Chelsea hold off Palace to ignite hopes
Gallagher the hero with a brace Eriksson granted wish to take charge of Liverpool
LONDON, Feb 13, (AP): Conor Gallagher apologized to fans of former club Crystal Palace after scoring twice, including a crucial stoppage-time goal, to help Chelsea recover for a come-from-behind 3-1 win in the Premier League that ignited the team’s hopes of a finish in the European positions.
The England midfielder spent a year on loan at Palace two seasons ago, when he scored eight goals and excelled in making late runs into the area.
Now he’s doing that for Chelsea, steering home an equalizer at Selhurst Park barely 90 seconds into the second half and then putting his team ahead just after 90 minutes had been played with a strike from the edge of the box.
“I do love them,” Gallagher said when asked how he felt to have inflicted pain on the Palace supporters. “It’s sad but you can’t beat that feeling. Sorry, Palace fans.”
Argentina international Enzo Fernandez secured the points in the fourth minute of added time to leave Palace just five points above the relegation zone and its 76-year-old manager, Roy Hodgson, under more pressure.
Chelsea climbed to 10th place in what remains another disappointing campaign for a club that has spent more than $1 billion on players over the past two years. Yet it could still end in qualification for the minor European competitions, with seventhplace Newcastle only two points away.
“We are trying our best to keep improving,” Gallagher said. “Consistency is the biggest thing for us there have been games when we’ve been brilliant and games when we’ve been terrible.”
The 24-year-old Gallagher isn’t one of Chelsea’s many costly recent
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arrivals - he is a product of the club’s youth academy - but is proving to be one of the best-performing players under Mauricio Pochettino, whose own position has come under scrutiny this season.
A thumping long-range strike by Jefferson Lerma gave Palace the lead in the 30th minute of a first half when Chelsea was lackluster, failing to register a single shot on target.
”It was extremely cruel,” Hodgson said, “but the game is about goals and unfortunately we made mistakes which led to goals.”
“I don’t think that is a fair reflection on the way the game was played. I think we deserved to come off with at least one point.”
It was a 13th straight win for Chelsea over Palace.
MANCHESTER, England, Feb 13, (AP): The Premier League has approved Jim Ratcliffe’s proposed bid to buy a minority stake in Manchester United, the club said.
In a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, United said it had already been granted approval under its rules over who is allowed to be an owner or director of a soccer club. It also said it expected clearance from the Football Association as British billionaire Ratcliffe closes in on completion of his deal to buy 25% of the club.
League rules disqualify people from becoming owners or directors for reasons such as criminal convictions, sporting bans or involvement in other clubs.
Ratcliffe is one of Britain’s richest people and the owner of petrochemicals giant INEOS. He agreed a deal to buy a stake in United in December and on Monday the deadline for completion was extended from Feb. 14 to Feb. 17.
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As part of the deal, Racliffe’s INEOS Sport division will take over control of United’s soccer operation after more than a decade since it won the Premier League title and consistent decline in its on-field performance.
The 71-year-old Ratcliffe was a boyhood United fan and last month described his proposed investment as the most exciting deal he has in his career.
“I have done a few exciting things, but there is no question (about that),” he said.
Ratcliffe has paid $1.3 billion for “up to 25%” of the club and will invest a further $300 million for “future investment into Old Trafford,” United has said.
Ratcliffe will provide $200 million upon completion of the deal and a further $100 million by the end of 2024. That additional investment will eventually take Ratcliffe’s stake up to 29%. Owners, the Glazer family, will have a 49% stake under the deal.
Under the filing, more details were provided about Ratcliffe’s personal wealth which said his “liquid assets (primarily consisting of cash and readily marketable securities) were in excess of $4 billion.”
It said his net worth was “significantly in excess of those liquid assets”.
Shareholders must respond before 23:59 ET to tender their shares, United said.
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Sven-Goran Eriksson will finally get his chance to take charge of Liverpool.
The Swedish coach, who is a Liverpool fan and has said his wish has always been to manage the English club, revealed last month that he has cancer and might have less than a year to live.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp responded by offering Eriksson, who coached England from 2001-06, the opportunity to come over and help coach his team in a training session, use his office and “have a few great hours together.”
Now Liverpool has announced that Eriksson will be part of the management team for a “Legends” charity match against Ajax at Anfield on March 23. Eriksson will be in the dugout alongside Liverpool greats such as Ian Rush and t, the club said on Tuesday.
“All connected with the club and LFC Foundation look forward to warmly welcoming LFC fan Sven and his family to Anfield - and seeing him in the dugout on the day for a fantastic fundraising occasion,” Liverpool said.
Eriksson, who turned 76 last week, said he has pancreatic cancer and that it is inoperable.
He was England’s first ever foreign-born coach, after making his name winning league titles at club level with Lazio in Italy, Benfica in Portugal and IFK Gothenburg in his native Sweden.