Man City must win to deny Liverpool the title for another week
Man City's reign as Premier League champions may have been extended by a few more days but a loss against Burnley will give Liverpool the chance to clinch the title on Wednesday against Crystal Palace.
Man City’s reign as Premier League champions may have been extended by a few more days, but defeat to Burnley will give Liverpool the chance to clinch the title on Wednesday against Crystal Palace.
Pep Guardiola’s side come into the match off the back of a comfortable win over Arsenal, defeating the Gunners 3-0 on Wednesday night at the Etihad.
It wasn’t quite the perfect evening for Pep, however, with 19-year old Eric Garcia leaving the pitch on a stretcher after an accidental collision with City goalkeeper Ederson.
Initially there were fears that Garcia had suffered a serious injury but after a trip to the hospital, where precautionary tests were completed, he was quickly released.
Great to start again with a win against Arsenal. Thanks for all the messages I’ve received. Now it’s time to rest and recover and hopefully I’ll be back soon💪💪. Gracias a todos por los mensajes. Hora de descansar y recuperarse💪 pic.twitter.com/LarElDhLpq
Fellow defender John Stones and goalkeeper Claudio Bravo are also unlikely to be available after picking up niggles ahead of the Arsenal game.
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It is unclear what role Leroy Sane will play in the squad, and indeed for the rest of season, after Pep confirmed that the German player had rejected numerous contract offers and would leave the club “this summer or at the end of his contract.”
The City manager admitted he was “disappointed” with Sane’s decision but said he had “nothing against him” and would “help him until the last day he is here”.
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Man City’s Monday night opponents Burnley have yet to play in the rebooted season and it couldn’t be a more difficult start for the Clarets, who currently sit 11th in the table.
Sean Dyche’s side have only beaten City once in the last 23 meetings between the clubs in all competitions and their last league away win to the blues was back in 1963.
The Clarets will have some confidence coming into the game though. They are seven games unbeaten in the league (W4, D3), which is their longest run in over a year.
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They may have trouble keeping that run going without forwards Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood, however, with the injured duo responsible for 18 of Burnley’s 34 goals in the league this season.
Dyche’s side will also be without winger Johann Berg Gudmundsson who has picked up a calf injury during training.
Man City v Burnley will kick off at 8pm on Monday the 22nd and will be shown on Sky Sports.
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Kate Jackson -
22nd June 2020 
