Category: English Premier League

Manchester United’s new manager is increasingly looking like an odd hire, especially compared to the successful succession at their arch rivals

Perhaps the most striking aspect of Ruben Amorim’s time at Manchester United is the physical effect of the job, the altered optics. Amorim turned up at Old Trafford looking like a handsome pirate: the jawline, the seigneurial smile, the elite Euro-cardigan styling, the sense that here is someone who smells at all times of high-spec automobile upholstery.

Seven weeks in he has the air of a doomed royal hostage, shuttled joylessly from corridor to touchline by unseen handlers. The smile has fractured, the shoulders have drooped. Most recently United’s head coach has developed a habit of dropping down on to his haunches mid-match and staring deep into the Old Trafford turf, as though searching for a) a contact lens; and b) the remaining fragments of his own shredded and tender soul.

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Arsenal visit Brighton on Saturday while Liverpool face struggling Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday

Saturday 12.30pm TNT Sports 1 Venue Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

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Antonee Robinson is running rampant while Eberechi Eze and Erling Haaland hope to build on goals from last time out

The contrast is significant. Newcastle arrive on the back of four league wins and four clean sheets. Tottenham have one victory in their last seven league games, four goals conceded against Chelsea before being hit for six by a rampaging Liverpool side. Spurs have had little trouble going forward but there remains a concern with the returns from their captain, Son Heung-min. The South Korean has had a quiet season by his excellent standards, seven goals in all competitions thus far, an eighth denied by a miss from the penalty spot against Wolves. Hamstring troubles hampered him earlier in the season and, amid Spurs’ wider difficulties, there is the subplot of a change in status within their attack. Dejan Kulusevski has become the central figure; Brennan Johnson, out on the right, is Spurs’ leading goalscorer across all competitions; Dominic Solanke is steadily finding his way. With Son approaching a decade in north London, the future is taking shape. Taha Hashim

Tottenham v Newcastle, Saturday 12.30pm (all times GMT)

Aston Villa v Leicester, Saturday 3pm

Bournemouth v Everton, Saturday 3pm

Crystal Palace v Chelsea, Saturday 3pm

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Arsenal came from behind to close the gap at the top to six points

4 min: A bit of space for Lewis-Potter down the left. He crosses low in the hope of finding Mbeumo in the middle, but Raya reads the danger and flops on the ball.

3 min: Jesus runs slap-bang into Norgaard and takes an accidental whack in the ribs. For a second it looks worrying for the striker, and Arsenal, but he’s just winded and is soon back up and running.

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The flags signal the nationality of each club’s manager on the final day of the season in the order the teams finished

In some places you may see two flags together. The first represents where the manager was born, the second is the nation the manager represented in their playing days.

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• Brazilian pushed Ipswich security guard in the face
• Wolves forward to miss Forest and Bristol City games

The Wolves forward Matheus Cunha has been suspended for two games and fined £80,000 following a melee after the Premier League game against Ipswich this month.

The hugely influential Cunha will now miss games against Nottingham Forest in the league and the FA Cup tie against Bristol City.

The forward was charged with misconduct and it was alleged that he acted in an improper manner after the final whistle. He admitted the charge and the sanctions were subsequently imposed by an independent regulatory commission.

Full written reasons for this case will be published in due course.

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• United seven points off drop zone after loss to Newcastle
• Coach says club will have to sell to buy in January window

Ruben Amorim admitted Manchester United need a “shock” and are being dragged into a relegation fight after their 2-0 defeat by Newcastle at Old Trafford on Monday night.

It leaves United in 14th place on 22 points at the halfway stage of the Premier League season, seven above the drop zone. The defeat came after first-half goals from Alexander Isak and Joelinton and is United’s fourth consecutive loss in all competitions and the first time three consecutive home league matches have been lost since 1978-79.

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Goals from Alexander Isak and Joelinton in the first 20 minutes boosted Newcastle’s top-four hopes and left their sorry hosts stunned

The teams are out! Manchester United wear their storied red, while Newcastle United are in their equally iconic black and white stripes. The Stone Roses blare out of the PA system. This is indeed the one. Peter Oh is also in musical – and indeed festive – mood: “♬ Should old acquaintance be forgot...? ♪ Probably yes, if you’re Man United and you want to finally get out from under Sir Alex Ferguson’s shadow.” We’ll be off in a minute.

