Tag: Aston Villa

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Forest beats Porto on Dyche debut; Villa shocked by Go Ahead Eagles

Sean Dyche got off to a winning start as Nottingham Forest boss thanks to two penalties to beat Porto 2-0 in the Europa League, while Aston Villa were stunned 2-1 by Go Ahead Eagles on Thursday.

Forest, who sacked Ange Postecoglou after just 40 days and eight games in charge on Saturday, had not won in 10 games stretching back to the opening weekend of the Premier League season.

But Dyche, who began his playing career at the two-time European champions, roused an immediate impact, even if Forest needed some fortune from VAR interventions to get the better of the Portuguese giants.

Morgan Gibbs-White fired in from the spot on 19 minutes after Jan Bednarek had been penalised for handball.

Former Southampton defender Bednarek thought he had equalised early in the second half, only for the goal to be ruled out after a VAR review for offside against Samu Aghehowa.

The video assistant referee also came to the home side’s aid when Nicola Savona was initially booked for diving, only for that decision to be overturned and a second penalty awarded 13 minutes from time.

Igor Jesus this time slammed home for his first Forest goal at the City Ground.

Villa boss Unai Emery said his side were taught a lesson in the difficulties of European football after their perfect Europa League start came to a surprise end in the Netherlands.

Emery’s men had backed up their status as pre-tournament favorites by beating Bologna and Feyenoord to get their European campaign off to a flying start.

The visitors started strongly when Evann Guessand fired in his first Villa goal.

However, in wild weather conditions, the home side secured a famous win in their first ever experience of group stage European football.

Mathis Suray’s deflected shot levelled before half-time and Mats Deijl dinked over Emiliano Martinez to give the Dutch Cup winners the lead.

Emi Buendia was Villa’s match-winner at Tottenham on Sunday, but the Argentine went from hero to villain as he missed a late penalty with the chance to snatch a draw.

“Today showed us how difficult it is to play in Europe, to play away,” said Emery. “This is the reason I love football, because football has a lot of different ways to win. You can dominate, like

we did, you have chances to score, but if we are conceding a few chances, maybe you can lose. And we did.”

Danny Rohl endured a nightmare start as Rangers manager in a humbling 3-0 defeat in Norway to Brann.

The Glasgow giants’ hopes of making the latter stages are in tatters after a third consecutive Europa League defeat left them bottom of the 36-team table.

A change of manager made no immediate impact as Emil Kornvig converted at the back post to give Brann a half-time lead.

Jacob Sorensen punished more poor defending to head in from a free-kick before Noah Holm rubbed salt in Rangers wounds.

Celtic did salvage some pride for Scottish clubs by coming from behind to secure their first European win of the season over Sturm Graz.

Two goals in three minutes from Liam Scales and Benjamin Nygren earned a 2-1 victory after Tomi Horvat’s wonder strike put the Austrians in front at Celtic Park.

Danish side Midtjylland moved top of the standings with a 3-0 win over Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

Lyon beat Basel 2-0 to continue their 100 percent record thanks to goals from Corentin Tolisso and Afonso Moreira.

Braga are the only other side so far with three wins from three after they beat Red Star Belgrade 2-0.

Bologna won 2-1 at Steaua Bucharest to register their first win in the league phase.

Fenerbahce beat Stuttgart 1-0, while Real Betis were held 0-0 away at Genk. (JapanToday)

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Manchester United beats Liverpool 2-1 with Maguire’s late goal in big boost for Amorim

After nine painful years, and at the 11th time of asking, Manchester United ended its Anfield hoodoo with a 2-1 win against Premier League defending champion Liverpool on Sunday.

Harry Maguire’s header in the 84th minute sealed one of United’s most significant wins under coach Ruben Amorim and consigned Liverpool to a fourth straight defeat in all competitions.

The frustration of so many miserable experiences on Merseyside appeared to pour out of Maguire as the defender celebrated in front of United’s traveling fans.

“It means everything. They’ve had the better of us over the last few years and we know that and it hasn’t been good enough for our club,” Maguire said. “The old cliche is that it is only three points, but it definitely isn’t. It means a lot more than that for the club, the boys and the fans.”

