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Tag: Tottenham

  • EPL: Ronaldo Scores Hat-Trick As Man Utd Beat Tottenham

    EPL: Ronaldo Scores Hat-Trick As Man Utd Beat Tottenham

    Cristiano Ronaldo set another goalscoring record in a return to form with a hat-trick to keep Manchester United’s chances of playing in the Champions League next season alive with a 3-2 win over Tottenham on Saturday.

    Ronaldo had scored just once in his previous 10 games, but three fantastic finishes took him clear as the highest scorer in professional men’s football history according to FIFA’s records with 807 goals for club and country.

    Victory lifts United back into fourth, although they are just two points ahead of Arsenal who have four games in hand.

    A fifth defeat in eight league games is another blow to Tottenham’s hopes of a top-four finish as they remain seventh, now five points behind United.

    Ronaldo’s second spell at Old Trafford has so far proven to be an anti-climax with his poor form sparking debate over whether the 37-year-old’s powers are waning.

    The five-time Ballon d’Or winner missed United’s thrashing in the Manchester derby last weekend and was criticised for a perceived lack of commitment as he jetted off to Portugal to rehab a hip injury rather than watch his teammates lost 4-1 at the Etihad.

    He was restored to Ralf Rangnick’s starting line-up as one of five changes from that damaging defeat with Bruno Fernandes the notable absentee due to illness.

    It took just 12 minutes for Ronaldo to make his mark with a stunning strike into the top corner from outside the box.

    However, United failed to build on the early goal and were instead forced back in a familiar pattern to previous home games this season against stronger opposition.

    Spurs quickly had the ball in the net in response only for Ben Davies to be flagged offside before Eric Dier’s header from a corner was cleared off the line.

    A Tottenham equaliser seemed only a matter of time and was gifted to them when Alex Telles handled Dejan Kulusevski’s cross for a clear penalty.

    Harry Kane smashed home the resulting spot-kick to continue his fine form for his sixth goal in as many games.

    Within three minutes, though, United were back in front thanks to a landmark goal for Ronaldo.

    He turned home Jadon Sancho’s inviting cross to surpass Austria-Czech striker Josef Bican as football’s all-time record goalscorer according to FIFA’s records.

    United’s defensive deficiencies meant Ronaldo’s work was not done to win the game as Spurs enjoyed the better of the second half.

    Son Heung-min hooked a glorious chance wide from Kulusevski’s cut-back.

    When a second equaliser did arrive for Antonio Conte’s men it was thanks to more misery for United captain Harry Maguire.

    Consistent errors from the England international have played a huge part in his side’s struggles this season and he turned into his own net from Sergio Reguilon’s cross.

    Conte screamed for focus from his side on the sideline, but they succumbed again to Ronaldo’s predatory instincts.

    The United number seven rose highest to meet Telles’ corner nine minutes from time to power a header into the top corner for just his second United hat-trick and first since returning to Old Trafford in August.

    AFP

  • Chelsea, Tottenham sneak into Carabao Cup fourth round, Manchester United eliminated

    Chelsea, Tottenham sneak into Carabao Cup fourth round, Manchester United eliminated

     A much-changed Chelsea side crept into the fourth round of the League Cup as they beat Aston Villa 4-3 on penalty kicks after their Stamford Bridge clash ended 1-1 on Wednesday.

    Manchester United crashed out though, as West Ham United avenged a weekend loss in the English Premier League to claim a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford with Manuel Lanzini scoring early.

    Tottenham Hotspur surrendered an early 2-0 lead at Wolverhampton Wanderers but eventually won 3-2 on penalty kicks.

    It was manager Nuno Espirito Santo’s second win of the season against his former club.

    Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel made 10 changes to his starting line-up.

    German striker Timo Werner took his opportunity to give his side the lead in the 54th minute as he headed a Reece James cross past Aston Villa goalkeeper Jed Steer.

    It was Werner’s first goal of the season.

    He wasted another chance to make it 2-0 before Aston Villa hit back through youngster Cameron Archer’s header to send the tie into the penalty kicks shootout.

    Ben Chilwell struck the bar when he could have won it for Chelsea, but James made no mistake as his penalty kick found the top corner of the net.

