Month: April 2023

Marcus Tavernier helped Bournemouth edge away from danger in the Premier League at Southampton but the Cherries’ 1-0 victory came at a cost with the midfielder suffering another hamstring injury.

Tavernier’s deflected strike on Thursday evening settled a tense affair at St Mary’s Stadium and moved Bournemouth seven points clear of the relegation zone with only five matches of the campaign remaining.

However, Tavernier limped off in the final 15 minutes of the encounter and is a doubt for the visit of Leeds on Sunday, seemingly with a recurrence of the hamstring issues that have dogged him this season.

Tavernier only completed his first 90 minutes this year against West Ham after two separate hamstring problems and an apparent setback may thwart his attempts to be available for the end-of-season run-in.

“With Marcus Tavernier, obviously we need to see how he is (on Friday) morning,” Bournemouth boss Gary O’Neil told a press conference.

“That was the real disappointing aspect of the game (at Southampton), losing him to a hamstring injury.”

O’Neil explained Tavernier having to be substituted had knock-on effects for his team-mates.

“A couple of others cramped up,” O’Neil said. “Matias Vina ideally wouldn’t have done 90 minutes, but Tav needing to come off made it tricky, so he probably played more than he would.

“Marcos Senesi suffered some cramp and hasn’t played too much recently.

“There’s a few more we need to check on and we’ll have a look to see if we need to freshen things up.”

Bournemouth welcome a Leeds side this weekend who are also attempting to preserve their top-flight status although the Yorkshire club’s situation is more perilous.

They did at least snap a three-match losing streak by drawing 1-1 against Leicester at Elland Road on Tuesday but Javi Gracia’s side are hovering just two places and one point above the bottom three.

Leeds have had two extra days to recover for their trip to the south coast and while O’Neil accepted the situation is far from ideal, he is confident Bournemouth can summon the energy for the fixture.

“There were some big distances covered and the intensity of the game was high, but we need to be fresh enough to cause Leeds some problems,” O’Neil added.

Pep Guardiola has warned Arsenal will not give up on their bid to deny Manchester City a third successive Premier League title.

After a Kevin De Bruyne-inspired City thrashed Arsenal 4-1 on Wednesday, Guardiola’s men sit two points behind the faltering leaders with two games in hand.

Arsenal are not in action again until they host Chelsea on Tuesday, meaning City have the opportunity to go top of the table when they visit Fulham on Sunday.

With Arsenal only taking three points from their last four league games and City winning their last seven, some have declared the title race to be over, despite the Gunners leading the way.

Guardiola, however, is adamant City still have work to do.

Asked about the importance of going top at Friday’s pre-match press conference, Guardiola said: “Psychologically, it’s important, but its more the fact it depends on us, we don’t have to look at anything except performing as well as possible to win games.

“People start saying they have a feeling that it’s over. It’s not over. It will be over when it’s over. In every single game, our opponents play for special things.

“I know what happened when we played at the Emirates, we won and everybody was happy, people saying we had already caught them. Then we went to Nottingham Forest and drew – it was a fantastic game, but we drew.

“If we do our job, we will be close. But we’ll take nothing for granted. We’re happy, of course, for the last few games, but that’s all.

“I know it’s not 20 games left, it’s seven games. But seven games is seven games, it’s a lot, considering we have the Champions League around the corner.”

Arsenal’s chastening defeat at the Etihad Stadium was the Gunners’ 12th in succession against City in the top flight, with Guardiola’s men winning those matches by an aggregate score of 33-5.

While that result has the potential to be a knockout blow after Mikel Arteta’s team were held by Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton, Guardiola believes Arsenal could yet fight back.

“I know Mikel perfectly, I think our players know it – they will not give up,” he said. “One of their real prizes – to be in the Champions League next season – is done. They will not give up.

“When you are 10 points in front you can say it’s over, but the reality today is we are two points behind. 

“You say we have two games in hand, but we have to be respectful to the teams we have to play, West Ham and Brighton. We have to beat them. If we beat them, I will agree with you, but we still have to play.

“If the championship finished today, they are champions. It’s normal, this tendency, because of what we have done in the past, and Arsenal have not been there for a long time. 

“What happened to Arsenal in the last four games can happen to us. People say it’s impossible, no. It’s possible.”

The Premier League served up a midweek feast as clubs went to war on Matchday 33.

