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Watch live: Manchester United vs. West Ham United (Lineups)

By Nicholas MendolaSep 27, 2014, 9:30 AM EDT
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Up is down and down is up, as a West Ham United team that’s found its offensive flair will challenge Manchester United in an Old Trafford that’s lost a bit of its intimidation (Watch live online at 10am ET via NBC Sports Live Extra).

The Red Devils will hand a debut to 19-year-old center back Paddy McNair, who sits in defense with Rafael and Marcos Rojo. Luke Shaw also makes a start for Manchester United.

WATCH LIVE ONLINE AT 10AM ET VIA NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA

The Hammers have taken points from each of its road matches this young season, and will use Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia as a strike force yet again.

Lineups

Manchester United: De Gea, Rafael, McNair, Rojo, Shaw, Blind, Herrera, Di Maria, Rooney, van Persie, Falcao

Subs:Lindegaard, Thorpe, Fletcher, Pereira, Valencia, Mata, Januzaj

West Ham United: Adrian, Reid, Cresswell, Tomkins, Downing, Sakho, Demel, Amalfitano, Poyet, Song (c), Valencia

Subs: Jaaskelainen, Nolan, Zarate, Vaz Te, Jenkinson, Collins, Cole

Liverpool too much for 10-man Chelsea at Stamford Bridge

By Nicholas MendolaSep 20, 2020, 1:28 PM EDT
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Chelsea – Liverpool: A first-half red card took much of the drama out of a much-anticipated meeting between new-look Chelsea and reigning champions Liverpool on Sunday at Stamford Bridge.

Andreas Christensen was sent off for a DOGSO tackle of Sadio Mane in the 45th minute and Sadio Mane scored twice in the early throes of the second half in a 2-0 Liverpool win.

[ MORE: How to watch PL in the USA ] 

Liverpool moves to 2-0 on the young season while Chelsea falls to 1-1.

Kepa Arrizabalaga made a silly error leading to the Reds second goal and will only increase the pressure on Chelsea to seal the arrival of a new goalkeeper (Eduoard Mendy is reported to be en route to London).

Chelsea next visits West Brom while Liverpool is home to Arsenal.

Notes from Chelsea – Liverpool

1. Christensen madness sucks life out of fixture (at least for neutrals): A terrific Jordan Henderson long ball sent Sadio Mane into a race for the ball with Kepa Arrizabalaga, but Christensen was worried about the Senegalese attacker and used a tackle better suited for the NFL games later Sunday. The Blues would play down a man for a half-minute and the entire second half and Lampard would need to withdraw Kai Havertz for Fikayo Tomori. There was little chance the already-shorthanded Blues would get anything done and it only took a few minutes to end the hopes of the game.

2. Werner nearly sours Thiago debut: Jurgen Klopp found it laughable when asked before the game whether Thiago Alcantara could start after arriving from Bayern Munich this week but he was fine to go 45 minutes in the new system. The steady, technical midfielder was as advertised in his Premier League debut until he gave away a penalty to Werner. Alisson, however, stopped Jorginho’s low penalty in the 75th minute and took away any hopes for a grandstand finish.

3. Kepa is a mess: Chelsea knows its need an upgrade at goalkeeper thanks to Kepa Arrizabalaga’s unsteady 2019-20 season, and the Spaniard made two terrible decisions on Sunday. The first was bailed out by Andreas Christensen on the goal line but the second wouldn’t be anything but a Liverpool goal as Arrizabalaga somehow lost track of Sadio Mane, who is pretty good, and passed the ball directly to him in front of goal. Eduoard Mendy is supposed to arrive any day and Arrizabalaga would’ve known this, so why not play Willy Caballero?

Man of the Match

Mane delivered the goals but Alisson Becker made some fine saves including the penalty stop on Jorginho

Chelsea – Liverpool recap

Timo Werner was active in the Liverpool third when the ball got there but the Reds had hold of possession early in the match.

Shaky play from Kepa Arrizabalaga nearly put Liverpool in front as Mohamed Salah beat the keeper to a loose ball and crossed for Roberto Firmino only to see Andreas Christensen block the in-tight effort for a corner.

N’Golo Kante and Werner both wasted promises chances in the first 20 minutes, the latter’s wayward touch allowing Fabinho to break up the play.

Mason Mount couldn’t reach a long ball from Marcos Alonso in the 23rd, Liverpool tested in its organization.

Werner drove to the arc to snap a shot toward Alisson that bounded wide of the Liverpool goal. He badly missed a chance to finish when an offside Kai Havertz slid the ball through the 18.

