Football: Ronaldo hat-trick saves Man Utd as Spurs, Arsenal slump to defeat

MANCHESTER -- Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick as Manchester United claimed a 3-2 win over Norwich on Saturday to take advantage of defeats for Arsenal and Tottenham in the race for a place in next season's Champions League.

Spurs' winning run was brought to an abrupt halt by a 1-0 home defeat by Brighton, while the Gunners were beaten 1-0 at Southampton to slump to a third consecutive loss.

Ronaldo's 50th club hat-trick tempered a revolt among the fanbase at Old Trafford as United move above Arsenal into fifth on goal difference, three points behind Tottenham.

There was unrest among the United fans before the game even began as many did not come into the stadium until the 17th minute to protest against the 17 years of the Glazer family's ownership of the club.

Those late to take their seats missed Ronaldo's first goal of the afternoon as he swept home Anthony Elanga's cross.

The 37-year-old then powered home Alex Telles' corner for his 20th goal of the season despite United's struggles.

However, the Red Devils' defensive problems were laid bare by the bottom-of-the-table Canaries who had scored just 20 goals in their previous 31 league games.

Kieran Dowell halved the arrears in first-half stoppage time before Teemu Pukki levelled seven minutes into the second half.

David de Gea then had to produce a brilliant save to deny Pukki completing the comeback.

United players were then met with chants of "you're not fit to wear the shirt", with Paul Pogba singled out for abuse when he was substituted.

But Ronaldo had the final say when his free-kick flew through the grasp of Tim Krul 14 minutes from time to set up a huge week for United.

Ralf Rangnick's men face a daunting trip to Liverpool on Tuesday before facing Arsenal next weekend.

"Ronaldo has scored three very important goals for us," said De Gea.

"We know we aren't playing very well but we got three points. We should control the game more against Norwich at home."

- North London nightmare -

Brighton halted Tottenham's charge towards the Champions League as Leandro Trossard struck a 90th-minute winner.

But Antonio Conte's men were bailed out by another defeat for Arsenal as they failed to close the gap against a Southampton side that had been thrashed 6-0 by Chelsea last weekend.

Brighton were Arsenal's conquerors last time out to snap a seven-game winless run.

With confidence restored, the Seagulls looked more like their old selves under Graham Potter as they controlled the game and completed a north London double thanks to Trossard's composed finish in the final minute.

"Today we did everything too slow," said Conte. "It was not a good game for us.

"When you can't win, you should not lose and that is a lesson for us today. When it is not your day, you have to pay more attention and not lose."

Arsenal's lack of a top striker proved their downfall at St. Mary's as Fraser Forster produced a string of fine saves to leave Mikel Arteta's men frustrated.

Southampton took their chance when it came as defender Jan Bednarek swept high past Aaron Ramsdale just before half-time.

"We had so much possession, we created situations but the end product was not good," said Arteta.

"You have to score goals to win games. What else can I say? The boys played the way they have to play but in the box is where things are defined."

At the bottom of the table, Watford look set to return to the Championship after Brentford inflicted their 10th successive home league defeat.

Pontus Jansson scored the winner deep into stoppage time for the Bees after Emmanuel Dennis had cancelled out Christian Norgaard's opener.

Second-from-bottom Watford remain six points adrift of safety with six games left to play.

Agence France-Presse

Football: Spurs tighten grip on top-four spot as Arsenal, Man Utd lose

LONDON -- Tottenham thumped Aston Villa 4-0 on Saturday to tighten their grip on fourth spot in the Premier League after Manchester United and Arsenal both slipped up.

Third-placed Chelsea ended a tough week by hammering Southampton 6-0 while Leeds climbed nine points above the relegation zone with a comfortable 3-0 win at Watford.

Six wins in seven league games for free-scoring Spurs have made them firm favorites to qualify for next season's Champions League along with Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea.

Son Heung-min scored a hat-trick for Antonio Conte's men at Villa Park, with Dejan Kulusevski also chipping in as Spurs put their opponents to the sword.

The impressive Harry Kane provided two assists while Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris made seven saves in the opening 45 minutes to keep Villa at bay.

The win takes Spurs to 57 points -- three clear of fifth-placed Arsenal and six ahead of West Ham and Manchester United.

"I'm very happy because I have a group of players who want to show me that they will improve in many aspects," Conte told the BBC.

"When you have this you have to be happy to work with them and to try to do something important at the end of the season. Seven games to go and we are showing that we are deserving to stay in the race for a place in the Champions League."

