Month: January 2023

Eddie Nketiah flicked home a late winner as Arsenal beat Manchester United in a five-goal thriller to keep their Premier League title tilt in full swing.

The striker has been in fine form since replacing the injured Gabriel Jesus and has now scored seven goals in as many games, including Sunday’s last-gasp effort which secured a 3-2 win over their old rivals at the Emirates Stadium.

Marcus Rashford continued his own fine run of form with a stunning opener for United which was cancelled out by Nketiah before Bukayo Saka’s own top-drawer finish had Arsenal ahead.

Lisandro Martinez, an Arsenal target last summer, then levelled for United following some poor defending but Nketiah would turn home a wayward Martin Odegaard shot to secure a memorable win.

Having seen an eight-point lead at the summit cut to just two following back-to-back victories for Manchester City since Arsenal’s win at Tottenham, Mikel Arteta’s side delivered when the pressure was on.

United are the only side to beat the Gunners in the Premier League this season and made a good start in their bid to repeat September’s Old Trafford win.

They had an early penalty shout turned down as Bruno Fernandes was challenged by Aaron Ramsdale, the VAR’s swift check backing up referee Anthony Taylor’s call to wave away appeals, but were nevertheless celebrating the lead in the 17th minute.

Thomas Partey uncharacteristically lost possession cheaply before Rashford skipped past him and arrowed in a fine low finish.

Arsenal, showing the sort of response of any side with title ambitions, bounced back soon after as Nketiah nodded home a Granit Xhaka cross after losing Aaron Wan-Bissaka far too easily.

The game opened up from that point, Scott McTominay – in for the suspended Casemiro – forced a smart stop out of Ramsdale with a strike from the edge of the box.

Arteta was booked by referee Taylor following his protestations at a Luke Shaw foul on Saka as the first half ended with the sides locked level.

That would change just eight minutes after the restart as Saka, afforded too much space and time, curled home an inch-perfect strike from 25 yards to put Arsenal ahead.

Ramsdale put in a man-of-the-match display in the 2-0 win at Spurs last week and made a great save to deny Rashford levelling with a deflected effort.

The England goalkeeper, however, was culpable for United’s equaliser after a mix up with half-time substitute Takehiro Tomiyasu at a corner allowed Martinez to head in his first Red Devils goal.

Having shared four goals, both teams went in search of the winner as Saka struck from a similar position only for this effort to deflect off Christian Eriksen and clip the post.

Leandro Trossard, who joined Arsenal from Brighton on Friday, came on for the final 10 minutes to make his Arsenal debut as David de Gea made a smart close-range stop to deny Nketiah a second.

Arsenal were now very much on top with United unable to get out of their own penalty box for large spells.

Eriksen led a rare foray forward for the visitors, winning a corner for a brief respite but the Arsenal pressure eventually told as Nketiah’s reaction to throw a boot at an Odegaard effort saw him divert the ball past De Gea.

A VAR check followed but the former England Under-21 striker was played onside by Wan-Bissaka and the goal was awarded, sending the Emirates wild and putting Arsenal five points clear of City with a game in hand.

Borussia Dortmund striker Sebastien Haller called his debut an “unforgettable” experience after his first appearance since recovering from testicular cancer.

The Ivory Coast international signed for the Bundesliga outfit last year, but was diagnosed with a tumour just days after making the move from Ajax.

Having gone through several rounds of treatment, Haller scored a hat-trick in a friendly with Basel earlier this month, and enjoyed his maiden competitive outing in Sunday’s 4-3 win over Augsburg.

After receiving a standing ovation following his arrival as a second-half substitute, the forward was overwhelmed by the response

“The welcome I received was something unbelievable, unforgettable,” he told broadcaster DAZN. “I was just happy to be here and to take my first steps on the pitch.

“It’s something we can take with the team, this atmosphere, we can use [it] to win games.”

Haller, who sported boots with the slogan ‘F*** Cancer*, showed no signs of serious rust during his half-hour cameo for the Black and Yellow, though he acknowledged he still has work to do.

“There are still a few things to do to reach my full fitness,” he added. “For the moment I’m just focused on the work. You will see in the next weeks and months how it’s going.”

