NORWICH: Southampton hammered bottom side Norwich City 3-0 after scoring twice in five minutes soon after the break and adding another late on in their Premier League game at Carrow Road on Friday.
Danny Ings, Stuart Armstrong and Nathan Redmond all netted as Saints notched their seventh away win of the season and left Norwich on 21 points, six adrift of the safety zone and having played a game more than their relegation rivals.
Ings struck the bar in the first half but made no mistake with a curling effort inside the penalty area in the 49th minute to open the scoring with his 16th league goal of the season.
Armstrong finished with an accurate shot, squeezed just inside the left-hand post and outstretched arm of goalkeeper Tim Krul, for the second in the 54th after the visitors had broken away quickly and caught the home defence scrambling.
It could have been even worse for the hosts minutes later when new Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse had an effort cleared off the line by Max Aarons.
But Redmond did eventually add to the scoreline with a deserved goal after a fine individual performance, dropping his shoulder to round the Norwich defence and shooting across the keeper to net in the 79th minute.
The victory lifted Southampton above Newcastle United into 13th place on 37 points from 30 games and was fully deserved on the basis of their strong second-half showing.
It could have been a lot different had Norwich taken their early chances, notably one for Josip Drmic, the Swiss international making his first start since signing at the start of the season from Borussia Moenchengladbach.
He showed his rustiness as the ball got stuck under his feet after he was smartly cued up by Teemu Pukki in the eighth minute.
Pukki had a good chance of his own from close range midway through the second half but was blocked by Jan Bednarek in what was characteristic of a tired-looking performance by Norwich.
LONDON: Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes fired home a late penalty to rescue a point for the visitors in a lively 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Friday.
It had looked as though Dutchman Steven Bergwijn’s first-half strike would prove enough to revive Tottenham’s faltering hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
But United, with Paul Pogba on as a second-half substitute for his first appearance since January because of injury, stretched their unbeaten run in all competitions to 12.
Pogba immediately added some spark to United’s play and it was his dribble that forced a clumsy tackle by Eric Dier to concede the penalty that Fernandes fired past Hugo Lloris.
United thought they had another penalty awarded in stoppage time when Fernandes went over under challenge from Dier but VAR rightly reversed the decision to the home side’s relief.
Spurs remained in eighth spot on 42 points while United are fifth on 46, two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
The usual pre-match music bellowed around the empty 62,000-seater stadium, but after the whistle blew an eerie silence descended — the new normal in the Premier League since the restart from the stoppage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite the lack of atmosphere there was no lack of energy on the field in an often feisty clash.
SUPERB STRIKE
Marcus Rashford, who used the long break to recover from a back injury, almost gave United the lead after 21 minutes when his close-range volley was kept out by Lloris’s legs.
It was Tottenham who went ahead though shortly afterwards.
Bergwijn marked his Spurs debut with a superb strike against Manchester City in February and showed again why the club signed him from PSV Eindhoven in the January transfer window.
His strike after a surging run was fierce but straight at David de Gea who could only deflect it into the net.
The Spanish keeper did much better soon after when he tipped Son Heung-min’s header over the bar.
Pogba replaced the ineffective Fred just past the hour and United were immediately more dangerous.
Twice Anthony Martial looked certain to equalise, first when Dier made a sliding interception to block his shot and then when Lloris produced a stunning flying save.
Victory would have launched Spurs back into the hunt for a top-five finish but Dier’s rash tackle left them frustrated.
It could have been worse for Jose Mourinho’s side. After their VAR let-off United substitute Mason Greenwood went agonisingly close to snatching a winner.
LONDON – Pelatih Manchester United, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer memuji aksi Paul Pogba disaat timnya menghadapi Tottenham Hotspur di laga pekan ke-30 Liga Inggris 2019-2020 yang berlangsung pada Sabtu (20/6/2020) dini hari WIB tadi. Meski Man United tak bisa menang alias hanya meraih hasil imbang 1-1, namun Solskjaer melihat penampilan Pogba sangatlah luar biasa.