Maguire’s goal came late in another frenetic and thrilling match involving Liverpool in a season of dramatic finales for Arne Slot’s team.

That’s three league games in a row in which Liverpool has been beaten by a goal scored in the last 10 minutes of regulation time or beyond. Before that, it had scraped to late wins of its own in six of the first seven games.

So while Maguire’s headed goal maintained the losing trend, perhaps the biggest surprise was that there wasn’t another twist in the tale.

There might have been when Cody Gakpo headed wide with an open goal to aim at and the fourth official indicated there would be eight minutes of added time.

The Dutch forward had already got Liverpool back on level terms in the 78th – poking in from close range after Bryan Mbeumo had fired United ahead inside two minutes.

United’s last win at Anfield came back in 2016 when Wayne Rooney scored the only goal of the match. Since then there have been some humiliating defeats, notably the 7-0 rout in 2023 and a 4-0 loss a year earlier.

Not only has Amorim ended that bitter run, but he also collected back-to-back wins in the league for the first time since taking over at United last November.

The Portuguese coach has been under increasing pressure, with speculation mounting over his position after a troubled start to his first full season in charge. While United is ninth in the standings, it is only two points off the top four and such a morale-boosting performance could finally prove a turning point for Amorim.

Defeat for Liverpool raises more doubts about its wobbling title defense, leaving it fourth and four points behind leader Arsenal.

That is not an insurmountable gap but the run of four straight defeats extends what was already Slot’s worst run as Liverpool coach and further highlights weaknesses in his team.

Liverpool has only kept two clean sheets in 12 games in all competitions this season and a creaking defense continues to be breached late on in games.

In attack, Mohamed Salah’s only goal in his last seven league games was a penalty against Burnley, while British record signing Alexander Isak has only scored one goal in seven appearances since joining from Newcastle.

“We have to stick together. Not just as players but the fans and everyone,” said Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk. “First and foremost we have to stay humble, and stay working. We need to keep our confidence high and stay very calm.”

Emi Buendia’s curling shot sealed a 2-1 comeback win for Aston Villa against Tottenham.

The victory continued Villa’s resurgence after a desperate start to the season and denied Spurs the chance to provisionally move up to second in the standings.

Buendia shimmied his way across the edge of the box in the 77th minute at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before sweeping a perfect shot low into the bottom corner.

It was Villa’s fifth-straight win in all competitions after failing to pick up a victory in its first six games of the campaign.

It ended Spurs’ seven-game unbeaten run that looked set to continue when Rodrigo Bentancur fired the home team ahead after just five minutes.

Morgan Rogers leveled the game in the 37th before Villa went on to take all three points and consign Tottenham coach Thomas Frank to his second league loss since taking over in the summer. (JapanToday)

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Rangers turn to Steven Gerrard again as manager hunt begins

Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard is set to hold talks with Rangers about a potential return as head coach, as the Scottish Premiership side begins its search for a new manager following the dismissal of Russell Martin on Sunday.

According to BBC Sport on Wednesday, the club is open to reappointing Gerrard but has been awaiting confirmation of his interest in returning to Ibrox, where he previously guided Rangers to their first league title in a decade.

Sources are indicating that Gerrard is one of a number of candidates Rangers want to speak to, with the club determined to undertake a full process.

However, it is clear that Gerrard – who has backing from many supporters – is now emerging as one of the leading contenders for the position.

Gerrard was in charge of Rangers between 2018 and 2021, leading the club to their first domestic title in 10 years.

Rangers have not been champions since Gerrard decided to leave for Aston Villa in November 2021.

After a 14th-placed finish in his first season in charge of the Premier League club, he was dismissed 12 games into the following campaign.

Gerrard became manager of Saudi Pro League club Al-Ettifaq in July 2023 but left by mutual consent in January and was subsequently linked with the Rangers job before Martin was appointed in June.

In an interview with former England team-mate Rio Ferdinand, Gerrard this week spoke of his desire to return to management but said he wanted “to be at a team that’s going to compete to win, because I think that suits me better”.

