Premier League
AFTER 14-MATCH UNBEATEN STREAK, MAN UNITED ARE IN MOOD FOR BATTLE FOR CHAMPIONS’ LEAGUE SPOT
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is happy his team is doing well and are on a 14-match unbeaten run in all competitions, but he is also cautiously targeting a top-four finish in the Premier League because of the tough competition this season.
The Red Devils lie sixth on 49 points, three behind Wolverhampton Wanderers but with a game in hand. They are five points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea with seven games left, and are only six points ahead of ninth-placed Arsenal.
As it stands, finishing the campaign in fifth could also be enough for a Champions League spot as Manchester City – who are second – await their appeal against their two-season European ban for flouting Financial Fair Play rules.
Speaking ahead of today’s trip to Brighton, Solskjaer believes his players are finally translating his ideas onto the pitch as they look to finish the season strongly.
He said: “The players are working really hard and want to do as well as they can. As a team we’re trying to implement our ideas. We talk about 14 games (unbeaten) and we go into the next game knowing you’ve won the previous game. It’s a good place to be in.”
The Norwegian saw his side reach the last four of the FA Cup by beating Norwich 2-1 last Saturday and knows finishing in the top four of the league will be another tough task.
“I think there are many teams for that battle for third and fourth, Leicester, Chelsea, us, Wolves doing really well, Tottenham, Arsenal and Sheffield United wanna put a run together and put a challenge in there,” the 47-year-old said.
“I think every year you’re in the Champions League is a great experience. For the players it’s a step forward, for us it’s what we’re striving to do winning trophies and we need to focus on one game at a time.”
United have yet to beat Brighton away in the Premier League, losing to the Seagulls twice in 2018 at the Amex Stadium.
“They’re a good footballing side, they play football and make it hard for you,” Solskjaer said of today’s opponents, who lie in 15th.
Graham Potter’s men have four points from two matches since the season restarted, beating Arsenal 2-1 and grinding out a 0-0 draw against third-placed Leicester last Tuesday.
“You want to challenge yourself against the best, like we have done in our last two matches, and now we have another opportunity to play well again,” midfielder Leandro Trossard told Brighton’s website.
United will have a fully fit squad after resting key players against Norwich. Brighton, meanwhile, await news on whether centre-back Adam Webster will be fit after he was forced off against Leicester.
Solskjaer also said that he is not concerned that forward Marcus Rashford, who was able to recover from a back injury during the coronavirus shutdown, is yet to add to his 19-goal haul this season.
“I think he’s looked sharp,” he said. “He came on and looked sharp again against Norwich. Against Sheffield United he missed one or two chances but the goals he created (two assists in the 3-0 win) I think is what we’re focusing on. He’ll definitely score a goal soon.”
Off the pitch, Solskjaer is bracing himself for the loss of teenage midfielder Angel Gomes, whose United contract expires today.
The highly rated 19-year-old came through the academy and made his debut aged 16 in May 2017, becoming the youngest player since Duncan Edwards in the 1950s to feature for the first team.
But Gomes has only made 10 first-team appearances and contract talks hit a roadblock, with Solskjaer now expecting the midfielder to leave when his contract runs out.
Asked at his press conference if Gomes would be staying, the United boss said: “I’ve got no news, nothing, so it doesn’t look like it. To be honest, it seems like they haven’t managed to agree (a deal).”
-AFP
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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