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Premier League roundup: Derby delight for Man City; Spurs, Liverpool win in routs

By Andy EdwardsSep 10, 2016, 3:59 PM EDT
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A roundup of all of Saturday’s action in the Premier League…

[ FOLLOW: All of PST’s PL coverage ]

Manchester United 1-2 Manchester City — FULL RECAP

Saturday’s Manchester derby lived up to every bit of the two weeks’ worth of hype, and maybe more. There were no fisticuffs between Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola — only a warm embrace and a pair of handshakes — but the two sides more than made up for it on the field, particular in a first half that saw all three goals scored in a span of 27 minutes. Kevin De Bruyne scored the opener, and then nearly Man City’s second if not for striking the post to set up Kelechi Iheanacho for the tap-in. Zlatan Ibrahimovic answered with an effortless side-volley (WATCH HERE) not long before halftime, but that’s as close as the Red Devils would get.

Stoke City 0-4 Tottenham Hotspur — FULL RECAP

Seemingly nothing has changed since Tottenham were 4-0 victors away to Stoke last April. Mauricio Pochettino‘s side simply overwhelmed Mark Hughes‘ Potters in sending out a fair warning to the rest of the PL: “Excuse us, please don’t forget about us.” Heung Min-Son bagged a brace with a goal either side of halftime, and Dele Alli and Harry Kane each scored their first goal of the season. Spurs are the only side to have conceded just two goals through their first four games of the season (both Chelsea and Everton have conceded two through three games).

Liverpool 4-1 Leicester City — FULL RECAP

Jurgen Klopp‘s Reds are downright terrifying, once in full-flight. We saw it on the opening day of the season, and we saw it again on Saturday. The defending champions looked a shell of the title-winning side of last season, again, as Roberto Firmino (twice), Sadio Mane and Adam Lallana blitzed them for four goals, two on either side of halftime.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 10: Sadio Mane of Liverpool celebrates scoring his sides second goal with team mates during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Leicester City at Anfield on September 10, 2016 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Arsenal 2-1 Southampton — FULL RECAP

Arsenal came from 1-0 down to top Saints in controversial fashion (you’ll have to judge for yourself) and keep pace with Spurs, Liverpool and Man United in the race for the top four. Laurent Koscileny was the scorer of perhaps the most unlikely bicycle-kick goal of all time, but only after the Gunners went a goal behind when Dusan Tadic‘s free kick found the back of the neck via Petr Cech‘s back, via the crossbar.

West Ham United 2-4 Watford — FULL RECAP

West Ham went 2-0 up on Watford after Dimitri Payet‘s ridiculous rabona assist (just click the link below already), and that was the last time a professional footballer wearing claret and blue was seen all day. Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney brought the Hornets back to 2-2 in a five-minute stretch just before halftime, and Etienne Capoue and Jose Holebas bagged their side’s third and fourth goals, respectively, after halftime.

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 10: Etienne Capoue of Watford celebrates scoring his sides third goal during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Watford at Olympic Stadium on September 10, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
(Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Middlesbrough 1-2 Crystal Palace — FULL RECAP

Christian Benteke opened his goalscoring account for Crystal Palace on Saturday, heading home Wilfried Zaha‘s delicately lofted cross for the game’s opening goal in the 16th minute. Boro hit back through Daniel Ayala in the 38th minute, but Zaha grabbed what proved to be the winning goal in the 47th minute, a powerful left-footed striker from the top of the penalty area which Victor Valdes hadn’t the faintest hope of saving.

Bournemouth 1-0 West Bromwich Albion — FULL RECAP

Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson is back from the torn ACL that cut short his promising 2015-16 season, and looking once again like the man who scored five goals in seven games a year ago. Saturday’s late winner, which came via the deftest, silkiest, smoothest of backheel flicks in the 79th minute, was the 24-year-old’s first goal of the season.

