Newcastle United – Sports Africa

Arsenal held as Newcastle move to fourth in Premier League

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Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League was reduced to two points when they were held to a 1-1 draw away to Southampton on Sunday afternoon.

Arsenal got off to a confident start that was rewarded when Granit Xhaka put them ahead with a low finish, but after suffering in the first half, Southampton recovered after the break.

Stuart Armstrong equalized after a flowing move after 65 minutes, and although Martin Odegaard thought he had scored a late winner for the visitors, the ball had previously gone out of play.

Newcastle United claimed a 2-1 win away to Tottenham to climb up to fourth in the table.

Callum Wilson opened the scoring in the 31st minute after a VAR check confirmed he hadn’t fouled Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris. Miguel Almiron doubled the lead 10 minutes later after beating Lloris at his near post.

Harry Kane pulled a goal back for his side 10 minutes into the second half, but Newcastle held on for a win that confirms them as top-four candidates.

Aston Villa reacted positively to Steven Gerrard’s sacking in midweek with a 4-0 thumping of Brentford.

Danny Ings scored twice as Villa led 3-0 after just 14 minutes, with Leon Bailey adding the other goal, and the game was as good as over when Ollie Watkins netted the fourth just before the hour.

Leicester City built on their 2-0 win at home to Leeds United in midweek with a 4-0 win away to Wolves thanks to some clinical finishing.

Leicester had only five shots all game, but their first four efforts ended up in the back of the net, with Youri Tielemans and Harvey Barnes scoring after eight and 18 minutes, while James Maddison and Jamie Vardy netted in the second half. Wolves had over 20 shots, but once again failed to find the net.

Leeds United slipped into the relegation zone after a 3-2 defeat at home to Fulham. Rodrigo Moreno put Leeds ahead after 20 minutes, but Aleksandr Mitrovic leveled just six minutes later and Bobby Reid (74 minutes) and Willian (83) sealed the win before Crysencio Summerville’s late consolation for Leeds.

On Saturday, two goals in the last 10 minutes resolved the 1-1 draw between Chelsea and Manchester United, with Jorginho netting an 87th-minute penalty for Chelsea, before Casemiro’s injury-time header saved a point for United in a game where Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence for disciplinary reasons captured the pre-game headlines.

Two more goals from Erling Haaland put Manchester City on the way to a 3-1 win at home to Brighton.

Leandro Trossard’s low drive after 53 minutes gave Brighton hope of a comeback, but Kevin de Bruyne made it 3-1 with 15 minutes left to play.

Former Liverpool player Taiwo Awoniyi scored the only goal of the game as Nottingham Forest, who had kicked the weekend off bottom of the table, stunned Liverpool 1-0.

Liverpool had over 70 percent of the ball and a host of chances, including one from Virgil van Dijk 30 seconds before time, but Forest held on for a vital win.

Everton got back to winning ways after three consecutive losses as they defeated Crystal Palace 3-0 in their best display of the season. Dominic Calvert-Lewin put Everton in front in the 11th minute, Anthony Gordon made it 2-0 in the 63rd minute, and Dwight McNeil rounded off the scoring six minutes from time.

Arsenal stretch winning streak as Liverpool and City win in Premier League

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Arsenal went back to the top of the English Premier League table with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa on Tuesday night at the Emirates.

Erling Haaland scored a first-half hat-trick as Manchester City enjoyed a crushing 6-0 win at home to Nottingham Forrest.

The Norwegian showed his effectiveness in front of goal with his second hat-trick in five days as his side demolished recently-promoted Forest in the opening 45 minutes.

Haaland’s first goal came from Phil Foden’s cross, while second was a tap-in and his third came from an assist from John Stones.

Joao Cancelo added a fourth in the 50th minute and new signing Julian Alvarez scored two more in the 67th and 85th minutes to complete the rout.

Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli both scored as Arsenal made it five wins from five to stay top of the table with a 2-1 triumph at home to Aston Villa, who had momentarily drawn level through Douglas Luiz.

Newcastle United’s record signing Alexander Isak scored on his debut to put his side 1-0 ahead at Anfield against Liverpool. Roberto Firmino leveled for Liverpool with his side’s first shot on target in the 61st minute.

Liverpool had over 20 shots in the game, but it wasn’t until the 9th minute of injury time that Fabio Carvalho scored the goal to give his side all three points.

The youngster smacked the ball home off the bottom of the bar as Newcastle failed to clear a corner.

Thomas Soucek’s 55th-minute equalizer saved a point for home side West Ham in a closely fought London derby.