Pre-match postbag. “So can we expect Newcastle players to start high-fiving and hugging each other the first time they get a corner tonight? It’s as good as a goal against Manchester United these days, if they stick two Magpies on Onana” – Justin Kavanagh

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Manchester United are dipping towards the drop zone under Ruben Amorim, a head coach who took over on 11 November and forgot to pack the “bounce” often gifted to an employer after sacking the last guy.

This was United’s fourth straight defeat in all competitions and the first time three consecutive home league matches have been lost since 1978-79. After 11 games, the Portuguese coach’s record reads six defeats, four wins and one draw. Peer at the table and United are 14th on 22 points. No ­wonder, afterwards, Amorim admitted rele­gation is a threat and “our club needs a shock”.

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If Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton go down this season, that will be 10 of the last 15 promoted sides who have gone straight back down

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And so the year ends, as always seemed likely, with the bottom three places in the Premier League occupied by the three promoted sides. With Wolves and Crystal Palace resurgent and Everton under new ownership and having found the solidity that is always the key strength of Sean Dyche teams, the situation is bleak for the three currently in the relegation zone. Each will have their own reflections on the first half of the season but, more generally, the picture is worrying: the three promoted sides were relegated last season and the gulf between Premier League and Championship is coming to feel almost impossibly wide.

The bottom side Southampton are 10 points from safety. Realistically they probably need to average a point and a half a game from here to stay up – which is to say that they are as good as down. The two games since Russell Martin was sacked have shown an improvement, but even then battling performances at Fulham and Crystal Palace have yielded a single point. Perhaps they would have had a better chance of survival had they not been wedded to a high-risk passing style that kept on surrendering possession in dangerous areas but, in truth, this never looked anything like a Premier League squad. The priority now must be to acquire the six points they need to avoid breaking Derby’s record low of 11 points for the season.

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• Spurs face further absences after 2-2 draw with Wolves
• Manager gives squad two days off before Newcastle clash

Ange Postecoglou is not ready to write off Tottenham’s Premier League campaign just yet despite more dropped points on Sunday.

Spurs were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Wolves after they conceded with three minutes left on another difficult afternoon that saw Destiny Udogie become the latest player to limp off.

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Mo Salah scored one and made two as Liverpool dismantled West Ham to move eight points clear at the top

1 min Yep, Aaron Wan-Bissaka has started at left-back in a 4-1-4-1 formation.

1 min West Ham kick off from left to right as we watch. Liverpool are wearing their black and turquoise change strip.

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Dango Ouattara scored an 89th-minute equaliser as Bournemouth snatched a point in a 2-2 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Raúl Jiménez scored his sixth Premier League goal of the season before Evanilson struck early in the second half to level. After Harry Wilson scored his second in as many matches, Ouattara came off the bench to force the stalemate in the final minutes.

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Nottingham Forest continue their remarkable ascent under Nuno Espírito Santo. A club that was one place above the relegation zone when Nuno took over 12 months ago now sit second in the Premier League table after a comfortable victory over Everton. The Champions League may not be a fanciful dream after all.

The outstanding duo of Chris Wood and Morgan Gibbs-White scored the goals that secured Forest’s fifth win in a row, equalling the club’s Premier League record set in April 1995. A commanding team performance also ensured that, for the first time since 1898/99, Forest have won in the league at both Everton and Liverpool. Sean Dyche’s team had gone six Premier League games unbeaten at Goodison Park prior to Forest’s visit but were a distant second-best throughout.

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When Aaron Ramsdale swapped warming the bench at Arsenal for a relegation battle with Southampton, even the England goalkeeper could not have imagined it would be this bad. Another defeat – a 15th in 19 Premier League games – was especially hard to take after Tyler Dibling had given them a surprise lead to end a four-match wait to score a league goal and their first under the new manager, Ivan Juric.

But while Ramsdale was angered by the decision not to disallow Trevoh Chalobah’s equaliser for a push on the Southampton goalkeeper, it was only down to a string of fine saves that the scoreline was respectable as Palace secured a second home victory of the campaign thanks to Eberechi Eze’s brilliant finish. That leaves Oliver Glasner’s side looking much more comfortable after their slow start to the season – while surpassing Derby’s Premier League record low points tally of 11 may be the limit to Juric’s ambitions.

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