Everton manager David Moyes said his goodbyes at Goodison Park on Sunday in perfect fashion with his talented side cruising to a 2-0 win over West Ham United in the Premier League.
Goals in each half from Belgian striker Kevin Mirallas ensured Moyes departed from the blue half of Merseyside a winner after 11 years in charge of the Toffees.
Moyes, 50, is joining Everton’s rivals Manchester United as the replacement for fellow Glaswegian Sir Alex Ferguson, who is stepping down after 26 years in charge at Old Trafford.
Photo: AFP
Also on Sunday, Emmanuel Adebayor struck late to earn Tottenham Hotspur a 2-1 at Stoke City that kept their slim hopes of UEFA Champions League qualification alive.
Norwich City and Newcastle United ensured their Premier League survival with one match left in the season. Norwich crushed West Bromwich Albion 4-0 and Newcastle won 2-1 at relegated Queens Park Rangers.
It was not clear how Everton fans would feel about their manager leaving for United, but he was warmly received by the crowd, who showed their appreciation for the progress the club has made under him, despite the failure to win a trophy.
Their reaction was also helped by the fact they will finish above great rivals Liverpool for the second consecutive season.
“There’s always a worry when you’re joining another club, but Everton fans were magnificent for me today,” Moyes told the BBC. “David Unsworth scored my first goal at Goodison 11 years ago after about 25 seconds and I’m delighted I finished it off here with a win. I thank all the players who have worked with me.”
After 71-year-old Ferguson announced his retirement on Wednesday, the Manchester club took barely a day to appoint Moyes as his successor.
Everton, on the other hand, were surprised by the speed of developments, despite Moyes’ contract running out at the end of the season, and a replacement has yet to be named.
Moyes was confident that whoever took over from him would make the most of a small, but talented squad.
“Whoever comes in is going to have joy working with the current set of players,” he said, before contemplating his last game in charge of Everton next Sunday. “I’ve got another week and I’m going to make sure I’m at it with the players because we want a result at Chelsea.”
“The victory [over West Ham] was deserved. We’re going to finish in a good league position and I’m happy with that,” he added.
Ferguson had recommended Moyes as his replacement and the younger Scot said he would have no qualms about suggesting who should take over from him at Goodison Park if asked.
“I haven’t recommended anyone for the job to the chairman. If he asks me for an opinion then I’ll give it to him,” Moyes said.
Spurs trailed to Steven Nzonzi’s early goal at Stoke, but Clint Dempsey equalized and after Stoke’s Charlie Adam was sent early the second half, the visitors made their advantage count when striker Adebayor tapped in at the far post after 83 minutes.
Tottenham climbed above Arsenal into fourth place, three points behind Chelsea, who won 2-1 at Aston Villa on Saturday, with one match left.
Robert Snodgrass struck after 25 minutes to set up Norwich’s comfortable win over West Brom, with Grant Holt, a Gareth McAuley own-goal and Jonny Howson’s late strike completing the rout.
Newcastle fell behind to Loic Remy’s early penalty for QPR, but Hatem Ben Arfa equalized from the spot and Yoan Gouffran grabbed the winner before halftime.
Sunderland broke the deadlock against Southampton with a 69th-minute goal from defender Phil Bardsley, but Jason Puncheon equalized eight minutes later and the game ended 1-1. Sunderland are only four points above Wigan Athletic, who have two games left, leaving their manager Paolo di Canio to face a nervous final week of the season.
Fulham led Liverpool through Dimitar Berbatov’s early goal, but Daniel Sturridge equalized after 36 minutes and scored again midway through the second half, before completing his first hat-trick for the club five minutes from time.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
RSS