In the early kick-off Frank Lampard's Everton beat misfiring United 1-0 to climb four points above the relegation zone while Arsenal slumped to a 2-1 defeat against Brighton -- their third loss in four games.

The decisive moment at Goodison Park came midway through the first half when Anthony Gordon hit a shot that took a huge deflection off England defender Harry Maguire and wrong-footed David de Gea in the United goal.

Lampard said he was proud of his battling side, who are trying to maintain Everton's record of being ever-present in the English top flight since 1954.

"Beautiful football can come later on," he told BT Sport. "I have ambitions for this club to stay up, play well, but in the position we are in, fighting comes first and foremost."

United's interim manager Ralf Rangnick, who has a two-year contract to remain as a consultant at United beyond this season, was asked whether speculation over the club's next manager was creating a state of limbo.

"I don't think this should be an excuse for anybody," he said, with Ajax boss Erik ten Hag touted as a strong favorite to be the next permanent boss.

"We're Manchester United, we've got a lot of international players."

-Arsenal stumble - 

Arsenal are having a wobble at the wrong time after putting themselves in a strong position to qualify for the Champions League -- they have not played in Europe's elite competition since the 2016/17 season.

Brighton took the lead at the Emirates Stadium when Leandro Trossard turned home a low cross from Enock Mwepu and the Zambian midfielder himself added a second. Martin Odegaard scored a late consolation.

"It has been a difficult week and we've lost some big players, but if you get what you want, not everything is going to be with a blue sky," Mikel Arteta told the BBC. 

"This is our team in the good moments and especially the defeats. There are many games to play but we have to be concerned about that performance, especially first half."

Chelsea suffered a shock 4-1 defeat at the hands of Brentford last week before losing 3-1 against Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

But they restored confidence on Saturday, racing into a 6-0 lead in the 54th minute, with two goals apiece for Mason Mount and Timo Werner.

"The performance changed, the commitment and the discipline," said Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel. "This is how we want to play and we gave an answer finally because you could see it on the scoreboard."

Manchester City and Liverpool go head to head at the Etihad on Sunday in a top-of-the-table clash.

Agence France-Presse

Football: Ronaldo takes United joint top with Chelsea, City win and Spurs slump

MANCHESTER, England - Two goals from returning hero Cristiano Ronaldo sent Manchester United joint top of the Premier League after early season pace-setters Tottenham Hotspur fell to a surprise 3-0 loss at Crystal Palace.

Champions Manchester City made it three wins out of four with a 1-0 win at Leicester City while Arsenal got their first victory of the campaign, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on target in a 1-0 win over Norwich City.

Manchester United and Chelsea lead on 10 points with an identical goal difference after four games with Manchester City a point behind along with Brighton & Hove Albion, who won 1-0 at promoted Brentford, and Spurs.

Chelsea beat Aston Villa 3-0 in the late game to register their 600th victory in the Premier League.

Romelu Lukaku and Mateo Kovacic finally opened their accounts at Stamford Bridge, with the Belgian striker scoring twice, while goalkeeper Edouard Mendy denied Villa numerous times to keep his third clean sheet.

Ronaldo's return to United from Juventus last month brought with it the promise of excitement and goals at Old Trafford and his second debut certainly lived up to the billing.

The 36-year-old fired his side ahead just before the break, pouncing to slot home from close range after Newcastle keeper Freddie Woodman was unable to hold on to a low drive from Mason Greenwood.

After Javier Manquillo brought Newcastle level following the break, Ronaldo produced a trademark strike. He burst into the box as he collected a through ball from Luke Shaw before drilling it through the legs of Woodman.

Bruno Fernandes made it 3-1 with a wonderful strike from 25 metres out and substitute Jesse Lingard completed the rout.

SPURS SEE RED

Ronaldo was not the only celebrating debutant -- Odsonne Edouard scored twice on his debut for Palace as 10-man Tottenham Hotspur fell to a 3-0 loss at Selhurst Park.

Spurs centre back Japhet Tanganga was shown a second yellow card in the 58th minute for a foul on Jordan Ayew, five minutes after the defender was adjudged to have illegally blocked winger Wilfried Zaha.

Matters got worse for the visitors as Palace were awarded a penalty when Ben Davies handled from a Conor Gallagher cross in the 75th minute, and Zaha dispatched the spot-kick past Hugo Lloris.

Palace scored again six minutes from time through Edouard, who slotted home from Zaha's cross 27 seconds after coming on, and the Frenchman completed his dream debut in stoppage time following a slick team move.

Another Portugal international, Bernardo Silva, scored the only goal for Pep Guardiola's City at Leicester.