    Arsenal cruised into the fourth round with a 3-0 home win against third-tier AFC Wimbledon while Leicester City put aside their stuttering league form to win 2-0 away at Millwall.

    Brighton and Hove Albion’s impressive start to the season continued as they cruised past Swansea City 2-0.

  • EPL: Chelsea Beats Tottenham 3-0, Move Top Of League Table

    EPL: Chelsea Beats Tottenham 3-0, Move Top Of League Table

    Chelsea produced a masterclass on Sunday, beating London rivals Tottenham 0-3 in a Premier League showdown. The victory catapulted the European champions to the top of the table with 13 points after five games.

    Both clubs also paid an emotional tribute to their former striker Jimmy Greaves on Sunday.

    Thiago Silva put Chelsea ahead early in the second half before N’Golo Kante bagged his first club goal since December 2019.

    Antonio Rudiger rounded off Chelsea’s dominant display with a stoppage-time strike as Thomas Tuchel’s latest tactical masterclass paid rich dividends.

    Tuchel’s unbeaten side sit top of the Premier League after winning four of their first five games.

    Chelsea have only conceded one league goal so far this season despite a tricky fixture list that featured trips to Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal.

    They face another test of their title credentials next weekend when champions Manchester City visit Stamford Bridge.

    It was fitting that two of Greaves’ old clubs met on the day he passed away aged 81.

    Hailed as “the finest marksman this country has ever seen” by Tottenham, Greaves is the club’s record scorer with 266 goals in 379 appearances between 1961 and 1970.

    The charismatic Londoner started his career with a prolific spell at Chelsea and netted 44 times in 57 appearances for England, featuring in their 1966 World Cup-winning squad.

    An image of Greaves wearing Tottenham’s famous white shirt was displayed on screens inside and outside the club’s north London stadium before kick-off.

    In a moving tribute, several former Tottenham greats, including Greaves’ old team-mate Martin Chivers, lined up on the touchline to join both teams and the 62,000 crowd in a minute’s applause.

    “Jimmy was an incredible player, a legend for club and country. It’s frightening really how good he was,” said Tottenham striker Harry Kane, who is second behind Greaves with 223 goals for the club.

    Kane had urged Tottenham to “put in a great performance” in Greaves’ honour.

    But the England captain was unable to land his first league goal this season as Chelsea showed the kind of ruthless instincts Greaves would have approved of.

    In a tight first half, Chelsea’s Andreas Christensen shot just over from the edge of the area before Kai Havertz poked narrowly wide after Marcos Alonso’s cross caused chaos in the Tottenham defence.

    With Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy absent after complaining of a hip injury in midweek Champions League win over Zenit St Petersburg, Kepa Arrizabalaga made his first start this season.

    Tottenham’s frenetic tempo meant Kepa had to stay alert and he rushed off his line to save bravely at Son Heung-min’s feet after the South Korean sprinted onto Giovani Lo Celso’s pass.

    In a game-changing move, Tuchel sent on France midfielder Kante for Mason Mount at half-time, neutralising Tottenham’s high press in the process.

    Where Chelsea had found it hard to take control before Kante’s introduction, now they were in the groove and Silva struck in the 49th minute.

    Alonso’s corner found the Brazilian eight yards out and he rose above Dele Alli to thump a superb header past Hugo Lloris.

    It took Eric Dier’s agile goal-line clearance to deny Chelsea a second when the defender blocked Alonso’s close-range strike from Cesar Azpilicueta’s pass.

    But Chelsea were rampant and they struck again in the 57th minute when Kante’s 25-yard drive took a wicked deflection off Dier and trickled past the wrong-footed Lloris.

    Tottenham lost heart as their second successive league defeat loomed and Rudiger rubbed salt into the wounds with a fine finish from Timo Werner’s cross in the final moments.

  • Tottenham’s current league position means nothing yet, Nuno says

    Tottenham’s current league position means nothing yet, Nuno says

    Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo says his side’s position at the top of the 2021/2022 English Premier League  (EPL) “doesn’t mean anything”.

    Spurs made it three wins from three with a 1-0 victory over Watford as Nuno became the first boss to win his first three league games at the club since Arthur Rowe in 1949.

    All three games have been won by a 1-0 scoreline and there is early-season optimism that they could challenge for the top four this season.

