Sports
Man Utd in 9-0 mauling of Southampton
Manchester United equalled the Premier League record by putting nine goals past nine-man Southampton – the second time Saints have lost 9-0 in many seasons.
A red card for Saints’ Alexandre Jankewitz after only two minutes triggered a complete collapse for the visitors, who were on the end of the same scoreline against Leicester City in October 2019.
It is only the third time a team has lost 9-0 in the Premier League, with United also beating Ipswich Town by that margin in 1995.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka opened the scoring with his first goal at Old Trafford. Marcus Rashford and Edinson Cavani also found the net either side of a Jan Bednarek own goal before the break.
After a fairly drab start to the second half, United cut loose, scoring five times in the final 21 minutes.
Anthony Martial ended an eight-match goal drought before Scott McTominay drove home from the edge of the area.
Then, after Bednarek became the second Saints player to be sent off – bringing down Martial to allow Bruno Fernandes the chance to score from the penalty spot on 87 minutes – the French forward netted his second, before Dan James wrapped up the scoring in stoppage time.
It was a stunning ending as United almost matched their club record 10-0 victory over Anderlecht in 1956.
By the final whistle, it had been forgotten that United had come into Tuesday’s game on the back of indifferent form – just one win in their last four matches.
The massive impact on their goal difference means it is now bettered only by league leaders Manchester City.
Martial should be particularly pleased with his contribution, even though it did not match manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s four-goal salvo as a United substitute in an 8-1 win at Nottingham Forest in 1999.
At one point, it looked as though that seven-goal margin of victory was the one United would emulate. But Martial’s 90th-minute second – the first time he has scored two in a game all season – took the home side beyond that, and James completed the rout in the third minute of injury time.
Rashford and McTominay both produced noteworthy strikes for a United side that also had a penalty award overturned just before half-time.
Making a full Premier League debut should be a cause for celebration in any young player’s career. For Jankewitz, it was a catastrophic experience.
His second-minute foul on McTominay was committed right in front of Saints boss Ralph Hassenhuttl, who did not require the replays which made the challenge look worse with every viewing.
Hassenhuttl could only throw his arms up in the air in disbelief, knowing referee Mike Dean had no alternative other than to show the 19-year-old Swiss midfielder a straight red card.
The incident came less than a week after Jankewitz’s agent had started murmurings about a transfer and this sorry episode is unlikely to convince anyone the player has a future at St Mary’s.
After that, it was just a question of how long the visitors could survive, which turned out to be not very long, as Wan-Bissaka turned in Luke Shaw’s cross at the far post from a position Jankewitz should have been defending.
With Bednarek among the scorers after turning Rashford’s cross into his own net for the third, and one of those marginal video assistant referee offside decisions that took away the goal Che Adams thought he had scored at the start of the second half, it really was one of those nights best erased from the memory completely.
Unfortunately, that was not the end of the misery.
While Hassenhuttl can rightly point to Jankewitz’s dismissal as the key moment, there can be no excusing the way the team – though badly affected by injuries – had so totally collapsed by the end.
Manchester United manager Solskjaer speaking to BBC Sport: “When they had a man sent off it was up to us to get the first goal.
“You have to take your chances in tight or open games – you never know what might be the deciding factor. We know, better than anyone, what goal difference can do to you because we have lost the league on goal difference.
“Confidence is one thing but it was about the mojo and spark – the X-factor.”
Man Utd 9-0 Southampton: Red Devils rediscovered ‘mojo’ in record-equalling win – Solskjaer
Southampton boss Hasenhuttl speaking to BBC Sport: “One man down after three minutes against this opponent – congratulations to Manchester United, they worked us off and did not stop scoring. The second red card is most disappointing – we don’t have any more players.
“We tried in the second half to keep a clean sheet as much as we could, but at nine men it was too easy for them to score.
“What can I say? It is horrible. But we stood up after the first 9-0 [against Leicester] and we have to do that again.”
BBC Sport
Sports
Relegation threatened Burnley hold Man United to a 1 – 1 draw
Relegation threatened Burnley hold Man United to a 1 – 1 draw
Burnley’s survival hopes received a huge boost after it held Manchester United to a stalemate at Old Trafford, with Zeki Amdouni’s late penalty earning the Clarets a point that inches Vincent Kompany’s men a little closer to pulling off a great escape.
Adrift of safety and knowing Nottingham Forest and Luton play fellow basement dwellers next weekend, Burnley realistically needed to leave Old Trafford with something to show for their efforts to boost their survival hopes.
