fulham – Artifex.News

Manchester City Close In On Premier League Title, Burnley FC Relegated

admin — Sat, 11 May 2024 17:58:10 +0000

Manchester City closed in on a fourth consecutive Premier League title by thrashing Fulham 4-0 on Saturday, while Burnley were relegated from the top flight after a 2-1 defeat at Tottenham. Luton are also virtually down as a 3-1 defeat at West Ham left them three points adrift of safety and with a goal difference 13 worse than that of Nottingham Forest with just one game remaining. There was no twist in the title race at Craven Cottage as defender Josko Gvardiol continued his hot streak in front of goal.

The Croatian settled any City nerves by firing in on his weaker right foot after just 13 minutes.

Pep Guardiola’s men were dominant but had to wait until the hour mark to make the points safe when Phil Foden swept in his 25th goal of the season.

Gvardiol then turned in Bernardo Silva’s cross at the back post for his fifth City goal, all of which have come in his past seven games.

A 77 million pound ($96 million) signing from RB Leipzig last summer, Gvardiol could have become the first defender in Premier League history to score a hat-trick when City were awarded a penalty in stoppage time.

However, he turned down the chance to take it, allowing Julian Alvarez to instead round off the scoring.

Victory takes City two points clear at the top of the table and ramps up the pressure on second-placed Arsenal ahead of their visit to Manchester United on Sunday.

Should the Gunners fail to win, City can wrap up the title when they travel to Tottenham on Tuesday.

“My players like to play with pressure, they are used to it. The players enjoy this feeling,” Guardiola said.

“The destiny (of the title) is in our hands.”

Growing gulf

Spurs kept their chances of Champions League football next season alive by coming from behind to send Burnley to the Championship.

Jacob Bruun Larsen had fired the Clarets into a shock lead after Sander Berge’s pass cut the Tottenham defence wide open.

Spurs had lost their last four matches, but they turned the game around to move within four points of fourth-placed Aston Villa.

Pedro Porro blasted an equaliser high past Arijanet Muric.

Micky Van de Ven then curled in the winner to at least guarantee Spurs will be in Europe next season.

“Today the Premier League is over but tomorrow we start day one of doing everything we can to get back to the Premier League,” said Burnley boss Vincent Kompany.

“The game has gone a bit like others have gone for us this season. We created chances but we missed the final pass.”

Luton will also be back in the Championship next season after blowing a 1-0 lead and losing to West Ham in David Moyes’ final home game in charge of the Hammers.

Albert Sambi Lokonga’s early header gave the visitors hope of a great escape.

But second-half strikes from James Ward-Prowse, Tomas Soucek and George Earthy all but ended Luton’s Premier League stay after a remarkable rise back through the leagues to get back to the top flight for the first time in 32 years.

With Luton set to join Burnley and Sheffield United in going down, all three promoted clubs will be relegated to expose to growing gulf between the top two divisions.

Forest can confirm Luton’s relegation by avoiding defeat at home to Chelsea later on Saturday.

Newcastle missed the chance to tighten their grip on European qualification after being held 1-1 by Brighton.

Sean Longstaff cancelled out Joel Veltman’s early opener for the Seagulls at St James’ Park.

But sixth-placed Newcastle edge just three points clear of Chelsea and Manchester United, who both have a game in hand.

Crystal Palace’s stunning form since the arrival of Oliver Glasner as manager continued with a 3-1 win at Wolves.

Michael Olise, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eberechi Eze were on target for the Eagles, who climb up to 12th.

Abdoulaye Doucoure scored the only goal as Everton beat Sheffield United 1-0.

Yoane Wissa scored a 95th-minute winner for Brentford to snatch a 2-1 victory at Bournemouth.

Topics mentioned in this article

Source link

Josko Gvardiol Double Sinks Fulham As Manchester City Go Top Of Premier League

admin — Sat, 11 May 2024 16:07:01 +0000

Manchester City swept to the top of the Premier League as Josko Gvardiol‘s double inspired a vital 4-0 victory against Fulham on Saturday. Pep Guardiola’s side are two wins away from lifting an unprecedented fourth successive English title after a commanding display at Craven Cottage. Gvardiol put City ahead early on before Phil Foden‘s 25th goal in all competitions this season increased their lead. By the time Gvardiol netted his second, City were strolling to three priceless points on a sunlit afternoon on the banks of the River Thames.

