Soccer

MANCHESTER UNITED equalled a humiliating 132-year record with the defeat to Crystal Palace.And now a horror relegation omen looms over the fallen giants.Manchester United suffered their seventh home league defeat of the season against Crystal PalaceCredit: GettyA bad omen looms from the 1973-74 relegation seasonCredit: Rex FeaturesJean-Philippe Mateta scored twice for the Eagles as they leapfrogged the Red Devils into 12th in the table with their fourth win in six trips to Old Trafford.The result was the SEVENTH Premier League home defeat of the season for United – from just 13 matches.That is their joint-worst record at this stage of the season in their entire history.In 1893-94, when still called Newton Heath, they went on to lose eight of their 15 home league games.READ MORE ON MAN UTDAnd, crucially, the club finished bottom of the First Division and were relegated.Then in 1973-74, United went down again – with seven home league losses. Now Ruben Amorim will be desperate for history not to repeat itself as the problems mount up at Old Trafford.Amorim himself hit a new low in his brief but turbulent tenure at Old Trafford.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSThe Palace defeat was his fifth home Premier League defeat – after just seven matches. Predecessor Erik ten Hag’s losses to Liverpool and Tottenham do not look too bad considering Amorim has been beaten by Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, Newcastle, Brighton and now Palace. Man Utd flops ‘hammered’ by Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney in legends’ WhatsApp group – and current star is in chat tooMan Utd home Premier League results 2024-25Man Utd 1-0 Fulham, 16/08/2024Man Utd 0-3 Liverpool, 01/09/2024Man Utd 0-3 Tottenham, 29/09/2024Man Utd 2-1 Brentford, 19/10/2024Man Utd 1-1 Chelsea, 03/11/2024Man Utd 3-0 Leicester, 10/11/2024Man Utd 4-0 Everton, 01/12/2024Man Utd 2-3 Nottingham Forest, 07/12/2024Man Utd 0-3 Bournemouth, 22/12/2024Man Utd 0-2 Newcastle, 30/12/2024Man Utd 3-1 Southampton, 16/01/2025Man Utd 1-3 Brighton, 19/01/2025Man Utd 0-2 Crystal Palace, 02/02/2025The only matches in which he has avoided defeat at home were the 4-0 thumping of Everton in his Old Trafford debut – thanks to Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee doubles – and an Amad Diallo-inspired comeback victory over Southampton.And Amorim now holds the undesirable honour of the Manchester United manager to reach five home Premier League defeats.His tally of seven is half the previous record of 14 held by David Moyes during his ill-fated 2013-14 campaign.As per Opta, Ten Hag is third on 28 followed by Louis van Gaal (30) and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (31).Sir Alex Ferguson needed a whopping 88 home Premier League games to rack up his five losses.But Jose Mourinho and Ralf Rangnick did not even reach five league losses at Old Trafford during their stints in the dugout.Ruben Amorim set a new unwanted record as United bossCredit: GettyMan Utd player ratings vs Crystal PalaceMANCHESTER UNITED’S mini-revival under Ruben Amorim came to an abrupt end as Crystal Palace ran out 2-0 winners at Old Trafford.Here’s how the Red Devils stars rated on a disappointing day.Andre Onana – 5Was left vulnerable by a shaky back-line and beaten by Lacroix’s looping header, which came off the crossbar into Mateta’s path.But he couldn’t do much about the second goal.Leny Yoro – 5Came in for De Ligt, who was benched. Was inches away from scoring his first United goal early on.Did well to block Mitchell after a Mazraoui error, but his positioning was a problem later in the game.Harry Maguire – 3Lost his battle with centre forward Mateta, who held the ball up well and got in behind every time, and was left stranded for the Frenchman’s first goal.Hasn’t connected with Yoro. Palace, namely Sarr, opened them both up with ease and should’ve buried some chances through Mateta.Lisandro Martinez – 6Was stretchered off after jarring his knee in the 79th minute.The Argentine has been scoring the goals recently, but blazed a centre-back’s shot over the bar on the brink of half-time.Noussair Mazraoui – 5He was okay in the right wing-back role again but it is obviously not his best position.Struggled with the dual threat of Mitchell and Daichi Kamada down Palace’s left side.Diogo Dalot – 4Awful link-up play with a horrible blind pass inside the Palace box in a promising team position before the break. He’s not a left winger and it’s clear why Patrick Dorgu has been signed.Manuel Ugarte – 6Missing in the middle when Mateta’s stunning 