Those hopes almost took an instant hit though, when Alejandro Garnacho was afforded too much space at the far post, but he was leaning back and his strike drifted harmlessly over the bar.
United were firmly on top in the opening stages, and they came even closer shortly after when Antony broke in behind, only to see his effort drift narrowly wide of the post.
A United opener only seemed a matter of time away when they came even closer midway through the first half, with Bruno Fernandes watching on with anguish as his effort crashed back off the post.
That seemed to be the wake-up call Burnley needed, as it was then their turn to land a couple of blows, with Wilson Odobert’s effort forcing an acrobatic stop out of Andre Onana, before Lyle Foster’s header saw the Cameroonian produce an even smarter stop.
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It was all Burnley towards the end of the opening 45, but they simply couldn’t make their pressure count, with Onana again keeping United in the game by denying Foster one-on-one.
You sensed there was always a likelihood the Clarets would be made to pay for their missed chances, and they were almost made to do so within minutes of the restart. Fortunately for Kompany’s men, Arijanet Muric produced a fine stop to deny Antony after he was smartly set up by Garnacho.
It was a rather strange feeling for both sides as the game approached its latter stages – largely because both desperately needed the win for very different causes.
United looked the likelier of the two to find what would’ve been a huge winner, yet the irrepressible Muric was doing his level best to ensure that wouldn’t be the case, producing another impressive stop to deny Garnacho.
There was always a sense of inevitability that Muric would eventually get beaten, and so it proved a little over 10 minutes from time.
It was in gift-like fashion too, as Antony read Sander Berge’s blind pass, strode clear on goal and slotted into the bottom corner.
Unwilling to lie down though, a moment of madness from Onana, who clattered Amdouni, afforded the Swiss international the chance to score from the spot – one he duly accepted to earn Burnley a deserved point in the desperate battle to beat the drop and dent United’s top six hopes in the process.
Relegation threatened Burnley hold Man United to a 1 – 1 draw
Sports
Liverpool draw West Ham as title hopes slip
Liverpool draw West Ham as title hopes slip
Liverpool’s Premier League title hopes seem all but over as Michail Antonio scored to rescue a point for West Ham at London Stadium.
Jarrod Bowen opened the scoring just before the break when he rose highest to meet Mohammed Kudus’ cross into the area as Liverpool showed little evidence that their Merseyside derby loss in midweek had done much in the way of spurring them on.
But the visitors were much improved in the second half and Andy Robertson equalised when he scored from Luis Diaz’s low pass into the penalty area.
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They were then rewarded for their pressure when Cody Gakpo’s effort from a corner bounced off Angelo Ogbonna, Tomas Soucek and Alphonse Areola before finding the back of the net.
It looked like they were on their way to bouncing back from back-to-back defeats in the league until Antonio’s thumping header put the Hammers back on level terms.
Liverpool sit third in the table with three games remaining, two points behind leaders Arsenal, who face Tottenham on Sunday, while Manchester City are second but have two games in hand.
Liverpool’s title hopes appear to be all but over, with the Reds relying on both of their title rivals to slip up to get back in the race.
Liverpool draw West Ham as title hopes slip
Sports
Iheanacho, Ndidi’s Leicester City secure promotion back to EPL
Iheanacho, Ndidi’s Leicester City secure promotion back to EPL
Leicester City were promoted to the Premier League on Friday after rivals Leeds United crashed to a shock 4-0 defeat at Queens Park Rangers.
The result leaves Leicester City top of the Championship with 94 points with two games to play while Leeds stay second on 90 but with just one match left.
Third-place Ipswich Town can pip Leeds to the second automatic promotion place as they currently have 89 points with three matches still to play.
Enzo Maresca’s Leicester City achieved promotion at the first time of asking having been relegated from the Premier League last season following a third-from-bottom finish.
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Their final two games begin with a trip to Preston on Monday, before they round off the season with a home finale against Blackburn on May 4.
Leeds will find themselves outside the top two if Ipswich beat Hull on Saturday, or Coventry win their game in hand on Tuesday.
Should Ipswich win both, they will be promoted while Leeds will have to enter the play-offs.
On Friday goals from Ilias Chair, Lucas Andersen, Lyndon Dykes and Sam Field gave QPR victory and guaranteed their survival in England’s second-tier.
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Relegation threatened Burnley hold Man United to a 1 – 1 draw
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