Tag: Everton

Review: Leicester and Leeds down on dramatic last day in Premier League

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Everton, always seen as the most likely among the three to avoid relegation, secured their Premier League status courtesy of Abdoulaye Doucoure’s spectacular 57th-minute goal. The strike ensured a 1-0 home win over Bournemouth and helped Everton avert their first relegation in nearly 70 years.

Leicester City, the miracle Premier League champions of 2016, are now Championship-bound, despite a 2-1 home win against West Ham United. Had Everton failed to secure a victory, Leicester City would have been safe.

Harvey Barnes and Wout Faes put Leicester 2-0 up against a rival seemingly preoccupied with their upcoming Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina. Although Pablo Fornals managed to score for West Ham in the 79th minute, Leicester clung on for a win that ultimately proved in vain.

Leeds United, the clear underdogs in the survival battle, needed a victory and slip-ups from their rivals. However, they must return to the Championship following a crushing 4-1 home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

Leeds never truly challenged in the game Tottenham won 4-1, with two goals from Harry Kane and one each from Pedro Porro and Lucas Moura. Jack Harrison’s solitary goal for Leeds merely provided a fleeting glimmer of hope.

However, Tottenham’s win didn’t guarantee them European football next season. Aston Villa, showing marked improvement under Unai Emery, secured seventh place with a 2-1 home win over Brighton.

Douglas Luiz and Ollie Watkins gave Aston Villa a 2-0 lead within just 26 minutes. Deniz Undav clawed a goal back for Brighton before half-time, but the visitors were unable to find the net in the second half.

Ethan Pinnock’s 85th-minute goal handed Brentford a 1-0 win over a heavily rotated Manchester City squad, with the latter preparing for their FA Cup and Champions League finals.

Arsenal vented their frustration over finishing second by delivering a 5-0 drubbing to Wolves, with Granit Xhaka scoring twice in his farewell to the Emirates Stadium.

Southampton bade farewell to the Premier League with a high-scoring 4-4 draw at home to Liverpool, with Diogo Jota bagging a brace for the visitors.

Chelsea and Newcastle ended the season with a 1-1 draw. Anthony Gordon’s early goal for Newcastle was negated by an own goal from Kieran Trippier. The draw draws a curtain on a disastrous season for Chelsea, while Newcastle finishes in fourth place after Manchester United’s 2-1 home win over Fulham.

Fulham’s Kenny Tete opened the scoring before Jadon Sancho and Bruno Fernandes turned the tables in favor of Manchester United.

In a match with little at stake, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest drew 1-1.

On Saturday evening, Luton Town beat Coventry City in a penalty shootout to secure promotion to the Premier League, joining Burnley and Sheffield United in the top-flight next season.

Luton’s triumph marks a remarkable comeback journey for the club. They were relegated from the First Division in 1992 before plummeting as far as the Conference Premier (fifth tier of the English game) in 2009. After spending four seasons in non-league football, they returned to the Football League in 2014, and ascended to the Championship (second division) in 2019.

PREVIEW: Relegation in the spotlight on dramatic final day in Premier League

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Manchester City sealed the title last weekend, while Newcastle United’s draw at home to Leicester City last Monday, and Manchester United’s 4-1 thumping of Chelsea on Thursday night confirmed their places in next season’s Champions League, while Brighton also ensured they will finish sixth.

A home win for Aston Villa against Brighton on Sunday would see Unai Emery’s men cap a magnificent second half to the season by confirming their place in the UEFA Conference League, but apart from that, the drama is centered around the relegation zone.

The way things stand, if Everton win their home game against Bournemouth, then Leeds United and Leicester City will be relegated to the Championship.

However, it is not that easy, given that Everton have not won at home since March 11 and have already lost twice to Bournemouth this season. Coach Sean Dyche will be without striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin and is unlikely to have any full-backs available against a team that won’t have forgotten that it was defeat to Everton that saw them relegated two years ago.

If Everton fail to win, then Leicester City will have a chance of survival if they beat West Ham United.

West Ham travel to Leicester with other things on their mind as they prepare for next week’s Conference League final, and the chance of European glory will probably mean David Moyes fields a much-changed side at the King Power Stadium.

Leicester drew 0-0 with a five-man defense at Newcastle on Monday, but the need for a win means Dean Smith is likely to recall Harvey Barnes and James Maddison to his starting 11.

Leeds United need to beat Tottenham – who still have a chance of finishing seventh – at home and hope that Leicester and Everton lose. Leeds could still stay up if Everton draw with Bournemouth, but their inferior goal difference means they would need to win by three goals, which seems unlikely without injured strikers Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo Moreno.