80-yard run. Missed half a chance in the second-half.Bruno Fernandes – 5Restricted. Couldn’t get forward much and was unlucky not to score from his usual 20-yard territory after being denied by Henderson.Was one of three United players booked.Amad Diallo – 6Great individual runs, on and off the ball. Dropped to wing-back after Mainoo came off and was involved in anything good creatively.Alejandro Garnacho – 5Predictable build-up. But worked hard tracking back as one of the two 10s.Was quieter in the second half and struggled to step up when the going got tough.Kobbie Mainoo – 4Huge experiment by Amorim to have Mainoo lead the line, albeit falsely. It didn’t pay off, but it wasn’t all his fault.He didn’t get the service or have the hold up play required to be effective.SUBSHojlund (’70 for Mainoo) – 5Came on for the last 20 minutes and ran around a bit without doing much of note.Zirkzee (’70 for Mazraoui) – 5As above, not a great deal to write home about despite trying to make things happen. More

PEP GUARDIOLA did not have much to say as he was told about Myles Lewis-Skelly emulating Erling Haaland’s celebration.Arsenal defeated the reigning Premier League champions 5-1 at the Emirates on Sunday.Pep Guardiola had not been aware of Myles Lewis-Skelly’s celebrationCredit: XLewis-Skelly imitated Erling Haaland’s celebrationCredit: GettyHaaland loves to perform the eye-catching celebrationCredit: APLewis-Skelly, who was available after having his red card vs Wolves rescinded, scored the Gunners’ third of the afternoon.The teenager responded by sitting down in a meditative pose, a celebration made famous by Haaland.After the game, Guardiola was asked about the gesture in his press conference.Looking exasperated, he said: “Oh, I didn’t see. Did they do that? That’s good.”READ MORE IN FOOTBALLHe then continued: “That’s good. Haaland’s celebration, they have done it? Oh yeah?”Guardiola, 54, then added “That’s good” one more time before getting up and leaving the press conference.Arsenal fans were thrilled at the six-time Premier League winner’s response.One wrote on social media: “Head is gone.”Most read in FootballSUN BINGO GET £50 BONUS & 50 FREE SPINS TODAYWhile a second commented: “This man is gone.”However another social media user responded: “City are battering Arsenal next game.”How Omar Marmoush helped Pep Guardiola reinvent Man City’s tactics in one gameAnother added: “He looks like a DEFEATED man.”Despite their big celebrations, which included Gabriel appearing to say something to reigning Golden Boot winner and Prem champion Haaland, Arsenal remain second in the Premier League table – six points behind leaders Liverpool.Arne Slot’s men also possess a game in hand.City, meanwhile, are fourth in the league – 15 points off top.Haaland continues to wind up Arsenal fansCredit: EPAGuardiola, 54, has won six Premier League trophiesCredit: Getty More

FANS are convinced they know what Erling Haaland said to Gabriel while the Manchester City star was relentlessly taunted by Arsenal.The Gunners spent the entire 90 minutes winding up the striker during yesterday’s 5-1 win.Erling Haaland fired an insult back at Gabriel during Arsenal’s 5-1 winCredit: RexHaaland was relentlessly taunted after his ‘stay humble’ commentsCredit: RexGabriel tried to get under his skin all gameCredit: GettyMyles Lewis-Skelly scored and copied Haaland’s trademark celebrationCredit: GettyHaaland is hated by Arsenal after his “stay humble” dig ignited a feud at the end of their last meeting.Mikel Arteta’s side got their own back by continuously trying to get under his skin, with main perpetrator Gabriel, Myles Lewis-Skelly and even the stadium DJ all part of the goading onslaught.Despite constantly being a target, Haaland did not react besides one moment in the second-half.The Norwegian exchanged words with Gabriel and then flexed the gold Premier League badge on the sleeve of the champions’ shirt.