Dortmund lie sixth in the Bundesliga, seven points off leaders Bayern Munich in what is shaping up to be a competitive race for European qualification. 

They next travel to Mainz on Wednesday before wrapping up the month on the road against Bayer Leverkusen next Sunday.

Bukayo Saka urged Arsenal to “stay humble” in the Premier League title race but expressed pride at the “really significant” late victory over Manchester United.

Mikel Arteta’s side moved five points clear at the summit, with a game in hand over second-placed Manchester City, after Eddie Nketiah’s 90th-minute strike snatched a 3-2 victory over United on Sunday.

The triumph saw Arsenal boost their points total to 50 after 19 games, surpassing their previous best of 45 after as many matches in their title-winning 2003-04 campaign.

When asked about the Gunners’ remarkable return at the halfway point in the season, Saka told Sky Sports: “That’s really significant. It’s something we can be proud of, but we have to stay humble.

“It’s only halfway through the season and things can change very quickly. But if we keep playing like we have then we’ll be in a good place at the end of the season, we just have to keep it up.”

The Gunners fell to a 3-1 defeat at United in September, their only loss of the league campaign thus far, but exacted revenge with a vital victory in their tussle with City for the title.

“You can see how much it means to everyone. They’re the only team that have beaten us this season, so we really wanted to beat them for the fans,” Saka said.

Nketiah cancelled out Marcus Rashford’s first-half opener before Saka produced a moment of magic after 53 minutes to edge Arsenal ahead, firing into the far corner after dancing in from the right flank.

That strike saw the England international join Freddie Ljungberg (between 1998-2000) and Thierry Henry (between 2000-2001) as the only Arsenal players to score in three in a row against United in the competition.

On joining Ljungberg and Henry, the 21-year-old said: “Hello Freddie, hello Thierry – I’m happy. I was so close to getting two, but I’m just so happy I got that first one, and it gave me the confidence to keep shooting.”

Pedri scored the only goal of the game as LaLiga leaders Barcelona maintained their unbeaten top-flight streak at home with a 1-0 win against Getafe.

The midfielder’s first-half strike sent Xavi’s side six points clear of Real Madrid, who face Athletic Bilbao later on Sunday, but it was far from a routine victory.

Getafe frustrated their opponents throughout with a resolute defensive showing, while calling Marc-Andre ter Stegen into action with several decisive saves.

Quique Sanchez Flores’ visitors could not find an equaliser, however, as Barca made it nine games without defeat in the league at Camp Nou.

Getafe thought they had taken a shock lead four minutes in, Borja Mayoral drilling an effort into the near corner past Ter Stegen but the offside flag was raised for an earlier infringement. 

Having been limited to shots from distance, Barca found a breakthrough after 35 minutes as Raphinha found space before cutting across goal for Pedri to tuck home. 

Pedri’s poor pass almost handed Getafe an equaliser but Ter Stegen produced a crucial save against Mayoral to keep Barca ahead at the interval.

Xavi’s hosts continued to dominate proceedings in the second half as Getafe defended with resilience, though Ousmane Dembele went close after whistling a strike just wide.

Substitute Franck Kessie wasted a fine opportunity late on after firing straight at David Soria, but that mattered for little as Barca maintained their title charge.

Pep Guardiola defended Erling Haaland’s position within Manchester City, arguing the Norway international is not holding his team back this term.

Haaland scored his fourth hat-trick of the Premier League season to blow past last term’s Golden Boot tally and reach 25 in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Wolves.

Despite his remarkable figures, City are playing catch-up in the title race as Arsenal continue to set the pace.

Some have pinpointed Haaland as a potential issue, with City sometimes adapting to suit his needs rather than vice-versa, but Guardiola knows the talisman’s quality. 

“When we lost the Community Shield, all the debates were that he would not adapt to the Premier League,” he said.

“When we do not score goals, [people] say he is the problem in this team. We know his quality. We have to adapt some movements for him.

“He is not a player who will take the ball. He has to [have] the balls delivered around him. He’s got fantastic players around him. He lives 24 hours for his job.

“He’s not stressed much when it’s going well or when it’s going bad. His numbers are incredible. But the reality is still that we are behind.”

Guardiola issued a scathing attack upon his side’s commitment following their 4-2 win over Tottenham earlier this week, having been force to come from two goals down.