Martin won just five of his 17 matches, leaving Rangers eighth in the table – 11 points adrift of leaders Hearts.

Gerrard told the Rio Ferdinand Presents Podcast there had been “five or six really interesting phone calls” since he left Saudi Arabia, but said the timing had not been right. (Punch)

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Arsenal snatches 1-1 draw with Man City with Martinelli’s stoppage-time goal

A goal by Erling Haaland was perhaps to be expected. What Manchester City did next certainly wasn’t.

With an ultra-defensive performance so unlike a team coached by Pep Guardiola, City came close to holding out against Arsenal for the most unusual of wins in a Premier League match between two title contenders on Sunday.

Then, in the third minute of stoppage time, Eberechi Eze played a ball over City’s packed defense and substitute Gabriel Martinelli latched onto it before lobbing goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma for Arsenal’s dramatic equalizer in a 1-1 draw.

“We’ve obviously gained the respect of the opposition,” Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice said, “… we probably haven’t dominated a game against Man City as we did today.”

No one has.

The 32.8% average possession by City is the lowest by a Guardiola team in a top-flight match, according to statistic supplier Opta.

Rice noted City went to a 5-4-1, adding: “I’ve never seen them do that.”

Back to his prolific best, Haaland made it 13 goals in eight appearances for club and country this season by sprinting upfield and collecting a return pass from Tijjani Reijnders to slot home a finish in the ninth minute.

The Emirates Stadium was then treated to a defensive master class from the visitors as Guardiola, who is famed for cherishing possess, set up City to let Arsenal have plenty of the ball and to defend deep. He kept putting on defenders to protect the lead.

It almost worked, except for the late twist by Martinelli — who has become something of a supersub for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta this season.

The result left Liverpool, the defending champion, with a five-point lead after just five games, with Arsenal in second place on goal difference over Tottenham and Bournemouth.

“They win every match,” Arteta said of Liverpool. “It’s going to be very difficult but if we play at this level, like we did against Manchester City, we will be fine.”

City is already eight points off the pace and showing it is willing to shake up the team’s tactics deep into Guardiola’s tenure.

Guardiola made no apologies for eschewing his long-held soccer principles and adjusting for a match that came three days after a 2-0 win over Napoli in the Champions League. Arsenal had two extra days to prepare, having played — and beaten — Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday.

In Haaland, Guardiola also has one of the most dangerous players in the world on the counterattack and it was from that source that City took the lead with the Norway striker’s sixth league goal this season.

“We don’t try to come and be like this,” Guardiola said. “But when the opponent is better and we defend deeper and we have Erling and Tijjani, we can use the counterattack, yes. But our intention is not like this.

“I would prefer to not do it but you cannot expect at this level to not do it. It’s impossible.”

City defender Ruben Dias said it was nice to have such “safety” in numbers in defense and to have a goalkeeper behind with the presence of Donnarumma.

“We are proud of what we have done,” Dias said, “and how we behaved on the pitch.”

Aston Villa ended its goal drought but still couldn’t beat 10-man Sunderland in a 1-1 draw.

Matty Cash blasted a swerving shot from 25 meters that Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs could only parry into his own net in the 67th, giving Villa its first goal after five games in the league.

However, Sunderland — playing with 10 men from the 33rd minute after Reinildo’s red card for kicking out at Cash — equalized in the 75th through Wilson Isidor to leave Villa without a victory and in third-to-last place.

Newcastle rotated its team after a Champions League loss to Barcelona on Thursday and struggled to create many clear-cut chances in a 0-0 draw at Bournemouth.

It meant Newcastle manager Eddie Howe, who used to coach Bournemouth, has now not beaten his former side in seven attempts.

Bournemouth was seeking a fourth straight win after an opening-round loss at Liverpool and was unable to take advantage of Newcastle making seven changes to the team which was defeated 2-1 by Barcelona. (JapanToday)

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Szoboszlai stunner secures Liverpool win over Arsenal as Man City collapses to another loss


Full time was approaching at Anfield and it was clear something special was needed to separate Liverpool and Arsenal as they slugged out an early-season heavyweight contest in the Premier League on Sunday.

