Man United misery mounts with wretched display against Forest
Saturday, 30 December
English Premier League Sport News
Manchester United Misery Mounts In Nottingham Forest Defeat
Manchester United's miserable season hit a new low as they crashed to a dismal 2-1 defeat at Premier League strugglers Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Erik ten Hag's side produced a wretched display that was punished by Morgan Gibbs-White's late winner at the City Ground. Nicolas Dominguez had put Forest ahead in the second half before Marcus Rashford equalised with just his third goal of a woeful campaign. United's fourth loss in their last six games in all competitions left them languishing in seventh place in the Premier League, nine points adrift of the top four.
Douglas Luiz Sends Aston Villa Joint Top Of Premier League, Manchester City Close In
Douglas Luiz's late penalty took Aston Villa joint top of the Premier League with a 3-2 win over 10-man Burnley on Saturday as Manchester City closed on the leaders by sweeping aside Sheffield United 2-0. It looked like a festive season to forget for Villa was set to continue after dropping points at home for the first time this season to Sheffield United and blowing a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 at Manchester United on Boxing Day. But Luiz's spot-kick, that crept in off the underside of the bar, sent Unai Emery's men level on points with Liverpool at the top of the table.
Arsenal Fail In Premier League Summit Bid As Tottenham Hotspur Lose Thriller
Arsenal missed out on the chance to return to the Premier League summit on Thursday, losing 2-0 to West Ham as Tottenham went down in a six-goal thriller at Brighton. Mikel Arteta's Gunners were top of the tree at Christmas for a second successive year but trail leaders Liverpool by two points at the halfway point of the season. Last year's runners-up dominated possession at the Emirates but lacked a cutting edge against the disciplined visitors, for whom Tomas Soucek and former Arsenal player Konstantinos Mavropanos scored the goals.
Manchester City Sitting Pretty During Festive Fixtures
Manchester City will have enjoyed the festive fixtures, with slip-ups from their Premier League title rivals leaving them within touching distance of the top. The newly crowned Club World Cup winners came out on top against a battling Everton and witnessed defeats for Arsenal, Aston Villa and Tottenham in the latest round of games, with only leaders Liverpool bucking the trend. AFP Sport looks at three talking points ahead of this weekend's action.
Manchester City Battle Back To Beat Everton On Return To Premier League
Manchester City came from behind to beat Everton 3-1 on their return from the Club World Cup on Wednesday, moving five points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool. Pep Guardiola's men, chasing an unprecedented fourth consecutive English top-flight title, were in trouble when trailing 1-0 at Goodison Park, courtesy of a first-half strike from former City player Jack Harrison. But Phil Foden fizzed a shot past Jordan Pickford in the 53rd minute and Julian Alvarez put the visitors ahead from the penalty spot. Bernardo Silva capped a brilliant second-half performance for the champions, taking advantage of an error from Pickford in the closing minutes. Elsewhere, Chelsea's Noni Madueke scored a late winner from the penalty spot in a 2-1 win against Crystal Palace to lift spirits at Stamford Bridge after a miserable 2023 while Wolves hammered fast-sinking Brentford 4-1.
Pep Guardiola Says Rivals Want Man City To Fail 'More Than Ever'
Pep Guardiola believes many people now want Manchester City to fail "more than ever" after the club won their fifth trophy of an outstanding year. City return to English domestic action at Everton on Wednesday after adding the Club World Cup with a 4-0 thrashing of Brazilian side Fluminense in Saudi Arabia to their trophy cabinet, having already lifted the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and European Super Cup in 2023. No club in English football history has enjoyed such a successful year, although Guardiola win six trophies when in charge of Barcelona in 2009 when the Catalan side won La Liga, Copa del Rey, Spanish Super Cup, European Super Cup, Champions League and Club World Cup titles.
Chelsea 'So Far Away From Target', Says Manager Mauricio Pochettino
Mauricio Pochettino has accepted Chelsea are failing to meet pre-season expectations after falling off the pace in the race for the Premier League title. The Blues' home form has been solid enough, with three successive wins in December ahead of Wednesday's match against London rivals Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge. But Chelsea's results on the road have been a different story, with defeat against Wolves at Molineux on Christmas Eve their fourth straight away loss on the spin following reverses at Newcastle, Manchester United and Everton.