Reflecting on a more comfortable victory, the Spaniard acknowledged he had seen improvements, but stressed he would not be getting carried away yet.

“We spoke a little bit what we have to do with the ball,” he added. “Without the ball, we didn’t train anything because I would say we didn’t have energy.

“We talk a little bit these days about what we think we miss. It’s just one game. We will see in the future.

“Our football was really, really good. Today we improved. That was just today. We will see what happens in the next games.”

Juventus have appointed chief of staff Francesco Calvo as their new chief football officer, days after the club were hit with a 15-point deduction.

The Bianconeri were sanctioned earlier this month following investigations into financial violations committed under their previous regime.

Former president Andrea Agnelli and the rest of his board resigned in November, and both he and former director Fabio Paratici were handed hefty bans. 

Now, the club have confirmed Calvo will become the club’s new CFO, and that he will report to new chief executive officer Maurizio Scanavino following the latter’s appointment earlier this week.

In addition, football director Federico Cherubini, women’s football director Stefano Braghin, and head of football operations Paolo Morganti will all report to Calvo.

Cherubini is the lone figure to remain from the prior set-up at Juventus, in order to help facilitate the continued transition between structures at the club’s board level.

Juventus have signalled they will appeal against the sanctions handed down by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).

If the punishment is upheld, they will face an uphill battle to secure European qualification this season, potentially hindering their squad retention and recruitment plans at the end of the campaign.

The decision to charge Juventus came following an earlier acquittal, alongside several other Serie A clubs, over financial dealings in regards to inflated player values within exchanges and transfers.

Cristiano Ronaldo was handed a debut for Al Nassr against Al Ittifaq on Sunday as the veteran striker made his first Saudi Pro League appearance.

Real Madrid’s record goalscorer is set to play out the final years of his club career in Saudi Arabia, having signed a lucrative contract through to 2025 in December.

His debut for Al Nassr was delayed as 37-year-old Ronaldo served a two-match ban imposed by the English Football Association for an incident that saw him slap a phone from the hand of a young Everton supporter in a game at Goodison Park last season.

However, he was cleared to make his Al Nassr bow at last, with a new chapter beginning for the player who began his career at Sporting CP and also starred for Manchester United and Juventus.

Ronaldo was handed the captain’s armband, having already featured for a Riyadh All-Stars team – scoring twice – against Lionel Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain this week.

John Stones declared “we are the champions for a reason” after Erling Haaland’s fourth Premier League hat-trick of the season gave Manchester City a 3-0 win over Wolves.

City boss Pep Guardiola urged his players to show more desire after a 4-2 victory over Tottenham on Thursday, when they were booed off at half-time having fallen 2-0 down at the Etihad Stadium.

There was no discontent from City fans as they outclassed relegation-threatened Wolves, Haaland opening the scoring late in the first half before adding a second from the penalty spot and completing yet another treble early in the second half.

Haaland already has two more goals than the tally of 23 that earned Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min the golden boot last season and the Norway striker has an astonishing 31 in all competitions in his first City campaign.

City moved two points behind Arsenal ahead of the leaders’ clash with Manchester United and defender Stones says they are ready to roll up their sleeves in the battle for the title.

He told Sky Sports: “I think it’s just about us, I’ve said it plenty of times. We can be our own worst enemies at times. We have to be focused. We can see where we are and keep taking it game by game.

“We are the champions for a reason and we want to be champions again, so we have to put ourselves in the best place possible. Keep winning games and getting clean sheets and see where it takes us.”

Stones felt City showed a great response to a rallying cry from Guardiola.

He added: “We had to be patient to get that goal today and break them down. I thought we did so well after the other day. Especially in the first half we weren’t at it and the manager made that clear.

“We knew we had to hit the ground running and get off to a good start, playing with tempo and that set the game.

“I didn’t see the comments from Pep. But I knew what he said to us at half-time and what he wants from us and what he knows we can do and us as players when you are not playing as well as you can and in the second half we came out and showed it and got the win.

“We knew that we had to do that from the off and we did. The patience and desire was there and we were scoring goals and creating chances. Obviously a clean sheet is massive now.”