The only other game that could have relevance is Brentford’s home tie against Manchester City, as a win could see Brentford leapfrog Tottenham and Aston Villa into seventh and earn them an unlikely place in Europe.

Elsewhere, Manchester United prepare for the FA Cup final at home to Fulham, while Arsenal can expect a good send-off after their excellent season when they entertain Wolves.

Chelsea’s disastrous campaign ends at Stamford Bridge at home to Newcastle, and perhaps Chelsea owner Todd Boehly can take note from Newcastle, whose fans will be in party mode, on how to invest wisely in new signings.

Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest have nothing to play for, while Southampton say goodbye to the Premier League after 11 years with a home game against Liverpool.

Preview: Another tense Premier League weekend with everything to play for

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League leaders Manchester City doesn’t play until Sunday afternoon, which is surprising given they have the second leg of their Champions League semifinal at home to Real Madrid on Wednesday night, and Pep Guardiola’s side needs as much recovery time as possible.

Guardiola didn’t make any substitutions during Tuesday night’s Champions League first leg and the players who were on the bench in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, such as Phil Foden, Aymeric Laporte, Riyad Mahrez and Julian Alvarez can all be expected to start on Sunday.

Everton produced their performance of the season on Monday to win 5-1 away to Brighton and climb out of the bottom three, and looking at the rivals sides such as Leeds United and Leicester City still have to face this season, one more win might be enough to keep them up.

Brighton is Arsenal’s next rivals in another Sunday game, and coach Roberto De Zerbi will have to tighten up in defense after the horror-show against Everton that has derailed their European hopes.

Depending on Man City’s result at Everton, Arsenal could have a chance of going back to the top of the table, or need a win to stay just a point behind. It promises to be thrilling between two sides that play similar styles of attacking football.

Leeds United dropped into the bottom three last weekend after losing to Man City and desperately needs to take something from third-place Newcastle United.

It will be an emotional game for Leeds coach Sam Allardyce, whose sacking by Newcastle in early 2008 was arguably the most painful moment in his career, even ahead of losing the England job.

Defeats to Brighton and West Ham and Liverpool’s return to form mean Manchester United have to beat Wolverhampton to avoid danger of dropping out of the top-four.

Wolves travels to Old Trafford with nothing to play for after securing their top-flight survival, while United is still without players such as Raphael Varane, Scott Mac Tominay and Lisandro Martinez.

Liverpool visits third from bottom Leicester City on Monday night, with the home side struggling in defense and with just one win in their last 12 games, after shipping five goals to Fulham in their last outing.

Chelsea hosts Nottingham Forest, who is only three points above the bottom three. Chelsea claimed their first win since Frank Lampard’s return last weekend, but the mood among fans isn’t good and Forest may have a chance of vital points in a bad-tempered Stamford Bridge.

Bournemouth’s 39 points will probably be enough to keep them up for another year in the top-flight, but a win away to Crystal Palace would be enough to ensure survival, while Southampton looks doomed to relegation even if they can claim a win at home to Fulham.

Aston Villa and Tottenham both play their last card to keep their slim hopes of qualifying for Europe alive, although even if Villa does fail to ensure European competition, their form since the arrival of Unai Emery in November means the Midlands club can look forward to next season with optimism.

Finally, Brentford entertains West Ham in a London derby, with the visitors probably clear of relegation, but needing another win to assure their survival after a difficult campaign.

Everton and Nottingham Forest out of bottom three in dramatic day in Premier League

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Everton delivered their best performance of the season, defeating Brighton 5-1 away and climbing out of the bottom three in the Premier League, pushing Leeds United into the relegation zone.

Sean Dyche’s team had a remarkable first half, with Abdoulaye Doucoure scoring in the first and 29th minutes to put Everton 2-0 up before Jason Steele turned a low cross into his own goal, making it 3-0 after just 35 minutes.

Brighton improved after the break, but Everton defended well, and Dwight McNeil netted a fourth in the 76th minute. Although Alexis MacAllister pulled a goal back three minutes later, McNeil’s second of the game deep in injury time confirmed an astonishing win.

Nottingham Forest won a thrilling match against Southampton 4-3, also moving out of the relegation zone.

Taiwo Awoniyi put Forest 2-0 up against the bottom-ranked side before Carlos Alcaraz pulled a goal back. Morgan Gibbs-White’s penalty gave the home side a 3-1 lead at the break.

Vojnovic Lyanco made it 3-2, and Danilo scored another for Forest. James Ward-Prowse netted a 95th-minute penalty, adding late drama to a match that didn’t finish until the 101st minute.

