Premier League
Leicester storm back to sink Manchester United 4-2 in thriller
Leicester City fired on all cylinders late on to beat Manchester United 4-2 at home in the Premier League on Saturday (Oct 16), ending a four-match winless run and piling more pressure on visiting manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The result also ended United’s record 29-game unbeaten away run in the league as they collapsed in a frantic five-minute spell in the closing stages, having taken an early lead and then pulled themselves back to 2-2.
With Cristiano Ronaldo putting in a subdued performance up front for United, it was shambolic defending that stretched their own winless run to three games in which they have taken one point from a possible nine.
Vardy was delighted after the game as Leicester bounced back from their barren spell.
“It was massively important,” Vardy told the BBC. “The most important thing was the performance because we had let our standards slip. We had the international break to reflect on things.”
United had made a perfect start as Mason Greenwood fired them into a 19th-minute lead when he unleashed a thunderbolt from 20 metres that flew into the far corner as it shaved the inside of the post.
But the visitors were punished for sloppy passing in the danger zone in the 31st as Kelechi Iheanacho robbed Harry Maguire of the ball and squared it for Tielemans to hit the top corner with a looping shot over goalkeeper David De Gea.
A tame second half came to life with De Gea tipping a sublime Tielemans ball onto the woodwork before Ronaldo, who spurned a first-half chance with United ahead, saw home keeper Kasper Schmeichel palm over his shot from inside the area.
It was rip-roaring action from there on as Caglar Soyuncu turned the tide with a close-range effort in the 78th minute before Marcus Rashford, returning after shoulder surgery in August, levelled for United in the 82nd.
Less than 60 seconds later, however, substitute Ayoze Perez chipped the ball into Vardy’s path and the striker gave De Gea no chance with a superb volley with the outside of his foot, delighting the home fans in the King Power stadium.
Substitute Patson Daka put the icing on the cake for Leicester in stoppage time as more poor defending gave the Zambian striker time and space to tap the ball in from point blank range at the far post.
United slipped to fifth on 14 points from eight games, four behind leaders Liverpool who thrashed Watford 5-0 away in the lunchtime kick-off, while Leicester climbed to 11th on 11 points.
-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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