Premier League
Man United lose again, Guardiola back to see City comeback win
Manchester United slumped to a third Premier League loss of the season at home to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday as Pep Guardiola returned to see Manchester City side’s 3-1 comeback win at West Ham United.
Fightbacks were the order of the day as Liverpool recovered from falling behind to win 3-1 at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the early kickoff and two goals deep into stoppage time earned Tottenham Hotspur a 2-1 win over Sheffield United.
After another tumultuous week off the pitch for Manchester United, the club needed the players to lift their supporters.
Brighton ran out comfortable 3-1 winners, however, to ensure United suffered three defeats in the first five matches of a league campaign for the first time since 1989-90, leaving them languishing 12th in the table.
United fell behind in the 20th minute when Danny Welbeck slotted home against his former club when left unmarked in the penalty area.
Big-money signing Rasmus Hojlund, on his full debut, thought he had levelled before the break, but the ball was adjudged to be out of play when Marcus Rashford pulled the ball back to the Danish striker.
Brighton capitalised on that VAR reprieve as fine goals from Pascal Gross early in the second half and a Joao Pedro strike brought groans of dismay all around Old Trafford.
Substitute Hannibal Mejbri did get one back for the hosts with 18 minutes left but Brighton held on comfortably to move up to third on 12 points
“Definitely that (losing three from five for the first time in Premier League history) is something that bothers me, but also I have to seen the way we play,” coach Erik ten Hag said.
“It is about character, we have to see how strong we are, stick together. We have to be very disappointed and annoyed at ourselves. We will turn this. There is a demand on us.”
NEVER-SAY-DIE CITY
Having recovered from back surgery, Guardiola would have been pleased with the fighting spirit of his team at London Stadium.
New signing Jeremy Doku, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland scored second-half goals to cancel out James Ward-Prowse’s strike and maintain City’s perfect record this season. They top the standings, two points ahead of Liverpool and three clear of Brighton.
City have now started a league campaign with five consecutive victories for the fifth time in their history, although their highest finish in any of those campaigns was third.
“I’d prefer to be here than to do a surgery that’s for sure,” Guardiola told the BBC.
“All game we played a fantastic game. Even when we were losing against at half-time. We were efficient, we were patient in the second-half. It was a big win after the international break. The team showed good spirit to survive.”
Wolves dominated the first half at Molineux against an unusually sluggish Liverpool, Hwang Hee-chan stroking in a seventh-minute goal and Wolves missing other chances.
Liverpool came out transformed in the second half, however, drawing level when Mohamed Salah set up fellow striker Cody Gakpo for a tap-in.
Wearing the captain’s armband on his 200th Premier League appearance, Andy Robertson slid in Liverpool’s second from another Salah pass in the 85th minute and they added a third in stoppage time.
There were further scenes of jubilation at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Tottenham were heading for their first Premier League defeat under Ange Postecoglou as they trailed to Gustavo Hamer’s goal against the run of play in the 75th minute.
But substitute Richarlison ended his goal drought with the equaliser in the eighth of 12 minutes added on and set up Dejan Kulusevski for the winner as Tottenham made it four wins in a row and 13 points from 15 — their best start to a top-flight season since 1965-66.
Late goals also helped Aston Villa storm back to beat Crystal Palace 3-1 and Fulham secured a 1-0 victory over Luton Town.
-Reuters
Liverpool will have to wait for a few more days to be crowned Premier League champions despite a 1-0 victory at Leicester City after Arsenal kept their slender hopes just about alive with a 4-0 romp at 10-man Ipswich Town on Sunday.
Trent Alexander-Arnold came off the bench to score Liverpool’s winner in the 76th minute at the King Power Stadium to restore their 13-point lead at the top with five games left.
While Liverpool can almost taste a record-equalling 20th English crown, Leicester’s defeat confirmed their relegation back to the Championship after just one season.
The Midlands club have now been relegated from England’s top flight a record 13 times.
Chelsea secured a massive win in their bid to qualify for the Champions League as they came from behind to beat Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage with Pedro Neto scoring in stoppage time.
The win pushed Chelsea above Nottingham Forest in to fifth place, the last spot for qualification to the Champions League, although Forest play at Tottenham Hotspur on Monday.
Chelsea have 57 points from 33 games, two behind third-placed Newcastle United and one behind Manchester City. Forest and Aston Villa are level with Chelsea on 57 points.
