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.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS