minute.
Harvey Barnes led the break and his pass picked out Vardy, who cut inside before teeing up Maddison’s fierce strike past Darlow.
It was Vardy’s 34th Premier League assist for Leicester, equalling the club record set by Steve Guppy.
Lacking any threat in attack, there was an air of desperation about Newcastle’s rejected penalty appeal following Timothy Castagne’s clean challenge on Wilson.
Tielemans killed off Newcastle in the 72nd minute when the Belgium midfielder met Marc Albrighton’s cross with a fine finish.
Carroll, who started his career with Newcastle before spending eight years away after leaving in 2011, came off the bench to score in the 82nd minute.
His thumping shot after Leicester failed to clear a free-kick was his first goal for his hometown club since December 2010.
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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