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLLip-reading fans are certain Haaland said: “You’d love this, eh?”City will not make it five titles in a row as they are now a huge 15 points off the top of the table.But Arsenal’s 20-year wait for glory may also go on if they cannot overturn a six-point deficit on Liverpool.Getting one over on Haaland was something for them to celebrate, with daggers drawn before yesterday’s game begun when Gabriel said: “It’s a battle, a war”.Most read in FootballJOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUSGabriel celebrated Arsenal’s first under Haaland’s noseWhen Martin Odegaard opened the scoring the Arsenal centre-back shouted in Haaland’s face to celebrate.Myles Lewis-Skelly later netted to make it 3-1 and he brutally copied the City star’s trademark goal celebration.’Stay humble,’ Erling Haaland tells Arteta who gives him brutal death stare before Gabriel Jesus confronts Man City ace Gabriel, who was in Haaland’s ear all game, also grabbed his shorts as he sat on the ground after a foul.Arsenal’s DJ joined in by blasting out the song “Humble” by Kendrick Lamar at full-time.Meanwhile, Gunners fans chanted: “Erling Haaland, stay humble you c***.”At the end of the game, the unmoved goal machine walked over to applaud the City fans, again pointing to the golden Prem badge and his mind.Arteta has encouraged his players to stop their antics, saying: “Leave anything that happened that’s part of the game on the pitch.“I have been in football a long time. Just leave it. There is nothing there to do.”READ MORE SUN STORIESBut it did not stop Lewis-Skelly posting a picture of his Haaland-like celebration with the words: “Keep it humble.”His dad Alfie responded to a picture of the Arsenal teenager, writing: “This team that wins everything. Ehhhhh, not.”Arsenal player ratings vs Man CityARSENAL stunned Man City 5-1 at the Emirates on Sunday evening.It was an incredible result against their rivals of recent years.Here, we take a look at how the Gunners rated…David Raya – 7/10Had very little to do in the first half but made a brilliant save in the 22nd minute to deny a goalbound header from Josko Gvardiol. Made another stunning save two minutes from the half-time interval, stopping a deflected Savinho shot from close range. Powerless to stop Erling Haaland’s 55th-minute header from briefly levelling the scores.Jurrien Timber – 6Didn’t offer his usual attacking threat going forward but was solid defensively. Picked up a pointless yellow breaking up a harmless counter-attack in the 24th minute. Almost scored late in the second half.William Saliba – 5Didn’t have much to do in the first half but won all his aerial battles in the first 45 minutes. Marshalled the defence well early in the second period but was embarrassingly outjumped and outmuscled by Haaland for City’s equaliser – a major flaw of his that continues to be exposed.Gabriel Magalhaes – 6Like his defensive partner, he was seldom called into action in the first half. Dominant in the air in his battles with Haaland, who he trolled after Odegaard’s goal.Myles Lewis-Skelly – 8Continues to endear himself to the Emirates faithful with composure and tenacity beyond his years as he brilliantly floated between left back and midfield. Put real daylight between the two sides with a thumping finish just after the hour mark. This young lad is a real bright prospect for both the Gunners and England.His trolling of Haaland by copying the Norwegian’s ‘Lotus’ celebration went down a storm with fans.Thomas Partey – 7Steady in the heart of midfield and broke up play well when required. Fired the Gunners back into the lead in the 57th minute with a deflected shot from outside the box.Martin Odegaard – 7Was in the right place at the right time to benefit from the aftermath of an uncharacteristic Manuel Akanji error and break the deadlock. Was at the heart of everything good the north Londoners did going forward.Declan Rice – 6Combative, as always, in the middle of the park and played a role in the home side taking the lead, teeing up Havertz who squared the ball to Odegaard.Leandro Trossard – 6Was particularly lively on the left in the first half, giving Matheus Nunes a real run for his money. His end product, however, wasn’t the best.Gabriel Martinelli – 6Lively on the right wing in the early goings. Found the back of the net in the fifth minute after some beautiful play from Odegaard but was needlessly offside. Forced a good save out of Ortega with a rasping effort in the 68th minute.Kai Havertz – 6Lively early doors, testing Stefan Ortega with a tame shot in the first minute. Teed up Odegaard for a tap in a few moments later. Missed a golden opportunity to double the lead in the 25th minute, dragging the ball wide with the goal at his absolute mercy. Made amends for his howler by finishing an even harder chance in the 76th minute. He well and truly needed that as he looked absolutely devoid of confidence.SUBSEthan Nwaneri – 83 (on for Trossard) – 7Put the cherry on top of the cake with an outrageous effort in second-half stoppage time.Mikel Merino – 83 (on for Odegaard) – 5Raheem Sterling – 89 (on for Kai Havertz ) – N/ARiccardo Calafiori 89 (on for Lewis-Skelly) – N/ARead more on all the latest Arsenal news. More