Premier League
Klopp gets hip injury celebrating Liverpool’s winning goal against Spur
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp is well-known for his exuberant goal celebrations and manic behaviour on the touchline but the German surpassed himself on Sunday as his side claimed a thrilling 4-3 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
Klopp was left in almost disbelief as his side, who had led 3-0 after 15 minutes, were pegged back to 3-3 when Tottenham’s former Everton striker Richarlison headed past Alisson in the third minute of stoppage time.
One minute later, however, Diogo Jota scored Liverpool’s winner and a delirious Klopp raced down the touchline before pulling up sharply with what looked like a hamstring injury.
He was also booked for his trouble.
“I’m not sure if it’s the hamstring it could be the adductor but I got punished. Little sins immediately,” Klopp said.
“The hamstring or whatever the muscle gave up in that moment. That’s fair. Apart from that, all okay.”
A fourth successive league win pushed Liverpool into fifth place although their hopes of a top-four finish are still slender as they trail Manchester United and Newcastle by seven and nine points respectively having also played a game more than Manchester United.
They seem well-placed to at least qualify for the Europa League, although Klopp would prefer that his side show more game-management than on Sunday when they inexplicably allowed a crumbling Tottenham side to come back.
“Second half the game is open because they started believing or kept believing,” Klopp said of Sunday’s clash.
“We opened the door for them and it looked like we pushed them through a little bit as well.”
Asked whether his side can still gatecrash the top four, Klopp was dismissive and suggested that they still have to fear eighth-placed Brighton and Hove Albion who would be right in the mix for the top six if they win their games in hand.
“Of course not. If United and Newcastle wins all the games then how can we get there? If they start losing them we are close. Until then we have to win football games to qualify for Europe at all,” Klopp said.
“Brighton played one of the best football games this weekend I’ve ever seen in my life, I have to say, Roberto De Zerbi, wow. Aston Villa are developing. If we can keep them behind us that will already be success.”
Brighton beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 6-0 and are four points behind Liverpool with two games in hand.
-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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