Category: Football (Soccer)

Manchester City unrepentant in victory, Spurs make progress of a sort and Noni Madueke meets the moment

The manner of Manchester City’s victory at Liverpool was an article of both vindication and vilification. Those gleefully wielding inflatable bananas in the Anfield away end could thumb their noses. Why not enjoy the dances of defiance until the music stops? The same went for City players, asked to perform under the darkest of clouds, able to focus, at last, on football, rather than legal argument and uncertain futures. Beyond City, the sight of a club found guilty of 100-plus charges laying waste to such rivals as Liverpool was deeply uncomfortable. The Premier League season and product are badly damaged until the matter is somehow resolved. What happened at Anfield should double the haste for a resolution. Chants of “cheat” whenever City players, the game already won, slipped the ball around, are bound to be repeated at other stadiums. Enzo Maresca has described his club’s plight as “noise” but his team’s victory did absolutely nothing to turn the volume down. John Brewin

Match report: Liverpool 0-3 Manchester City

Match report: Crystal Palace 3-1 Nottingham Forest

Match report: Hull City 2-2 Everton

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Football felt secondary on the first weekend of action since club were found guilty of breaking financial rules

The Cimbri are heading menacingly south, but in Rome life goes on. The asteroid is definitely coming this way, but people go to work, eat, drink, plan as usual. The White Walkers are approaching the Wall, but the squabbles between the great houses go on. Everyone in the Premier League knows the crisis is approaching, thinks – hopes, fears? – it may be apocalyptic, but until it arrives, what can you do but carry on?

After any break, there’s always an awkward moment while everybody resets. What was the cliffhanger we left the soap opera on? What new plotline had just been seeded? This is one of the reasons international weeks are so disruptive. It’s not just that the Premier League story slows for a while, it’s that we are reminded that these entities are not eternal but alliances of convenience between paid employees who have a life outside the soap opera.

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It is fair to say Oliver Glasner has had more enjoyable afternoons. The Nottingham Forest head coach arrived in south London dressed like a bouncer from All Bar One in a black bomber jacket, as if he was anticipating trouble, but was instead given a rapturous reception by the home fans who used to worship him.

The generosity towards their former manager seemed to have extended to Palace’s players as Dan Ndoye was handed a goal in the third minute. Pierre Sage’s side were awful in the opening 40 minutes. Yet Forest could not find a way to beat Walter Benítez again as Liam Delap missed a golden chance to extend their lead and the Argentina goalkeeper’s heroics inspired a thrilling comeback that secured Sage’s first home victory in the Premier League since taking over from Glasner in the summer.

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Hull retained their unbeaten home record since returning to the Premier League with an entertaining draw against Everton at the MKM Stadium.

Brennan Johnson found the net in the 34th minute but was denied a first Premier League goal for Everton following a video assistant referee check, leaving the sides to go in goalless at the break. The hosts wasted little time after the interval, however, as Joe Gelhardt opened the scoring in the 48th minute following an error by Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

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City embraced a hostile atmosphere and overwhelmed Liverpool after Ryan Gravenberch’s red card

An update from Will Unwin, who is part of our team at Anfield for today’s game

A group of over 600 Manchester City fans were given a police escort across Stanley Park, chanting as they went about their owners and throwing abuse back at any Liverpool fans who took issue. The message was a clear one of defiance from the hardcore away support.

Crystal Palace 3-1 Nottingham Forest

Hull City 2-2 Everton

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There’s little prospect of the model changing in a country that welcomes wealthy international owners with open arms

Football, the world’s most popular sport, played by laws drawn up in London in 1863. The Premier League is the UK’s greatest soft power export. Premier League clubs are owned by a deputy prime minister of Abu Dhabi, the public investment fund of Saudi Arabia, a billionaire based in Monaco for tax reasons and a disappointing assortment of investors and private equity funds. And what, really, could be more British than that? Football truly is the national game.