    Nuno, who joined after leaving Wolves at the end of last season, is not getting carried away.

    “That doesn’t mean anything at all, that doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “I invite everybody, not only the players but our fans, to not pay attention to that. Don’t pay attention to that.

    “Let’s keep on working, we still have a long way and a lot of aspects to improve on.”

    There are clear improvements already from last season.

    A flimsy defence has turned into a history-making one as for the first time ever Spurs have opened the season with three clean sheets.

    Nuno added: “That’s the beginning of everything. Always said the shape, organisation, being solid and compact because we have talent.

    “Being consistent is what we are focused on and we have to keep on going.

    “We controlled very well the deep, Watford were clearly trying to make us go higher on our lines to play on our backs.

    “The back four controlled very well. But at the same time, the second balls, we need to be anticipating that part of our game. Something we have to improve.

    “Well done, we keep on going. Now the players go (on international duty), we’ll stay, we’ll look, we’ll work with the players who are going to stay and try to make better for the next one.

  • Spurs sign 18-year-old Pape Matar Sarr from Metz

    Spurs sign 18-year-old Pape Matar Sarr from Metz

    Tottenham have signed 18-year-old defensive midfielder Pape Matar Sarr from Metz.

    Sarr, who is Spurs’ fourth signing of the summer, will remain with the French Ligue 1 club on loan for the rest of the season.

    Capped by Senegal, he played 25 times for Metz last season, scoring four times, and all three games this term.

    He follows Bryan Gil, Cristian Romero and goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini in joining Spurs this summer.

    Meanwhile midfielder Moussa Sissoko, 32, has joined Watford in a deal worth around £3m.

  • Kane’s contribution pleases Nuno as Tottenham beat Wolves

    Kane’s contribution pleases Nuno as Tottenham beat Wolves

    Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo was pleased with Harry Kane’s contribution as he made his long-awaited return to the side in Sunday’s 1-0 Premier League win at Wolves.

    The England captain was not involved in the opening two games of the season following his late return from holiday amid his desire to join Manchester City.

    But with Spurs holding firm in their insistence that he is not for sale, he came on in the 72nd minute of Sunday’s match.

    The match was decided by Dele Alli’s 10th-minute penalty kick.

    He immediately improved Nuno’s side and could have marked his return with a goal, but saw a good chance saved by Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa.

    Nuno, who enjoyed a winning return to Molineux and has seen his new side win two Premier League games from two, said: “I think he did well, he helped the team, he had a good chance.

    “Harry is still in the process of increasing and improving his level of fitness, but he is one of the best players in the world.

    “You can see how he helped the team in terms of possession and the fine lines. So, we need everybody.”

    Tottenham are next in action on Thursday in the Europa Conference League play-off second leg against Pacos de Ferreira.

    In this, they may need some of their better attacking players to help turn around a 1-0 first-leg deficit.

    On whether Kane would be involved, Nuno added: “I cannot answer you that, it’s too soon.

    “Now we are going to recover and prepare for the next one. Like we always do the same way and make the decisions that we should take.”

  • EPL: Harry Kane wins Golden boot

    EPL: Harry Kane wins Golden boot

    Harry Kane scored what could be his last ever Tottenham goal to win the Premier League Golden Boot race on the final day of the 2020/21 season.

    Kane and Mohamed Salah led the way with 22 goals apiece going into game week 38, with the Tottenham and Liverpool stars enjoying prolific campaigns on a personal level even with their teams have struggled to challenge for silverware.

    Neither could find the net during the penultimate round of games, so it was a case of winner-takes-all on the final day.

    Kane – who wants to leave Tottenham this summer – struck in a 3-2 win at Leicester to end the season on 23 goals, while he made another to notch 14 assists for the campaign.

    Salah couldn’t find the net as Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 2-0, so he finished second. Manchester United talisman Bruno Fernandes built on his impressive start to lift at Old Trafford with 18 goals and 12 assists in his first full season with the Red Devils to finish third.

    Kane’s team-mate Heung-min Son was not far behind in joint fourth place with Leeds’ Patrick Bamford, while Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin ended up sixth with 16 goals.

  • Tottenham sack Jose Mourinho

    Tottenham sack Jose Mourinho

    Jose Mourinho has been sacked as Tottenham coach after 17 months in charge of the London club.

