Football

MICHAEL OWEN told Aston Villa fans to “hang your heads in shame” after booing former star Jack Grealish.The England star was on the receiving end of a 2-1 defeat as he returned to Villa Park with Manchester City on Saturday.Michael Owen has slammed Aston Villa fans for booing Jack GrealishCredit: GettyThe former Villa star saw Man City beaten by his old side 2-1Credit: GettyGrealish used to be a cult hero at Villa after joining them as a six-year old.He clocked up 213 games for the Midlands club and played a key role in their Premier League return five years ago.But it seemed home supporters were yet to forgive Grealish for his £100million switch to City in 2021.The midfielder was routinely booed and jeered every time he touched the ball on Saturday.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLGrealish was also involved in several fiery encounters with Villa stars like Matty Cash and Emi Martinez.And at the end of the game, he flashed three fingers towards irate fans in a jibe over his three Premier League titles at the Etihad.Now, ex-Liverpool and Man United star Owen has come to Grealish’s defence.He believes Villa fans should be ashamed of their behaviour towards their former hero.Most read in FootballFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSAnd Owen admits his “blood boiled” hearing the endless taunts and jibes towards a player who arguably made Villa what they are today.He wrote on social media: “I often hear or see things in football that makes my blood boil. Most people will probably feel the same at some point or other. Four Man City stars including Haaland and Grealish ‘miss penalties against NO KEEPER’ in bizarre training live streamGrealish clashed with several Villa stars during the defeatCredit: GettyHe responded to fans with a three-fingered jibeCredit: Getty“I guess that’s quite natural when you care passionately about something, or in my case, when it’s something that has consumed your entire life.”There will always be kind, honest, generous, respectful, caring people in all walks of life just as there will always be nasty, jealous, spiteful, bitter people too. “Your job or where you’re from doesn’t necessarily make you fall into a certain category. But to those Villa fans who booed Jack Grealish yesterday, you fall into the second category and should hang your heads in shame.”Owen continued: “Here is a lad that came through YOUR academy. Supported The Villa all his life and no doubt still does. “He single-handedly dragged YOUR team back into the Premier League when you were bang average at best. “He kept you up and in hindsight, showed you ten times more loyalty than you are now showing him. He was hardly ever injured and delivered Man Of The Match performances on a regular basis. READ MORE SUN STORIES“He cost you nothing, gave you incredible service and made YOUR club over £100m when he left.”In Jack’s case he is and always will be very proud of where he comes from and so it must be heartbreaking for him to have to endure the mindless and pathetic booing that he had to listen to yesterday.” More

LEICESTER CITY owner Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha spread some Festive cheer by dishing out cuddly Foxes and City scarves to fans before kick-off.Then watched through his fingers as his team gifted Wolves three slapstick first-half goals to give new boss Vitor Pereira an early Christmas present.Foxes keeper Danny Ward suffered a howler to concede Wolves’ second goal to Rodrigo GomesCredit: AlamyGoncalo Guedes opened the scoring for Wolves with an acrobatic effortCredit: ReutersNew Wolves boss Vitor Pereira was greeted with a hug from Ruud van Nistelrooy before the gameCredit: GettyPereira pocketed three welcome points on his debut while poor Danny Ward suffered in a Winter Blunderland!Foxes fans groaned when they heard his name announced BEFORE kick-off as it became clear first-choice Mads Hermansen had failed to shrug off a groin injury.At 2-0 down they booed their own goalie – then sarcastically cheered him when he safely gathered a bread and butter through ball!By the time Wolves helped themselves to a third the poor guy was in bits and looked as if he had Poppadom wrists as he got both gloves to Matheus Cunha’s shot but couldn’t keep it out!READ MORE IN FOOTBALLAs the goals flowed Vitor Pereira was the calmest man at the King Power.He just stood in his Technical Area, arms folded, before taking more notes in his notepad.Perhaps he was compiling his Christmas shopping list because the Portuguese coach couldn’t have asked for an easier start to life in the Premier League than this walkover.Pereira has now won nine of his 11 debuts as a boss. Most read in FootballFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSLeicester imploded as they handed out their first gift of the day after 19 minutes to get Wolves off to the perfect start under their new gaffer. New skipper Nelson Semedo swept a long pass out of defence, Jorgen Strand Larsen blocked off Jannick Vestergaard way too easily and