Spurs sink toothless Man Utd, Man City too good for Newcastle

Manchester United's Argentinian defender #06 Lisandro Martinez reacts after scoring an own goal during the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on August 19, 2023. (AFP)
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Updated 20 August 2023
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Spurs sink toothless Man Utd, Man City too good for Newcastle

  • Spurs were playing for the first time at home since record goalscorer Kane departed for Bayern Munich.
  • Manchester City beat potential Premier League title challengers Newcastle 1-0

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Tottenham showed there is life after Harry Kane with a 2-0 win over Manchester United on Saturday as Manchester City beat potential Premier League title challengers Newcastle 1-0.
Spurs were playing for the first time at home since record goalscorer Kane departed for Bayern Munich.
But in Ange Postecoglou’s first match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the home side showed promising signs of a new era as Pape Sarr’s strike and Lisandro Martinez’s own goal continued United’s sluggish start to the season.
“Second half, certainly in spells, it kind of showed the team we want to be,” said Postecoglou.
“I keep saying we’re still a long way to go but I really liked the belief and resilience the guys have and the bravery they have to continue playing that way.”
Erik ten Hag’s men escaped with a 1-0 victory at home to Wolves on Monday despite being outplayed.
This time United were punished as they faded after a bright start.
Bruno Fernandes should have headed the visitors in front midway through the first half.
Spurs ended the opening period in the ascendency as Pedro Porro rattled the crossbar.
And Postecoglou’s men got their reward when Sarr smashed home his first goal for the club on 49 minutes.
A comedy of errors summed up United’s day for the second goal as Ben Davies failed to connect with Ivan Perisic’s cross and Martinez could only turn it beyond the flat-footed Andre Onana.
United’s decision not to rival Bayern with a bid for Kane will now face more scrutiny as they looked toothless without new striker Rasmus Hojlund due to injury.
“I am not concerned with our attacking play but I am by our scoring,” said Ten Hag. “We know this, that is why we’ve signed a striker.”

Man City vs Newcastle
Many believed Newcastle would never get a better chance for their first league win away to City since 2000.
Pep Guardiola was unhappy the champions had been forced to play just three days after winning the UEFA Super Cup over Sevilla in baking conditions in Athens.
City were also without Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and John Stones, but were still far too good for the Magpies.
It took one moment of magic for Guardiola’s men to take all three points, though, when Julian Alvarez fired into the top corner on 31 minutes.
Erling Haaland missed a hat-trick of chances to add to the lead, but City were rarely troubled defensively and made it two wins from two Premier League games.
“It is the second game of the season, but it is proof of the reason why we won a lot,” said Guardiola.
“Today the team showed to me and the Premier League we are ready to try to win it again.”

Bournemouth no match for Liverpool

Liverpool recovered from a terrible start and the controversial loss of Alexis Mac Allister to a red card early in the second half to beat Bournemouth 3-1.
Antoine Semenyo drilled the visitors in front after just three minutes on the ground where they lost 9-0 last season.
Luis Diaz’s inventive flicked and overhead kick finish brought Liverpool level before Mohamed Salah made it 2-1 on the rebound after his penalty was saved.
Momentum could have swung back Bournemouth’s way when Mac Allister was harshly shown a straight red card for leading with his studs on Ryan Christie, despite minimal contact with the Scotland international.
But the 10 men added to their lead within four minutes when Diogo Jota pounced after Neto could only palm Dominik Szoboszlai’s effort into his path.

Hove Albion shines on

Brighton banked a British record transfer fee that could rise to £115 million ($146 million) for Moises Caicedo on Monday.
But the Seagulls continue to soar under Roberto De Zerbi despite seeing their best players picked off by the Premier League’s elite.
Kaoru Mitoma may be the next big-money departure and the Japanese international opened the scoring in stunning style at Molineux as he slalomed past four Wolves defenders before producing a classy finish.
Mitoma then teed up Pervis Estupinan to smash home for 2-0 before Solly March scored twice from Julio Enciso assists.
Brentford are also making light of the absence of the suspended Ivan Toney as they won 3-0 at Fulham.
Yoane Wissa opened the scoring before Bryan Mbeumo scored twice after Fulham captain Tim Ream was sent off for a second yellow card.
 


Villarreal stay on Atletico’s tail, Valencia snatch vital victory

Updated 09 March 2026
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Villarreal stay on Atletico’s tail, Valencia snatch vital victory

  • Elche started the season superbly but are yet to win in 2026, or away from home across the campaign, and have slumped to 17th, one point above the drop zone

BARCELONA: Villarreal beat Elche 2-1 on Sunday to keep pace with Atletico Madrid in the battle for third in La Liga.
After Atletico beat Real Sociedad on Saturday, Marcelino Garcia Toral’s Yellow Submarine, fourth, pulled level on 54 points.
A little further down Spain’s east coast, Valencia came from behind to beat Alaves 3-2 in a match which could prove crucial in their bid to avoid relegation.
Tajon Buchanan and Santiago Mourino’s first-half goals were reward for a dominant performance by Villarreal, although Elche’s Andre Silva pulled one back late on to make the hosts sweat.
“We relaxed a bit. Until the 70th minute we were dominating the game, then we suffered until the end and that can’t happen,” Mourino told Movistar.
Villarreal had a host of chances in the first half but Elche goalkeeper Matias Dituro made several good saves to keep Nicolas Pepe and Georges Mikautadze at bay.
Elche started the season superbly but are yet to win in 2026, or away from home across the campaign, and have slumped to 17th, one point above the drop zone.
“I think with a bit more time we could have got level. We finished in the way we should have played the whole game,” said Silva.
“After letting in the first goal, the team dropped in morale and we can’t do that.”
Real Betis, fifth, fell further behind in the race for Champions League football with a 2-0 defeat at Getafe.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side now trail Villarreal by 11 points with 11 matches remaining.
Kiko Femenia and Martin Satriano netted for Getafe in a good week for Jose Bordalas’s side, who beat Real Madrid on Monday at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The match was paused for a few minutes in the opening stages because of a fight involving several visiting fans sitting in a home area. La Liga said they would investigate the incident.

Valencia edge thriller

Carlos Corberan’s Valencia snatched three late points at home against Alaves, with Hugo Duro netting a penalty in the 99th minute to secure the win.
Valencia climbed to 12th while Alaves are 16th, just two points clear of the relegation zone.
Alaves, on new coach Quique Sanchez Flores’s debut at the helm, took the lead from the penalty spot in the second minute through Lucas Boye after Guido Rodriguez fouled Toni Martinez.
There were chances at both ends in a scrappy but entertaining battle, as Valencia pulled level right at the start of the second half.
Javi Guerra calmly fired home after Umar Sadiq teed him up in the box to cheer up Valencia’s Mestalla stadium.
Argentine striker Boye nodded Alaves back in front with less than 20 minutes remaining from Denis Suarez’s corner.
However, Eray Comert struck for Valencia before Duro won and scored his penalty to claim victory for the hosts.
Alaves finished the game with nine men after Jon Pacheco and Ander Guevara were dismissed in the aftermath of the penalty decision, the former for fouling Duro and the latter for his complaints.
“The team kept going and fought to the end... what counts is that we gave everything,” Duro told Movistar.
Sevilla and Rayo Vallecano shared a 1-1 draw which left both sides content not to lose and avoid sinking from lower mid-table further toward the bottom three.
On Saturday, La Liga leaders Barcelona restored their four-point gap to Real Madrid at the top of the table with a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s Madrid snatched a last gasp 2-1 win at Celta Vigo on Friday, ahead of Wednesday’s challenging Champions League match against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.