England

LONDON — Manchester United came from a goal down to beat West Ham United 3-1 at London Stadium on Saturday as fans returned to the Premier League for the first time since March.

After Tomas Soucek put West Ham ahead, three goals inside 13 minutes in the second half, from Paul Pogba, Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford turned the game around for United.

United, who moved up to fourth in the table, have now won all five away games in the league this season, coming from behind in each one.

This week marks the first time fans have been allowed back in English football stadiums since Covid-19 struck Europe back in March. Arsenal was the first Premier League club to welcome fans back, with 2,000 supporters neatly spaced out for a Europa League match on Thursday in what proved to be a celebratory atmosphere. 

By Saturday, some English fans were proving unworthy of the privilege of watching the beautiful game in person.

When Kevin Davies took the field for Bolton Wanderers, the action on the pitch often resembled a barroom brawl rather than a soccer match.

Under manager Sam Allardyce, Davies consistently led the league in both fouls committed and fouls received, setting multiple records along the way.

Jurgen Klopp has spent most of the last two months complaining about the timing of fixtures as Liverpool fights to defend its Premier League title while simultaneously competing for another Champions League crown. With that in mind (and a slew of injuries), the Reds boss started a number of youngsters against Ajax on Tuesday, including two teenagers and a goalkeeper who had just four prior senior appearances, none in the Champions League.

Caoimhin Kelleher has waited patiently for his chance to play first team football. A product of Cork, Ireland, Kelleher joined Liverpool's youth setup from his local club Ringhamon Rangers back in 2015. He slowly made his way through the U-18s to the U-23s while also playing at the international level for the Republic of Ireland underage sides.