‘Keeper almost took our forward’s head off’: Gary O’Neil derides decision to not award Wolves penalty
New Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Gary O’Neil was full of praise for his players’ performance even in defeat at Old Trafford, with Manchester United winning 1-0 desite the visitors having plenty more chances during the match. A vibrant performance saw Wolves go close a number of times before Raphael Varane netted the winner, but a late collision between debutant goalkeeper Andre Onana and the away team’s substitute striker Sasa Kalajdzic could have proven a gamechanger - but after a VAR review, no penalty was awarded. The former Cameroon international leapt for a cross but missed the ball and forcefully hit Kalajdzic in mid-air, leaving the striker on the deck, but referee Simon Hooper decided it wasn’t a foul and his team of officials opted against recommending a pitch-side second look. O’Neil was pleased with what he saw in terms of performance after just a few days’ training together, but noted his side needed to find a cutting edge. “I’m disappointed of course that we drive home with nothing. What they gave and how much they committed to the gameplan, they were incredible,” he told Sky Sports at full time. “It was a really good performance but we wanted points and we don’t get any. “We tried to overload the middle and create a little box to make a four versus three. It’s similar to what I’ve always done, it’s not me that created the performance it’s the group of players that put it in. Unfortunately we found a way to not score.” On the late penalty incident, however, he was adamant it should have gone his team’s way - which also seemed to be the prevailing opinion of most onlookers. “I thought live it was a penalty. It looked like the keeper almost took our centre-forward’s head off. Really surprised, I think it’s a foul. If you go for the ball and clatter a player that hard it has to be a foul, but I’m not overly surprised we didn’t get it,” O’Neil continued. “I thought as he jogged over he was going to the screen but in the end he’s booked me and not the goalkeeper for smashing [Kalajdzic]. “I understand it, I don’t accept it fully. For the onfield referee it’s a difficult decision, we can’t just leave it. A lot of people have said it’s a stonewall penalty but we shouldn’t talk too much about that - we’ve come to Old Trafford and had 23 shots after a tough spell. The group deserve huge credit but we don’t want credit without taking points.” Opposing manager Erik ten Hag said: “The ball was gone I don’t think Andre had any influence on the touch. VAR was on our side so we’re happy with the points.” Sky Sports’ panellists on the night were split, with Jamie Carragher suggesting he didn’t expect the ref’s decision to be overturned, while Karen Carney and Gary Neville both felt it should have been a spot-kick to Wolves. Read More Onana takes centre-stage in more than one way as Man United fall flat Curiously expensive mediocrity cost Wolves a manager and now threatens their future Julen Lopetegui quits Wolves on eve of new Premier League season
2023-08-15 05:58
‘VAR is pathetic’: Jeff Stelling and the best reactions to Andre Onana penalty incident against Wolves
Manchester United earned a victory at Old Trafford as they hosted Wolves for their opening Premier League match of the season. Raphael Varane headed the hosts ahead in the second half to earn Erik ten Hag’s men all three points but things could have been very different if a VAR decision had gone against the hosts. Wolves, who were the more dominant side on the night, had a penalty shout late in stoppage time. Pedro Neto swung a cross in from the right wing and targeted the back post. Manchester United’s goalkeeper, Andre Onana, came off his line to claim the ball but arrived late. He missed it and cleaned out Wolves substitute Sasa Kalajdzic in the process with the pair clashing heads as Kalajdzic crumpled to the deck. Referee Simon Hooper initially played on as VAR looked at the incident. As the replays were shown it looked increasingly likely that the United goalkeeper may have given away a penalty but the decision went his way much to the befuddlement of many on social media. BBC pundit and former England star Gary Lineker tweeted: “United got away with one there. If the referee had given it they certainly wouldn’t have overruled the decision.” Jeff Stelling, the recently departed presenter of Sky’s Gillette Soccer Saturday, was less composed and labelled the VAR decision “pathetic” saying: “Remind me if I have said this before but VAR. pathetic. How can that not be a Wolves pen? Just a joke as it has been since its inception.” Other takes agreed that Onana had committed a foul with Sky’s Michelle Owen tweeting: “Contact with consequence… how is that not a penalty?! #MNF” ITV’s Mark Pougatch claiming that VAR didn’t do its job to overturn the “howler”. He said: “So VAR gets involved to give a penalty against Son at Brentford yesterday but decides to let that one go… to start the season. “VAR was introduced to eradicate the howler. Personally didn’t think the Brentford penalty was in that category. But THAT was a howler. I know nothing. #MUNWOL” Over on Sky Sports, former Manchester United captain Gary Neville agreed that the penalty should have been awarded saying: “The reason I think it was a penalty was because Onana was nowhere near the ball. I think he was never getting there, he was always under it so he could’ve made a decision before he jumped.” Had the decision been overturned Wolves would have been awarded a late penalty and the chance to equalise which was what their performance deserved. Unfortunately this one went against them and Manchester United claimed the points. Read More O’Neil derides decision to not award Wolves penalty at Man Utd Raphael Varane header earns Manchester United opening victory over Wolves Onana takes centre-stage in more than one way as Man United fall flat Man United vs Wolves LIVE: Premier League result and reaction How Sandro Tonali and his Italian predecessors fared on Premier League debuts Football rumours: Manchester United weighing up approach for Amadou Onana