Manchester City took control of the title race by thrashing Arsenal and Newcastle dominated Everton on their own patch to boost their Champions League aspirations.

Elsewhere, Tottenham mounted a comeback to grab a draw at home to Manchester United and Nottingham Forest put in a huge shift to overcome Brighton.

We pick out five stars who stood out under the lights.

Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)

The champions were flawless against the Gunners and Kevin De Bruyne’s partnership with Erling Haaland was a spectacle for the neutral eye.

Belgium’s brilliant playmaker opened the scoring after seven minutes by beating Aaron Ramsdale at his near post before delivering a pinpoint cross to John Stones, who doubled the home side’s advantage.

He then rolled a third past the England international to put the game to bed and left the pitch to a much-deserved standing ovation from the Etihad crowd.

Harry Kane (Tottenham)

Harry Kane was in devastating form at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday night as they ploughed on with another new manager following Cristian Stellini’s dismissal.

The England skipper rallied his team-mates at 2-0 down and was partly responsible for setting up the equaliser in what was one of Spurs’ better performances in recent weeks.

His powerful run through the heart of United’s midfield was complimented by a world-class cross to Heung-Min Son, who tapped past David de Gea to give the North Londoners a precious point on home soil.

Callum Wilson (Newcastle)

Once again, there are several Newcastle players who could have found themselves featured as a star of the week but Callum Wilson’s brace stands out in yet another dominant performance from the Magpies.

The 31-year-old scored the pick of the bunch in a 4-1 win at Goodison Park to condemn Everton to 19th place in the table.

After tapping in from close range for the opener, Wilson curled a magnificent effort into the top corner from outside of the penalty box, leaving a diving Jordan Pickford with no chance.

Danilo (Nottingham Forest)

Everton’s loss was Nottingham Forest’s gain and their win over Brighton will give them belief that they can beat the drop with five games left to play in the 2022-23 campaign.

Danilo has played 90 minutes in each of Forest’s previous three outings and the Brazilian’s presence in the heart of midfield has been a revelation for Steve Cooper’s side, who are now one point clear of the drop zone.

The No28 made a smart run beyond Taiwo Awoniyi before drilling home in the 69th minute to put the Tricky Trees 2-1 up. 

January signing Danilo will be hoping to make the difference again during a trip to Brentford on Saturday.

Joel Matip (Liverpool)

Liverpool find themselves in pole position to secure a spot in next term’s Europa League and their win at West Ham ensures that they can leapfrog Spurs with a victory over them at Anfield on Sunday.

It may not have been a vintage performance from the 2019 Champions League winners with Joel Matip the hero for the Reds as his towering header rifled past Lukasz Fabianski to earn them three huge points.

The 31-year-old has been in and out of the side this season but has always stepped up in the absence of Virgil van Dijk or Ibrahima Konate in the backline.

Wilfried Zaha’s return to fitness is just the boost Crystal Palace need following their first loss under Roy Hodgson, the Eagles boss believes.

The Palace talisman was forced off with a groin issue during his side’s April 1 victory over Leicester, dampening what was otherwise a jubilant afternoon as the former England manager began a second spell in the dugout at his boyhood club.

Hodgson confirmed Zaha will be fit for Saturday’s meeting with West Ham at Selhurst Park, where Palace will hope to bounce back from Tuesday’s 2-0 loss to Wolves.

“It is a huge boost, absolutely,” said Hodgson, whose side had won three straight and then drawn with Everton before that meeting.

“We are delighted to see him back on the training field, back doing the training sessions and exercises that we’ve been doing because for the last couple of weeks basically we have seen him running around trying to bring his fitness up to a level that would enable him to take part in a Premier League match.

“Of course you don’t want to lose your best players when you’re going into those matches, so I’m pretty certain he will give everyone a boost. I’m certain he will make our team stronger by the fact that he is now back with us, able to play.”

Hodgson was less forthcoming about Zaha’s future, with the Ivory Coast international rumoured to have been offered a would-be club record contract to extend his stay in south London after his current deal expires at the end of the season.

He said: “That’s not my business of course, that’s club business.

“If you ask me as a Crystal Palace fan I would say it’s very important to try and keep him and I’ll be more than happy if he decides to stay, but it’s certainly outside of my remit so I’m certain that if you really wanted to know the situation between him and the club then you would have to speak either to him or to [chairman] Steve Parish or [sporting director] Dougie Freedman.”