Christensen was initially given a yellow for tackling Sadio Mane in the 45th minute in what could’ve easily been a red card.

[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ] 

Lampard took Havertz off at the break in favor of Fikayo Tomori, while Jurgen Klopp responded by handing a debut to Thiago Alcantara in place of Henderson.

The Reds breakthrough took less than five minutes, Mane turning a header home after Salah slid Firmino into the right side of the box for a cutback.

Kepa handed the game to Mane on a platter with a terrible decision in the 54th. Goodnight, right?

Maybe not. Werner kept grinding and won a penalty off Thiago that withstood VAR review but not Alisson’s right paw. The Liverpool keeper waited out Jorginho’s slow run-up to keep this sheet clean.

Alisson then denied Tammy Abraham in the 84th minute, Chelsea still hoping to produce a miraculous comeback.

Van Dijk saw a late chance corralled by Arrizabalaga in the 87th.

3 things we learned: Chelsea v. Liverpool

By Joe Prince-WrightSep 20, 2020, 1:23 PM EDT
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Chelsea – Liverpool wasn’t exactly the goal-fest we expected and in the end it was a very straightforward win for the reigning Premier League champions.

[ MORE: How to watch PL in the USA ]   

A red card to Andreas Christensen right on half time swung the game in Liverpool’s favor and two goals early in the second half from Sadio Mane sealed a comfortable win for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Here’s a look at what we learned from Chelsea – Liverpool as Frank Lampard will be trying to keep things in perspective, while Liverpool will be keen to keep building momentum.

Hunger of Sadio Mane underlines Liverpool ambition

The hunger with his runs, his passes and his finishing and his general desire to score goals and win games is incredible. Sadio Mane forced the red card which changed the game and scored twice early in the second half to kick Chelsea while they were down. Mane got my vote for the Football Writers’ Association player of the year in 2019-20 and the work he does often goes unnoticed. On his second goal, the way he reacted to giving the ball away epitomized him. He hunted down Kepa and intercepted a pass and slotted home into an empty net. Mane is often the least lauded forward out of Mohamed Salah, himself and Firmino. But his hunger in this game is replicated in most games. Liverpool fans appreciate Mane’s desire and the fact that fire is still burning bright proves how hungry this team are to win back-to-back titles.

Defensive Chelsea show Liverpool too much respect

We get it. Chelsea were without new signings Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell and Hakim Ziyech. Christian Pulisic is out injured. Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy isn’t officially a Chelsea. All of that led to an extremely defensive and tentative display from Lampard’s side. Kai Havertz struggled out wide once again, while the defensive issues remain for Chelsea as Kepa had a nightmare on the red card situation and for the second goal. Aside from individual errors, the setup from Chelsea was too defensive from the start. They tried to hit Liverpool on the counter with the pace of Timo Werner and it almost worked a few times in the first half but their usual attacking swagger was totally missing. With a host of new players to come into the lineup, plus the injured Christian Pulisic to return, Chelsea will be better in the coming weeks and months. However, the respect they showed reigning champions Liverpool here was too much and underlined just how far they have to go to become genuine title contenders.

Kepa knows his time is up; new boys will take time to gel

It is sad to see a player struggling so much with confidence but that is Kepa right now. The Spanish international goalkeeper is the most-expensive goalkeeper on the planet but his shaky displays continue and Senegal international Edouard Mendy is expected to join from Rennes in the coming days. Kepa played like he knew his time at Chelsea is up. He wandered around the penalty box early on, didn’t command his area and gave the second goal to Sadio Mane on a silver platter with a poor pass. Kepa has never settled at Chelsea and the best thing he could probably do for his career is move on as soon as possible. As for the other new boys, Havertz will take time, Werner looks more than okay and Ziyech, Chilwell and Thiago Silva will now all be expected to deliver right away. Often it doesn’t work like that and Liverpool’s lone new boy, Thiago Alcantara, gave away a penalty kick after coming on at half time for his debut. Adapting to a new team in a new league and in a new country isn’t easy, even for superstar talents. So often it takes much more time than most expect. That is not good news for Chelsea who have spent close to $275 million this summer on new talent.

Report: Wolves buying Nelson Semedo from Barcelona

Semedo to Wolves
Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images
By Nicholas MendolaSep 20, 2020, 12:11 PM EDT
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Wolves are turning much of the Diogo Jota money into Barcelona right back Nelson Semedo, according to several reports.

Semedo, 26, is set to cost around $42 million, some $16 million less than the reported max value of Jota’s sale to Liverpool.

Barca will open up some money to pursue American back Sergino Dest and others with the sale of Portuguese international. Reporter Fabrizio Romano says Bayern Munich still feels it’s in prime position to buy the Ajax back.