Burnley 1-1 Hull City — FULL RECAP

The season is only four games old (10.5 percent of games played), and Hull (7 points) are already 17.5 percent of the way to the magical marker of 40 points, at which point they’ll be nearly impossible to relegate. On Saturday, Mike Phelan’s side looked destined for their second straight defeat after winning back-to-back games to begin the season, but Robert Snodgrass scored a 94th-minute equalizer to salvage a draw and inch the Tigers one point closer to safety.

Transfer Rumor Roundup: Spurs snag Clarke, Arsenal eyeing French youngster

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By Kyle BonnJun 26, 2019, 1:20 PM EDT
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According to a number of reports across England, Tottenham may have secured its first new player signing in 511 days, rumored to have completed a deal for Leeds United winger Jack Clarke.

The BBC reports that Clarke has flown south to London for a medical and that the $12.7 million deal is finalized. The report states there are further, unspecified add-ons to that base payment should they trigger.

The 18-year-old made 25 appearances for the Leeds first-team last season, scoring two goals assisting two more as they reached the playoff semifinal. Clarke’s arrival will mark the first Tottenham signing since Lucas Moura joined in January of 2018, famously failing to sign a player last summer to much criticism, before making a run to the Champions League final during the season.

Arsenal is reportedly after a pair of transfer targets, one on either end of the pitch.

First, more concretely, reports indicate that the Gunners are set to bat the signature of young French defender William Saliba. The 18-year-old currently plays for St. Etienne and saw significant playing time last season, bagging 16 league appearances good for over 1,200 minutes as he helped the club secure a Champions League place with a fourth-place finish, aided by the third-best defensive record in the league.

According to an ESPNFC report by Julien Laurens, the two clubs have reached an agreement for Saliba in the range of $28 million, with the Gunners beating Tottenham and PSG to the punch. Saliba will stay at St. Etienne on loan next season as he looks to continue developing at his boyhood club.

The Gunners are reportedly also following Monaco winger Keita Balde, with the Senegal international currently on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations. The 24-year-old spent last season on loan at Inter, where he racked up 24 Serie A appearances – mostly off the bench – scoring five goals and assisting three more.

Reports in Italy indicate that while Inter had the option to buy at the end of the loan spell, they declined as they believed the $38 million price to be too expensive. With Monaco struggling mightily this past season and in serious flux, it’s likely that Balde could move on and help the French club gain funds to reinvest.

Balde found the back of the net in Senegal’s opening AFCON match, a 2-0 win over Tanzania, marking his fourth international goal in 24 caps.

Another African on international duty is Kalidou Koulibaly, whose future is still under serious speculation.

Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti said Wednesday – completely joking, mind you – that he won’t even return from his vacation in Canada if the club sells Koulibaly. That won’t stop the two Manchester clubs from having a go, and to this point Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis has held firm that only a bid that reaches his $154 million release clause will pry him from the Italian side.

Koulibaly wouldn’t be drawn into speculation about his future when approached at the tournament in Africa, saying, “I don’t know [if I’ll still be at Napoli next year], I think so, but I have to play the AFCON and then after that I’ll go back to Napoli.”

Manchester United has been much closely linked with Koulibaly than Manchester City, but it may be difficult to convince him to switch with the Red Devils not participating in the Champions League next season.

Everton is reportedly in the hunt for Juventus striker Moise Kean according to the Liverpool Echo, with the 19-year-old breaking out last season with The Old Lady. He scored six goals in 13 appearances down the stretch of the season, coming into the squad after the club had all but secured the league title.

While he is a big strike prospect for Juventus, the club is somewhat crowded at the position with Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala, and Mario Mandzukic at the position. The club surely could take its time bringing him along, but apparently a disciplinary issue while with the Italy U-21 team at the Euros this summer has added to the club’s concern, along with his hesitation at signing a new contract. Kean’s current deal expires next summer, so this would be the time to cash in on his high-rising stock.

The report states it would cost around $34 million to land the youngster and Ajax is also in the mix.