Leicester City joined Leeds in the bottom three after a 5-3 defeat away to Fulham, where their defense allowed rivals too many opportunities.

Fulham led 4-0 with goals from Willian, Carlos Vinicius, and two strikes from Tom Cairney, while Jamie Vardy missed a penalty for Leicester.

Harvey Barnes pulled a goal back for Leicester before Willian made it 5-1 for Fulham. A late James Maddison penalty and a second goal from Barnes softened the result for Leicester, whose next two games are against Liverpool and Newcastle United.

Spurs sink Everton to keep title dreams alive

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Harry Kane fired home from the penalty spot to boost Tottenham’s Premier League title charge in a 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday evening.

It wasn’t a classic by any means, but Tottenham had more chances, despite Everton also having their options before the break.

Kane opened the scoring in the 59th minute after a foul by Everton keeper Jordan Pickford and from then on Spurs controlled the game, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg sealing the win four minutes from time.

Tottenham sits third in the table with 23 points, level on points with second-placed Manchester City.

Leicester City was booed off the pitch after a 0-0 draw at home to Crystal Palace, leaving with just one win from their opening 10 matches.

James Maddison and Harvey Barnes had the best chances for Leicester, but the draw was a fair result.

Elsewhere, Ruben Neves’ 56th-minute penalty gave Wolverhampton a 1-0 win at home to Nottingham Forest.

EPL Saturday roundup – Merseyside Derby ends in barren draw as Manchester City held

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Everton keeper Jordan Pickford made a string of saves to keep Liverpool at bay, with Jurgen Klopp’s side also hitting the woodwork several times.

Meanwhile, Everton also hit the post and had a goal ruled out for a tight offside, while Alisson also had to make some big saves to keep Everton out.

Everton remains winless, but coach Frank Lampard will be pleased as they continue to show the fighting spirit, while Liverpool risks being left behind in the title fight.

Manchester City also dropped two points when it was held to a 1-1 draw away to a battling Aston Villa. Erling Haaland’s 10th goal of the season put City ahead, but Aston Villa dug deep and Leon Bailey’s 74th minute strike gave them the reward, after Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez made two fine saves to deny Haaland his second goal of the game.

Chelsea came from behind to win a tight and controversial London derby at home to West Ham United.

Michail Antonio put West Ham ahead in the 62nd minute, but former West Ham player Ben Chilwell poked home the equalizer in the 76th minute.

West Ham hit the post in the 87th minute, just a minute before Kai Havertz won the game for Chelsea with a near-post finish. West Ham then thought they had equalized in injury time, but Maxwel Cornet’s effort was harshly ruled out when the VAR spotted a possible foul on Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy.

Ivan Toney netted a hat-trick as Brentford won 5-2 at home to Leeds United, with Bryan Mbeumo scoring the fourth for the ‘Bees’ and Yoane Wissa adding a fifth. Toney netted a penalty and a stunning free kick to put Brentford 2-0 up, before new signing Luis Sinisterra gave Leeds hope. Marc Roca again gave Leeds a chance after Toney’s third but Mbeumo and Wissa assured a home win.

Daniel Podence’s goal on the stroke of halftime gave Wolverhampton a 1-0 win at home to Southampton, which was their first victory of the campaign and ended a winless run of 12 matches running into last season.

Newcastle and Crystal Palace drew 0-0 in what was another entertaining match where both sides had enough chances to claim all three points, while Bournemouth staged an incredible comeback from 2-0 down to win 3-2 away to Nottingham Forrest.

Forrest looked to be cruising in the game between newly promoted sides when Cheikhou Kouyate put them ahead in the 33rd minute and Brennan Johnson’s penalty in first half injury time gave them a comfortable lead.

However, Philip Billing pulled a goal back for Bournemouth in the 51st minute and Dominic Solanke equalized 12 minutes later, before Jaidon Anthony’s winner three minutes from time sent the visiting fans into raptures.

Man Utd v Arsenal, Merseyside derby highlights of Premier League weekend

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The eye-catching Manchester United versus Arsenal fixture and the fierce Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool will be the major highlights of Premier League matchday six this weekend.

Everton have not won yet this season and although they have shown some resilience in recent matches, defeat to their neighbors would make life even harder for coach Frank Lampard.

Everton will look to young forward Anthony Gordon and new signing Neal Maupay to carry their attacking threat, while Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has to decide whether to throw Darwin Nunez back into action after the Uruguayan completed his three-match ban.

Manchester City visit Aston Villa, with Pep Guardiola’s men scoring goals at will and Erling Haaland netting consecutive hat-tricks.

