Tag: Premier League

LONDON: English Premier League on Friday postponed the upcoming fixtures over the weekend following the demise of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. 

“To honour her extraordinary life and contribution to the nation, and as a mark of respect, this weekend’s Premier League match round will be postponed, including Monday evening’s game,” said the top English football league in a statement.

The statement added that the Premier League would provide further updates regarding upcoming fixtures during the period of mourning in due course.

“We and our clubs would like to pay tribute to Her Majesty’s long and unwavering service to our country,” said Richard Masters, Premier League Chief Executive.

The matchday seven of the English Premier League which got suspended included the intense encounter between Manchester City and Tottenham while Crystal Palace were set to face Man United.

London-based Arsenal leads the Premier League table so far with 15 points after the first six matches.

READ: Nissanka, spinners shine as Sri Lanka blunt Pakistan before Asia Cup final

MANCHESTER: Manchester City marked an exceptional comeback in their match against Aston Villa on the final day of the season to win their fourth Premier League title in the last four years.

The home side of City took the field with a point advantage and a better goal difference by six over the second-placed Liverpool and soon experienced a scare in the form of Aston Villa’s brilliant start.

The home side, however, held their nerves calm and kept their title hunt on the line by moving from 2-0 down to win 3-2 against Aston Villa.

It was not just the Aston Villa, whom the City had to tackle to lift the trophy but they had to keep an eye on the Liverpool-Wolves clash at the Anfield.

The reigning world champions started their day with some early good news Pedro Neto put Wolves 1-0 up against Liverpool. The joy, however, was short-lived as Sadio Mane struck for the home side.

It then got even worse for the City as Matty Cash stunned the home side at Etihad Stadium to put Villa 1-0 ahead. Philippe Coutinho then also added to the misery of the City as he netted one to extend Villa’s lead to 2-0.

The home side City then produced an astonishing comeback to clinch the victory from Villa’s jaws by 3-2. Liverpool, on the other hand, thumped Wolves 3-1, which, however, did not prove enough for the title victory.

It is apropos to mention here that it is the second time that City have won back-to-back titles under Pep Guardiola. Whereas, Chelsea and City are the only two teams to have achieved this feat.

READ: Sri Lanka’s Kusal Mendis walks off the field complaining of chest pain

LONDON: Manchester City made a timely come back after two goals down to draw the match and earn a point against West Ham, here on Sunday. The draw however made the side wait to lift the Premier League.

City’s grip on the Premier League seemed doubtful in the first half as the Hammers led 2-0 following Jarrod Bowen’s well-taken double.

However, four minutes after the restart, Jack Grealish made the first strike for the visitors, and Vladmir Coufal headed Riyad Mahrez’s free-kick into his own net as City escaped loss in a top-flight match.

The side then also got a chance to win after Craig Dawson fouled Gabriel Jesus which earned the side a vital penalty strike but Mahrez’s failure to avail the opportunity barred the side from lifting the title.

The City are still four points ahead of the second-placed Liverpool, with one match to go. The side can clinch the Premier League by defeating Aston Villa on the final day.

Liverpool, on the other hand, potentially got a chance to level with the City by winning their remaining two matches if the latter lose their match against Aston Villa.

READ: Angelo Mathews falls on 199, registers an unwanted record

MANCHESTER: The Premier League champions Manchester City announced to have reached an agreement to sign the Borussia Dortmund’s star striker Erling Haaland, here on Tuesday.

In an official statement released by the City, the football club confirmed the transfer of Norwegian international striker Haaland from Dortmund.

“Manchester City can confirm we have reached an agreement in principle with Borussia Dortmund for the transfer of striker Erling Haaland to the Club on 1st July 2022,” the statement read.

“The transfer remains subject to the Club finalising terms with the player,” the statement added.

Manchester City can confirm that we have reached an agreement in principle with Borussia Dortmund for the transfer of striker Erling Haaland to the Club on 1st July 2022.

The transfer remains subject to the Club finalising terms with the player.

— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 10, 2022

 

According to the international media, the City will reportedly pay a whopping 60-million-euro release clause to get Haaland onboard. This transfer will end the club’s long search for a specialist striker.

