Martial leads Man United to easy win

Villa salvage draw at Newcastle to boost EPL hopes

MANCHESTER, England, June 25, (AP): Converting from a winger to a central striker is bringing the best out of Anthony Martial at Manchester United this season.

The French forward scored his first hat trick for United in the 3-0 win over Sheffield United in the Premier League, taking his tally in all competitions to 19 goals - his highest in one season since joining from Monaco in 2015.

There could be as many as 14 matches remaining this season for Martial to top up that number. And with Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba finally together in central midfield to increase United’s creativity, goals shouldn’t be in short supply.

It was the first hat trick by a United player since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 and the type of finishes Martial delivered showed he is growing in his new role.

Martial’s first two goals came at either end of the first half, the opener coming when he slid in to divert in a fiercely driven cross by Marcus Rashford from the right in the seventh minute.

It was a real striker’s goal, as was his second in the 44th when he swept home another cross from the right, this time by Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Rashford was again the provider for Martial’s third goal, slipping a short pass behind the visiting defense for his fellow forward to run through and apply a deft finish over goalkeeper Simon Moore.

The hosts did, though, print large photos of 40,000 of their supporters and place them on seats in the stadium as part of a fan mosaic.

The win kept United in fifth place, which will be enough to secure qualification for next season’s Champions League if second-place Manchester City fail in their appeal against a twoyear European ban.

It was a second straight loss for the visitors, who dropped five points behind Man United.

Most intrigue surrounded the decision of Man United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to play Fernandes and Pogba - with Nemanja Matic anchoring the midfield - and they showed flashes to suggest their partnership can prosper.

Given the limited nature of the opposition, Fernandes had an easy time running the game while Pogba grew into the game in his first start since Sept. 30 in an injury-interrupted campaign.

Solskjaer chose to make all five of his allowed substitutions at the same time - in the 80th minute - with temporary rules increasing the number of replacements from three.

Meanwhile Liverpool are on the verge of ending their 30-year league title drought after cruising to a 4-0 victory over Crystal Palace with an attacking display that exemplified a dominant campaign.

Trent Alexander-Arnold curled in a free kick to start the rout against Palace and Mohamed Salah swept in the second before half time.

Fabinho powered in the third from distance in the 55th minute and Sadio Mane completed a counterattack in the 69th to make it 16 wins in 16 home games in the league this season.

Football returned to Anfield for the first time since March 11, when Liverpool lost in the Champions League to Atletico Madrid on the day the WHO declared the coronavirus a pandemic and some medical experts believed mass gatherings should already have been shut down in England.

One hundred and five days later, the Kop was silent for the visit of Palace. The seats were covered with a tapestry of banners and slogans rather than being packed with the fans who form the choir for club anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

One Liverpool great among the 300 people allowed into the stadium was Kenny Dalglish -- the manager who who won the league title in 1990, three years before the Premier League trophy was handed out for the first time.

Two Champions League titles have been won since then -- including last year -- but not the biggest prize in English football. What was once a record haul of 18 titles has been eclipsed by now 20-time English champion Manchester United.

Mexico striker Raul Jimenez took advantage of another pinpoint cross

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah scores his side’s second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Crystal Palace

at Anfield Stadium in Liverpool, England, June 24. (AP)

from Adama Traore to earn Wolverhampton a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth and keep pace with Manchester United in the race for Champions League qualification.

Four days after the pair combined for a the opening goal in Wolves’ 2-0 win at West Ham, Traore sent in another dangerous delivery from the right wing that Jimenez met with a powerful header into the roof of the net in the 60th minute.

It was Jimenez’s 15th goal this campaign, extending his record haul for a Wolves player in a Premier League season.

Traore and Jimenez have now combined for 10 goals this season, more than any other pair in this Premier League season.

Bournemouth remained in the relegation zone, in third-to-last place. They have the same number of points as West Ham in 17th and Aston Villa in 19th.

Ahmed Elmohamady came off the bench to score an equalizer and give Aston Villa a 1-1 draw at Newcastle that boosts the visitors’ hopes of avoiding relegation from the Premier League.

Newcastle looked to be heading for a second win in four days when Dwight Gayle, who had replaced Matt Ritchie just seconds earlier, put the hosts into a 68th-minute lead with his first goal for the club in more than two years.

But Elmohamady squeezed an 83rdminute header past Martin Dubravka to salvage a point against a Newcastle side that struggled to replicate the form they showed in beating Sheffield United impressively this past weekend.

However, manager Steve Bruce’s double substitution gave Newcastle an immediate spark as he sent on Andy Carroll and Gayle.

Carroll was allowed to control a throw-in and squeeze it into the box, where Gayle held off a defender before firing into the net.

But Elmohamady leveled from fellow substitute Conor Hourihane’s corner to spark a late flurry that nearly saw the visitors come away with all three points.

Villa remained in 19th place but is level on points with West Ham in 17th.

Last-place Norwich’s slim hopes of staying in the Premier League were dealt another blow as Everton won 1-0 at an empty Carrow Road thanks to Michael Keane’s header .

The center back found himself unmarked at a corner and turned the ball past goalkeeper Tim Krul from close range in the 55th.

Norwich are six points from safety after the other two teams in the relegation zone, Aston Villa and Bournemouth, failed to win on Wednesday but now have just seven games left of the season.

The Canaries have scored just once in their last seven matches and have been defeated in both of their games since the restart, also losing to Southampton 3-0 at home.

Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti said before the game he believed European football was a realistic target for his team. However, in 10th place, Everton remained eight points behind sixth-place Wolverhampton.