Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho on Sunday stoked the embers of his rivalry with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger after his side’s damaging 2-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium in London.
Second-half goals by Granit Xhaka and Danny Welbeck earned Arsenal victory as Wenger overcame Mourinho in an English Premier League game for the first time in 13 attempts.
Mourinho had claimed that “peace” reigned between himself and Wenger prior to the game, but he questioned the Frenchman’s poor record against him afterward and accused him of putting unfair pressure on the fourth official.
Photo: Reuters
“Arsenal fans are happy and I’m happy for them,” said Mourinho, whose side had been unbeaten in 25 league games. “It’s the first time I leave Highbury or Emirates and they’re happy. I left Highbury, they were crying. I left the Emirates, they were crying. They were walking the streets with heads low. Finally today they sing, they [wave] their scarves. It’s nice for them.”
“We shook hands before the game, we shook hands after the game, and during the game I didn’t like what I never like — he puts too much pressure on the fourth official all the time,” he added of Wenger.
In further digs, Mourinho accused Wenger — misleadingly — of playing with a “defensive block” and “a line of five defenders.”
Wenger was also in sarcastic mood, but in his case he was talking about the penalty that Liverpool were awarded — and squandered — in their goalless draw at home to Southampton earlier on Sunday.
The day’s results enabled the Gunners to close to within seven points of third-placed Liverpool, on whom they have two games in hand, beginning with tomorrow’s trip to Southampton.
“We still have a chance mathematically and we need some help as well from teams around us,” Wenger said.
“I watched the [Liverpool] game and I’ve seen the penalty given by the referee [for a handball by Jack Stephens]. It was very nice,” he said.
United are two points above Arsenal in fifth place, having played a game more, and now trail fourth-placed Manchester City by four points.
Mourinho said his side’s chances of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League via the Premier League were over.
“Impossible, because I don’t think the others, playing one match per week and being in a great situation, are going to blow it,” Mourinho said.
“I don’t think we have any chance of finishing top four in the Premier League,” he said. “We have to chase the Champions League by trying to win the Europa League.”
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB