Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo will not play against Liverpool in the Premier League later on Tuesday following the death of his newborn son a day earlier, the club said.
Ronaldo and his partner Georgina Rodriguez, who announced in October last year they were expecting twins, said on Monday that one of the two babies had died.
Talking points from the weekend's Premier League action:
RONALDO DOES IT AGAIN
Once again Manchester United put in a below-par performance. Once again they needed David de Gea saves to bail them out, and once again Cristiano Ronaldo came to the rescue with a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Norwich City on Saturday.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola defended back-up goalkeeper Zack Steffen, saying he should keep his place despite an error that led to Saturday's 3-2 defeat by Liverpool in the FA Cup semifinal.
Liverpool had a comfortable 90 minutes at Wembley Stadium on Saturday in the FA Cup semifinal vs. Manchester City. The final four minutes of stoppage time weren’t so comfortable as a late City push made for an exciting 3-2 finale victory for Liverpool.
American goalkeeper Zack Steffen can be given a lot of credit for making Liverpool’s afternoon so easy. Steffen had a disastrous first half that saw him concede three goals including an all-time blunder.
MANCHESTER — Cristiano Ronaldo's 50th club career hat-trick and second Premier League treble of the season earned below-par Manchester United a 3-2 victory over Norwich City on Saturday.
With Tottenham Hotspur losing 1-0 at home to Brighton & Hove Albion earlier on Saturday, the door was open for United to close in on the Champions League qualification places with victory over bottom side Norwich and they just about took advantage.
American goalkeeper Zack Steffen had an all-time fail in the FA Cup semifinal vs. Liverpool to give the Reds a 2-0 lead early in the game. This is the second year in-a-row that Steffen has gotten the start in a FA Cup semifinal and made a horrible blunder. Here’s Saturday’s Steffen fail vs. Liverpool.
MANE CATCHES ZACK STEFFEN SLEEPING pic.twitter.com/X7GYqHqB04
Fran Kirby, two-time Women’s Player of the Year in England, is taking an indefinite leave from the game. The Chelsea and England star forward/midfielder missed full year with a heart condition in 2019-20 and will again step away from the sport to focus on her health.
Kirby, 28, made the announcement on social media on Friday evening after Chelsea coach Emma Hayes had ruled her out of the Sunday’s FA Cup semifinal against rival Arsenal.
Burnley sacked manager Sean Dyche, the Premier League club said on Friday, ahead of a tight end-of-season run-in as it looks to avoid relegation.
Burnley has struggled this season and sits in 18th place in the standings, four points from the safety zone. But the decision was unexpected, given Dyche's track record of maintaining the Lancashire club's status in the top division on a relatively modest budget.
He was the longest-serving English top flight manager having been in charge for nine-and-a-half years.
During Sunday’s enthralling clash between Liverpool and Manchester City, I was struck by how fun it was to watch the two best teams in England actually struggle. The two titans breeze through most matches with such dominance, it’s remarkable — and incredibly entertaining — to see them play equals where they must fight for every inch.
Northern Ireland women's coach Kenny Shiels has apologised after drawing intense criticism for suggesting that women are "more emotional" than men, therefore making them more likely to concede two goals in quick succession.
The comments came after England's Lauren Hemp and Georgia Stanway netted twice each while Ella Toone also scored as Northern Ireland were beaten 5-0 in a 2023 Women's World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.