Apalagi laga yang berlangsung di Tottenham Hotspur Stadium tersebut adalah penampilan perdana Pogba semenjak cedera panjangnya. Tercatat terakhir kali gelandang asal Prancis itu bermain adalah ketika melawan Newcastle United di Liga Inggris pada 26 Desember 2020 silam.
Hampir enam bulan lamanya Pogba berjuang melawan cedera agar cepat sembuh dan kini ia sudah pulih, dan menurut Solskjaer penampilan gelandangnya tersebut sangatlah luar biasa. Bahkan pelatih asal Norwegia itu merasa seharusnya Man United bisa meraih kemenangan saat Pogba baru dimasukkan di menit ke-63.
Solskjaer merasa masuknya Pogba telah memberikan kreativitas baru dalam penyerangan Man United. Gol penyeimbang Man United di menit 81 pun tak lepas dari sumbangsih Pogba karena ia adalah orang yang dilanggar oleh penggawa Tottenham, Eric Dier sehingga The Red Devils –julukan Man United– mendapatkan hadiah tendangan penalti.
“Menurut saya, performa tim kami di babak kedua layak diganjar satu poin, atau bahkan tiga poin (kemenangan). Para pemain yang bermain banyak membuat perbedaan,” ucap Solskjaer, dilansir dari Sportskeeda, Sabtu (20/6/2020).
“Tentu saja kontribusi Paul Pogba sangat terlihat di laga tersebut (Tottenham vs Man United). Dia memainkan umpan terbaik saat bermain dengan Marcus Rashford. Dan dia memperlihatkan keterampilannya di laga tersebut dan membuat kami dihadiahi tendangan penalt,” tutupnya.
David de Gea made yet another error against Tottenham Hotspur | Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images
A five-minute spell of Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Friday summed David de Gea up perfectly.
In the 32nd minute of the game, he pulled out a wonderful diving save to deny Son Heung-min – but that came five minutes after he let Steven Bergwijn’s strike burst through his hands and into the back of the net.
At his best, De Gea is up there with the world’s best goalkeepers. However, when not on form, the Spaniard can be somewhat of a liability. Over the last few years, he has fallen into that second category a little too often.
This season, we’ve seen big errors from De Gea against Crystal Palace, Everton and Watford, and there were plenty in the previous campaign. Since the start of last season, no player has made more errors leading to goals than him.
It’s happening far too often for United’s (and Roy Keane’s) liking, and De Gea can no longer afford to lean on his reputation as an elite shot stopper. Without results, United will soon have a question to answer about his form.
United are no longer good enough to power through to victories without the help of their goalkeeper, and when they’re not getting that help, there are real problems. Against Spurs, United would have won the game if De Gea hadn’t gifted Bergwijn with a goal.
Ever since the start of the 2018/19 season, when this penchant for an error crept into De Gea’s game, fans have been asking how to resolve things. Is he too relaxed after signing his contract? Is it a lack of competition?
Well, if it’s competition that De Gea needs, he might soon get more than he bargained for. Enter Dean Henderson.
When the 23-year-old left Old Trafford on loan last summer, he was an exciting youngster with a lot of potential. When he comes back at the end of the campaign, he will be a Premier League-calibre goalkeeper who is too good to sit on the bench. That’s competition.
Henderson is expected to head out on loan again next season, but if De Gea continues to underwhelm, could we see the Englishman stay and fight for a spot in the first team?
United will give De Gea every chance to get back to his best – he’s paid far too much to be benched so quickly – but they cannot afford to be weak in defence. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men are chasing down Champions League football, having been down in 14th at one point in the season.
While De Gea has been making mistakes, Henderson has been impressing – and United have taken notice. If the Englishman keeps it up, he could be inching ever closer to his first start for the Red Devils.
Paul Pogba returned to help Manchester United to a 1-1 draw against Tottenham | Pool/Getty Images
Paul Pogba came on as a second-half substitute to help Manchester United come back from a goal down to earn a 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Friday.