Chelsea Women manager Emma Hayes said it is time for stadiums hosting top-level women’s football to have undersoil heating after her side’s game with Liverpool was suspended after just six minutes on Sunday.

Despite pitch inspections at Kingsmeadow earlier in the day that deemed the surface playable, the referee abandoned the Women’s Super League clash when it became apparent the pitch was too frozen.

While it was broadly agreed to be the correct decision as players had been slipping on the surface, questions were asked as to why the game was allowed to go ahead in the first place and why stadiums that host WSL games are not all equipped with pitch heating facilities.

“You could see from the opening minutes that it was like an ice rink down the sides,” Hayes told BBC Sport after the game was stopped. “[Liverpool manager] Matt Beard was upset that it even got to that point and he’s right.

“We have to say to ourselves that it’s time for undersoil heating. We’ve got to take our game seriously. Yes, we can have our blowers and pitch tents, but it’s not enough.

“The game should never have started. Everyone wanted to get the game on, but when you have got emotions of teams wanting or not wanting to play, that’s when you need a decision from above. The FA weren’t here, they need to be making the decision.

“We’ve made progress with investment into the quality of grasses and surfaces across the league. No game at the top level of the women’s game should be cancelled. We need undersoil heating, we don’t live in Barbados.”

Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema took to Twitter to lament the decision to postpone that game as well as Tottenham’s clash with Leicester City due to cold weather, posting: “Players safety should always come first. Luckily no one got injured today.

“Only way to fix this is to demand undersoil heating or playing our games in men’s stadiums. FA and clubs, please do better.”

The Dutch star was quote-tweeted by Liverpool’s Katie Stengel, who wrote: “I heard Stamford Bridge was wide open today.”

Chelsea’s Fran Kirby also gave her thoughts on Twitter, adding: “Apologies to both sets of fans who travelled today. Players safety should always be the number one priority. Luckily no one was injured today and the right decision was taken eventually. Women’s football deserves better and we won’t stop fighting to make that happen”

Erling Haaland hit his fourth hat-trick of the season as champions Manchester City maintained their Premier League title hopes with a comfortable 3-0 win over Wolves.

The prolific Norwegian’s treble took his goal tally for the season to 31 in all competitions and carried City to successive league victories for the first time since the World Cup.

After a scrappy opening, Haaland headed City in front five minutes before the interval and doubled the lead from the penalty spot after 50 minutes.

He claimed a third four minutes later and then, with his job done, left the field just after the hour.

City’s victory, coming after Thursday’s dramatic fightback against Tottenham, kept City firmly in the title picture and further eased concerns about their form after indifferent results earlier in the month.

It took time for City to get into their stride due to Wolves’ rough tactics, but their victory was ultimately a convincing one.

Phil Foden did not appear in City’s matchday squad but Kevin De Bruyne was back in the side after being left out in midweek.

City needed to be patient early on. It was evident, after some grappling in the box twice delayed City’s attempts to take a corner, that Wolves wanted to constrain and frustrate their hosts.

Max Kilman was booked for a heavy challenge on Ilkay Gundogan and Mario Lemina, on his full debut, and manager Julen Lopetegui also received early yellow cards.

City gradually adapted with Haaland and Jack Grealish both having shots saved by Jose Sa before Rodri fired just over.

Their breakthrough came late in the first half when De Bruyne stood up a cross to the far post and Haaland rose to nod home.

City wanted a penalty soon after when Grealish went down under a challenge from Nathan Collins but referee David Coote and VAR Darren England both spared the Wolves defender.

Collins frustrated Grealish again soon after when he cleared his powerful shot off the line.

City were awarded a spot-kick early in the second half after Gundogan was felled by Ruben Neves and Haaland made no mistake from 12 yards.

Haaland punished Wolves further in the 54th minute. Sa gifted possession straight to Riyad Mahrez, who moments after going close himself when he headed into the side-netting, quickly laid off to the striker.

Haaland could not miss from in front of goal and peeled away to celebrate yet another goal before making way for World Cup-winner Julian Alvarez.

Wolves showed some spirit with debutant Pablo Sarabia having an effort blocked by Nathan Ake and Daniel Podence extending Ederson.

City threatened more but Mahrez was denied by an offside flag, Alvarez could not get round Sa and Gundogan headed over.