Julian Alvarez underlined City’s superiority with a late penalty after Fulham’s Issa Diop was sent off for fouling the Argentine.

Now two points clear of second-placed Arsenal, City will look for a favour from their arch rivals Manchester United, who host the Gunners on Sunday.

If Arsenal fail to win at Old Trafford, City will be crowned champions if they beat Tottenham on Tuesday or West Ham in their final game on May 19.

“Gvardiol’s goals were absolutely unexpected. He is unbelievable with both feet,” Guardiola said.

“We played really well and now we recover, then come back to London to play the big final (against Tottenham) to try to retain our title.”

Regardless of Arsenal’s remaining results against United and Everton, City know two more victories will make it a remarkable six titles in the last seven seasons.

“The great players enjoy playing with great pressure. These players in the last few years have been able to do it and we are again in the latter stages,” Guardiola said.

“Our dream was to arrive in the last games with it in our hands, to play West Ham at home with the destiny belonging to us.”

City’s 16th successive win against Fulham — the longest run of consecutive victories over one team in English football history — also mathematically ended third-placed Liverpool’s title challenge.

Asked why he was wearing a jumper in the searing west London heat, the superstitious Guardiola added: “I used this outfit many times so we keep it as it is. Even if it is 45 degrees!”

Guardiola had labelled the Fulham game as the first of four “finals” for City as they aim to clinch the title and then beat Manchester United in the FA Cup final.

They rose to his challenge in style and will head to Tottenham next week boasting a 21-game unbeaten league run, having also trimmed Arsenal’s goal difference advantage over them to just two.

Relentless City

A social media video of Fulham players flying a kite during training this week had raised questioned about just how focused the hosts would be in a match that had little riding on it for them.

Arsenal’s fears were confirmed as City carved Fulham apart in typically swaggering style to take the lead after 13 minutes.

Guardiola had revealed City practised on a dry pitch with high grass this week in a bid to prepare for a similar surface to the one that caused them problems on their previous visit to Craven Cottage.

City’s preparation worked a treat as a flowing 19-pass move climaxed with Kevin De Bruyne clipping a pass to Gvardiol on the edge of the edge.

The Croatian defender took two deft touches as he glided through the Fulham defence before planting a composed low finish past Bernd Leno.

Guardiola’s men monopolised possession, with Manuel Akanji wasting a golden opportunity just before half-time with a wild swipe that sailed over from De Bruyne’s corner.

City took complete control in the 59th minute as Bernardo Silva accelerated into the area, his progress halted by Joao Palhinha’s tackle, only for the alert Foden to pounce with a perfectly-placed strike into the far corner.

Guardiola’s team struck again in the 71st minute as Gvardiol stretched to turn in Silva’s cross with an agile close-range finish for his fifth goal in his last seven appearances.

Alvarez put the seal on a clinical performance from the relentless champions, converting a stoppage-time penalty after Diop chopped him down.

Topics mentioned in this article

Source link

Liverpool Win At Fulham To Reignite Premier League Title Challenge

admin — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 17:46:12 +0000

Liverpool beat Fulham in Premier League© AFP

Liverpool got their Premier League title challenge back on track with a 3-1 win at Fulham on Sunday to move level on points with leaders Arsenal. The destiny of the title remains in Manchester City’s hands with the defending champions one point behind the top two with a game in hand. However, Liverpool and Arsenal have put the pressure on Pep Guardiola’s men by bouncing back from shock defeats last weekend. Jurgen Klopp said ahead of the game at Craven Cottage that the return of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota from injury was what gave his side “a chance” at clawing their way back into the title race. Both were on target, either side of Ryan Gravenberch’s first Premier League goal.

Klopp took the brave decision to rest a series of first-team regulars among five changes to the side that won 1-0, but failed to overturn a 3-0 first leg deficit against Atalanta in the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday.

Mohamed Salah, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones and Ibrahima Konate dropped the bench.

Alexander-Arnold was one of the few shining lights in Bergamo and was restored for his first Premier League start in over two months.

The England international showed the quality the Reds have been missing when he curled in a stunning free-kick to open the scoring on 32 minutes.

Liverpool failed to hold onto the lead until half-time as the defensive lapses that have cost them in recent weeks reappeared.