Women’s World Cup mascot costume stolen from Parc des Prince

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By Kyle BonnJun 26, 2019, 11:49 AM EDT
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According to reports in France, first by news outlet LCI, the World Cup mascot Ettie had its mascot stolen from Parc des Princes in the early morning hours of last Friday, June 21.

L’Equipe reports the mascot costume has subsequently been recovered and police are investigating.

The reports state that a group of five somehow entered the Paris stadium between 4 and 5 a.m. local time, proceeding to walk around and even play a game on the Parc des Princes pitch before leaving the stadium carrying two large bags that contained the mascot costume. After missing for the weekend, the costume was reportedly returned to a lawyer’s office in Paris on Tuesday in anonymous fashion.

Thankfully, since the costume has been returned, Ettie will be able to make an appearance while the United States takes on host nation France at Parc des Princes in a highly anticipated quarterfinal match on Friday.

The L’Equipe report says that very little was been discernible on the Parc des Princes security camera footage, and police have appealed to the public for assistance. FIFA describes Ettie as “a young chicken with a passion for life and football.” Ettie is the daughter of Footix, the rooster mascot of the 1998 World Cup also held in France.

Toni Kroos wants to retire at Real Madrid

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By Kyle BonnJun 26, 2019, 11:29 AM EDT
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After signing a contract extension in May that runs through 2023, which he said at the time is “probably my last big contract,” Toni Kroos doubled down on that statement, saying he’d like to retire at Real Madrid and will not move to another club as his career winds down.

Speaking to German publication Bild about a new film that documents his life, Kroos said that the end of his current contract is hopefully going to be the end of his career, on his own terms.

“When I am aged 33, that would be a good age to retire,” Kroos told Bild’s subscription service Bild+, as quoted by Marca. “My contract duration was chosen consciously. At 33, that would be a good age to hang up the boots. I will have the opportunity at that moment to choose if I want to do something after that.”

Obviously, it’s possible that something out of his control will take place forcing him to finish his career elsewhere, but he expresses his admiration for Los Blancos and says that he hopes his career will last long enough to ride out his contract and hang up his boots at the club he loves. “Signing for Real Madrid is the best thing I could have done, I will never play in the United States, China or Qatar.”

Kroos also emitted a typical athlete mentality, saying he hoped to make Bayern regret selling him in 2014, something he believes he’s been successful doing. “For me, it was already clear at the time of the transfer that Bayern made a mistake with my sale,” he said. “It’s true that [Bayern president] Uli Hoeness has made it public of late – and it’s a testament to his greatness that he addresses it that way.”

Kroos has won three Champions League titles with Real Madrid as well as a La Liga title since moving to the Bernabeu.

Follow Live: Africa Cup of Nations – Group play reaches round 2

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By Kyle BonnJun 26, 2019, 10:21 AM EDT
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The first round of group stage matches is complete and now the slate reracks for teams to truly take control of their Africa Cup of Nations destiny.

[ LIVE: Africa Cup of Nations scores ]

Host nation Egypt takes the field for a second time as they meet Democratic Republic of Congo in the late match in Cairo, while Nigeria has the chance to secure advancement as they play Guinea, and Uganda can push Zimbabwe to the brink of elimination.

Egypt and Uganda can each secure passage to the knockout stage through Group A if both should win, while a loss for either side would complicate matters.The host nation will be looking for a better attacking display after Mohamed Salah was isolated in the narrow opening round win over Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, Congo DR likely did not expect to be facing elimination this early, with a team that sports West Ham’s Arthur Masuaku, former Premier League midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu, and Porto’s Chancel Mbemba.

In Group B, Nigeria can secure passage to the knockout phase with a win. The clear dominant side in a collection of countries that includes Guinea, Madagascar, and Burundi, Nigeria looked sluggish in its opener and will require a more complete attacking display to convince supporters they can challenge for the Cup.

2019 Africa Cup of Nations schedule – Wednesday, June 26

Group A
Uganda v. Zimbabwe – 1 p.m. ET
Egypt v. Congo DR – 4 p.m. ET

Group B
Nigeria v. Guinea – 10:30 a.m. ET