Premier League
English Premier League talking points
Talking points from the latest round of Premier League games:
HAALAND CONTINUES TO MAKE PREMIER LEAGUE LOOK EASY
After going three Manchester City appearances without a goal prior to his side’s clash with Tottenham Hotspur last week, it seemed Erling Haaland was human after all.
However, after ending his brief goal drought against Spurs, the Norwegian fired in his fourth Premier League hat-trick of a sensational debut season in England to earn City a 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.
The stats make for remarkable reading. Haaland broke former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of being the fastest player to four Premier League hat-tricks. Haaland’s four came in 19 games, Van Nistelrooy’s in 65.
His 25-goal league haul from 19 matches would have been enough to win the Premier League golden boot in each of the previous four seasons. Dixie Dean’s record of 60 goals scored in a single league season, set in 1928, remains in sight.
NKETIAH SEIZING HIS CHANCE AT ARSENAL
When Gabriel Jesus was sidelined by injury, doubts were raised about Arsenal’s depth and whether they could continue to set the pace at the top of the Premier League.
But in homegrown product Eddie Nketiah they have saved themselves millions in the transfer market.
Fellow youth team prodigy Bukayo Saka grabs most of the headlines and scored a beautiful goal against Manchester United on Sunday but Nketiah’s double sealed the 3-2 win.
It took Nketiah a while to establish himself at Arsenal having made his debut in 2017 and he was loaned out to Leeds United at one stage. But after Jesus’s injury, he has seized his chance with both hands and he now has seven goals from his last seven games in all competitions.
GOAL DROUGHT A WORRY FOR NEWCASTLE
Newcastle stretched their unbeaten Premier League run to a club record 15 and kept a sixth successive clean sheet but the 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace exposed their misfiring attack.
Eddie Howe’s side are devilishly difficult to beat but they have now scored only once in four league games and their top-four ambitions could be damaged by a lack of goals.
The decision to loan out striker Chris Wood was surprising especially with no forward coming in and Howe will be pushing for offensive reinforcements before the transfer window shuts.
Joelinton was disappointing at Palace while Callum Wilson is without a goal since October and looks short of confidence.
MUDRYK OFFERS SOME CHEER FOR CHELSEA
There was not much to get excited about in Chelsea’s 0-0 draw at Liverpool but the second-half introduction of new signing Mykhaylo Mudryk did lift the tedium.
The Ukrainian winger, who looked destined for Arsenal before choosing Chelsea, showed some dazzling footwork during his brief cameo and looked the most likely player in Chelsea’s ranks to snatch a winner at Anfield.
Manager Graham Potter was impressed by 22-year-old Mudryk’s impact while Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville raved: “Seeing Mudryk for 10 mins I wouldn’t like to play against him!”
WHERE IS EVERTON’S NEXT WIN COMING FROM?
Everton have had a number of must-win games since the resumption of the Premier League season following the World Cup and lost them all. Next up is Arsenal and Liverpool.
They had home games against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Southampton when both clubs were bottom of the league, and lost both 2-1. This weekend’s visit to fellow strugglers West Ham was at the very least a “must not lose” fixture, but they were comfortably beaten.
The Toffees’ 15 points from their first 20 games of the season is the worst return in the club’s history and it is hard to see where the next victory is coming from for Frank Lampard’s side.
He has tried to change systems, going to five at the back, but it has not yet made any difference to results. New arrivals this week could change the outlook for the team, but will they be enough to stave off relegation?
-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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