Timothy Castagne swept home a loose ball into the far corner after Rodrigo Muniz’s header was blocked.

Klopp had his stellar cast of substitutes warming up after a sluggish start to the second period.

But one wayward pass from Alex Iwobi cost Fulham.

Harvey Elliott intercepted on his return to Craven Cottage and teed up Gravenberch to curl in from the edge of the area.

Jota then made the points safe with his 100th goal in English football when his low effort had too much power for Bernd Leno 18 minutes from time.

Two more away trips at local rivals Everton and West Ham await Liverpool in the next six days.

But with just five more games of the Klopp era to come, they remain at least in the hunt to give the German a glorious goodbye to his transformative time at Anfield.

Topics mentioned in this article

Source link

Tottenham Hotspurs’ Top Four Bid Rocked By Fulham, Luton Draw With Nottingham Forest

admin — Sun, 17 Mar 2024 03:04:28 +0000

Tottenham wasted a chance to move into the Premier League’s top four as they slumped to a shock 3-0 defeat at Fulham, while Luton salvaged a crucial 1-1 draw with relegation rivals Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Ange Postecoglou’s side would have climbed above Aston Villa into fourth place with a win, but instead they handed the initiative back to their top-four rivals. Fifth-placed Tottenham were punished for a sloppy performance as the in-form Rodrigo Muniz netted twice either side of Sasa Lukic’s first goal for Fulham.

A 4-0 win at Villa last weekend was expected to act as Tottenham’s springboard to finish above Unai Emery’s team in the battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Instead, the north Londoners crashed to a first league defeat at Craven Cottage since 2008 and failed to score for the first time in 40 games.

They sit two points behind Villa, who can extend that lead to five if they win at West Ham on Sunday.

“We were careless on the ball. It goes down as a bad day at the office but we don’t accept it. It wasn’t our normal levels. We didn’t have the same intensity,” Postecoglou said.

“We’re two points behind Villa. There’s so much football left. It’s about how we play.”

With Micky van de Ven sidelined by a hamstring injury, Radu Dragusin made his first Tottenham start.

Worryingly for Postecoglou, Romania centre-back Dragusin, signed from Genoa in January, was often exposed in a rocky display.

Fulham took the lead in the 42nd minute when Muniz cleverly drifted away from Dragusin as the Brazilian forward found space to meet Antonee Robinson’s low cross with a clinical finish from 10 yards.

Tottenham’s defensive deficiencies were exposed again four minutes after half-time.

Iwobi was allowed to advance unchecked and he slipped a pass to Timothy Castagne, whose cross hit Lukic and deflected into the net.

Tottenham were in tatters and Muniz struck again in the 61st minute.

Joao Palhinha’s header reached Calvin Bassey and when his shot was saved by Guglielmo Vicario, Muniz reacted quicker than Dragusin to stab home.

‘We’ve got to fight’

As the fight to avoid relegation comes to a head, Luton and Forest met in a vital showdown at Kenilworth Road.

Forest, beaten in their previous three games, took the lead through Chris Wood‘s 34th minute strike.

But Luke Berry came off the bench to equalise from close-range in the 89th minute.

Third-bottom Luton, who blew a three-goal lead in Wednesday’s disastrous 4-3 defeat at Bournemouth, are without a win in their last nine games in all competitions.

They lie three points behind fourth-bottom Forest and boss Rob Edwards said: “You get knocked down on Wednesday and it was very tough for us all. We performed really well today in difficult circumstances.

“This group just keep going. We’ve got to fight. We’ve had to do that for a long time.”

Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo added: “We did enough to win it with the chances we had and the way we played.”

At Turf Moor, second-bottom Burnley kept alive their faint survival hopes with a 2-1 victory against Brentford.

Vincent Kompany‘s side took the lead in the 10th minute when Vitinho sprinted onto Josh Cullen’s pass and was about to shoot when he was pulled down by Sergio Reguilon.

The Spanish defender was shown the earliest red card in the Premier League this season, after a VAR check, and Jacob Bruun Larsen stepped up to convert the spot-kick.

David Datro Fofana, on loan from Chelsea, struck in the 62nd minute with a composed finish into the far corner.

Kristoffer Ajer got one back in the 83rd minute with a diving header from Bryan Mbeumo’s cross, but the Clarets held on for their first league win in 11 games.

They are now eight points from safety with nine games left.