What the Manchester City case has exposed is just how difficult it is to regulate some of the richest and most powerful bodies in the world. While the wait for the verdict was frustrating, it’s perhaps unavoidable given the possibility of legal objection at every turn when a leaked email from City’s in-house lawyer during Uefa’s action against the club had threatened to “spend 30 million on the 50 best lawyers in the world to sue them for the next 10 years”. You didn’t get that with Albert Alexander Sr or Peter Swales.

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Manchester United are on six points – their poorest start since 1986 – and Tottenham have three less and remain stuck in the relegation zone: testing times for Michael Carrick and Roberto De Zerbi, who must somehow revive their teams following a contest that was lit up by a moment of quality in the 73rd minute.

Matheus Cunha was fed by Luke Shaw down the left and the Brazilian crossed to Bryan Mbeumo, who spun and finished for United. It drew delirious chants of “You’re going down with the City”: Spurs, at this stage, were rock-bottom, and Manchester City’s long-term future in the division is in the balance.

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Dominic Solanke earned a deserved point for Spurs despite Rodrigo Bentancur’s red card

Spurs get the ball rolling. They’re kicking towards the Stretford End in this first half.

The teams are out. Manchester United in their famous red, white and black, Tottenham in second-choice dark blue with diagonal multi-coloured neon nonsense. Meanwhile here’s the first line of a song ringing out loud from all four corners of Old Trafford: “You know what you are.” No prizes for guessing the rest of the lyrics, or which club they’re serenading. Don’t look back in anger? Good luck with that! We’ll be off in a minute.

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Álvaro Arbeloa bristled at suggestions he cannot handle the pressure after Fulham’s at Ipswich extended their winless start in the Premier League to six matches. The former Real Madrid manager was minutes away from a first managerial victory in the competition after Ryan Sessegnon’s brilliant 55th-minute strike, but the visitors collapsed late on in abject fashion.

Abdoul Ouattara produced a thunderbolt from 30 yards to level for Ipswich after 88 minutes and Dara O’Shea headed home Jack Clarke’s free-kick in the second minute of stoppage time to consign the visitors to a painful loss. Tottenham securing a point at Manchester United pushed Fulham to the bottom of the table.

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The reigning champions were forced to dig extremely deep to come from behind and beat visitors who can go home with their heads held extremely high

• Read Paul MacInnes’s match report from the Emirates Stadium

An email: “Happy Saturday, Barry,” writes Mark Kerry. “Is it just me or are there other baffled Arsenal fans out there regarding Arteta’s obsession with starting Havertz as a centre forward? I just can’t see the rationale for it at this point, given that Havertz has proven over the last few seasons that he’s not at all prolific, whereas Gyokeres is clearly a capable finisher - as exemplified both by last season in the Premier League but also during recent internationals. Would Arsenal not be better to persist with, or even adapt to,a more natural goal scorer?”

I’m not an Arsenal fan, baffled or otherwise, but I don’t think Gyokeres is a good enough centre-forward to play for them and I’m not sure he’s done anywhere near enough to convince Mikel Arteta otherwise. His forte is running behind into the kind of space Arsenal just aren’t afforded by most teams they play against and for such a big unit, his hold-up play is dismal. It doesn’t surprise me that Kai Havertz is picked ahead of him.

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How will Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur fare today? Here is what to know, including kick-off time, TV channels and live stream options

The sense of desperation will be strong as Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur arrive at Old Trafford with both teams in bad need of a win to change the narrative around their disappointing seasons so far.

Anything less than three points would further increase the pressure on Michael Carrick and Roberto De Zerbi, both of whom are fighting to prove they are the right people for their respective jobs. Saturday’s match could be pivotal.

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How will Arsenal and Leeds United fare today? Here is what to know, including kick-off time, TV channels and live stream options

Three points is all that separates Arsenal and Leeds United as the Premier League returns after a three-week international break, with the latter one of the surprise packages of the season so far.

Unlike Arsenal, Leeds have yet to lose a league game this season. Daniel Farke’s team have earned a reputation for being difficult to beat and have the quality to cause an upset in north London this weekend.

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