Palace will also benefit from a fit Joachim Andersen, who was forced off during the Wolves encounter.

The 12th-placed Eagles were in a very different situation when Hodgson accepted the reins from Patrick Vieira just under six weeks ago.

Their position in the table has barely changed since before Christmas, but results elsewhere meant Palace had gradually slipped deeper into the relegation conversation.

Palace have 37 points and another three will all but guarantee safety for another season. It is something Hodgson is aware of, but insists will never feature in motivating speeches to his side.

He added: “I think the reminder should be that there are five matches to play, five times 95 minutes.

“Each one of those minutes could be very, very important, each one of those games could be very important for various reasons and there is no reason for us at any stage during those five games to be guilty of not giving what we’ve given in each one of those five matches so far, because there’s not been one of those five matches which has disappointed me even slightly.

“I’ve been in fact, quite often, more than happy with the way the team has played, so I don’t see why I should be expected to have to give messages to the players and concern them with numbers of points.

“I think the message is going to be very simple – five games to go, we’ve played five good ones to date, let’s play another five good ones and end the season in a way that we can all be proud of, and let’s see what number of points that gives us.”

The Premier League title race is “not over” for Manchester City and Arsenal, but ex-player Kolo Toure acknowledged the reigning champions hold the advantage.

Pep Guardiola’s side ruthlessly dismantled Arsenal in a 4-1 win on Wednesday, to move two points off the Gunners at the summit with two games in hand.

After dropping points three games on the bounce before their loss to the champions, Arsenal’s hopes of a first title since 2004 look to have slipped away.

But Toure, who won Premier League titles with both clubs across his career, feels it cannot be called until the final day of the season, despite City’s ascendancy.

“It is not over yet,” he told Stats Perform. “There are still some games. [It was a] big statement from City. They showed their qualities, they showed their mentality.

“They showed that they want to win the Premier League. From the start of the season, they have always been the favourite to win it, but [there are a] few games to go.

“Arsenal have been doing very well this season. Challenging City is always really, really hard because of the manager, because of the depth of the team they have.

“But Arsenal are surprising everybody and until the last game, you cannot say that league is done. As soon as you have one mistake, and you lose one game, everything changes in your mind.

“The pressure starts again. That’s why, for Arsenal, it’s very important that they stay on it. They have to make sure they don’t make any mistakes to keep the pressure on City.”

Arsenal had been considered rank outsiders for the title in pre-season, but until their recent dip, looked in a commanding position to push on and secure victory.

A slew of draws with Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton have cost them dearly however, with the defeat to City taking matters out of their hands.

Toure disagrees with the idea Arsenal have choked from the pressure however, and believes the Gunners have shown exceptional growth under Mikel Arteta to even be in the conversation.

“It’s very harsh [to say so],” he added. “That’s harsh because no one expected Arsenal to do what they are doing. Until the season is over, it’s not over.

“I would say they’re on the right road and the right track, because Arsenal have been suffering for a few years with some of their results. Arteta came, he did a great job.

He has put the club on the right path now. They just have to believe in him, they just have to carry on with what they’re doing. I believe they are on the right track.

“[If they] stay calm, keep doing the process, keep putting pressure on those immense clubs like City, like Liverpool, then there is a moment where your time will come to shine.”

Arsenal next face a London derby with struggling Chelsea on Tuesday before a clash with top-four rivals Newcastle United a week on Sunday.

Kolo Toure sees no reason why Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe cannot take up the mantle of football’s great rivalry.

Haaland scored his 49th goal of the season as Manchester City thrashed Arsenal 4-1 on Wednesday, while Mbappe is enjoying another stellar campaign at Paris Saint-Germain, as well as having won the Golden Boot at the Qatar World Cup.

Mbappe’s 34 goals across all competitions this term is bettered only by Haaland’s extraordinary tally when it comes to players from Europe’s top five leagues.

With Mbappe’s club-mate Lionel Messi reaching the twilight of his career and Cristiano Ronaldo having left Europe for Saudi Arabia, former City and Arsenal defender Toure has no doubt the France star, 24, and Haaland, 22, will be the players battling it out at the pinnacle of the game.

“Absolutely, absolutely. They are both incredibly great players,” Toure told Stats Perform.

“Young, hungry players with big qualities, playing for top clubs. You can see that the rivalry is coming, you can feel that, because they’re both goal scorers.