As soon as the news broke out, the City’s centre-back Aymeric Laporte took to Twitter and welcomed the 21-years-old striker in a humorous way.

“Happy not to be running after this guy for the next couple of years. Welcome, Erling,” Laporte tweeted.

Happy not to be running after this guy for the next couple of years 😂😂😂
Welcome Erling ✌🏻🔥 https://t.co/aTdTWTPlmV

— Aymeric Laporte (@Laporte) May 10, 2022

It is pertinent to mention here that the Premier League’s top-scorer City have mostly played without a recognized striker for the past two seasons.

The side also enjoyed a delightful Champions League campaign before the La Liga winners Real Madrid pulled off an exceptional comeback in the semi-final and ending City’s hopes for title victory.

READ: Babar, Saqlain suggest 20 percent raise in players’ salary: Sources

LIVERPOOL: Everton kept alive their hopes of Premier League survival by shocking Chelsea 1-0 on Sunday, as Arsenal maintained their two-point lead over Tottenham in the battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Arsenal were 2-1 winners at West Ham to move back above Spurs, who earlier beat Leicester 3-1 thanks to a Son Heung-min double.

Everton’s huge win at a raucous Goodison Park means Frank Lampard’s side is just two points from safety and have a game in hand to come over Leeds and Burnley.

The only goal arrived just a minute into the second half when Richarlison pressured Cesar Azpilicueta into losing possession and the Brazilian forward finished coolly from Demarai Gray’s pass.

Mason Mount’s shot hit both posts as Chelsea sought a response before man-of-the-match Jordan Pickford sprinted across his line to keep out Azpilicueta’s follow-up effort.

The England goalkeeper also denied Antonio Rudiger at point-blank range and kept out Matteo Kovacic in a nervy seven minutes of stoppage time.

Former Chelsea boss Lampard, who took over from the unpopular Rafael Benitez at the end of January, has struggled to revive the fortunes of the Merseyside giants, who last played outside the top flight in the 1953/54 season.

But he was delighted with the passion shown by his players and the supporters.

The defeat leaves third-placed Chelsea still with work to do to seal their place in the Champions League next season.

The Blues’ lead over Tottenham is down to five points, but Thomas Tuchel’s men have a comfortable run-in on paper.

Arsenal’s centre-backs got the job done to keep the Gunners on course to end a five-year absence from the Champions League.

Rob Holding’s header from Bukayo Saka’s corner put the visitors in front at the London Stadium.

West Ham had one eye on the second leg of their Europa League semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt in midweek, but David Moyes named a strong side and was rewarded with an equaliser before half-time from Jarrod Bowen.

The Hammers’ strength from set-pieces has been one of the successes of their season.

But they were undone at the back from another corner as this time Gabriel Magalhaes turned in Gabriel Martinelli’s cross.

Tottenham took full advantage of Leicester naming a much-changed side ahead of their Europa Conference League second leg against Roma.

Harry Kane powered home a header from Son’s corner midway through the first half and Son doubled the lead on the hour mark after a pass from substitute Dejan Kulusevski.

Son scored a third in the 79th minute to kill the game, curling an unstoppable effort into the top corner for his 19th Premier League goal of the season before a late consolation for Kelechi Iheanacho.

The battle for fourth could come down to a north London derby between Tottenham and Arsenal on May 12.

But Mikel Arteta’s men will hope to extend their lead to five points next weekend when they host relegation-threatened Leeds, while Spurs face a daunting trip to title-chasing Liverpool.

READ: Pakistan Hockey Team celebrates Eid today in Spain 

LEEDS: Manchester City displayed experience to handle the pressure of the Premier League title run-in after beating Leeds 4-0 to move back above Liverpool at the top of the table.

Rodri and Nathan Ake got the vital goals from set-pieces on a day City needed to match the aggression of the home side before Gabriel Jesus and Fernandinho sealed victory late on.

Guardiola’s men edge one point ahead of the Reds once more with four games remaining for both sides.

The defeat leaves Leeds looking over their shoulder at the relegation zone.

Burnley’s dramatic come-from-behind win at Watford earlier on Saturday pushed Jesse Marsch’s men down to 17th.

