Premier League
Citizens upstage Arsenal to go atop of the Premier League
Manchester City have gone top of the Premier League table thanks to a 3-1 win over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners had gone into the game three points clear of City, but goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland were enough to earn the reigning champions a win that puts them top of the standings thanks to their superior goal difference.
The first big chance of the game would fall to Arsenal and Eddie Nketiah. The striker – still deputising for the injured Gabriel Jesus – found himself unmarked inside the penalty area and was brilliantly picked out by a curling Oleksandr Zinchenko cross. Nketiah’s subsequent effort on goal however didn’t quite match the quality of the delivery, as he headed well wide of the post.
Arsenal were made to pay for that missed chance a few short minutes later as City took the lead.
The goal would come following some woeful play from Takehiro Tomiyasu, who played a blind – and terrible – pass, which was intended for Aaron Ramsdale, into the path of De Bruyne. The Belgian then brilliantly volleyed over Ramsdale and into the net.
Not to be deterred by going behind, Arsenal continued to press forward with real intent and enthusiasm and were rewarded for their efforts with a penalty in the 40th minute. Ederson was penalised for collided with Nketiah in the box, and Bukayo Saka stepped to confidently side-foot the resulting spot kick into the bottom left corner of the net.
In the six (yes, six) minutes added on at the end of the first half, City came within a whisker of re-taking the lead through Nathan Ake/Rodri. And we say ‘Nathan Ake/Rodri’ because the latter headed goalward and the former may or may not have touched the ball on it’s way toward Ramsdale’s net to deflect it onto the crossbar.
Manchester City wrestled some control of the game back fully at the start of the second half, and thought they had won a golden opportunity to re-take the lead when the referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot following a coming together between Erling Haaland and Gabriel Magalhaes. A VAR review would come to the rescue for the Gunners however, as Haaland was adjudged to have been offside in the lead up to the incident.
Arsenal would then come close to breaking the stalemate following a wonderful sweeping move involving their full frontline and the murauding Tomiyasu. After some neat interplay between Nketiah, Saka and Martinell the ball found it’s way out to Tomiyasu on the right flank. The Japanese international drilled a brilliant ball across the box but a sliding Nketiah was just unable to latch onto it.
Seconds later, City came close through Haaland. The forward capitalised on some sloppy play from Zinchenko before firing into the mid-riff of the onrushing Ramsdale on the right-hand side of the penalty area.
In the 71st minute, City would finally make it 2-1 through Grealish. The England international side-footed calmly into the bottom right corner of the net after Haaland capitalised on some sloppy play from Gabriel and squared the ball to Ilkay Gundogan, who then squared to Grealish on the left of the penalty area.
Haaland would then kill off the game, making it 3-1 in the final ten minutes. Once again the goal came from some fantastic play from De Bruyne, who pulled the ball back to Haaland in the box. The Norwegian controlled with his left before firing into the bottom corner with his right.
-90min
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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