The first big chance of the came fell to Marcus Rashford, whose close-range volley needed a good save from Hugo Lloris. Just minutes later, it was Spurs who went ahead through Steven Bergwijn’s outstanding individual run (and some questionable goalkeeping from David de Gea), but the goalkeeper redeemed himself soon after with an excellent save to keep out Son Heung-min.
United searched for an equaliser after the break, with Anthony Martial and Bruno Fernandes both failing to make good chances pay, and as they began to take control of proceedings, only a sublime save from Hugo Lloris stopped Martial from scoring.
After creating chance after chance, United finally grabbed their equaliser from the penalty spot. Paul Pogba was pushed to the ground by Eric Dier and Fernandes stepped up to fire home. United thought they had the chance to steal a victory with a second penalty in the 90th minute, only for VAR to overturn things and ensure both sides took home a point.
Key Talking Point
Nobody needed a break from football quite like Spurs, who were on a rotten run of form and facing the prospect of finishing the season without nearly all of their stars. However, with Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Moussa Sissoko and Steven Bergwijn all back, Spurs looked like a new team when Mourinho gave them the freedom to play.
In typical Mourinho fashion, Spurs gave United plenty of possession and focused on countering, but they did that to perfection early on. There was energy in Spurs’ attacks – the kind of electricity which hasn’t been seen for what feels like an eternity.
Mourinho’s decision to drop back and defend a one-goal lead ended up costing the team, who failed to cope with United’s threat for the majority of the second half. By the time they needed a goal, there was too little time left on the clock.
A note on Kane – he still has a little work to do to get back up to speed, but that’s to be expected. The signs are all encouraging for Spurs.
A season-ending ankle injury proved to be nothing more than a minor inconvenience for the flying Dutchman, who looked as sharp as ever in this one. With Kane struggling to keep up with the tempo, Bergwijn was often the focal point of Spurs’ attack, and it worked to perfection.
He may have needed some help from De Gea for his goal, but he more than deserved that luck with his excellent 40-yard run in the build-up.
Key Talking Point
Like Spurs, this game was all about returning stars for the visitors. Marcus Rashford shook off his back injury to start the game and Paul Pogba managed his first 30 minutes since December. Perhaps fatigued from his undying efforts to protect the entire country, Rashford struggled to get into the game, snatching at his chances, but Pogba was awake and ready to steal the show.
During his brief showing, Pogba looked exactly like the player we know he’s supposed to be. He was defensively powerful and dangerous in the final third, and it was no coincidence that United looked better after he entered the field.
It was Pogba’s trickery which won United the penalty from which they equalised, and that speaks volumes of what he brings to the side. If Pogba can stay healthy and happy, United have a real chance of booking a spot in Europe next season.
Player Ratings
Starting XI: De Gea (5); Wan-Bissaka (5), Lindelöf (5), Maguire (5), Shaw (7); McTominay (7), Fred (6); James (5), Fernandes (8*), Rashford (5); Martial (5).
If Pogba had been on the field longer, this award would go to him. However, that’s not to say that midfield partner Fernandes doesn’t deserve his own credit.
During a lacklustre first half, Fernandes was the only real source of inspiration for United, but he stepped things up after the break. He pulled the strings and kept United moving forward, and the introduction of Pogba only helped.
Fernandes took his penalty calmly and with the composure which has already made him a fan-favourite, and the early signs of his partnership with Pogba looked ludicrously exciting.
Looking Ahead
Spurs will now have to prepare themselves for a fierce London derby as they will face West Ham United on Tuesday.
United welcome Sheffield United to Old Trafford on Wednesday for what could be a crucial fixture in the race for fifth place.
PENYERANG RB Leipzig, Timo Werner sah akan menyertai Chelsea selepas syarat peribadi untuk menyertai the Blues berjaya dimuktamadkan.