City striker Ferran Torres had a number of good chances in the first half but Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel was alert.

Jamie Vardy had a goal ruled out for offside four minutes into the second half but it was Manchester City who finally broke the deadlock as Silva pounced on a loose ball in the box to fire home in the 62nd minute.

Leicester piled forward looking for an equaliser and Kelechi Iheanacho and Ademola Lookman both went close, but Brazilian keeper Ederson was quick off his line twice.

BRIGHTON UP TO FOURTH

Brighton's excellent start to the campaign continued with their third victory in four league games.

Leandro Trossard's curler from the edge of the penalty area in the 90th minute secured the three points from Graham Potter's side who are now fourth in the standings.

Arsenal moved off the bottom of the Premier League standings and scored their first goal of the campaign after captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's scrambled 66th-minute effort gave them a 1-0 home win over Norwich.

Mikel Arteta's side produced an improved performance after their opening three defeats but were made to work hard by a rugged Norwich side before Aubameyang, who missed two first-half chances, broke the deadlock.

The Gabonese striker fired wide in the 10th minute and was denied in the 20th by a superb save from visiting goalkeeper Tim Krul before Takehiro Tomiyasu volleyed over the bar for the dominant hosts on the stroke of halftime.

Pepe twice hit the post within a few seconds from a flowing move and the second rebound fell kindly to Aubameyang, who was perfectly positioned to tuck the ball into an empty net. 

(Reporting by Simon Evans, additional reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

-reuters 

Sound of silence as French sports mourns Charlie Hebdo victims

PARIS - Many stood in somber, respectful silence, some proudly waved French flags, others dreamed up original slants on the "Je Suis Charlie" rallying calls of global defiance.

Across the football and rugby grounds of France, in the English Premier League and even thousands of meters high up in the Swiss Alps, emotional tributes continued to be paid to the 17 victims of this week's Paris massacres.


In the Top 14 rugby championship, European and French champions Toulon set the tone.

For colorful Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal, it was a particularly poignant afternoon.

Comic book magnate Boudjellal had edited the early works of Stephane Charbonnier and Bernard Verlhac, two of the cartoonists slain by Islamist militants at the Charlie Hebdo headquarters in Paris.

Spectators had greeted Toulon and Castres by holding up pieces of paper with 'Nous Sommes Tous Charlie' ('We Are All Charlie') printed on them.

The players lined up wearing shirts also with the words 'Nous Sommes Tous Charlie', 'Je Suis Charlie', and 'Je Suis Policier' (three police officers were also killed in the bloody spree).

Photos of four of the dead cartoonists then appeared on the big screen at the Stade Mayol.

"We are all beginning to realize the seriousness of what took place," said Racing-Metro's French international fullback Brice Dulin. "It is important that we show our support."

Toulon fans also adapted their club song, 'Pilou-Pilou' for the occasion with the final line of 'Because Toulon' amended to 'Because Charlie.'

However, not all sports arenas in France were in the mood for respectful contemplation.

At Bastia's Stade Furiani in Corsica, where the home team was playing Paris Saint Germain, the minute's silence was perfectly observed.

But some fans then unfurled a banner bearing the words 'Qatar finances PSG and terrorism' in a crude reference to the Paris club which is financed by the Gulf state.

French international footballer Bafetimbi Gomis had a hand in Swansea's goal in the 1-1 English Premier League draw against West Ham and marked his assist by running down the pitch waving a French flag.

The 29-year-old previously played in France with Saint-Etienne, Troyes, and Lyon.

"I thought that was a really nice touch," said Swansea coach Garry Monk.

"He is very passionate about his country and where he is from and that showed in his celebration and why he got the flag."

In Italy, Roma's French coach Rudi Garcia handed out crayons to journalists at a press conference so they could pen tributes to the fallen.

"I am French and I am in mourning...just like the cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo, we also seek to entertain. That's why I feel as if I am one of them."

At a World Cup giant slalom skiing event at the Swiss resort of Adelboden, Frenchman Alexis Pinturault finished third before turning his attentions to the dead in Paris.

The 23-year-old Olympic bronze medalist held up a banner on the podium with the words 'Je ski Charlie' ('I ski Charlie').

"For me it was important to show solidarity with the events which happened in France. Maybe one day it will happen here in Switzerland, for one never knows when these attacks can happen and it is good to show solidarity," he said.

In Spain, there was also a minute's silence observed at all top-flight football games including a packed-out Bernabeu, the home of Cristiano Ronaldo's Real Madrid.

source: interaksyon.com