Tottenham took the lead through an own goal from Thilo Kehrer, who deflected Harry Kane’s low cross into his own net.

Kane missed a chance to win in the closing minutes when he volleyed wide from close range.

Bournemouth showed personality after the 9-0 defeat away to Liverpool on Saturday and the sacking of coach Scott Parker as they dug in for a 0-0 draw at home to Wolves, who are still without a win and have scored just twice all season.

Interesting fixtures highlight Wednesday Premier League action

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Wednesday will witness five Premier League matches of significance as teams aim to record decent results in the new season.

Liverpool’s home match against Newcastle United is the pick of the bunch as Liverpool try to build on their 9-0 thrashing of Bournemouth at the weekend.

Jurgen Klopp still has a long injury list limiting his options of squad rotations and it’s hard to see him making more than cosmetic changes to the starting 11.

Newcastle travel after Allan Saint-Maximin’s spectacular volley gave them a 1-1 draw away to Wolves, but the talented forward will miss the visit to Anfield with a thigh injury.

That should allow club record signing Alexander Isak to make his debut in a match which will show if Newcastle can mount a serious challenge for the top-six this campaign.

Manchester City showed they can be hurt from set-pieces as they won 4-2 at home to Crystal Palace at the weekend, however, Erling Haaland also showed he is a huge threat in attack and recently promoted Nottingham Forrest will do well to take anything from their visit to the Ethiad Stadium.

League leaders Arsenal are favorites to make it five wins from five games when they host Aston Villa, who were booed off the pitch after their home defeat to West Ham at the weekend.

Pressure is growing on Villa coach Steven Gerrard and his side need to turn their attacking ambition into clear chances, goals and points.

West Ham got their season rolling with that win at Villa Park and have a derby at home to Tottenham that will test both sides. Harry Kane is in fine form for the visitors, although visiting coach Antonio Conte could be tempted to rest an out of sorts, Hueng Son Min and give a start to Richarlison.

The game may come too soon for West Ham to give a debut to record signing, Lucas Paqueta, who has joined from Olympique Lyon.

Finally, Bournemouth need to recover from Saturday’s 9-0 thrashing at Anfield and Tuesday’s surprise exit of coach Scott Parker when they entertain Wolverhampton.

Gary O’Neill will be in temporary charge for Bournemouth and the visitors have to see this as a perfect chance to end a run of 11 games without a win that stretches back into last season.

EPL roundup: Newcastle share spoils with Man City as Arsenal go top

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Defending champions Manchester City lost their Premier League top spot to Arsenal after a thrilling 3-3 draw away to Newcastle United on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola’s side came back from 3-1 down to take a point, and while Newcastle will be disappointed not to have won, the result and performance shows how much it has improved under Eddie Howe.

Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring for the visitors in the 5th minute, but Newcastle fought back with first Miguel Almiron and then Callum Wilson taking advantage of great work from Allan Saint-Maximin to make it 2-1.

It looked game over when Kieran Trippier scored a free-kick to put Newcastle 3-1 up, but within 10 minutes City leveled the scores thanks to Erling Haaland and Bernardo Silva.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was that neither side added a fourth goal.

Chelsea had a dreadful day at Elland Road as it was beaten 3-0 by a Leeds United side that looks vastly improved under Jesse Marsch.

Thomas Tuchel’s side got off to a bright start, but terrible error by keeper Edouard Mendy gifted the ball to Brenden Aaronson in the six-yard box in the 33rd minute and the American put the ball into the empty net.

Four minutes later, Rodrigo Moreno’s powerful header made it 2-0 for Leeds. and when Jack Harrison added a third with 20 minutes left to play Elland Road was jumping.

Chelsea struggled to deal with Leeds’ intensity and things got even worse with six minutes to play, when Kalidou Koulibaly was sent off for a second yellow card after pulling back Joe Gelhardt.

It was a bad day for West Ham United as well as David Moyes’ side lost 2-0 at home to go bottom of the table, as Brighton continues its excellent start to the campaign.

Alexis Mac Allister put Brighton ahead from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute, and although West Ham had chances to equalize, they failed to take them and Leandro Trossard made them pay in the 66th minute.

Arsenal won 3-0 away to Bournemouth to enjoy its best start to the season in 18 years and is the new leader.

The game was all but over by the 11th minute after Martin Odegaard twice took advantage of good work by Gabriel Jesus to make it 2-0, and William Saliba’s excellent third goal in the 54th minute rounded off a silky display by Mikel Arteta’s side.