the ball ran through to Goncalo Guedes.He reacted way quicker than Conor Coady who allowed him to hook the ball home from the corner of the six yard box, under the gloves of Ward.As the Foxes defence looked around to see who they could blame there didn’t seem to be any shortage of contenders.But they failed to learn their lesson and surrendered an even softer goal nine minutes before the break.Matt Doherty played a raking diagonal ball from right to left.James Justin appeared to have the situation under control until he inexplicably chose to leave the ball.Unless he got a rogue call from Ward, it was a suicidal bit of defending, because lurking off his right shoulder Rodrigo Gomes was waiting to cash in.He took the ball down on his chest then bundled the ball beyond Danny Ward who had already over-committed and actually dived out of the way for Gomes to find the gaping net.There was a VAR check for a potential handball but VAR Michael Salisbury decided the Wolves man had taken the ball down cleanly.It was the 21-year-old’s first goal in English football following his summer arrival from Braga.The look of horror mixed with stunned bewilderment on Ruud van Nistelrooy’s face said it all.But his defenders weren’t done yet because they leaked a third before Wolves headed off for their half-time cuppa.Semedo set the ball rolling again when he picked out Guedes who had run behind Victor Kristiansen who looked as if he was towing a caravan.He fed Cunha who had left Boubakary Soumare for dead and once again Vestergaard was slow to cut out the danger.Cunha simply swept the ball in off Danny Ward’s limp wrists to clock up his ninth goal of the season.RVN sent out an SOS and sent on Wout Faes and Harry Winks for Vestergaard and Skipp at half-time.Hamza Choudhury and Bobby De Cordova-Reid followed them on eight minutes later but the match was already over.Coming hard-on-the-heels of a 4-0 hammering by Newcastle, this is not a good couple of weeks for Leicester.At one point in the second half Soumare actually had the ball at his feet, then trod on it under no pressure at all, to set off another Wolves raid!Yes, Leicester really were that bad.Van Nistelrooy will have his work cut out unless ‘Top’ starts dishing out a few January presents in the shape of a couple of battle-hardened Premier League defenders in January.As always Jamie Vardy did his best up front.The veteran striker almost got the Foxes off to a flier at the start when he raced onto a through ball but his shot was blocked by Jose Sa, who had raced yards outside his box. But the Portuguese keeper somehow managed to keep his hands off the ball and cleared with his chest.Then with the game long gone, Vardy rounded Sa but shot into the side net from a tight angle, before flashing in a header from an Ayew free kick which Sa saved.Meanwhile Wolves fans partied and serenaded their unpopular Chairman Jeff Shi.They sang: “I don’t care about Jeff Shi. He don’t care about me. All I care about is Wolves FC.”Then rubbed salt in Leicester wounds by chanting: “We want our ball back,” after a period of home possession.READ MORE SUN STORIESTellingly, Leicester’s loudest roar of the day came five minutes from the end as Danny Ward held a Joao Gomes shot to a prolonged roar from home fans who had long since lost their Christmas cheer!The visitors gave their new boss the perfect start and piled more misery on the FoxesCredit: PAMatheus Cunha added a third before half-timeCredit: GettyCunha wheels away celebrating as his side secured scoring his side’s third before half-timeCredit: Getty More

AARON RAMSDALE returned from his fractured finger injury to produce a string of heroic saves to bag Southampton a precious point.Ramsdale was back in the line-up for the first time since early November wearing a special glove with two fingers in one extra large alien-like finger slot. Aaron Ramsdale wore a special four-fingered glove after breaking his finger but still kept a crucial clean sheet for relegation-threated SouthamptonCredit: GettyNew Saints boss Ivan Juric could only watch from the stands but his new team battled to a pointCredit: GettyIt did the trick as the ex-Arsenal shot-stopper denied rasping shots from Alex Iwobi and Harry Wilson to squash Fulham’s hopes of soaring into sixth place, above Manchester City. Incoming Saints boss Ivan Juric was sitting in the stands at Craven Cottage since 1pm with a thick black coat on and a cup of tea in hand, knowing there is a lot of work to be done. After all the point was only Saints’ second in eight-matches in what has been a bleak season with former boss Russell Martin sacked last Sunday. Fulham started brightly with Iwobi latching onto a pass from Josh King and curling a shot at goal which took Aaron Ramsdale’s fingertips to keep out. READ MORE IN FOOTBALLFulham 17-year-old midfielder King was making his first Prem start, starting alongside Tom Cairney having walked out at age 11 for the play-off semi-final against Derby with the Fulham skipper. Saints hit back though with Adam