Premier League
Man City face Leeds with points vital for very different reasons
Manchester City appear all but unstoppable in their quest for a third consecutive Premier League title but they are taking nothing for granted as they prepare for Saturday’s home game against a Leeds United side battling to beat the drop.
Pep Guardiola’s City reclaimed top spot from Arsenal thanks to a 3-0 win over visiting West Ham United on Wednesday and a victory versus Leeds would stretch their lead to four points before the Londoners’ tough trip to Newcastle United on Sunday.
Leeds have been in freefall for weeks and, languishing in 17th place on 30 points and only outside the relegation zone on goal difference, have turned to the experienced Sam Allardyce in the hope he can produce another of his miracle escape acts.
Allardyce certainly sounds ready for the challenge, saying confidently on Wednesday that he is “up there” in managerial talent with anyone in the Premier League, including Guardiola and Liverpool’s Juergen Klopp.
“Far too many people think I’m old and antiquated which is so far from the truth,” said Allardyce, who has replaced the sacked Javi Garcia for the final four games of the season.
“I may be 68 and look old but there’s nobody ahead of me in football terms. Not Pep, not Klopp, not (Arsenal’s Mikel) Arteta. It’s all there with me.”
The 52-year-old Guardiola, who is on course for possibly the finest season of his career as City chase a treble, agreed and pointed to the success of 74-year-old Neil Warnock with Huddersfield Town and Roy Hodgson, who is 75, at Crystal Palace.
The pair were also brought in to try to save their teams from the threat of relegation this season.
“(Allardyce) is right. I want to be honest … it looks like the young managers with the tactics, (but) they are really good and help us to be what we are.
“It will be tough (versus Leeds). He (Allardyce) has the charisma, will put on the pressure to the players and knows exactly what to do in these relegation battles.”
The match is a departure from the usual rules that ban the TV screening of live games on Saturday afternoon.
Watching avidly no doubt will be everyone at Arsenal, hoping Leeds can do them an unlikely favour as the Gunners cling to the fading hope of their first league title since 2004.
A loss at third-placed Newcastle coupled with a City win over Leeds would all but end Arsenal’s title challenge.
That match is also important for Newcastle as they bid for a Champions League berth. They are third with 65 points, six ahead of fifth-placed Liverpool, who have played a game more.
Manchester United on 63 points can climb above Newcastle with a win at Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday with their game in hand on the Magpies before visiting West Ham on Sunday.
-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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- OBITUARY2 days ago
BREAKING: Nigerian Goalkeeping Legend Peter Rufai is dead
- Nigerian Football2 days ago
Football Agent John Shittu Demands Retraction and ₦250 Million Damages from Samson Siasia Over Bribery Allegation
- WAFCON1 week ago
Super Falcons Land in Morocco, Eye Historic ‘La Decima’ Women’s AFCON Title
- FEDERATION CUP1 week ago
Kwara United Clinch Historic First Title as President Federation Cup Final Goes to Penalties for the 18th time
- FEDERATION CUP1 week ago
Rivers Angels Crowned 2025 Female Federation Cup Champions After Penalty Shootout Thriller
- OBITUARY2 days ago
Peter Rufai looked lean when I last saw him, says mourning NFF President, Gusau
- OBITUARY2 days ago
Family issues statement on Peter Rufai
- IMMEMORIAL1 day ago
Peter Rufai’s Death Adds to Long List of July Tragedies in Nigerian Football