“It had been coming. On another day we could have scored more,” Kompany said.

Brentford have won only three of their past 18 league games and sit just four points above the relegation zone.

Topics mentioned in this article

Source link

Harry Maguire Slams ‘Naive’ Manchester United After Shock Fulham Defeat

admin — Sat, 24 Feb 2024 18:32:49 +0000

Harry Maguire admitted “naive” Manchester United paid the price for being too attacking in the final minutes of their shock 2-1 defeat against Fulham on Saturday. Erik ten Hag’s side suffered a major blow to their hopes of a top four finish in the Premier League as Alex Iwobi snatched Fulham’s winner seven minutes into stoppage-time. United defender Maguire looked to have rescued a point when his close-range finish in the 89th minute cancelled out Calvin Bassey’s 65th minute opener. But United were caught throwing players forward in search of all three points as Iwobi capped a counter-attack to seal Fulham’s first victory at Old Trafford since 2003.

“Overall on the balance of play we didn’t do enough in the first 60 minutes or so. We started the game not great,” Maguire said.

“The first half was pretty even, but when you’re not playing at your best you have to do the basics right.

“To be a goal behind, I thought our reaction was brilliant especially in the last 30 minutes and when we equalised probably only one team was going to win it.

“We were probably naive in the end by throwing too many bodies forward and getting done on the counter attack.”

Sixth placed United are now eight points adrift of fourth placed Aston Villa in the race to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

United could have no complaints after Fulham dominated with a display that punctured the optimism around Old Trafford following the confirmation of Jim Ratcliffe’s purchase of a 25 percent stake in the club this week.

British billionaire Ratcliffe, a boyhood United fan, has taken control of the club’s football operations from unpopular owners the Glazer family.

But United’s tame performance underlined how much work they have to do to fulfil Ratcliffe’s bold ambition of knocking Manchester City and Liverpool “off their perch”.

Maguire claimed United were hampered by the absence of Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund, who had been in fine form before suffering an injury this week.

“We got hit by the injury to Rasmus, who has been big focal point for us. But it is up to us to find the solutions and the areas we need to improve on,” Maguire said.

“We can play into him, he holds it up, he starts the press really well, not only that but Marcus (Rashford) has been playing really well on the left.

“It’s the story of our season, we’ve been injury hit, as other teams have, and we need to find a solution quick.”

Topics mentioned in this article

Source link

Son, Maddison Star As Spurs Go Top Of Premier League

admin — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 03:04:11 +0000

Tottenham surged to the top of the Premier League as Son Heung-min and James Maddison sealed a 2-0 win against Fulham on Monday. Ange Postecoglou’s side extended their unbeaten start to nine league games thanks to Son’s opener and Maddison’s first goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since his close-season move from Leicester. Tottenham leapfrogged Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool to go two points clear at the top of the table.

Fulham are the only team to beat Tottenham this season, knocking them out of the League Cup on penalties in August.

But they avenged that loss by recording a third successive league victory to strengthen their unexpected title challenge.

Saluting Son and Maddison, Postecoglou said: “They are both quality players. They are both leaders at the club.

“They work hard for the team and it is a credit to them.”

The north Londoners’ superb start to Postecoglou’s debut season have awoken dreams of the club’s first top-flight title since Bill Nicholson’s 1961 double winners.

While that ambitious target may yet prove beyond Tottenham, who haven’t won a major trophy since 2008, the Australian has undoubtedly had a huge impact on a club that was in turmoil when he arrived from Celtic.

A toxic combination of Tottenham’s poor results and dour displays under Antonio Conte last term, combined with Harry Kane‘s close-season move to Bayern Munich, left many expecting another year of turmoil.

Yet Postecoglou has astutely guided Tottenham to calmer waters, winning over doubters with his down-to-earth personality and attacking game-plan.

“It was a good result against a tough opponent. We maintained our patience and our pressing was really strong,” Postecoglou said.

“Both our goals came from our press to be honest. Our work off the ball was excellent. It has been first rate all year and that is what got us the result.”

Monday’s victory gave Postecoglou the record for most points gained by a new manager in their first nine Premier League matches, with his 23 surpassing the mark previously held by Mike Walker and Guus Hiddink.

Postecoglou’s next challenge is ensuring his players are ready for a quick turnaround, with their London derby at Crystal Palace scheduled for Friday.

