Manchester United on Saturday beat Sheffield United 2-1 on an emotionally charged evening as the English Premier League giants said a “big goodbye” to club great Bobby Charlton, who died earlier in the day.
Charlton’s family announced that the England FIFA World Cup winner, who enjoyed a glittering career with the Red Devils, had “passed peacefully in the early hours of Saturday morning” at the age of 86.
Tributes poured in from across the soccer world, with former Manchester United player and England captain David Beckham praising Charlton as a “national hero.”
Photo: Reuters
Elsewhere, Manchester City beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 to return to the Premier League summit, and Arsenal came from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Chelsea.
Manchester United’s players paid a moving tribute to Charlton before kickoff against bottom club Sheffield United in the late game at Bramall Lane.
Red Devils captain Bruno Fernandes laid a wreath and a picture of the former attacking midfielder was displayed on a giant screen, while the fans chanted Charlton’s name during the match.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Manager Erik ten Hag praised the fans for their tribute.
“It was fantastic,” he told Sky Sports. “We have to pay our contribution, pay our big goodbye, remembering Bobby Charlton, because what he did was magnificent.”
“He was outstanding on the pitch and off it. We wanted to remember Sir Bobby and I think we did it in a decent way,” Ten Hag said.
The sluggish visitors went ahead against the run of play in the 28th minute when Scott McTominay controlled the ball on his chest and found the bottom corner, but the lead lasted just six minutes as Oli McBurnie scored from the penalty spot after McTominay handled James McAtee’s cross.
Ten Hag made three changes shortly after the hour mark, bringing on Anthony Martial, Alejandro Garnacho and Christian Eriksen in a desperate search for a winner.
However, it was defender Diogo Dalot who produced the moment of magic to win the game in the 77th minute with a fine strike from long range to lift the Red Devils to eighth on the table.
Earlier, City manager Pep Guardiola also expressed his condolences for Charlton’s death and called him “a big legend” after the champions held on to beat Brighton.
City’s win was their 21st consecutive victory at the Etihad Stadium in all competitions, setting a new record for a winning run at home by a Premier League club.
The treble winners, who had lost their previous two league games, took an early lead through Julian Alvarez before Erling Haaland doubled the lead — his ninth Premier League goal of the season.
It was a different story after the break. Ansu Fati pulled a goal back in the 73rd minute to heap the pressure on the home team, who held on despite the sending off of defender Manuel Akanji.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
RSS