They still enjoy a five-point lead over Everton, but the Toffees have two games in hand to haul themselves out of trouble.

Leeds also appear to have the tougher run-in with Arsenal and Chelsea among their final four matches.

Guardiola clearly had one eye on Wednesday’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid as he made five changes from the side that beat the newly-crowned Spanish champions 4-3 in a thrilling semi-final, first leg on Tuesday.

Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez were among those left on the bench.

Joao Cancelo also returned to the back four after being suspended in midweek, but the Portuguese nearly gifted Leeds the lead inside five minutes.

Cancelo’s slip on the halfway line allowed Rodrigo to burst clear, but the Spanish international should have picked out the unmarked Raphinha rather than going for goal himself as his shot was easily blocked.

Leeds were flying into tackles like a side battling for survival, but that aggression was their downfall for the opening goal.

Raheem Sterling was upended on the left wing and from the resulting free-kick, Rodri headed home Phil Foden’s inviting free-kick.

Guardiola can ill afford more defensive injuries with Kyle Walker possibly ruled out for the season and John Stones struggling with a muscle problem.

Aymeric Laporte was involved in a sickening clash of heads with Robin Koch, but both players were controversially allowed to continue after receiving lengthy treatment.

Ake also went off in the second half, but by that point, the Dutchman had made arguably his most telling contribution in nearly two seasons as a City player.

Ruben Dias headed Foden’s corner across goal and Ake turned home from close range to spark wild celebrations on the City bench.

Jesus then maintained his scoring streak by latching onto Foden’s pass to smash home his sixth goal in his last three games.

Fernandinho completed the route and took City’s goal difference to within one of Liverpool’s with a sweet strike in stoppage time.

READ: Ronnie thumps Higgins to secure World Snooker Championship final berth

STRETFORD: The home side Manchester United managed to secure one point after their leading striker Cristiano Ronaldo netted his 17th goal of the season to earn the side an important draw against Chelsea, here on Thursday. 

The visitors dominated the first half of the match but were unable to dodge the United’s goalie David de Gea, who made successful saves against Chelsea’s Kai Havertz and N’Golo Kante.

The visiting side, however, managed to get themselves on the scoreboard midway through the second half as Marcos Alonso struck for a third-ranked Chelsea.

Following the deficit, the home side did not hold back and responded quickly when the blues had barely finished with their celebrations. Nemanja Matic assisted the ball into the box for Ronaldo to give it a final touch to make the levelling strike.

The high-octane clash then ended all square as Chelsea edged closer to securing a top-four finish. Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea are currently holding the third position with five matches remaining.

The United, on the other hand, are five points behind the fifth-ranked Arsenal despite playing two more matches.

READ: PCB unveils schedule of the inaugural Pakistan Junior League

LONDON: Eddie Nketiah boosted Arsenal’s bid for a top-four finish in the Premier League as the striker’s double inspired a dramatic 4-2 win against Chelsea on Wednesday.

Nketiah was released by Chelsea as a 16-year-old in 2015 and he exacted a measure of revenge with his first league goals this season.

The 22-year-old put Arsenal ahead early on at Stamford Bridge before Timo Werner equalised.

Mikel Arteta’s side regained the lead through, Emile Smith Rowe, only for Cesar Azpilicueta to draw Chelsea level again.

Nketiah settled a pulsating London derby when he punished shambolic Chelsea defending in the second half and Bukayo Saka bagged the fourth with a stoppage-time penalty.

After losing their last three games, Nketiah’s crucial contribution lifted Arsenal back into the race to qualify for next season’s Champions League via a top-four finish.

The Gunners are in fifth place, behind fourth-placed Tottenham on goal difference with both teams having six games to play.

Arsenal’s hopes of returning to the Champions League for the first time since 2017 face another vital test against sixth-placed Manchester United on Saturday.

FA Cup finalists Chelsea remain in third place, but they are now only five points ahead of Arsenal and cannot take a top-four place for granted.

Chelsea have conceded 11 goals in their last three home games and Azpilicueta’s frustration boiled over in an angry exchange with a fan after the final whistle.

Blues boss Thomas Tuchel admitted he could empathise with the fan’s angst.

With Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger absent from the start, Chelsea’s defending was extremely unconvincing and Arsenal took the lead in the 13th minute.

READ: World Snooker Championship: Higgins beats Un-Nooh, moves into last 16

MANCHESTER: The home side Manchester City and Liverpool played out a compelling 2-2 draw in their Premier League summit meeting on Sunday that leaves the title race too close to call.

Goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus either side of a Diogo Jota strike put leaders City 2-1 up at half-time but Sadio Mane levelled seconds after the restart to change the tone of the match.

Jurgen Klopp’s visitors, who had been on a 10-match winning run in the league, threatened to cut through again in the early minutes of the second half before City recovered their composure.

But neither side could find a winner, leaving Pep Guardiola’s defending champions just a point ahead of Liverpool with seven games to go.

Klopp compared the contest in Manchester to a bout between two prizefighters.

Billed as one of the biggest matches in Premier League history — between two of the finest sides English football has seen — the contest at a crackling Etihad lived up to the hype.

After a cagey opening, the game burst into life.

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker raced off his line to deny Raheem Sterling, who was set up by Jesus as the home side attacked in earnest for the first time.

But the Brazil international was powerless to prevent De Bruyne’s wickedly deflected opening goal in the fifth minute after he was fed by a quick free-kick.

The Belgium midfielder skipped past Fabinho and fired in a shot that hit defender Joel Matip and went in off the far post.

A steward had to remove a blue flare from the pitch as home fans celebrated and the momentum was all with City, chasing a fourth league title in five years.

But their wild celebrations were cut short just eight minutes later when Jota scored his 15th Premier League goal of the season.

Andy Robertson crossed to the far post where fellow full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold cut the ball to the Portugal forward, who made no mistake.

Suddenly the Liverpool fans in one corner of the packed ground were in full voice.

Midway through the first half, City goalkeeper Ederson almost paid for an astonishing lapse in concentration, allowing a tame back pass to dribble within centimetres of crossing the line, with Jota sliding in.

City were shading possession and had the better of the openings but Liverpool posed a constant threat down the right through Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah.

The home side was back in front less than 10 minutes before halftime when Joao Cancelo picked out the deep run of Jesus, who lifted the ball over Alisson from the edge of the six-yard box.

READ: Shane Van Boening beats Albin Ouschan to win World Pool Championship

NEWCASTLE: Chris Wood scored from the penalty spot as Newcastle took a huge step towards staying in the Premier League with a 1-0 win at home to the Wolves on Friday.

The New Zealand striker was on target in the 72nd minute, with his second goal for the Magpies since his transfer-window move from Burnley helping Newcastle move 10 points clear of the relegation zone with seven games to play.

Newcastle kicked off at St James’ Park on the back of a 5-1 loss away to Tottenham Hotspur, their third successive league defeat.

But they are now on the brink of being assured of their place in the top flight next season, which will be a huge boost to the Saudi-backed consortium that bought the northeast club in October.

For Wolves, defeat was a blow to their hopes of European football, with the visitors still two points adrift of sixth-placed West Ham having played two more games than the London club.

Bruno Guimaraes was handed a first start at St James’ Park by Howe as the Brazil international and Emil Krafth replaced the injured Joe Willock and Javier Manquillo in the team which started last weekend’s loss at Spurs.

Lage also made two changes, with Hwang Hee-chan and Luke Cundle coming in for Leander Dendoncker and Daniel Podence.

Newcastle thought they had broken the deadlock in the 24th minute when Wood shot home after Guimaraes had exchanged passes with substitute Miguel Almiron and crossed, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside following a VAR review.

Although Newcastle had the better of the game, the Wolves had chances in an increasingly open second half.

Hwang had a close-range effort blocked and Joao Moutinho drilled a cross across the face of the goal.

Newcastle, however, finally went ahead 18 minutes from time when Wood ran onto Joelinton’s pass only to be upended by Jose Sa as the Wolves goalkeeper rushed off his line.

Referee Peter Bankes pointed to the spot and, following a VAR check, the penalty stood.

Wood took the spot-kick himself, calmly sending Sa the wrong way, to the delight of the Newcastle faithful.

READ: WATCH: Naseem Shah takes first wicket in County Cricket