Premier League
Liverpool fail to go top of the Premier League after draw with Manchester United
Liverpool failed to return to the top of the table with after a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford as rivals Manchester United did their bit to try and derail the Reds’ quest to send off Jurgen Klopp with an English Premier League title, which would put Liverpool level with United on 20 league crowns.
They are behind Arsenal on goal difference, with both teams locked on 71 points. Champions Manchester City are a further point adrift.
It was an end to end start to the match on April 7 with the home team having a goal by Alejandro Garnacho disallowed after two minutes after the Argentinian strayed just offside.
From then on though, all the action in the first 45 minutes came at the opposite end as United failed to register a shot. The last time they did not record a shot in the first half of a Premier League game was in April 2022, during a 4-0 defeat by the Reds.
The last time that happened at Old Trafford was in October 2015, when they drew 0-0 against City.
Liverpool, meanwhile, had 15 first-half shots, four of them on target as the Red Devils continued their tendency to allow opponents to pepper their goal with shots. Before the game on April 7, the Red Devils had faced 526 shots in the Premier League, more than any other time in the 20 full seasons since Opta began keeping records.
While United have suffered from injury issues all season, which saw them start with three teenagers in a Premier League match against Liverpool for the first time, there was no shortage of experience on the pitch in the likes of Raphael Varane, Casemiro and Harry Maguire.
The Reds opened the scoring on 23 minutes when Darwin Nunez escaped the attentions of Aaron Wan-Bissaka from a corner and headed the ball on to an unmarked Luis Diaz, who finished past Andre Onana.
It was the Uruguayan striker’s 13th assist this term, more than any other Premier League player.
The Reds should have, however, gone into the break with more than a one-goal lead as only Onana kept the Reds in the game with saves from the likes Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah.
It was a similar story to the teams’ FA Cup quarter-final clash in March, when United took advantage of the Reds’ profligacy to sneak a 4-3 win.
And so it seemed again at the start of the second half on April 7, when United scored with their first shot of the match.
Bruno Fernandes pounced on a loose pass by Jarell Quansah just inside the Liverpool half in the 50th minute and launched a first-time shot over a stranded Caoimhin Kelleher for his 50th Premier League goal.
Indeed, the Red Devils could take have taken a shock lead minutes with their second shot but a flying Casemiro just failed to get a boot on a cross into the box.
Liverpool’s second-half nightmare continued on 67 minutes when Kobbie Mainoo received a pass into box by Wan-Bissaka with his back to goal and proceeded to swivel and launch a lovely curling shot into the top corner of Kelleher’s goal.
He became the first 18-year-old to score in the Premier League against Liverpool since Cesc Fabregas for Arsenal in May 2005, and became the Red Devils’ youngest scorer against Liverpool in the Premier League.
But as it was in the defeat by Chelsea in midweek, United conceded a needless late penalty after Wan-Bissaka brought Harvey Elliott down in the box.
Salah stepped up and scored from the spot, his sixth goal at Old Trafford, more than any other player in Premier League history.
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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