“They have different qualities obviously. There is one who really is a good scorer and there is one who – yeah he can score goals, but at the same time, he can provide, he can dribble.

“It’s going to be really interesting to see both of them fighting, because they are the next generation, definitely.”

Haaland, who supplied two assists for Kevin De Bruyne against Arsenal, lacked his usual clinical edge in the game, seeing several attempts saved by Aaron Ramsdale before he ultimately got his goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

That took Haaland onto 33 league goals for the season, a new record for a 38-game Premier League campaign and one away from the competition’s best-ever tally of 34 (held by Alan Shearer and Andy Cole).

“He is a very dominant striker,” Toure said of the Norway international.

“But, one thing I have to say is he chose the right thing for him, because he’s a goal scorer and he needs to play for a team that provides him the ball.

“When you have De Bruyne, you have [Bernardo] Silva, you have [Ilkay] Gundogan, you have Jack Grealish, unbelievable players around him providing the ball, the quality they’re showing to support him is incredibly great.

“That’s so clever from the boy, he made the right choice.

“He got to the right team. We’re going to do the work for him to just finish, because he’s a finisher.

“His control, the way he handled the ball to bring the team up when Arsenal were pressing them, it was unbelievable. I saw a player who can get the ball from the feet, take the ball, dribble past two, three, three players and have a shot.

“That shows the quality he has and there’s big room for him to just keep improving. He is in the right team, he has the right manager and he will keep improving definitely. But, what he has shown is unbelievable.”

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi believes Joao Pedro is a “great player” but was relatively tight-lipped on a potential club-record deal for the Watford forward.

Pedro, who has scored 11 goals in 35 Sky Bet Championship outings this term, is reportedly on the verge of agreeing a summer move to the Seagulls.

The cost of the deal is expected to eclipse the transfer of defender Adam Webster from Bristol City for a fee of around £20million in August 2019.

De Zerbi initially joked he was unaware of 21-year-old Brazilian Pedro before expressing admiration for a player who joined the Hornets from Fluminense in January 2020.

“Joao Pedro is a big, big player but I don’t know if it’s close or not,” said the Italian. “He’s a great player.

“I think we are a very good team. We can improve but it’s not the right moment to speak too much about the transfer market.”

Brighton are bidding to get their European push back on track following a 3-1 midweek loss at relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest.

De Zerbi feels his players suffered a hangover from last weekend’s Wembley FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester United at the City Ground.

The former Shakhtar Donetsk coach ended training on Friday by speaking with his squad about their mentality ahead of Saturday’s home game against Wolves.

“I think we should have forgotten the Wembley match but instead we brought our disappointment inside of the game in Nottingham,” he said.

“It can happen when you are not used to playing so many games in a row, so many important games.

“Our improvement will be to get used to playing these type of games, this level of games.

“In 90 per cent of my press conferences I have spoken about the mentality, the level of the head and we finished (training) today to speak the same things.

“I am not speaking about the quality, the ability inside of the pitch. But I think we lost the game in Nottingham before we started the game.”

Eighth-placed Brighton return to the Amex Stadium this weekend to begin three-successive home matches following five games on the road.

De Zerbi, who conceded some of his players had been feeling tired due to a busy fixture list and some injury issues, hopes Albion’s fans can help the team return to winning ways.

“I am looking forward to playing in our stadium,” he said.

“I am looking forward to receive their support and their love. We need it in this moment.

“The players need the passion of our fans. I would like to play with 12 players tomorrow – 11 players with the boots and one player more in the stand.”

Striker Evan Ferguson remains doubtful after missing two games with an ankle problem but defender Joel Veltman is expected to be available.

Everton manager Sean Dyche stressed his players have to handle the high stakes which come with playing for the club.

A 4-1 defeat at home to Newcastle means they head into Monday’s relegation six-pointer at Leicester, one point above them in 18th, having to win if they are to stand any realistic chance of extending their 69-year stay in the top flight.

It is a huge occasion which is likely to have a massive bearing on the futures of both clubs, and having seen his side crumble in the second half at home to the high-flying Magpies Dyche wants his players to understand just what the implications are.

The Toffees boss, without a win in 10 matches, said: “The stakes have been high since I got here.

“The stakes should be high, by the way. A club like Everton, the stakes should be high. That’s what the players need to remember. They need to be high at this football club.