    According to reports, Ryan Mason and Chris Powell will be in temporary charge until a new permanent manager is appointed.

    It was gathered that Tottenham have begun the process of appointing a new coach.

    Mourinho was sacked less than a week to the Carabao Cup final between Tottenham and Manchester City on Sunday.

    He replaced Mauricio Pochettino in the club in November 2019, signing a deal expected to end in 2023.

    Last season, Tottenham finished sixth as against their previous 14th position in the Premier League.

    The club also qualified for Europa League but were knocked out of the Champions League by RB Leipzig at the last-16 stage.

    This season, the club embarrassingly crashed out of Europa League at the last-16 stage following defeat to Dinamo Zagreb.

    Spurs are currently in the seventh position in the EPL table, needing five points to move to the Champions League spot.

    Details later…

  • Crystal Palace boss discloses Schlupp’s best position after scoring in Tottenham draw

    Crystal Palace boss discloses Schlupp’s best position after scoring in Tottenham draw

    Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has revealed Jeffrey Schlupp’s best position is to be on the extreme end of the field as a winger.

    The 27-year-old came to the rescue of the hosts in South London with a late strike that cancelled out Harry Kane’s first-half opener.

    Towards the end of the game, Nigerian descent Eberechi Eze fired in a free-kick but goalkeeper Hugo Lloris failed to put the ball to safety, leaving Schlupp to fire in the loose ball into the back of the net in the 81st minute.

    It was the first goal of the Ghana international after 10 appearances in the English top-flight this term.

    Over the past few seasons, Schlupp has proven his versatility as an attacking midfielder and as a defender, but Hodgson claims he gives the team more attacking options as a winger.

    “His best position is one of the wide positions,” Hodgson was quoted by Football London. “He can play in those wider positions, he’s very suited to it.

    “That enables us to have the two front players.

    “With two up front, you have to have two solid players like Jeff, Andros and Eberechi prepared to come in off the touchline.”

    Sunday’s strike made it two goals for Schlupp in his last two games against Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park, after grabbing the equaliser in their final game of the 2019-20 season which ended 1-1 in July.

    Aside from Spurs, Burnley and Fulham are the other clubs the Black Stars full-back has scored more than a goal against in the Premier League.

  • Ljungberg ‘hurt’ by Tottenham defeat

    Ljungberg ‘hurt’ by Tottenham defeat

    Jose Mourinho gave Arsenal a tactical lesson, according to Freddie Ljungberg, who says the nature of the defeat to Tottenham “hurts”.

    Arsenal suffered their sixth loss of the season in the North London Derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, and slipped to 15th in the Premier League standings as a result.

    Son Heung-min’s stunning long-range strike set Spurs on their way to victory in the 13th minute, with the South Korean allowed to run through on goal after picking up a pass from Harry Kane on the halfway line before curling the ball into the far corner of the net.

    The Gunners dominated possession thereafter, but struggled to create any clear openings as Mourinho’s side stuck to their shape vigilantly while looking for openings on the counterattack.

    Tottenham eventually punished Arsenal on the break again just before the interval, with Kane finishing off a lightning-fast move after being teed up beautifully by Son in the penalty area.

    Mikel Arteta’s men were unable to find a way back into the game in the second period, with the home side ultimately left celebrating a famous 2-0 win which saw them return to the top of the league.

    Ljungberg felt Mourinho set his team up perfectly to seal the victory, and he has been impressed with how the Portuguese has been able to bring the best out of the Spurs squad since his appointment in November 2019.

    “I haven’t recovered yet,” the former Gunners winger and interim head coach told Sky Sports. “It was tough but Mourinho gave us a lesson in how to play a tactical game.

    “It was interesting but it still hurts. I thought Spurs, I didn’t think they would be that far ahead or top of the league to be honest.

    “But you look at Mourinho, he’s got them inspired, his players are all doing what he wants them to do which I think is the hardest thing when you play the kind of football he does.

    “Hats off to him, they’re doing really, really well.”

    Arsenal and Tottenham will both be back in Europa League action on Thursday, with respective fixtures against Dundalk and Antwerp on the cards.

    The two sides will resume their latest Premier League campaigns three days later, with the Gunners set to play host to Burnley and Spurs scheduled to take in a trip to Crystal Palace.

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