Pemain Jerman berusia 24 tahun itu akan menyertai Chelsea pada Julai, selepas musim Bundesliga Jerman tamat.
Werner yang menyertai Leipzig dari Stuttgart pada 2016 berjaya menjaringkan 32 gol dalam semua kejohanan untuk kelab Jerman itu musim ini.
Sebelum ini, Werner dikaitkan dengan perpindahan ke Liverpool namun perjanjian gagal dicapai kerana bayaran perpindahan yang terlalu tinggi.
Liverpool dilaporkan tidak mahu membayar jumlah penebusan kontrak Werner yang dikatakan bernilai lebih £50 juta (RM268 juta).
Chelsea dipercayai membayar sekitar £43 juta untuk membawa Werner ke Stamford Bridge bagi menguatkan barisan serangan skuad Frank Lampard.
Dalam kenyataan yang dikeluarkan Chelsea, pengarah kelab itu, Marina Granovskaia menyatakan keterujaannya dapat membawa seorang nama besar di Eropah ke Stamford Bridge.
Werner pula memberitahu dia gembira dan bangga dapat menyertai kelab hebat seperti Chelsea.
BEOGARD – Gelandang asal Indonesia, Witan Sulaeman, ditunjuk menjadi starter atau tim inti FK Radnik Surdulica saat menghadapi Vozdovac di laga lanjutan liga utama Serbia, yakni Super Liga 2019-2020. Laga tersebut berlangsung pada Jumat (19/6/2020) dini hari WIB.
Sayangnya, lawatan Witan dan kawan-kawan ke markas Vozdovac, yakni Stadion Event Place, hanya berakhir dengan skor imbang 1-1. Gol semata wayang Radnik sendiri tercipta lewat kesalahan pemain Vozdovac, yakni Nemanja Pejcinovic, yang justru memasukkan bola ke gawang timnya.
Dalam laga tersebut, Witan sendiri dapat menyuguhkan penampilan yang apik. Ia bahkan mendapat peluang emas pada menit ke-30 saat Radnik melancarkan serangan balik. Sayangnya, tendangan keras Witan masih melambung ke atas gawang tuan rumah.
Witan pun ditarik keluar lapangan pada menit ke-45. Sang pelatih, Nenad Vanic, memutuskan mengganti peran gelandang berusia 18 tahun itu dengan Bratislav Pejcic demi melancarkan strategi baru.
Timo Werner is the latest in a rich history of ones that got away for Liverpool | Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images
Chelsea’s £54m-deal to sign Timo Werner from under the noses of Liverpool has brought back unpleasant memories for Reds fans.
In recent years, there has been a clear and efficient strategy of: identify target, sign target, no fuss, no muss. However, it used to be a much trickier business to get deals done at Anfield.
Here ‘s what happened next for nine transfer targets who, like Werner, seemed destined for Liverpool only to leave the t’s uncrossed and i’s undotted…
In the summer of 2005, Liverpool were in the very odd position of being both European champions and desperately needing much better players in order to compete for titles. I know, different times.
Rafa Benitez brought in Pepe Reina, Boudewijn Zenden, Mohamed Sissoko and Peter Crouch in the summer to help with depth and quality but the Reds needed more oomph.
22-goal Benfica attacking midfielder Simao was identified and even flown in for a medical, with his agent calling the deal ‘very advanced’.
However, at the eleventh hour, Benfica upped their asking price to £13.6m – a £1m higher than Liverpool were prepared to go (seems like spare change in 2020).
Simao stayed put and Liverpool, despite winning the FA Cup, continued to lack that creative spark under Benitez, who valued function over flair.
What happened next? Who knocked the Reds out of the Champions League in 2005/06? Benfica. Who scored the opener? Simao.
While his best seasons were his ones at Benfica, the Portuguese winger continued to prove a quality operator at Atletico Madrid after a €20m move in 2007 and won the Europa League in 2010 – again, knocking Liverpool out along the way.
