Premier League
Liverpool deliver victory in an emotional farewell for Klopp
Liverpool delivered much-loved manager Juergen Klopp a victory in his final game with the team on Sunday, a 2-0 win over 10-man Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield in an emotional Premier League season finale.
Alexis Mac Allister and Jarell Quansah scored on a day that did not impact the Reds’ third-placed finish in the table, but one that Liverpool fans had been dreading since the 56-year-old German manager announced in late-January that he would leave the club at season’s end after almost nine years at the helm.
“I’m probably surprised, I thought I’m already in pieces to be honest, but I’m not, I’m so happy. I can’t believe it,” Klopp told the Anfield crowd after the game. “I’m so happy about you all, about the atmosphere, about the game, about being part of this family, about us, how we celebrated this day. Thank you so much!”
Klopp’s men, who were on course to give their manager a fairytale ending before a string of bad results last month derailed their title challenge, finished the season on 82 points, nine behind winners Manchester City and seven behind second-placed Arsenal.
“I’ve got no words, it’s a very emotional day,” Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk — fighting back tears — told Sky Sports. “It was always going to be a tough afternoon. We wanted to make sure that we do our job basically and then obviously we can all be very emotional after the game.
“(Klopp) deserves every bit of love that he’s getting.”
Wolves were reduced to 10 men in the 28th minute when Nelson Semedo was sent off for his ugly tackle on Mac Allister. Six minutes later, the Argentine midfielder headed home Harvey Elliott’s curling cross, bringing Klopp to his feet with a huge smile. Quansah doubled Liverpool’s lead in the 40th minute when he poked in Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah’s shot.
Klopp bade farewell to the Anfield faithful — including owners John Henry and Tom Werner who flew in from Boston for the occasion — having won 305 matches, including penalty shootouts, with the Reds.
A crowd more than a dozen deep and bathed in red smoke squeezed shoulder to shoulder along the road leading into Anfield on Sunday to welcome the team busses as they pulled in before kick off.
If Liverpool’s pre-game singing of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” — the song by 1960s Liverpool band Gerry and the Pacemakers that became the club anthem — raises goosebumps most games, the Anfield crowd sang at the top of their lungs on Sunday while Klopp raised a hand to his heart.
“This morning I woke up and I was completely in game mode,” Klopp told Sky Sports before kickoff. “We had a normal team meeting and the 60,000 here and the few million watching deserve that.
“People call it the last dance, so let’s dance!”
Klopp won seven trophies since joining the club in 2015, including the Champions League in 2019 and a first English League title in three decades in 2020. He also won the Club World Cup, FA Cup, League Cup twice and UEFA Super Cup, as well as the Community Shield.
But the German was beloved as much for his passionate demeanour as his on-field success with the Merseyside club. He delighted fans with his high-octane goal celebrations and his post-victory fist pumps. He wrapped his players in huge bear hugs.
Fans’ appreciation was on full display over the final few minutes of Sunday’s game with supporters on their feet singing their version of the Beatles’ “I Feel Fine” over and over.
“I’m so glad that Juergen is a Red, I’m so glad he delivered what he said!”
Klopp bowed his head several times struggling to control his emotions. His wife Ulla dabbed at tears.
After Liverpool lifted the League Cup in February, there was talk of a fairytale ending for the manager but they were eliminated from the FA Cup and Europa League and then dropped down the league standings.
Salah, who made his 250th league appearance for the club on Sunday, finished as the season’s top scorer with 18 league goals, while the team totalled 142 across all competitions, the second-highest in the club’s history after the 2021-22 season (147).
-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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