Harry Kane nodded home a corner to score his 185th Premier League goal for Tottenham (beating Sergio Aguero’s record of Premier League goals for one club) to give his side a 1-0 win at home to Wolves.

Aleksandar Mitrovic’s 90th minute header decided a chaotic game Fulham’s way after it looked to have thrown victory away.

Marco Silva’s men led 2-0 after Bobby Cordova-Reid’s first-minute goal and Joao Palhinha’s header, but Brentford leveled thanks to an excellent strike from Christian Norgaard on the stroke of halftime and Ivan Toney’s 77th minute goal, before Mitrovic’s winner.

Wilfried Zaha scored twice as Crystal Palace enjoyed a 3-1 win at home to Aston Villa after falling behind to Ollie Watkins’ fifth minute goal.

Zaha equalized two minutes later and put Palace ahead just before the hour, before Jean-Philippe Mateta added a third with 20 minutes left to play.

Demarai Gray’s 88th-minute goal saved a point for Everton, who had fallen behind at home to Nottingham Forest when Brennan Johnson put the visitors ahead with 10 minutes left.

Che Adams netted after 68 and 84 minutes as Southampton came from behind to win 2-1 at Leicester City, who had gone ahead 10 minutes into the second half through James Maddison’s exceptional strike.

Manchester United faces Liverpool in a vital game for both sides on Monday night.

Man City thrash Newcastle United to take Premier League advantage

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Manchester City hammered Newcastle United 5-0 on Sunday after a frustrating Champions League exit on Wednesday, the win saw City open a four-point gap at the summit of English Premier League standings ahead of Liverpool.

If there had been any doubt over how Pep Guardiola’s men would react to the midweek heartbreak in Madrid, it was dispelled after a lovely move ended with Raheem Sterling putting City ahead in the 19th minute.

Aymeric Laporte doubled City’s lead after 38 minutes after he followed up to score from a loose ball in the penalty area and the result was beyond doubt just after the hour when Rodri headed home following a free-kick.

Phil Foden and Sterling rounded off the scoring in injury time and the only worry for Guardiola will be an injury that forced Ruben Dias off at halftime.

On Saturday Liverpool lost ground when they were held 1-1 by Tottenham in a result which helps neither side.

Son Heung-Min put Tottenham ahead in the 56th minute, but Luis Diaz leveled with a deflected effort with 15 minutes left to play and although Liverpool had chances to win, they were below their best.

The result did neither side any favors and Arsenal took advantage of Tottenham dropping points to open up a four-point lead over their neighbors ahead of Thursday’s North-London derby with a 2-1 win at home to Leeds United.

Arsenal’s job was made much easier by Luke Ayling’s 27th-minute red card, but by then they already led thanks to goals from Eddie Nketiah after five and 10 minutes.

Diego Llorente gave Leeds hope with 25 minutes left to play, but it was not enough to lift his side out of the bottom three.

West Ham kept their hopes of a quick return to Europe alive as they took advantage of already relegated, Norwich City.

Said Benrahma scored twice, while Michail Antonio and Manuel Lanzini also got on the scoresheet in an easy win for David Moyes’ team.

Manchester United’s Champions League hopes ended with a humiliating 4-0 defeat in Brighton, with another poor performance.

Moises Caicedo opened the scoring for the home side in the 15th minute and after Marc Cucurella doubled the home side’s advantage in the 49th minute, United fell apart with Pascal Gross and Leandro Trossard adding further goals in the 57th and 60th minutes.

Watford’s relegation to the Championship was certified by a 1-0 defeat away to Crystal Palace, with Wilfred Zaha’s 31st-minute penalty sending down former Palace coach, Roy Hodgson’s current side.

Burnley’s survival hopes were rocked by a 3-1 defeat at home to Aston Villa, who led 3-0 through goals from former Burnley striker Danny Ings, Emiliano Buendia and Ollie Watkins before Maxwell Cornet netted an injury-time goal for the home side.

Everton meanwhile took an important step towards safety as they took advantage of tired legs at Leicester City to win 2-1 and climb out of the relegation zone.

Vitaliy Mykolenko put Everton ahead after just six minutes and although Patson Daka quickly equalized for the home side, Mason Holgate won the game with a header on the half-hour and Jordan Pickford stopped all of Leicester’s efforts to get back on level terms.

Pontus Jansson and Yoane Wissa scored in the 13th and 14th minutes to put Brentford on track to a comfortable 3-0 win at home to Southampton, with Kristoffer Ajer adding a third goal with 11 minutes still to play.

Chelsea seemed to be enjoying a placid afternoon at home to Wolves to celebrate the announcement of the takeover of the club, as they led 2-0 thanks to two goals from Romelu Lukaku.