Who did Liverpool sign instead? No-one Missed opportunity rating: 7/10
Liverpool had ‘done’ the deal with Sevilla in the summer of 2006 for promising right back-cum-winger Dani Alves at a price of just £8m, according to The Athletic.
However, before the transfer was made official Rafa Benitez was told there would be no further funds for a striker – a position that also need strengthening – and lo Alves was left in Andalusia as a deal for Feyenoord front man Dirk Kuyt was prioritised.
There was some logic to Benitez’s decision making, and Kuyt did become a fan favourite, but the ownership’s reluctance to make funds available for what would be one of the world’s top players really stings.
What happened next? Alves, of course, joined Barcelona in 2008 (at a fee of around £25m) and as of 2020 is by some estimates the active player with the most trophy wins in world football.
These include three Champions Leagues with Barça, nine league titles in three countries and two Copa America wins with Brazil.
He was, pretty unquestionably, the best full back of his generation – certainly going forward.
Who did Liverpool sign instead? Dirk Kuyt Missed opportunity rating: 10/10
The tail-end Benitez years up until about 2013 was a fairly bleak time to be a Liverpool fan.
Upper-mid table finishes were compounded by all-too-frequent transfer cock-ups.
The summer of 2011 is particularly infamous among Reds fans, who watched Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing arrive, while Andy Carroll was still fresh from a £35m January deal.
Exciting(?), young(ish) French winger Sylvain Marveaux was as good as signed too, before rumours of a failed medical (later disputed) scuppered the move.
He went on to sign for Newcastle for around €7.5m, while £20m Downing rocked up at Anfield…
What happened next? Marveaux made 57 appearances for Newcastle over three seasons, which is more than you might think for such an utterly forgettable player.
Injuries punctuated his time in England and he returned to France in 2014, enjoying solid – if not world-beating – spells in Ligue 1 and 2 with Guingamp, Lorient and Nancy.
Who did Liverpool sign instead? Stewart Downing Missed opportunity rating: 1/10
In 2013, Henrikh Mkhitaryan was one of the best players in the world playing outside of Europe’s big leagues.
The Armenian finished the season with 29 goals (25 in the league) in 42 appearances from attacking midfield and seemed destined for a big move.
That move looked for all the world like it would be Liverpool. However, (ironically) it seems like it was actually Jurgen Klopp who stopped Mkhi from making a £25m move to Anfield.
A meeting with then-Dortmund boss Klopp – who broke off a summer holiday to see the prospective signing – convinced the playmaker to choose Westpahalia over Merseyside, with the help of Mino Raiola.
The Reds came close to the title that season and Brendan Rodgers’ side didn’t lack firepower. However, who knows what might’ve been…
What happened next? Mkhitaryan impressed at Dortmund, though the club’s golden period was fading out, and he was Kicker’s Bundesliga Player of the Year in 2016, as well as the competition’s top assist maker.
He joined Man Utd that year but struggled to recreate his Dortmund/Shakhtar form on a regular basis (scorpion kicking aside).
He was then the makeweight swap in the doomed Alexis Sanchez deal and is now on loan at Roma.
Who did Liverpool sign instead? No-one Missed opportunity rating: 7/10
Then-managing director Ian Ayre flew out to civil-war torn Ukraine to desperately try to get a £16m deadline day deal done for Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk winger Yehven Konoplyanka, in January 2014.
With the Reds pushing for the title, a little more depth was needed and the Ukrainian landed on as the preferred target… but no-one bargained for Dnipro’s impossible-to-deal-with chairman.
While Konoplyanka’s signing might’ve somehow got Liverpool over the line for the 2014 title, in all likelihood, Kolo Toure would’ve still done that madness against West Brom, Gerrard would’ve slipped and blah blah blah.
Still, imagine how much cash he might’ve earned the club in pay-per-letter shirt printing?
What happened next? Konoplyanka eventually moved to Sevilla in 2015, winning the Europa League in his one season in Spain. Now 30, he’s spent time at Schalke and Shakhtar but rarely bothered the headlines as ‘one that got away’.
