EPL

Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho fire Man Utd to win over West Ham

By Sports Desk February 04, 2024

Rasmus Hojlund celebrated his 21st birthday in style as the summer signing’s fine opener and a brace from fellow young gun Alejandro Garnacho fired Manchester United to a 3-0 win against West Ham.

Fresh from 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo’s stoppage-time stunner settling Thursday’s chaotic contest at Wolves, the Red Devils’ talented young talents came to the fore once more.

Summer signing Hojlund rifled United ahead with his fourth Premier League goal in as many games, with 19-year-old Garnacho then seeing an effort deflect in off Nayef Aguerd before firing home United’s third against David Moyes’ Hammers.

The goalscorers and Thursday’s matchwinner Mainoo mimicked West Ham forward Mohammed Kudus’ celebration after Garnacho’s first goal, sitting together on the advertising hoardings.

It provided a fantastic image of three young talents that offer hope for a bright future at United, whose season has been bumpy for the most part but is starting to show signs of improvement.

The only negative for Erik Ten Hag’s side was the injury that saw a grimacing Lisandro Martinez replaced with 20 minutes remaining.

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    Harry Wilson scored twice in stoppage time as Fulham came back to beat Brentford 2-1 in an enthralling West London derby.

    Wilson was the hero from Fulham's bench on Monday, as Marco Silva's team – who were on the wrong end of a late comeback against Everton last time out in the Premier League – salvaged a victory from the jaws of defeat.

    Fulham will feel it was a win they earned from a match they dominated from the off, with the Bees having taken the lead against the run of play through Vitaly Janelt's stunning 24th-minute strike.

    But the Fulham pressure finally told when Wilson rose high to flick in his first in the 92nd minute, and – after Bernd Leno made a superb stop to thwart Brentford at the other end – the former Liverpool midfielder nodded in again to send Craven Cottage into raptures.

    Fulham's win takes them up into ninth, while Brentford drop to 12th after suffering a fifth league loss of the season.

    Data Debrief: Super-sub Wilson to the rescue

    Fulham will feel they deserved to come away from that match with three points, having had 26 shots, 12 of which were on target, in an incredibly dominant display.

    They also had 46 touches in the opposition box compared to Brentford's nine, but they could not make those count, at least until Wilson's late intervention as he finally broke through Brentford's stubborn defence. 

    The Welshman scored with both of his shots on target, having three attempts overall, with his goals coming from a combined 0.19 expected goals.

    The Bees looked sure to get a first away win, and first clean sheet, of the Premier League season until their late lapse in concentration, and they have now dropped 14 points from winning positions in the competition this season, more than any other team. 

  • Juve must play at their limits against in-form Lille, warns Motta Juve must play at their limits against in-form Lille, warns Motta

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    Juve face a tough task against a side who have already upset Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in this season's competition.

    This will be the first ever meeting between these teams.

    However, Juve have lost three of their last four Champions League matches against French opponents (W1), including both against Paris Saint-Germain in the 2022-23 campaign. and Motta warned against any complacency.

    "All matches are important. We, as Juventus, always want to win. The most important thing is always trying to improve," Motta told reporters on Monday.

    "Lille are very confident, and we want to face them in optimal condition. We aim to give more than our maximum.

    "There are no favourites in a match. It's a beautiful game, in a beautiful stadium, and we hope the pitch will be in good condition tomorrow. We can only talk tomorrow about who played better."

    Motta will have midfielder Douglas Luiz from injury, but is still without a glut of players.

    "He's [Luiz] one more player who can help the team. We’ll be missing Arek [Arkadiusz Milik], Gleison [Bremer] and [Nicolas Gonzalez]."

    Lille boss Bruno Genesio knows Juve will present a stern test for his team, despite their shock wins over the Madrid clubs this term.

    "Every Champions League match is different, but there is one essential parameter to get a result - commitment," he said.

    "Like all Italian teams, Juventus are very well organised, very difficult to play against. Having already achieved two big results in this competition, we are going to give it our all again and we have our fans who will give us strength."

    Jonathan David will be one of the standout Lille players Juve have to keep a close eye on.

    The Canada international has scored six goals in his last eight Champions League appearances for Lille.

    Lille have won all five games he has scored in but have not won any of the six games he has featured in without scoring (D2 L4).

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    Sporting CP captain Morten Hjulmand hailed his team-mate Viktor Gyokeres as a superior striker to Erling Haaland ahead of Tuesday's clash with Manchester City.

    Sporting, who will lose head coach Ruben Amorim to Manchester United next week, face the Red Devils' fierce rivals in their fourth Champions League game of the season.

    That contest will pit two in-form Scandinavian strikers against one another as Sweden international Gyokeres takes on Norway superstar Haaland.

    Gyokeres has been a revelation since swapping Coventry City for Sporting last season, scoring 34 goals in the Portuguese top flight this calendar year.

    That is more than double the figure managed by the competition's next-most prolific player, with Porto's Galeno netting 16 times.

    Gyokeres' haul has come from an expected goals (xG) figure of 28.17, while his shot conversion rate of 27.9% also dwarfs that of nearest rival Galeno (19.5%) and he has scored 31 of 47 big chances in 2024.

    His 61.2% big-chance conversion rate is the second-best of any player in Europe's top 10 leagues, behind Jan Kliment, who has managed a 75% ratio for Czech side Sigma Olomouc.

     

    As Gyokeres prepares to do battle with Haaland, who has 11 goals in 10 Premier League games this term, he has received a glowing endorsement from his skipper.

    Asked which striker was the better player at Monday's pre-match press conference, Hjulmand said: "Gyokeres, because he plays for Sporting."

    Outgoing boss Amorim, meanwhile, knows Sporting's financial position means they will one day cash in on the Swede, who has been linked with several Premier League clubs.

    "I don't know Sporting's plans, but if the right offer arrives they will have to sell," Amorim said on Monday. 

    "He is an athlete who is at his peak and can give a lot, both in terms of money to his club, and income to the future club".

    Gyokeres already has 16 league goals for Sporting this season, the most of any player in Europe's top 10 leagues ahead of Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, who has 14.

    Haaland is tied for third place, alongside Bayern Munich's Harry Kane and Atalanta's Mateo Retegui.

     

    Gyokeres has also been directly involved in 10 goals in 12 appearances for Sporting in European competitions (seven goals, three assists), scoring on all four of his European starts at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.

    He still has some way to go to match the Champions League exploits of Haaland, though.

    The City talisman has been directly involved in 49 goals in 42 appearances in the competition (44 goals, five assists). 

    If he scores or assists on Tuesday, he will become the fastest player to 50 goal contributions in the competition's history (43), overtaking Ruud van Nistelrooy for fewest appearances to reach that figure (45).

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