Arsmtrong having a shot blocked in the box. Fulham looked stronger but their plan of attack consisted with Robinson running the length of the pitch and sending one into the box. There was the odd pretty passing sequence but no real end product, with Harry Wilson firing a shot over the bar midway through the first-half as only the odd clacker could be heard in the Cottage. Most read in FootballEven Saints’ chants of “you’re support is f***ing s***” was strained before Iwobi livened things up again by cracking a shot just wide of the far post. Fulham emerged from the restart with a fire in their bellies. All Saints fans could do was laugh at yet another dismal performance, chanting “we’ve had a shot, we’ve had a shot” when finally they had their first one on target through Armstrong 55 minutes in.Adama Traore came on an hour in and instantly made a difference, zipping down the right flank and firing an inch-perfect cross to Iwobi who forced Ramsdale into a blinding save. Ramsdale was back again with another jaw-dropping save to keep out a rasping close-range shot from Wilson. Traore almost won the game for Fulham late on but dragged his low shot agonisingly wide of the far post from the edge of the box.Fulham’s Antonee Robinson battles Nathan Wood for the ball during the dull 0-0 at Craven CottageCredit: Reuters More

CHELSEA extended their unbeaten run to nine Premier League games with a performance that will quickly be forgotten.Chances on goal were few and far between although Nicolas Jackson had two opportunities to put the Blues ahead in the first half.Chelsea were left frustrated at Goodison ParkCredit: AlamyNicolas Jackson missed the best two chances of the matchCredit: AlamyChelsea were rarely threatened too but any talk of a title challenge will quickly be put to bed if their attacking quartet have more games like this.Cole Palmer was stifled by Everton’s all consuming midfield but neither Jadon Sancho nor Pedro Neto made use of the extra space they were given.In the end Enzo Maresca appeared happy to settle for the draw as he delayed making changes – Joao Felix even failed to come off the bench.Here is how SunSport’s Kealan Hughes rated the Chelsea display.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLRobert Sanchez – 7Smart stop down to his right to deny Orel Mangala shortly before the break.Pulled off an even better save when Jack Harrison looked certain to score in the second half.Axel Disasi – 6Dealt with the tricky Iliman Ndiaye reasonably well. Lacked an attacking threat which hindered Blues going forward.Tosin Adarabioyo – 8Made a brilliant block 15 minutes from time to stop Ndiaye finding the net with Sanchez beaten.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSHe also looked assured on the ball and comfortable doing the nitty-gritty every time he plays. Deserves more game time.Ruben Colwill – 7An accomplished display as he limited Everton’s chances on goal, worked well with Adarabioyo.Enzo Maresca breaks silence on Mykhailo Mudryk’s failed drugs test and gives update on his Chelsea futureMalo Gusto – 5Was caught out a few times by Harrison, who should have scored when he got in behind the left-back.Almost opened the scoring in the first half but Pickford charged down his shot well.Moises Caicedo – 7Protected the defence well and cut out a lot of loose balls to prevent Everton getting near the Chelsea box.Enzo Fernandez – 8Perhaps Chelsea’s best player. Saw a lot of the ball and kept possession nicely.Had one shooting opportunity he aimed straight at the keeper.Cole Palmer – 5Squared well for Jackson’s chance. Failed to influence the match in his usual manner, which is a credit to the Everton defence.Pedro Neto – 5Plenty of effort and endeavour but not really his day. Every time he did threaten he was quickly fouled. Jadon Sancho – 5Some nice touches and passes but rarely posed a threat.READ MORE SUN STORIESNicolas Jackson – 4Missed a big chance first half as Pickford was equal to a close range effort.He then missed an even easier opportunity minutes later as he directed his header onto the post with the goal gaping.SubsChristopher Nkunku (for Jackson, 76mins) – 5Noni Madueke (for Neto, 76mins) – 5 More

BAH HUMBUG. For all his multi–lingual talents that is a phrase that would probably have been lost in translation for Ruben Amorim.Or at least until now.Ruben Amorim saw his side stuffed at home by BournemouthCredit: PAAntoine Semenyo celebrated in style after making it 3-0Credit: GettyFor Manchester United will be in the bottom half of the table in the festive season for the first time in the Premier League era.It’s going to be cold this Christmas, and not just for Marcus Rashford who now knows for sure that there is no room for him at the inn.Indeed not since 1989 and the former self of England’s top flight have they been lower than seventh on New Year’s Day.But after goals from Dean Hiujsen, Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo left them tattered in bits, they might suffer that same ignominy even if they do win