Who did Liverpool sign instead? No-one Missed opportunity rating: 3/10
2014 was quite the year for signings that never were. After Konoplyanka in January, there was Loic Remy in the summer.
After an impressive spell on loan at Newcastle in 2013/14, during which the French striker scored 14 Premier League goals, Liverpool activated Remy’s £8.5m release clause.
However, things came undone at a medical in America (where a possible heart ‘anomaly’ was detected) and the move was called off, with Remy eventually joining Chelsea.
Liverpool still desperate for a striker in the wake of Luis Suarez’s departure turned to Mario Balotelli…
What happened next? Remy played backup to Diego Costa (still managing seven goals) as Chelsea romped to the title in 2015, while Liverpool struggled into sixth.
The former Marseille man (now 33) was given fewer chances the following year as it all collapsed at the Bridge and became something of a latter career journeyman, featuring for Crystal Palace, Las Palmas, Getafe and is now at Lille – where bagged Ligue 1’s Goal of the Year award in 2019.
Who did Liverpool sign instead? Mario Balotelli Missed opportunity rating: 4/10
In Klopp’s first season with the club desperate for extra fire firepower, Liverpool bid €32m for Shakhtar Dontesk goal machine Alex Texeira, who had 26 in as many games in the first half of 2015/16.
While the Brazilian striker was keen on a move, his club held out for move and the Reds just wouldn’t pay up.
Without an extra striker, Klopp’s side still made two cup finals, while they were bolstered by the summer arrival of Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino moving into a central role.
What happened next? Shakhtar didn’t have to wait long for their payday, with Jiangsu Suning splashing €50m on Teixeira that same winter, during the Chinese Super League’s first big spending spree.
Teixeira, now 30, has continued to score goals for fun in China (50 in 105 league games) and seems more settled than many of the foreign imports. However, his career choice has not helped his international chances and he remains uncapped.
Who did Liverpool sign instead? No-one Missed opportunity rating: 3/10
#AnnounceFekir.
So close to becoming a Liverpool player was Fekir that he had already done his first interview as a Reds player (in full club garm) before someone from the club’s medical team – like that scientist that no-one listens to at first in a disaster movie – came running down the corridor clutching an x-ray of what used to be a human knee.
The £50m+ deal was called off at the last second and Fekir was sent back to Lyon. The tabloid press refused to believe the summer’s biggest saga was over though and kept running Liverpool-Fekir stories for another year.
Despite the kerfuffle, Liverpool still won the Champions League with the help of the summer’s other arrivals like Fabinho and Alisson Becker.
What happened next? While still linked with Liverpool (and Chelsea) after the deal fell apart, Fekir stayed for another season at Lyon but struggled to put up the same numbers.
With the whole world now aware of his dodgy knee, Fekir had to settle for a somewhat sideways move to Real Betis in 2019 (for just €20m), where he has been quietly impressive.
Who did Liverpool sign instead? No-one Missed opportunity rating: 4/10
Quiz question: who was the only current Liverpool player on the pitch as Chelsea beat the Reds in 2014, in the infamous title-race ending slip game?
Mohamed Salah.
A January signing by Chelsea in the 2013/14 season, the young winger from Basel had been coveted by Liverpool for some time and, by his own account (though he would say that now) was ‘keen to join them’.
However, Chelsea gazumped Liverpool’s offer (just as they had for Willian the summer before) and Jose Mourinho convinced the 21-year-old Egyptian that London and not Merseyside was the place to be…
What happened next? Salah like Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku struggled to break into the Chelsea first-team under Mourinho and made just 19 appearances all told before being loaned out to Italy.
He shone at Fiorentina and Roma, developing from promising winger to prolific inside forward. Liverpool bid again for the improved player in the summer of 2017 and the rest is history…
Who did Liverpool sign instead? No-one Missed opportunity rating: N/A