However, Wolves came to life after that Francisco Trincao pulled a goal back in the 79th minute and Conor Coady nodded in an equalizer in the seventh minute of injury time.

Man City and Liverpool win in tight Premier League title race

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Manchester City retained their Premier League top spot with a 4-0 win against Leeds United on Saturday to keep pace with Liverpool in the title race.

Naby Keita scored the only goal of Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Newcastle United after 19 minutes. The midfielder made and scored the goal by himself. Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Sadio Mane all missed chances to add to Liverpool’s advantage in the second half.

That result piled the pressure on City in their evening visit to Leeds United, but despite a spirited display from Leeds, Pep Guardiola’s men took all three points.

Rodri’s glancing header put them ahead in the 13th minute and Nathan Ake doubled their lead 10 minutes into the second half after good work from Ruben Dias, before Gabriel Jesus made it 3-0 in the 78th minute.

Fernandinho rounded off the scoring in injury time to also help his side’s goal difference and leave Leeds firmly back in the relegation dogfight.

The only setback for City was that Ake had to leave the pitch with a physical problem shortly after his goal and has to be considered a doubt for Wednesday’s Champions League visit to Real Madrid.

Norwich became the first team to be relegated after Ollie Watkins’ 41st minute goal and an injury time finish from Danny Ings condemned them to a 2-0 defeat away to Aston Villa.

Watford are on the verge of joining Norwich in a quick return to the Championship as they were beaten by two late goals at home to Burnley.

James Tarkowski’s unlucky own goal looked as if it was going to end a run of 10 consecutive home defeats for Watford, but goals from Jack Cork on 83 minutes and Josh Brownhill just three minutes later gave Burnley their third win in three games.

The win lifts Burnley above Leeds and five points clear of Everton, and ramps up the pressure on Frank Lampard’s side who entertain his former club Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.

Brighton are ending the season strongly with goals from Alexis MacAlister, Leandro Trossard and Yves Bissouma giving them a 3-0 win away to Wolves.

Crystal Palace banished any lingering relegation doubts with a fightback after conceding an early goal to Oriol Romeu. Second half strikes from Ebereche Eze and Wilfred Zaha saw Patrick Viera’s men to a 2-1 away win to Southampton.

Newcastle recovery mission gains steam in Premier League

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Manchester City may be wiping the floor with oppoents, but it is the new fellow moneybags Newcastle who have everyone as they plot an escape from relegation.

City continued their unbeatable form and remain six points clear of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League after Raheem Sterling scored a hat-trick in their 4-0 win away to struggling Norwich City.

Sterling opened the scoring in the 31st minute and after Phil Foden netted the second early in the second half, Sterling rounded off the win with goals in the 71st and 90th minutes.

Liverpool kept up the pace with their rivals after a 1-0 win away to Burnley on Sunday afternoon.

Fabinho’s 40th minute goal, which came after Sadio Mane flicked on a corner, was enough to win the game against a rival that gave a typical battling display, but lacked the extra bit of class needed to get the ball past Alisson Becker in the Liverpool goal.

Manchester United missed a chance to move into fourth place after being held 1-1 at home to Southampton in which they once again failed to hold on to a lead.

Che Adams’s goal early in the second half canceled out Jadon Sancho’s first-half strike, and on the balance of play, Southampton were slightly unlucky not to take all three points.

Tottenham looked to recover from their midweek defeat to Southampton at home to Wolves, but the visitors took all three points to overtake Spurs in the table.

Raul Jimenez and Leander Dendoncker put Wolves 2-0 ahead after 18 minutes with some impressive attacking football, and then the visitors closed ranks after the break to shut Tottenham out.

West Ham remain fourth after a Craig Dawson’s 91st-minute header saved a point away to Leicester City, in a game the Hammers had led through Jarrod Bowen’s 10th-minute strike. Youri Tielemans’s 45th-minute penalty leveled the scores, and until Dawson’s late equalizer, it looked as if Ricardo Domingos’s 57th-minute header would give Leicester the win.

Everton won their first Premier League game under Frank Lampard with goals from Seamus Coleman, Michael Keane and Anthony Gordon giving them a 3-0 win at home to Leeds United.

Defeat could have seen Everton risk dropping into the bottom three, but after going 2-0 up by the 27th minute, their confidence returned in a comfortable win.

Newcastle United’s recovery continues with Kieran Trippier’s 35th-minute free kick giving them their fourth win of the season, moving them four points clear of the drop zone.