their next two games against Wolves and Newcastle United.READ MORE ON MAN UTDAfter this humiliation, United fans shouldn’t be holding their breath on them getting anything from those clashes at all.Bah humbug indeed. Amorim’s team, in the main, were awful while Andoni Iraola’s upwardly-mobile side are now above champions Manchester City in fifth.Quicker feet, quicker passes and above all quicker brains. That’s what side displayed right from the start.Most read in FootballFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSThe Spaniard’s opponents? Not much of any of those characteristics.Time after time in the first half, United’s players were caught in possession – Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, Manuel Ugarte, Lisandro Martinez, just a few of those taken prisoner.OLD TRAFFORD STADIUM VT YOUTUBE masterAmorim continues to repeat that his re-education of the great pretenders he picked up from Erik ten Hag would take time.Seven days earlier there had been that late Amad–inspired Manchester derby victory that might have been expected to enhance confidence and morale.Even the ultimately-vain Carabao Cup fightback from three behind to Tottenham in midweek was spun as some proof that a new fire is burning within the Red Devils.But even allowing for the fact that Bournemouth are slick, high-energy and organised, Amorim will have been stunned at the utter lack of cohesion – and even feistiness – within his side.Maybe players are over-thinking, or maybe they just don’t have the capacity and football intelligence to change.Either way, it was therefore no surprise whatsoever that the visitors went ahead in the 30th minute.And no shock, at all, that Dean Huijsen profited from a set-piece, Ryan Christie firing over a free-kick from United’s right.The centre-back rose almost unchallenged at the front of a pack of players to head backwards over Andre Onana’s flailing attempt to save.That’s the fourth time in Amorim’s nine games they have conceded from a set-piece – twice against Arsenal and on Nottingham Forest’s recent visit.What’s more, the Dutchman’s effort meant a sixth time since the Portuguese arrived to start his assessment of the Old Trafford shambles that his side had gone behind.They weren’t helped early in this clash by Onana, who looked jumpy and uncertain, twice almost dropped team-mates in the brown stuff with poor attempts to play out from the back.Meanwhile, Joshua Zirkzee had been given the nod ahead of the improving Rasmus Hoijlund, who had collected five goals since Amorim’s arrival.What the new manager sees in him few outside Old Trafford can work out for he doesn’t have the body strength to play against big, tough defenders like Huijsen and Illia Zabarnyi.Nor the knowhow to find space away from his markers – and so until Hoijlund replaced him in the 55th minute, balls powered up to him just kept bouncing back.Skipper Fernandes should have equalised four minutes from the break but for all the fact that his performances have been perking up he, too, found himself caught up in the death wish that gripped the team he leads.Amad cut a perfect pass back to him but the playmaker dragged horribly wide.He looked disgusted with himself and well he might although sixty seconds later he did bring out a decent parry from Kepa.Yet if the faithful were hoping for a repeat of the Etihad comeback they were sadly mistaken.Amorim replaced Tyrell Malacia with £59million Lenny Yoro at the start of the second half and, along with Hoijlund, sent on Alejandro Garnacho for Ugarte.But things only got worse for United – and turned into the same sort of embarrassment Bournemouth inflicted with their 3-0 win this time last year.The Cherries smelled blood, went for the throat and savaged Amorim’s stumbling, clueless crew.Noussair Mazraoui had no chance of surviving VAR’s review of referee Craig Pawson’s decision to point to the spot following his brain-dead challenge on the scampering Kluivert.And the Dutchman then gave Onana no chance with his 61st-minute penalty.READ MORE SUN STORIESMainoo, far, far from his breakthrough best of last season, was again ambushed in possession, Semenyo leaving him in his wake before triggering a quick, devastating move.The Ghanian attacker then sprinted forward, unmarked, to get on the end of Dango Ouattara’s low cross and never looked like at the end of two nightmare minutes for a team that looked as lost again as in the dark, final days of Ten Hag’s tenure.Dean Huijsen rose highest and was unchallenged to head the Cherries in frontCredit: RexThe Dutch-Spanish defender lapped up the adulation of his team-matesCredit: GettyJustin Kluivert sent Andre Onana the wrong way with his penaltyCredit: PASemenyo turned in as Bournemouth ran riotCredit: ReutersThe frustration was clear to see for the United playersCredit: ReutersSupporters showed their love for exiled Marcus RashfordCredit: AlamyUnited could have no complaints over the resultCredit: ReutersThe Red Devils are 13th in the Premier League tableCredit: Premier League More