Premier League
Liverpool will not see repeat of ‘freakish’ 7-0 win over Man Utd says Klopp
Liverpool’s massive 7-0 victory over Manchester United at Anfield last season was a once-in-a-lifetime result that will not be repeated but Sunday’s derby promises to be a ‘special’ game, manager Juergen Klopp said.
Erik ten Hag’s United were flying high after winning the League Cup last season to end a six-year trophy drought but came crashing down to earth a week later when Liverpool handed the Old Trafford side their worst defeat in 92 years.
“The 7-0 we knew on the day was a freakish result that happens once in life pretty much. And if it helps anybody for the next game, it’s the team who lost 7-0 and not the team who won 7-0, that’s another thing,” Klopp told reporters.
“If you take it all out of consideration then we just play a football game against the rival, the historical rival, of Liverpool FC, at home, at Anfield.
“That itself must make it a special game and that’s what I want to see from us, a special game. Really understand the situation and give your all, that’s all I need.”
Liverpool go into the weekend as Premier League leaders while United are sixth, 10 points behind. United have been in dire form in recent weeks with just one win from their last five games in all competitions.
Ten Hag is also under immense scrutiny after his side crashed out of Europe when they finished bottom of their Champions League group, but Klopp feels United are a stronger team when their backs are against the wall.
“I do not like all this talk around it. The more bad things people say about them, the stronger they will show up. That is always the case,” Klopp said.
“I will make sure from our point of view that we will be 100% focused on the right stuff, but we are human beings and there is a noise around.
“When even I am aware of the noise that means that there is obviously something going on.”
Having topped their Europa League group, Klopp rested key players for their final group fixture, a 2-1 loss at Union St Gilloise.
The German said rotation was important with a League Cup quarter-final against West Ham United on Wednesday and title rivals Arsenal visiting Anfield the following weekend.
“I’m not sure what the other schedules are but that is the worst you can get,” he said.
“From now on they are all finals, that’s how it is. December is always about getting through.”
-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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