Premier League
Liverpool crush Bournemouth 9-0 to equal biggest Premier League win
Liverpool’s Colombian midfielder Luis Diaz (right) scores their ninth goal. PHOTO: AFP
Jurgen Klopp hailed Liverpool’s “perfect afternoon” as they equalled the record for the biggest Premier League win by thrashing Bournemouth 9-0 at Anfield on Saturday (Aug 27).
Roberto Firmino and Luis Diaz both scored twice with strikes from Harvey Elliott, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Fabio Carvalho and a Chris Mepham own goal completing the scoring.
It is the fourth time in Premier League history a team has won by nine goals. Manchester United beat Ipswich 9-0 in 1995 and Southampton by the same score last year. Leicester also won 9-0 at Southampton in 2019.
The result was all the more remarkable given Liverpool, who just months ago came within two games of an unprecedented quadruple, had made their worst league start in a decade.
Klopp’s side silenced the critics as they registered their first victory of the season at the fourth attempt.
“Each manager in the world is a fantastic entertainer when you win football games. When you have to answer questions after you lose a game and try to find explanations, it sounds like excuses or whatever,” Klopp said.
“We were not happy with the way we played. We had good moments in nearly all the games where we showed things which we are strong at, and other things where we have to improve.
“You get this early goal and you get the second. And we kept going, scored different goals but always with the same purpose: keep going, put them under pressure, don’t stop.
“At half-time it was important that we, again, keep going because it’s early in the season.
“It’s not for us now to control it a little bit. In the end it was the perfect football afternoon for us.”
Fabinho returned to stiffen up Liverpool’s midfield in the wake of Monday’s 2-1 defeat away to Manchester United that left them five points back of reigning champions Manchester City.
Having struggled without the departed Sadio Mane in their first three games, Liverpool’s attack instantly clicked Saturday as Firmino floated in a cross for Diaz to head home inside three minutes.
The Brazilian also played his part in the second as his heavy touch rolled invitingly towards Elliott, the 19-year-old curling in from the edge of the area for his first top-flight goal.
Mohamed Salah forced Mark Travers to tip over and somehow glanced wide when Elliott fizzed a cross towards the Egyptian, but the respite was temporary for Scott Parker’s overmatched side.
After repeatedly being targeted in the United defeat, Alexander-Arnold displayed his undoubted quality with a thumping drive into the top corner from 20 metres.
Firmino then got in on the act as Salah’s attempted pass looped wickedly off a Bournemouth player and right to the Brazilian to stab in from close range.
Ryan Christie grazed the post in a rare chance for Bournemouth, who were powerless to stop the Liverpool onslaught.
Van Dijk headed in Andy Robertson’s corner on the stroke of half-time as Liverpool scored five goals in the opening half of a Premier League game for the first time.
The Reds struck again a minute into the second period as Mepham poked Alexander-Arnold’s cross into his own net.
Firmino reached 100 Liverpool goals by reacting quickest to pounce on the loose ball after Robertson swung in a dangerous delivery that Travers could only parry.
Portuguese teenager Carvalho fired in to make it eight being teed up by Kostas Tsimikas’ cushioned lay-off, notched his first goal for the club since signing from Fulham.
Diaz then headed in the record-equalling goal with six minutes to play as Liverpool shook off a slow start to the campaign in stunning fashion.
-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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