LAST MINUTE DRAMA: ARMANDO BROJA SAVES BURNLEY WITH CRUCIAL GOAL AGAINST BOURNEMOUTH TODAY
Armando Broja ends Burnley’s 7-game losing streak with a 90th-minute equaliser. See how the Clarets escaped Bournemouth with a point.
Burnley and Bournemouth ended in a 1-1 draw after Armando Broja scored late, denying Bournemouth their first Premier League victory since way back in October.
This could be a really important point for Burnley as they try to avoid being relegated. Broja, who plays for Albania, scored with a header from Marcus Edwards' cross. Believe it or not, it was Burnley's only shot that actually threatened the goal.
Bournemouth can only blame themselves since they had the ball more but didn't make the most of it. Antoine Semenyo did score the game’s first attempt, but that was the only one that Bournemouth could muster as well.
Semenyo scored after Josh Laurent slipped, curling in a nice shot. Bournemouth is happy to have Semenyo available during the busy holiday games since Ghana didn't make it to the Africa Cup of Nations. Whether he will still be playing at the club is another question.
Most of Bournemouth's 16 shots missed the goal, and Martin Dubravka was not tested. David Brooks had many chances, and Semenyo and Justin Kluivert also had good looks but failed to take them.
Burnley nearly scored at the end of the first half when Jaidon Anthony, playing against his old team, shot the ball from Laurent's cross. Offside was called. VAR reviewed it and agreed with the original call.
Bournemouth hasn't won in eight games. The last time they won was on October 26 against Nottingham Forest. They have tied their last three games and are currently 14th with 22 points. A few fans booed at the end of the game at Vitality Stadium.
Bournemouth switched up two players. Tyler Adams was out because of a knee injury, and Adam Smith was on the bench. Lewis Cook was back after being suspended, and David Brooks was in the starting lineup.
Burnley made six big changes. Kyle Walker, Joe Worrell, Jaidon Anthony, Zian Flemming, Lucas Pires, and Josh Laurent were all in the starting lineup.
Axel Tuanzebe, Maxime Esteve, Quilindschy Hartman, Florentino Luis, Lyle Foster, and Armando Broja were out; only Florentino and Broja made the bench.
Burnley now has 11 points but is still near the bottom, five points away from safety. It was their first point in seven Premier League games.
MICHAEL OWEN DECLARES PREMIER LEAGUE "NEARLY WRAPPED UP" FOR LEADERS ARSENAL
Michael Owen tells talkSPORT that Arsenal have "wrapped up" the Premier League title, sitting six points clear with 14 games left.
Michael Owen says Arsenal has basically wrapped up the league.
Right now, Mikel Arteta’s team sits six points clear at the top of the Premier League. Fourteen games left, but they’re determined not to trip up like they did in the past. Three years in a row, they finished second—always just missing out on Manchester City or Liverpool. Remember that eight-point lead they blew to City in 2022/23? That one really stung, especially since City went on to win everything: the league, the Champions League, and the Carabao Cup.
On Wednesday morning, Owen—yeah, the former United and Liverpool striker—went on talkSPORT and talked about how easy Arsenal has it this season. “I don’t think anyone’s good enough to compete with them this year,” he said. “Even though I don’t think the points total will be that high.” He figured only Liverpool or City had a shot at the start of the season, but both have fallen off. So, in Owen’s mind, Arsenal has pretty much been handed the title. “Nobody’s put much pressure on them,” he said. “The league is nearly wrapped up.”
And Arsenal just beat Chelsea 1-0 at the Emirates in the Carabao Cup (4-2 on aggregate), so now they’re one win away from silverware—it would be their first trophy under Arteta since that FA Cup back in 2020.
Owen already thinks Arsenal will be champions this year, and he’s backing them for the League Cup too. “I think they could win the Carabao Cup, absolutely,” he said. “But the other two trophies are going to be tough.”
The Gunners are still chasing the quadruple. They topped their Champions League group, knocked Portsmouth out of the FA Cup, and haven’t lost in Europe—getting some big wins over Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, and Bayern Munich along the way.
Owen, who’s got a Ballon d’Or to his name, thinks Arsenal will face stiffer competition outside England. “Everyone else will be focusing on the FA Cup now, since the league’s pretty much over,” he said. “It’s the only thing that can save their season, so clubs will put out strong teams.” Then there’s the Champions League, which feels wide open this year.
Alan Brazil from talkSPORT asked Owen if Arsenal could actually win all four trophies. Owen shot that down. “No, I don’t think so,” he replied. “But they’re special, a really strong, efficient side.”
ASTON VILLA VALUE MORGAN ROGERS AT £100M+ AS LIVERPOOL AND CHELSEA CIRCLE
Aston Villa face a fight to keep £100m-rated Morgan Rogers as Liverpool and Chelsea circle the England star for a summer move.
Aston Villa really wants to hang on to Morgan Rogers, but that’s going to be tough this summer. There’s serious money on the table, and both Liverpool and Chelsea can’t seem to take their eyes off him. One journalist even called Rogers “a joy to watch.”
Rogers is only 23, but he’s come a long way fast. Villa picked him up from Middlesbrough just over two years ago for an initial £8 million, which doubled when you count the add-ons. At the time, not everyone was convinced—he came in without much fuss, just another Manchester City academy kid trying to make his mark. But look at him now: one of the best signings Villa’s made in years, his value through the roof, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a starting lineup without his name for either club or country.
Villa now rates him at more than £100 million, and the whole “big six” wants him. He even landed a new contract in November, tying him to Villa until June 2031. But even with that deal, Mark Carey from The Athletic thinks Villa will have their hands full trying to keep him. Rogers isn’t just playing well under Unai Emery—he’s on fire, and with the World Cup coming up, his profile’s only getting bigger.
Nine goals and seven assists from 34 games this season say it all. That’s why the top clubs keep circling. Liverpool and Chelsea are both sniffing around, and if Chelsea loses Cole Palmer, they’ll be even more desperate. Carey says teams in England and abroad won’t be scared off by Villa’s tough stance or Rogers’ long contract.
Carey’s pretty blunt: Villa’s resolve is about to face its biggest test yet. He says it’ll be interesting to see how the club reacts, especially if they miss out on the Champions League for 2026/27.
So why is Rogers worth more than £100 million now? Carey points to the long contract as a bit of a safety net for Villa, but Rogers’ progress is off the charts. He’s that good—“a joy to watch,” in Carey’s words—and honestly, there’s no ceiling to how far he can go.
You could see this coming even last September. Transfer insider Dean Jones already knew Villa rated Rogers highly and figured he could be the club’s next £100m man after Jack Grealish. Jones said people close to Villa believed Rogers would hit that price by the January window, but selling him mid-season wasn’t really on the table. If Rogers kept playing like this, Jones said, the £100m tag would stick by next summer—especially with that long contract.
Jones summed it up: Rogers has become one of the most exciting attackers in the Premier League, and Villa is determined to keep him. Last summer, insiders said Villa internally priced him at £80 million and made it clear he wasn’t for sale.
But if Mark Carey’s right and Villa’s resolve gets pushed this summer, they won't settle for less than what Man City paid for Grealish (£100 million). Honestly, with the way things are going, they might even demand the kind of money Liverpool shelled out for Florian Wirtz—around £116 million.