[ MORE: Wolves – Man City preview ]

Semedo would help replace Matt Doherty and could again push Adama Traore forward into a wing role.

Semedo has won four league titles between Benfica and Barcelona as well as the UEFA Nations League as part of his 14 caps for Portugal. He has two goals and 11 assists in three seasons at the Camp Nou, where Ronald Koeman is trying hard to clear out salary.

He would join boss Nuno Espirito Santo as well as Ruben Neves, Rui Patricio, Joao Moutinho, Pedro Neto, Daniel Podence, Fabio Silva, Vitinha, Ruben Vinagre, and Roderick as Portuguese members of Wolves.

Next up for the Wolves is a visit from Man City on Monday (Watch live at 3:15 pm ET Monday, online via Peacock).

Brighton cruises past Newcastle through Maupay brace

Newcastle - Brighton
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
By Nicholas MendolaSep 20, 2020, 10:55 AM EDT
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Newcastle – Brighton: Neal Maupay scored twice in the first seven minutes of Brighton and Hove Albion’s 3-0 win over Newcastle United at St. James’ Park on Sunday.

Aaron Connolly scored late to complete the score line and Yves Bissouma saw a late red card as the Seagulls deserved every bit of the win.

[ MORE: How to watch PL in the USA ] 

Newcastle drops to 1-1 on the season following its opening win over West Ham. The Magpies are off to Tottenham next, while Brighton hosts Manchester United.

Three things we learned from Newcastle – Brighton

1. Going two behind Brighton a problem: Graham Potter’s Seagulls could be one of the season’s surprise packages, especially if teams hand them early two-goal leads. The club has an embarrassment of riches at center back and was able to loan Shane Duffy, a very good back in his own right, to Celtic because of Ben White, Lewis Dunk, Adam Webster, Joel Veltman, and Dan Burn. The first three played Sunday and were basically impenetrable

2. More promise from Maupay: Maupay scored 10 times last season, his first in the Premier League after the Frenchman buried 25 chances for Brentford in his last season in the Championship. He finished his penalty and slotted a second on Sunday, and his team looks set to produce plenty of chances for its forwards this year.

3. Turnabout fair play: The Magpies were, perhaps, surprisingly decisive winners at West Ham on opening day while Brighton did well enough and would’ve felt unlucky to fall by two to Chelsea on Monday. Perhaps the early lead was a massive help but Brighton looked better prepared for Newcastle and the Magpies’ lack of a real game-changer in the midfield proved its undoing.

Man of the Match

We might’ve given it to Bissouma for a complete performance but his wild boot to the face of Jamal Lewis was ugly though unintentional. Lamptey was great but left early. Maupay’s next in line, just ahead of an impressive Leandro Trossard.

Newcastle – Brighton recap

Jamaal Lascelles cleared early danger for Newcastle but that was a harbinger of what was to come as Allan Saint-Maximin chopped Tariq Lamptey down in the box to give Brighton a third-minute penalty.

Maupay dispatched a hard low penalty under a diving Karl Darlow to make it 1-0.

The Frenchman had it 2-0 moments later when VAR overruled the assistant referee when Lamptey led a charge down the right of Newcastle’s defense.

Yves Bissouma was lively in the first 22 minutes and blazed over the bar.

The hits kept coming for Newcastle as Saint-Maximin left the match in the 34th minute with an ankle ailment. The French wizard was replaced by Ryan Fraser.

Steven Alzate led a stoppage-time rush that nearly put it out of reach, Leandro Trossard’s ball making its way to Lamptey but the back’s shot smothered by Karl Darlow.

[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ] 

Newcastle boss Steve Bruce lifted Andy Carroll for Miguel Almiron and the Magpies had more of the ball in the second half.

But Brighton twice challenged Darlow while the final ball kept eluding Newcastle.

The Magpies finally got their chance when Callum Wilson butchered a point-blank header off of Almiron’s fine cross.

Aaron Connolly broke through the back line and smashed the post but the AR’s flag was up. Trossard then clobbered the post on a shot that would’ve counted had it been on target.

Newcastle couldn’t make anything from a series of Ryan Fraser corners, Jeff Hendrick’s attempt to recreate a great goal at West Ham instead sailing well over the frame with 11 minutes to play.

Connolly had been knocking on the door and delivered the knockout blow with a terrific curler from inside the 18 in the 84th minute.

Bissouma was shown his red after VAR review of his reckless cleat to the face of Jamal Lewis with a few minutes to play, the Newcastle defender badly bloodied.