Although it was only Newcastle’s fourth win of the campaign, it was their third in three games as the January signings begin to make their presence felt, with Trippier’s excellence at set pieces vital again.

Watford remain deep in the relegation zone after losing 2-0 at home to Brighton, who took the points with goals from Neal Maupay and Adam Webster.

Brentford ended a run of five consecutive defeats with a 0-0 draw at home to Crystal Palace, which kicked off after Brentford’s recent signing Christian Eriksen received a standing ovation as he was presented on the pitch.

Newcastle want Arsenal outcast Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could become the first marquee signing for Premier League moneybags Newcastle United.

Newcastle are reportedly interested in signing the Arsenal outcast on loan before completing a £20million summer deal.

According to the Mirror, the relegation-threatened Magpies have approached the Gunners about taking the 32-year-old striker for the rest of the season including an option to make the move permanent.

Aubameyang was stripped of the captaincy by boss Mikel Arteta last month for an alleged breach of discipline and his days at Arsenal are all but over.

The Gabon star, who is now away on Africa Cup of Nations duty after Arteta allowed him to leave the Gunners early for the tournament as there was little chance of him figuring in the squad for Saturday’s clash with Manchester City, which Arsenal lost 2-1.

He hasn’t figured for Arsenal since the 2-1 defeat at Everton on December 6.

Unai Emery says he is not joining Newcastle United

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Villarreal coach Unai Emery has clarified that he will not be leaving at the Spanish club to join Newcastle United.

Emery, who led Villarreal to last season’s Europa League title, had emerged as the favorite to be named as the new coach at the club which was recently the subject of a big money Saudi Arabian led takeover.

Following his side’s Champions League win over Yong Boys on Tuesday, he even commented that he had “not said no” to Newcastle, even though he explained that he had not received a formal offer from the English club. Whether or not he did speak to representatives of Newcastle now appears irrelevant after he published a letter affirming his loyalty to Villarreal, who he joined in July 2020.

“For all the noise there was yesterday in another country, within the club there has been transparency and loyalty with the Roig family (Villarreal’s owners), that for me is most important.” “Honestly, I am grateful for the interest shown by a great club, but am also even more grateful to stay here, and I have communicated to (Villarreal President) Fernando Roig my decision to want to continue as part of this project and for the commitment and respect that I have received from the club and my players, it is mutual and reciprocated.”

“I also want to show gratitude for the love and support that has always been shown to me. This Sunday, we have a very important game and I hope that, together, we can achieve victory. We will see you in the Estadio Ceramica,” wrote Emery.

Club president Roig had been asked about Emery’s future on Tuesday and showed his confidence the coach would remain at the club. “I’m sure that his mind is not drifting elsewhere. I know Unai has a contract with us and contracts are there to be fulfilled. We hope that we will be able to see that contract through until the end,” he commented. Meanwhile Newcastle will continue their search for a man to try and lead them out of the bottom three of the Premier League with former Bournemouth coach Eddie Howe emerging as a new candidate.

Steve Bruce could retire after Newcastle axe

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LONDON, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) — Newcastle United Wednesday sacked Steve Bruce after two seasons in charge.

Bruce had expected to be sacked almost immediately in the wake of the Saudi takeover of the club on October 7th, but clung on for a few days more and was in charge for Sunday’s 3-2 defeat at home to Tottenham which leaves them second from bottom of the Premier League without a win in its first eight games of the season.

The 60-year-old’s first two seasons in charge saw Newcastle finish 13th and 12th in the table without being drawn into a battle to avoid relegation.

The club has confirmed it has already begun to search for a replacement with former Roma boss Paulo Fonseca thought to be the early favourite, although Graeme Jones will be in temporary charge for Saturday’s game away to Crystal Palace.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph newspaper after his leave had been confirmed, Bruce commented that he was considering retiring from management after a coaching career dating back to 1998.

“I think this might be my last job. It’s not just about me; it’s taken its toll on my whole family because they are all Geordies (from Newcastle) and I can’t ignore that.”

Despite being a boyhood Newcastle fan, Bruce was never accepted by the club’s fans, partly because he spent most of his playing days with Manchester United and also because he had a spell coaching bitter local rivals Sunderland.

“It has been very, very tough. To never really be wanted, to feel that people wanted me to fail and saying I would fail, that I was useless, a fat waste of space, a tactically inept cabbage head,” he commented, adding that his family, his wife especially “have been worried about me.”

“I’m 60 years old and I don’t know if I want to put her through it again. We’ve got a good life so, yeah, this will probably be me done as a manager,” added Bruce.

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