– Dynamic duo –
In keeping with their vibrant form under Postecoglou, Tottenham made an enterprising start and Son was denied an early goal by Bernd Leno‘s smart save from his close-range shot.

Heading into this weekend, no player had provided more assists in the competition this term than Maddison’s five.

The playmaker nearly added to that tally when his free-kick was volleyed over by Micky van de Ven.

Fulham almost snatched a shock lead through Joao Palhinha, whose header was brilliantly clawed to safety by Guglielmo Vicario.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg tested Leno with a fierce strike before Richarlison side-footed just wide from the edge of the area.

Tottenham’s pressure was rewarded in the 36th minute as Calvin Bassey carelessly surrendered possession and Richarlison flicked a pass to Son on the edge of the area.

Son’s deft touch took him away from two flat-footed Fulham defenders, giving him time to curl a fine finish into the far corner for his seventh goal this season.

Dejan Kulusevski’s goal-bound strike was deflected wide for a corner as Tottenham pushed for a second.

They had to wait just nine minutes after half-time before delivering the knockout blow, with a hearty assist from Fulham’s lacklustre defence.

Kane’s departure was expected to destabilise Tottenham, but Son and Maddison have formed a dynamic duo almost as effective as the South Korean’s prolific partnership with the England captain.

Hojbjerg intercepted a miscued Bassey clearance and picked out Son, who laid a composed pass into Maddison to apply the finishing touch with a low strike from 10 yards.

Topics mentioned in this article

Source link

Premier League: Chelsea Stun Fulham With Quickfire Double

admin — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 07:50:02 +0000

Goal-shy Chelsea finally found their cutting edge on Monday, striking twice in 82 seconds to earn a morale-boosting 2-0 win against Fulham as Mykhailo Mudryk finally got off the mark. Mauricio Pochettino’s injury-ravaged team travelled to the home of their near-neighbours just two points above the relegation zone and with only five goals to their name. Wasted early opportunities hinted at familiar failings but Ukrainian winger Mudryk scored his first goal in a Chelsea shirt in the 18th minute and Armando Broja doubled the lead in the blink of an eye.

The win lifts Chelsea to mid-table and eases the pressure on beleaguered new manager Pochettino, whose team had failed to score in their previous three Premier League games.

The former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain boss had pleaded for ruthlessness in front of goal and his nerves were settled by his team’s quickfire first-half double.

“It’s important for us to build our confidence and trust in ourselves,” Pochettino told Sky Sports.

“The performance was very good, I’m so happy for the players and in the end we got what we deserved.”

– Bright start –
Chelsea started brightly at Craven Cottage but failed to take advantage.

Albania forward Broja, making his first start since November 2022, blazed over from an offside position shortly after kick-off and the lively Mudryk also wasted a chance.

But the visitors got their reward in the 18th minute when a long ball from the back found Levi Colwill on the left.

Colwill passed to Mudryk, who controlled the ball on his chest before producing a composed finish for his first goal for the club since his big-money move from Shakhtar Donetsk in January.

Chelsea doubled their lead when Broja capitalised on a defensive mistake from Fulham centre-half Tim Ream, who gifted the ball to new signing Cole Palmer.

The ex-Manchester City man played the ball forward only for Ream to kick it against Broja and watch in horror as it rebounded into the net.

Chelsea, playing with zest, could have extended their lead further but Enzo Fernandez‘s strike flew narrowly wide.

The home side failed to muster a single shot on target in the first half, though Raul Jimenez went close with a header from Andreas Pereira’s outswinging corner as half-time approached.

Mudryk did not appear for the second half, replaced by defender Ian Maatsen.

Fulham looked more threatening after the break and manager Marco Silva threw on forwards Alex Iwobi and Carlos Vinicius within the first 10 minutes.

Vinicius headed over before a heart-in-mouth moment for Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who was able to reclaim the ball after his goal kick was intercepted by Pereira.

Chelsea went agonisingly close to extending their lead when Maatsen thundered a strike against the left upright, with Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno saving smartly from Fernandez’s follow-up.

Fulham had a wonderful chance to pull a goal back when Tom Cairney found fellow substitute Sasa Lukic in the six-yard box but he could only blast straight at Sanchez.

Chelsea held on relatively comfortably to climb to 11th place, above Fulham on goal difference.

Topics mentioned in this article

Source link