Sports
Manchester United pull surprise 2-1 win over Liverpool
Despite Mohamed Salah’s late strike, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford had given Manchester United their first win of the season with a 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford on Monday.
Though Manchester United had started the weekend bottom of the Premier League, they have moved above Liverpool after the monday Night win for their new Dutch manager.
Jurgen Klopp’s men are yet to win three games into the new season, which has dimmed the hope of Liverpool’s expected title challenge
United fans began the evening with a protest march on Old Trafford against the Glazer family’s ownership of the club ahead of the match against Liverpool.
Supporters’ group ‘The 1958′ had urged fans to join a march from the Tollgate pub to the Trinity statue outside the stadium. The group said the protest was against “an ownership that is systematically starving and killing the greatest football institution in world football, for greed.”
The Glazers have regularly taken sums of money out of the football club, and with United’ s debts having risen to nearly £500m in recent financial accounts, an increase of 11.8 per cent from last year. Dividend payments have been made to shareholders in recent months, despite last season’s poor performance, and fans have been dispirited by what appears to have been a shambolic summer transfer window.
A social media movement encouraging supporters to boycott the game in the wake of an embarrassing 4-0 defeat at Brentford last weekend failed to materialise.
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Despite victory jubilation of a first league win over Liverpool since 2018, chants of “we want Glazers out” dominated most part of the march
Ten Hag responded to the concession of four goals inside 35 minutes at Brentford by dropping Cristiano Ronaldo and captain Harry Maguire among four changes.
Having earned the negative accolade of being first United manager in more than a century to lose his first two games, the former Ajax manager got the rythm he desired in an explosive opening half hour that marred Liverpool dream
Anthony Elanga should have opened the scoring when he curled off the base of the post after two passes from Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes carved Liverpool wide open.
Defensive miscalculation had been a re-occuring decimal of Liverpool’s winless start to the season as they failed to learn their lesson for the opening goal on 16 minutes.
A neat one-two between Elanga and Christian Eriksen opened up the Liverpool defence once more and when the ball was cut back to Sancho, he left James Milner on the floor before coolly tucking in.
Milner bounced back up to confront Virgil Van Dijk for his role in the goal as the Dutch defender sat off Sancho.
Alisson Becker was then forced to tip Eriksen’s dipping free-kick over before the visitors were able to restore some order in the closing stages of the first half.
United nearly gifted them an equaliser when Fernandes blasted Milner’s header towards his own goal and was fortunate to see the ball rebound back off Lisandro Martinez on the line.
Liverpool’s reluctance to refresh Klopp’s midfield options will face more scrutiny in the final days of the transfer window.
With Thiago Alcantara and Naby Keita out injured, the 36-year-old Milner showed his age and Klopp had precious few options to turn to on the bench with new 75 million euro (£64 million, $77 million) striker Darwin Nunez serving the first of a three-match ban for being sent off on his home debut.
Liverpool’s lack of energy in midfield paved the way for United’s second goal as Jordan Henderson’s poor touch presented possession to Anthony Martial and his perfect through ball set Rashford free to score his first goal since January.
In a significant development for Nigerian football, former Super Eagles winger Finidi George has been appointed as the new head coach of the nation’s senior men’s national team.
This decision, announced by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Monday, follows the endorsement of its Technical and Development Committee.
George, a 52-year-old former player for Ajax Amsterdam and Real Betis, previously served as an assistant to outgoing coach José Santos Peseiro.
He took on the role of interim coach after Peseiro’s departure following the Super Eagles’ impressive performance in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
During his interim tenure, George oversaw two friendly matches in Morocco, where the team secured a historic 2-1 victory against Ghana but suffered a 0-2 loss to Mali.
The NFF statement reads, “George, a member of the so-styled ‘Golden Generation’ that won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Tunisia and emerged as the second most entertaining team in Nigeria’s debut at the FIFA World Cup finals in USA the same year, won 62 caps for Nigeria, including featuring at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup finals.”
The statement commemorating George’s appointment as the new head coach of Nigeria’s senior men’s national team also paid tribute to his esteemed playing career.
It underscored George’s remarkable achievements, including securing gold, silver, and bronze medals from the 1992, 1994, 2000, and 2002 AFCON tournaments.
Additionally, the statement fondly recalled one of George’s defining moments when he assisted Rashidi Yekini, may he rest in peace, in netting Nigeria’s inaugural FIFA World Cup goal against Bulgaria in Dallas, USA, on June 19, 1994.
The newly appointed Super Eagles boss faces an immediate challenge as he prepares to lead the team in two pivotal 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against South Africa and the Benin Republic.
Set to take place in Uyo and Abidjan within the next five weeks, these matches are deemed must-win encounters, as emphasized by the Nigeria Football Federation statement.
With the Super Eagles currently trailing behind in third place in Group C of the African campaign, behind Rwanda and South Africa, securing victories in these upcoming fixtures is imperative for the team’s advancement in the competition.
Thiago Silva has confirmed his departure from Chelsea, marking the end of his four-year journey at Stamford Bridge.
The announcement was shared on the club’s official website on Monday.
In a poignant farewell message to the fans, Thiago reflected, “Chelsea means a lot to me. I came here with the intention of only staying for a year and it ended up being four years. Not just for me but for my family, too.”
‘My sons play for Chelsea so it’s a source of great pride to be a part of the Chelsea family – literally because my sons are here. I hope they can continue their careers here at this victorious club that many players wish to be part of.
‘I think in everything I did here over the four years, I always gave my all. But, unfortunately, everything has a start, a middle and an end. That doesn’t mean that this is a definitive end.
“I hope to leave the door open so that in the near future I can return, albeit in another role here. But…it’s an indescribable love. I can only say thank you.”
Barcelona has been fined 25,000 euros ($26,680) by UEFA on Thursday for the racist conduct of their fans during the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain.
Alongside the fine, Barcelona faces a suspended ban on selling tickets to their supporters for their next away European match.
The tie concluded with Barcelona’s defeat, losing 6-4 on aggregate after PSG secured a 4-1 victory in the second leg.
Following the incident, Paris police questioned two individuals after videos emerged on social media showing one fan making monkey noises and another performing Nazi salutes at the Parc des Princes on April 10th.
UEFA said “The UEFA Appeals Body has decided to fine FC Barcelona 25,000 euros and to ban the FC Barcelona from selling tickets to its away supporters for its next UEFA competition match, for the racist behaviour of its supporters.
“Said ban from selling tickets to its away supporters is suspended for a probationary period of one year, starting from the date of the present decision.” It added
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