That must be a huge worry for Aston Villa coach Steven Gerrard, who is another coach feeling the pressure. Villa’s defensive worries aren’t helping Gerrard, and with Diego Carlos still out injured, he needs to decide on his best pair of central defenders, otherwise things could get ugly.

Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel said his players needed to “toughen up” in the wake of their midweek defeat to Southampton, and although there is probably no more experienced defense than Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly, the trio will have to improve when Chelsea host West Ham United.

David Moyes’ side will offer full commitment and are recovering from a poor start to the season with four points in their last two games.

Newcastle United were frustrated by conceding a 98th-minute goal at Anfield in midweek, but Alexander Isak had an impressive debut and the Swedish international will try to take their frustration out on Crystal Palace when the two sides meet for what should be an entertaining game at St James’ Park.

Tottenham coach Antonio Conte could consider giving Richarlison a start when his side take on Fulham.

Fulham have made a very positive return to the top flight and Spurs will have to be especially careful of Aleksander Mitrovic, who has already scored more goals this season than in all his last campaign in the Premier League.

Leeds United visit Brentford, where they were able to save their top-flight status on the last day of last season. Both sides have made decent starts to the new season with just one defeat each, and another draw wouldn’t be a surprise here.

Wolves are starting to look in trouble with just two goals all season and no win in 12. Coach Bruno Lage needs Goncalo Guedes to start scoring and must be tempted to hand a debut to new signing Sasa Kalajdzic when his side face a buoyant Southampton.

Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest entertain Bournemouth in a clash between two newly-promoted sides: one of which (Forest) has spent a lot of money this summer, while Bournemouth haven’t.

Sunday’s big game is at Old Trafford as Arsenal seek to continue their 100 percent start to the season away to a resurgent Manchester United.

United appear to have put their 4-0 thrashing at Brentford behind them as Erik ten Hag slowly imposes his style on the team, and big money signings Casemiro and Antony could both start in what promises to be a thriller, with Cristiano Ronaldo watching from the subs’ bench.

Finally, Brighton are at home to bottom side Leicester City, with Tariq Lamptey in line for a start after Maupay’s move to Everton.

EPL preview – Man Utd look to build as Liverpool seek to bounce back

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Manchester United will be hoping to build on their Monday’s 2-1 win over Liverpool when they travel to play Southampton on Saturday in the fourth round of English Premier League.

Casemiro is in line for his debut after signing from Real Madrid and will slot in ahead of the defense, while Harry Maguire will once again be watching from the subs bench – probably sitting close to Cristiano Ronaldo as Marcos Rashford leads the attack.

Southampton have improved in recent games, and United will have to be wary of their dangerman, Che Adams, who has netted four goals in the past week.

Liverpool’s defeat at Old Trafford left a lot of questions to be answered, but the fact is that most of the answers can be supplied by a look at an injury list that includes, Diogo Jota, Thiago Alcantara, Josep Matip, Nabi Keita, Ibrahima Konate, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Curtis Jones, with Darwin Nunez still suspended.

Recently promoted Bournemouth could offer some respite, with the newly promoted side traveling to Anfield after maulings by Manchester City and Arsenal, and Liverpool boss, Jurgen Klopp will probably give a start to youngster Fabio Carvalho as he looks for the first win of the season.

Manchester City dropped two points in a thriller away to Newcastle United last week, and Pep Guardiola’s men now face Crystal Palace, led by old boy Patrick Viera.

Palace stunned City at the Ethiad Stadium with a 2-0-win last season, but a repeat is unlikely, although Guardiola will want his defense to tighten up against the threat of Wilfred Zaha in the visitors’ attack.

Arsenal have a great chance to build on their best start to a season since 2004 when they entertain Fulham.

Mikel Arteta’s side is currently playing some attractive football and has discovered the confidence that looks to have limited them in the past, but Fulham travel across London unbeaten on their return to the top-flight, with Marco Silva building a team that is well-organized at the back and has a big threat in attack in the powerful form of Aleksandr Mitrovic.

Chelsea need to get back to winning ways and will be optimistic of three points against Leicester, who have had a poor start to the season. Leicester’s problems are not helped by Wesley Fofana’s desire to move to Stamford Bridge (meaning he won’t be part of their squad) and an injury down over playmaker, James Maddison.

Jesse Marsch has turned Leeds United into a terrier-like rival (as Chelsea can testify) and it will be interesting to see how their ‘in your face’ style works away to a stylish, if slightly goal-shy Brighton.

Saturday’s final game is another challenge for Everton, who sneaked a late point against Nottingham Forrest last week, but still look relegation candidates, with an injury list including Yerry Mina, Ben Godfrey, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Andros Townsend.