Enter Dominik Szoboszlai.

With a long-range free kick that flew in off the post in the 83rd minute, Szoboszlai earned Liverpool a hard-fought 1-0 win over the opponent likely to be the biggest challenger to its title.

“The game needed a moment of magic for either team to win it,” Liverpool manager Arne Slot said, “and it was Dominik who did so.”

Many thought Manchester City would be back in the title race this season, but perhaps not.

Collapsing to a 2-1 loss at Brighton, for a second straight loss, was another sign that Pep Guardiola’s once-dominant team has lost its aura.

“This is the reality — we are not at the level from a long time (ago),” City midfielder Rodri said.

Szoboszlai is popular among Liverpool fans for his work ethic and versatility, and the Hungary midfielder was filling in at right back — for so long the position of the now-departed Trent Alexander-Arnold — because of injuries to Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong.

Szoboszlai did his best impression of Alexander-Arnold with a top-quality dead-ball strike that was out of keeping with the rest of the game.

“Until now Trent was taking them,” Szoboszlai said of his former teammate who now plays for Real Madrid. “Now I could finally take one.”

It secured a third straight win for Liverpool, with the defending champions the only team on a maximum nine points after three rounds of the Premier League. They’ve already beaten two tough rivals in Newcastle and Arsenal, too.

As for Arsenal, it was a first loss this season — extending its winless record at Anfield dating back to 2012 — and a first league goal conceded by a defense that was without center back William Saliba from the fifth minute at Anfield because of a leg injury.

“When you play against this kind of team and at a high level where the margins are minimal, they can be decided by a magic moment,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “We needed that moment for us and we didn’t have it.”

The defeat at Brighton followed a 2-0 home loss to Tottenham last weekend for City, which is demonstrating the same vulnerabilities and brittleness it showed last season when surrendering the title to Liverpool after four consecutive years as champions.

Brajan Gruda surged through an open defense, rounded goalkeeper James Trafford and slotted into an empty net for the 89th-minute winner for Brighton, which trailed to Erling Haaland’s first-half strike — his 88th goal in 100 Premier League appearances since moving to England in 2022.

City, which gave a first start to Rodri — the Ballon d’Or winner — since September last year following a serious knee injury, conceded an equalizer in the 67th minute after Matheus Nunes raised his arm in the area to block a shot.

James Milner converted the penalty for Brighton to become — at age 39 years and 239 days — the second-oldest scorer in Premier League history. He is also the second youngest, having netted as a 16-year-old for Leeds.

With City noticeably fading, Brighton created a succession of chances before Gruda converted one to seal a repeat of his team’s come-from-behind 2-1 win over City last season.

“We forgot to play,” Guardiola said.

City’s only points so far this season have come from a 4-0 opening-round win at Wolverhampton, after which pundits were saying Guardiola’s team was back. Now, it has fewer points than Manchester United.

West Ham eased the pressure on manager Graham Potter with a 3-0 win at Nottingham Forest, secured by goals from the 84th minute by Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta — from the penalty spot — and Callum Wilson.

West Ham lost its first two games in the league, conceding eight goals in the process, and also was eliminated from the English League Cup in midweek.

Paqueta, the Brazil midfielder, celebrated his successful penalty kick by pretending to answer a call and throw away a phone before kissing the badge on his jersey — perhaps a nod to being linked over the past 24 hours with a move to Aston Villa.

World Cup-winning Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez was left out of Aston Villa’s team for the 3-0 home loss to Crystal Palace amid speculation about his future.

Reports have linked Martinez with a move to Manchester United ahead of the transfer window closing on Monday, and Villa manager Unai Emery chose to play Marco Bizot in goal instead.

Bizot gave away a penalty that was converted in the 21st minute by Jean-Philippe Mateta to give Palace the lead, before captain Marc Guehi — reportedly the subject of a bid from Liverpool — curled a second into the top corner in the 68th. Ismaila Sarr added a third before going off injured. (JapanToday)