Wolverhampton Wanderers guaranteed their safety as they beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford. Pablo Sarabia’s stunning free kick wrapped up a fifth successive league win, the first time Wolves have achieved that in the top flight since 1970.
Liverpool were wasteful at Leicester with numerous chances going begging and Mohamed Salah suffering a frustrating afternoon including hitting both posts with an early shot.
Salah hit the woodwork again moments before the ball came out to Alexander-Arnold who fired a left-footed shot through the crowd to give his side the points — ripping off his shirt and celebrating wildly with the travelling fans.
“We just keep going, mentally we’re really strong,” manager Arne Slot, whose side could be crowned champions if Arsenal lose at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday, told Sky Sports.
“They enjoy playing football and it helps when you are playing for something special. Today (Alexander-Arnold) knows when it matters most he can just bring a bit more which is something all the top, top players have.”
DISTANT SECOND
If Arsenal avoid defeat by Palace, Slot’s side will seal the title if they beat Tottenham Hotspur at home next Sunday.
“We will focus on Tottenham and looking forward again to a home game and I think the stadium will be full,” Slot, who can become the first Dutch manager to win the English title, said. “It’s a nice game to look forward to.”
Liverpool have 79 points with Arsenal a distant second on 66. Arsenal may have their eyes now on a Champions League semi-final against Paris St Germain, but they showed against Ipswich they will not hand over the title to Liverpool.
Leandro Trossard opened the scoring early on and Gabriel Martinelli made it 2-0 after a delightful flick by Mikel Merino.
Ipswich were reduced to 10 men before halftime as Leif Davis crudely raked his studs down the back of Bukayo Saka’s calf and the second half was academic.
Trossard grabbed his second in the 69th minute and Ethan Nwaneri added a late fourth to leave Ipswich stuck in 18th place on 21 points. They will be relegated if they drop points again or 17th-placed West Ham United pick up one more point from their remaining five games.
Chelsea were heading for a damaging defeat at neighbours Fulham as the hosts led with Alex Iwobi’s 20th-minute goal.
Substitute Tyrique George equalised with an instinctive shot in the 83rd minute, his first Premier League goal, before winger Neto swivelled and unleashed a thunderous strike in stoppage time to send the away fans wild.
Manchester United reached the Europa League semi-final with an astonishing comeback win against French club Olympique Lyonnais on Thursday but their Premier League woes returned against Wolves.
They are in 14th place and have now lost eight Premier League home games this season, their most defeats at Old Trafford in a league campaign since 1962-63.
“Wolves scored in the only opportunity they had. we had many chances, and we didn’t score. If you don’t score goals, you are not going to win games,” manager Ruben Amorim said.
-Reuters
Egyptian outlet, Ahram, has reported that Mohamed Salah has signed a new contract with Liverpool, extending his stay at Anfield beyond the 2024-25 season as he prepares for what could be the final chapter of a storied career with the club.
While the terms of the agreement were not disclosed, British media reports indicate the 32-year-old forward has signed a two-year extension, keeping him at the club until at least 2027.
Salah, who joined Liverpool from AS Roma in 2017, has become a modern-day icon at Anfield.
The Egyptian international has scored 243 goals in 394 appearances—third on the club’s all-time scorers list—and has helped the Reds secure seven major trophies, including the Premier League and Champions League titles.
“I had my best years here,” Salah told the club’s website. “Hopefully it’s going to be 10. I signed because I believe we can still win big trophies together.”
He has maintained his prolific form this season, scoring 32 goals and providing 22 assists in 45 appearances across all competitions. His 27 Premier League goals currently lead the division.
During his time with Liverpool, Salah has won the Premier League Golden Boot three times, been named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year twice, and claimed two FWA Footballer of the Year awards.
Now entering the latter stages of his career, Salah remains focused on adding more silverware to his collection and further cementing his legacy at Liverpool.
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Leicester City’s Jeremy Monga, who became the second-youngest Premier League player when he made his senior debut in Monday’s 3-0 loss to Newcastle United, had to wear a blank shirt because it is sponsored by an online cryptocurrency gaming platform.
Britain’s Gambling Act 2005, which underwent a review in 2020, prohibits players under 18 from wearing kits displaying gambling sponsors. Monga, an England U16 international, made his senior debut at 15 years 271 days old.
Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri remains the youngest Premier League player in history, having debuted in the competition when he was 90 days younger than Monga.
Leicester, who suffered an eighth straight loss in the league without scoring a goal, are 19th in the standings, 15 points below the safety zone.
-Reuters
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