The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Man United

  • Man United waltz past Sunderland, Mikhitaryan nets cracker

    Man United waltz past Sunderland, Mikhitaryan nets cracker

    Manchester United  surged past Sunderland 3-1 in a Boxing Day English Premier League (EPL) clash, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan netting a superb goal.

    Blind combined with Ibrahimovic in the first half to net the opener, charging into the box and finishing low into the bottom corner, Goal reports.

    Ibrahimovic sealed all three points after being teed up by Paul Pogba to score a deserved goal as the clock ticked down.

    Jordan Pickford had been instrumental in keeping the scoreline respectable for David Moyes’ side but was powerless to prevent Mkhitaryan’s sublime back-heel flick in the 86th minute.

  • Champions League: Arsenal to play Bayern Munich

    Champions League: Arsenal to play Bayern Munich

    … Man United meet PSV Eindhoven

    Arsenal will face Bayern Munich in the Champions League for the third time in four seasons after being drawn against the German club in the draws conducted on Thursday.

    Manchester United will play PSV Eindhoven on its return to the competition, with striker Memphis Depay to face to his old club.

    Chelsea will play Porto, with whom Jose Mourinho won the competition in 2004, the BBC reports.

    Manchester City will confront Serie A’s Juventus, Europa League winners Sevilla and Borussia Monchengladbach.

    Arsene Wenger’s Gunners side is also in the same group as Olympiakos of Greece for the fourth time in seven seasons, with Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia completing the four.

    In addition to PSV, United was drawn with Russian club CSKA Moscow and last year’s German Bundesliga runners-up Wolfsburg.

    Chelsea will also face Ukrainian champions Dinamo Kiev and Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel.

    Defending champions Barcelona of Spain will play Bayer Leverkusen, Roma and BATE Borisov while Astana – the first club from Kazakhstan to play in the Champions League proper – ended up in a group comprising Benfica, Atletico Madrid and Galatasaray.

    Valencia, who beat Monaco in a play-off to secure its place as Spain’s fifth representative in this year’s group stage – a record in the competition – will face Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg, French club Lyon and Gent of Belgium.

    Paris St Germain’s striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will face his old club Malmo for the first time, with Real Madrid and Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk completing the group.

     

    The groups:

    Group A:  Paris St-Germain, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Malmo

    Group B:  PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, CSKA Moscow, Wolfsburg

    Group C:  Benfica, Atletico Madrid, Galatasaray, Astana,

    Group D:  Juventus, Manchester City, Sevilla, Borussia Monchengladbach

    Group E:  Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Roma, BATE Borisov

    Group F:  Bayern Munich, Arsenal,  Olympiakos, Dinamo Zagreb

    Group G:   Chelsea, Porto, Dynamo Kiev, Maccabi Tel-Aviv

    Group H:  Zenit Saint Petersburg, Valencia, Lyon, Gent

  • Bayern, Man U confirm Schweinsteiger’s transfer

    Bayern, Man U confirm Schweinsteiger’s transfer

    Bayern Munich chief, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, has confirmed that Bastian Schweinsteiger is set to join Manchester United, Goal reports.

    The Premier League giants unveiled Netherlands winger Memphis Depay on Friday and will follow up the capture of the former PSV winger with the signing of the German World Cup winner.

    Schweinsteiger has just one year remaining on his current Bayern contract and has commanded a transfer fee in the region of £12 million.

    “My colleagues at Manchester United have been in touch,” Goal quoted Rummenigge as saying to reporters at a press conference on Saturday.

    “We’ve reached an agreement over a transfer. Bastian wants to do something new at the end of his career. He asked that we meet his wishes.

    “I regret that he wants to leave because Bastian is one of the best-performing players that we have. He has done great things with the club, I can only wish the best for him. The national team can only benefit from this, I’m convinced he’ll play well at Old Trafford.”

    Manchester United subsequently released a short statement on its official website confirming the transfer pending a medical and contractual terms.

    “Manchester United is delighted to announce it has reached agreement with Bayern Munich to sign midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, subject to a medical and personal terms,” the club stated. “A further announcement will be made when the process is complete.”

    United has offered the 30-year-old a three-year deal and wages of £180,000-a-week, a salary in line with his current earnings at Bayern, as well as a £4million signing-on fee.

     

  • Man United open talks to sign £50m Vidal

    Juventus are desperate to keep hold of the 27-year-old Chile midfielder – but United are refusing to take no for an answer.

    New boss Louis Van Gaal has made Vidal his No.1 priority this summer and the club have been locked in discussions with his agent Fernando Felicevich.

    United chiefs spent time talking to Felicevich over the phone last night to sound out whether Vidal would want to move to Old Trafford.

    It is believed Vidal WOULD want to make the move to Manchester.

    Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport claim the negotiations are now “well underway” and they are expected to continue today.

    Bayern Munich have also shown an interest in the midfield star following the impending departure of Toni Kroos to Real Madrid.

    Vidal is valued at £40m but Juventus want a sum of around £50m for their prized asset.

  • Man United unlikely to be charged

    Man United unlikely to be charged

    The Premier League are unlikely to take action following brief anti-Liverpool chanting during Manchester United’s Barclays Premier League win over Wigan.

    United’s biggest win of the season was marred by a short burst of anti-Liverpool chanting from a small minority of home fans following this week’s damning report on the handling of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, in which 96 people died.

    The report laid bare a shocking cover-up which attempted to shift the blame for the tragedy on to its victims, revealing that South Yorkshire Police had instructed officers to change or amend their statements relating to the tragic events.

    One clearly audible chant at yesterday’s game at Old Trafford was “Always the victims, never your fault”, believed to be in reference to the report findings.

    However, the song has been sung since Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra last season, which saw the Uruguay international given an eight-game ban and a £40,000 fine.

    It is understood the Premier League deem the chants to be unacceptable but believe it is a matter for the clubs themselves to deal with.

    There is a history of sour relations between the two sides. A minority of United fans have directed chants to Liverpool fans regarding Hillsborough and a Liverpool minority have chanted in reference to the Munich air disaster of 1958 in which 23 people died.

    A United spokesperson said the club “deplore” such songs and, in a statement, the club said: “The manager has made the club’s position very clear on this matter. It is now up to the fans to respect that.”

    The Football Association declined to comment on the matter on Sunday.

    The tension between the two rival clubs is sure to be heightened when United travel to Anfield next Sunday.

    Manchester United’s Supporters’ Trust echoed Ferguson’s statements.

    MUST chief executive Duncan Drasdo said: “We enjoy a fierce rivalry but these issues transcend that rivalry.

    “We agree 100% with the statement made by Sir Alex Ferguson – this is the time for supporters of these two great clubs to represent their clubs with the integrity and honour that our glorious history demands

     

    “Following this week’s developments and release of revelatory information on the Hillsborough tragedy, MUST wishes to make it absolutely clear that just as we condemn chants mocking the Munich air disaster we also condemn any chants relating to Hillsborough or indeed any other human tragedy.

    “We did hear the usual anti-Liverpool chants at the match today but we’re pleased to say, despite some reports to the contrary, there was nothing that was specifically referencing Hillsborough.”