Brentford pose another major threat to Frank Lampard’s side with Ivan Toney the main threat to the Everton back four.

Sunday’s three matches see West Ham United look for their first points of the season when they visit an irregular Aston Villa, who have not been helped by injury to Diego Carlos.

Newcastle United could have Alexander Isak available to make his debut for their visit to Wolves, who have now gone 10 league games without a win. If available, Isak would slot in for Callum Wilson, who is out with a calf injury.

Finally, Tottenham’s visit to Nottingham Forrest could provide plenty of work for Forrest keeper, Dean Henderson, who has so far been impressive at the start of his loan spell from Old Trafford.

Games to watch in Premier League week 2

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The weekend’s opening game sets the tone as Aston Villa entertains Everton. Steven Gerrard’s side produced a tame opening day defeat away to Bournemouth and needs to improve to satisfy pre-season expectations against rivals who also kicked off with a setback.

Everton lost Yerry Mina and Ben Godfrey to injury last weekend but has compensated by signing Conor Coady on loan from Wolves to shore up their defense.

Arsenal lived up to its billing as top-four hopeful with a convincing win away to Crystal Palace to kick off its season and will be optimistic of following it up with three more points at home to Leicester City.

Leicester let a two-goal lead slip against Brentford a week ago and has Youri Tielemans and Wesley Fofana in its side, with Arsenal still keen on signing the former and Chelsea chasing the latter.

Brentford’s fightback last week showed they know exactly what they are doing and that the team has personality and spirit – something that can’t be said of Saturday’s visitors, Manchester United.

It took less than an hour for the pre-season optimism around Old Trafford to disappear in a 2-1 defeat at home to Brighton and Erik ten Hag clearly has work to do to give his side an identity. Defeat in southwest London would certainly start alarm bells ringing at a club whose fans are becoming increasingly fed up by what is happening on and off the pitch.

Brighton impressed last weekend but face a tough home opener with Newcastle United visiting the Amex Stadium. Expect a tactical battle between teams coached by two of the best English managers in the game (Graham Potter and Eddie Howe) where Newcastle’s extra firepower could be decisive.

Manchester City strolled to victory away to West Ham and will expect to do the same against Bournemouth, who returned to the top flight with a win against Aston Villa.

This marks the start of a tough run of matches for the visitors, with Arsenal and Liverpool on the horizon and anything Scott Parker’s men can get from these games will be a bonus.

Southampton needs to improve drastically on its 4-1 thrashing away to Spurs when it entertains Leeds United, otherwise, there will be justified early relegation worries at St Mary’s.

Meanwhile Wolves will want to improve on its opening day defeat to Leeds when it faces a Fulham side, who will be boosted by its opening day display at home to Liverpool and looking for Aleksandr Mitrovic to put fear into a Wolves defense without Conor Coady.

Sunday sees the biggest match of the weekend with Chelsea at home to Tottenham, who travels on the back of its thumping win over Southampton. A win for Antonio Conte against his former club, would only strengthen Spurs’ title hopes, while raising more question marks over Chelsea, whose attack was further depleted by the sale of Timo Werner this week.

Premier League football returns to the City Ground when Nottingham Forrest entertains West Ham, while Liverpool is at home to Crystal Palace on Monday, knowing it can’t drop points after its opening day slip-up.

Palace disappointed against Arsenal and there were signs they will miss Conor Gallagher, who returned to Chelsea after last season’s successful loan spell.

Everton fight back to survive relegation battle

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Things had looked bleak for Everton when they trailed to a 21st-minute goal from Jean-Philippe Mateta and a second from Jordan Ayew 15 minutes later.

Michael Keane gave Everton a lifeline nine minutes into the second half after being given time to control a knockdown, and Richarlison leveled with 15 minutes to go.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin then sent the home fans wild with a diving header from Seamus Coleman’s free-kick with five minutes left to play, sparking jubilant scenes and a pitch invasion that will surely cost Everton a hefty fine.

Burnley moved out of the bottom three on goal difference over Leeds United after a 1-1 draw away to Aston Villa, who had beaten them 3-1 less than two weeks ago.

Ashley Barnes’ penalty on the stroke of half-time put Burnley ahead, but Emiliano Buendia leveled for Villa three minutes into the second half.

A win at home to Newcastle United on Sunday will now assure Burnley’s top-flight survival.

Finally, Chelsea and Leicester City drew 1-1 with James Maddison putting Leicester ahead in the sixth minute before Marcos Alonso equalized half an hour later.

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