“If we go down there, take on the game and win, then it creates a different atmosphere and the belief floods back in very quickly. It’s strange how quickly it can turn around.

“The key point is you making it happen, I can’t emphasise that enough. I say it to the players constantly – you make things happen in football.

“Now and again you get a lucky one but even that doesn’t really build belief. The ones that build belief are when you take it on, then deliver and get a result.”

Erik ten Hag has hailed Bruno Fernandes as the example Manchester United’s players must follow if the club is to build a winning culture.

The midfielder was pictured wearing a protective boot after injuring his ankle during United’s FA Cup semi-final win against Brighton on Sunday, but recovered in time to captain the side in Thursday’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham.

United were two goals up at half-time, with Fernandes instrumental in setting up Marcus Rashford to score after Jadon Sancho had given the visitors an early lead.

Spurs hit back after the break and claimed a point thanks to goals from Pedro Porro and Son Heung-min.

After watching his team let a two-goal lead slip, United’s manager praised his skipper’s readiness to suffer for the cause and called on the players to make Fernandes their inspiration if they are to find the consistency to compete on all fronts.

United lead Spurs by six points and have two games in hand in the race to finish in the top four, and in June will look to add the FA Cup to the Carabao Cup they have already won when they face Manchester City at Wembley.

“I think as Man United and as a top team then you have to compete and go for the win in every competition you are in, so that’s what we are doing,” said Ten Hag.

“That is the culture we want to construct, so that is what we are doing. It has to be in the mindset of every player and every employee who is working for Manchester United.”

Of Fernandes’s recovery he said: “It was tough, a big compliment on Bruno. He absolutely doesn’t want to miss this game and he did everything to get fit.

“I think he is the example, and that you have to suffer and you have to sacrifice when you want to play on the top level, you want to achieve something.

“So once again he showed there how great a captain he is, how he has taken responsibility, even when he is not 100 per cent fit.

“But he did the job, he was important in this game as well. Hopefully the team can, not learn, but see him as an inspiration and do the same.”

The draw with Spurs was the second time in two weeks that United had thrown away a two-goal lead, following their late collapse against Sevilla in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final.

They subsequently capitulated in the return meeting in Spain, losing 3-0 to crash out of the competition.

There have also been limp defeats to Newcastle and Liverpool, the latter a 7-0 hammering, but Ten Hag was quick to remind critics that his team have beaten the top two in the Premier League and the La Liga leaders this campaign.

“We had some games I like,” said Ten Hag. “Two weeks ago against Forest (a 2-0 win), I think that was almost optimum. You see it’s not so easy to play Forest, you see Liverpool struggling, you see Brighton struggling there. That was a very good performance on our side.

“We had more games, I would have to think which games. Especially I think City (at home), that was a brilliant game. We had more, I think Arsenal, both games we played very well. We had many games where we were very dominant.

“Betis, Barcelona. So we had our games where we played very good football.”

Gareth Bale has turned down the chance to come out of retirement and play for Hollywood-owned Wrexham.

Former Wales captain Bale was offered the opportunity to play for the Welsh club by actors and co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney following their promotion to the English Football League last weekend.

McElhenney wrote on Twitter: “Hey @GarethBale11 let’s play golf, where I totally won’t spend four hours trying to convince you to un-retire for one last magical season.”

Deadpool star Reynolds added: “I will shave a professional-grade golf course into Rob’s back if you’ll give Wrexham a season.”

But Bale, who ended his illustrious career in January after leading Wales to the World Cup, has knocked back the idea of coming out of retirement at the UK Sport Industry Awards 2023.

Asked if he was tempted to play football again at Wrexham, the 33-year-old said: “No, I don’t think so. I think I was looking more for a free round of golf off Rob.

“I’m sure we’ll have a chat and a joke but I’m quite happy where I am.

“I’m spending a lot of time with my kids, my wife, time that I’ve lost so much over the years being committed to football. I’m just enjoying family life and playing some golf.”

Bale received the Outstanding Contribution to Sport Award at the London ceremony, while the Football Association of Wales were named Sport Organisation of the Year.

Asked if he missed football, former Real Madrid star Bale replied: “No. I’m enjoying my time away. I started at a young age and felt the time was right.

“We left Wales football in a great place and I’m sure they’re going to still continue to strive and do good things.”

Wrexham play their final game of the season at Torquay on Saturday, where a win will extend their National League points record to 113.