2023-08-15 05:55
Man Utd's Onana called a 'loose cannon' after getting away with 'stonewall penalty'
New Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana has found himself at the centre of controversy in his very first game for the club after getting away with what many fans felt was a stonewall penalty. The Cameroonian shot-stopped, who as a summer signing from Inter Milan, had impressive debut at Old Trafford where he managed to keep a clean sheet against an otherwise impressive Wolverhampton Wanderers, who are tipped to be relegated this season. Despite this Wolves were largely the better side but failed to take their chances whereas a lacklustre United did manage to score on 76 minutes thanks to a close-range header from French defender Raphael Varane. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The game finished 1-0 but not without a late incident. As the away team piled on the pressure Onana came to claim a cross but managed to miss the ball completely and instead clattered Sasa Kalajdzic which incensed the Wolves manager Gary O'Neil who believed it should have been a penalty. Indeed this consensus was shared amongst many fans who compared Onana's antics to WWE wrestler or a Street Fighter character. Regardless of this criticism, Onana will be looking to continue his good start at United when the Red Devils travel to London on Saturday to face Tottenham Hotspur. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-08-15 05:47
Northwestern sued again over troubled athletics program. This time it's the baseball program
Three former Northwestern baseball staffers filed a lawsuit against the university alleging their contracts were discontinued as retaliation for reporting misconduct in the program
2023-08-15 05:46
Raphael Varane header earns Manchester United opening victory over Wolves
Manchester United survived a late VAR scare as Raphael Varane’s second-half goal saw them edge past an impressive Wolves to get their Premier League campaign off to a winning start at Old Trafford. Varane headed home from close range with 14 minutes remaining to ensure an unconvincing display from Erik Ten Hag’s team ended in a 1-0 victory that was barely deserved. Indeed, it looked like Wolves might get the chance to equalise from the penalty spot at the death when goalkeeper Andre Onana appeared to clatter into Sasa Kalajdzic, but referee Simon Hooper waved away protests and VAR backed his decision. It felt harsh as few will have seen a performance like this coming from Wolves, whose plans for the season were thrown into disarray last week when boss Julen Lopetegui left just five days before kick-off, with Gary O’Neil coming in. O’Neil, who was sacked at Bournemouth after keeping them up last season, will have been thrilled at what he saw as his new side put in a slick counter-attacking display that had United on the run for the majority of the game. But it was old failings that came back to haunt them as they could not take any of their chances, with the electric Matheus Cunha hitting the post in the second half. United will know a display like this will not be good enough, but they at least got the job done to ensure they join Manchester City and Arsenal in taking maximum points in the opening weekend of the campaign. There was a small scale demonstration outside the ground before kick-off as United fans again chanted against the Glazers and the lengthy sale process of the club, which has been going on since November. However, planned protests against the possibility of Mason Greenwood being integrated back into the squad did not extend beyond the odd banner, with the forward’s fate still unknown as the club are still in a consultation phase following the conclusion of their internal investigation. The off-the-pitch issues have not clouded what was a promising pre-season for Ten Hag’s men, though they could not translate that into a cohesive performance in the opening 45 minutes. In fact, to much surprise given their build-up to the season, Wolves were the better team as they had United running scared with pace on the break, creating two excellent openings to take the lead. In the 26th minute a lightning counter attack saw Cunha surge forward and pass to Pablo Sarabia, but it was slightly behind him and the Spaniard saw his drilled effort go just wide with the aid of a deflection. Another slick move saw roles reversed six minutes later as Sarabia’s excellent pass played in Cunha, but he dragged his shot wide after bursting into the box. That acted as something of a wake-up call to United, who came to life in the final 10 minutes of the first half. There were loud shots for a penalty when Marcus Rashford headed against the arm of Nelson Semedo, but the Wolves defender managed to tuck his limb in just in the nick of time. But Wolves rediscovered their counter-attacking verve after the break and should have led in the 50th minute. Another lung-busting break from Cunha, who ran virtually the length of the pitch, saw him lay the ball off to Sarabia and it came back to him at the far post, but, slightly off balance, his shot clipped the outside of the post. The hosts were petrified of Cunha and their defence parted in alarming fashion five minutes later but saw a low shot saved by Andre Onana. Cunha was at it again in the 71st minute with another run that had United floundering and the loose ball fell to Pedro Neto, but he shot straight at Onana. There was an inevitability about what was to come as Wolves paid for their lack of cutting edge when United stole the lead in the 76th minute. Bruno Fernandes unlocked the defence to play in Aaron Wan-Bissaka and his cross from the right was headed home by Varane from close range. Wolves knocked on the door for an equaliser and Fabio Silva had a hat-trick of chances but was denied by Onana’s legs twice while Luke Shaw produced a goal-saving block to earn his side victory. The visitors thought they should have had a penalty in the sixth minute of time when Onana went walkabouts, but Hooper and VAR denied them. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live How does Moises Caicedo’s Chelsea transfer compare to previous big-money deals? Majid Haq ‘disgusted and horrified’ following racial abuse while umpiring Mings vows to bounce back as Kane settles in – Monday’s sporting social
2023-08-15 05:27
Chelsea negotiating for Romeo Lavia transfer to take Todd Boehly’s spending past £900m
Chelsea are negotiating a fee of £50m with add-ons for Romeo Lavia, after the midfielder signalled his intention to leave Southampton for Stamford Bridge rather than Liverpool. The Anfield club had earlier on Monday had a £60m bid accepted for the 19-year-old and, while he was interested in going north, moving to London has proved a more favourable option. There was some frustration given that it was felt Liverpool could have had a deal done last week, but Southampton absolutely refused to drop their asking price from £50m, in what has proved a seller's market. The signing will take Chelsea's expenditure to over £900m gross since the takeover in May 2022, and raised questions over how they will meet Financial Fair Play requirements. While the spending has inevitably been the subject of a lot of discussion at the top levels of clubs, just as it has been in the wider game, there has been no contact with the Premier League about it. Chelsea are likely to still have a number of outgoings in the two weeks left of the window - although that does raise the issue of clubs knowing they need to sell. The Premier League are expected to change their rules to bring them in line with Uefa's, closing a loophole that allows transfer fees to be spread over a longer-period and setting a limit at five years, but that will not affect the last year's spending. The regulations are also dependent on the year-end date for signings and which year the transactions go into. Chelsea completed the signing of Moises Caicedo for an initial £100m from Brighton earlier on Monday. Read More Chelsea end Caicedo saga by signing Brighton midfielder for initial £100m Chelsea’s £1bn spending spree still isn’t enough Chelsea and Liverpool trial football without defensive midfielders
2023-08-15 05:22
Ivy League football coaches praise conference's stability (and wish they weren't so alone)
There’s one college football conference sitting out the reshuffling going on among its big-money brethren: The Ivy League will start the season with the same eight members it has had since it formed in 1956
2023-08-15 05:20
Man United needs late goal by Raphael Varane to beat dominant Wolves 1-0 in Premier League opener
Manchester United needed a 76th-minute goal from defender Raphael Varane to eke out a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton after being outplayed for long periods of their Premier League opener
2023-08-15 05:16
Illinois, fresh off bowl trip and 8-win season, has 'unfinished business' as opener draws near
Illinois comes in with a bit of a chip on its shoulder despite ending a string of 10 straight losing seasons
2023-08-15 05:16
Djokovic and Alcaraz set to meet again in group stage of Davis Cup Finals
The budding rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic is set to be renewed in the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals next month
2023-08-15 03:57
Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber to see specialist as concerns grow over knee injury
Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber will see a specialist to determine the extent of his knee injury, with reports suggesting he is set for an extended spell on the sidelines. The Dutchman, signed from Ajax in a £38.5million summer transfer, limped off early in the second half of Saturday’s win over Nottingham Forest in the Gunners’ opening Premier League match. According to reports, Timber has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, which if confirmed would see the Netherlands defender facing a lengthy spell of rehabilitation and possibly being out until early 2024. Arsenal confirmed on Monday evening that further assessments will be needed to determined a timeframe for Timber’s return to action. “Further to his substitution during our match against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, Jurrien Timber has received extensive assessments and scans which have confirmed he has sustained an injury to his right knee,” a club statement read. “Jurrien will undergo a further detailed assessment and review with a consultant in the coming days to assess the full extent of the injury, in order to determine the next steps. A further update will be provided in due course. “Everyone at the club will be focused on supporting Jurrien at this time.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live
2023-08-15 03:46
Michael Oher, former NFL tackle known for 'The Blind Side,' sues to end Tuohys' conservatorship
Former NFL tackle Michael Oher has filed a petition in a Tennessee probate court saying the couple he thought adopted him actually remain his conservators
2023-08-15 03:26
