Premier League
Premier League weekend talking points
Talking points from the weekend’s Premier League action:
RONALDO DOES IT AGAIN
Once again Manchester United put in a below-par performance. Once again they needed David de Gea saves to bail them out, and once again Cristiano Ronaldo came to the rescue with a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Norwich City on Saturday.
The evergreen forward scored the 60th hat-trick of his professional career for club and country (50th at club level), and has now scored 20 or more goals in all competitions in each of his last 16 seasons at club level, a run starting back in 2006-07 with United.
Ronaldo’s exploits, however, masked more United difficulties on a day when fans voiced their discontent when protesting against the club’s owners pre-match, and during the game itself, booing the players and singing “you’re not fit to wear the shirt”.
“I don’t think we need to talk about Cristiano’s performance today, another hat-trick made the difference once again,” United coach Ralf Rangnick said.
“But we need to raise our own level and standard.”
ARSENAL LOSE MORE GROUND IN RACE FOR TOP FOUR
A victory for Arsenal against Southampton would have moved them level on points with rivals Tottenham Hotspur but they fell to a 1-0 defeat at St Mary’s Stadium and allowed Manchester United back into the race for the final Champions League spot.
Following similarly lacklustre displays at Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace, Arteta’s side have slipped to sixth after losing three games on the bounce, scoring only once. They had lost only two of their previous 13.
Arsenal still have a game in hand over Spurs but with tough games against Chelsea, Manchester United and West Ham United coming up in the next fortnight, Saturday’s 1-0 defeat by Southampton will go down as a missed opportunity.
TIME RUNNING OUT FOR WATFORD IN SURVIVAL QUEST
Relegation-threatened Watford were seconds away from sealing a point against Brentford after a much-improved second half only to crash to their 10th straight league defeat at home thanks to Pontus Jansson’s 95th minute strike.
The late goal was especially hard to digest for Watford, who had shaken off the cobwebs following a poor first 45 minutes and went close to scoring their own winner through Joshua King and then Imran Louza seconds before Brentford struck.
The result means Roy Hodgson’s 19th-placed side — who are six points adrift of the safety zone — are running out of time to save their season and avoid a drop to the Championship, with little to suggest that they have the quality to return immediately.
POPE SHOWS HIS QUALITY FOR BURNLEY
Burnley were left to rue a missed penalty by Maxwel Cornet in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at West Ham United but the managerless side had Nick Pope to thank for ensuring a point in caretaker Mike Jackson’s first game following the sacking of Sean Dyche.
The goalkeeper produced two excellent second-half saves to deny Michail Antonio after leaping to keep out Issa Diop’s low header, ensuring that top-flight teams will be out for his signature even if his current side avoids relegation.
“That’s why he is in that England group. They are terrific saves but they are the standards he sets himself,” Jackson said of Pope, who has eight caps with the national team and has been attracting the interest of promotion-chasing Fulham.
-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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