JUST IN: WHAT MORGAN ROGERS WHISPERED ABOUT AMORIM’S "TOUGH" TACTICS AFTER HIS VILLA BRACE
Morgan Rogers scores twice to sink Man Utd 2-1. Now, Ruben Amorim faces a Boxing Day crisis with Fernandes injured.
After Aston Villa's win on Sunday, Morgan Rogers said, There's no bigger team than Manchester United. He also said that Ruben Amorim's team is hard to play against. Rogers scored twice, making sure United left Villa Park with nothing.
Rogers scored a great goal late in the first half to put Villa ahead, but Matheus Cunha scored to tie the game before halftime. Still, Rogers made another great play in the second half, keeping Villa's title hopes going.
This loss means United is still seventh in the Premier League. They missed another chance to get into the top five. Rogers talked after the game and was asked about it.
It's huge. "Every game matters, and there's no bigger team than United," he told Sky Sports. They came here ready to play. They're a tough team, and we haven't done well against them lately. We knew we had to fix that, and we're glad we got the three points.
Villa's win puts them just one point behind Manchester City and three behind Arsenal. Rogers was asked if they could make the title race a three-way battle this season. He said, We'll let others talk about that. You all can talk about it; we're just focusing on each game.
United's next game is at home against Newcastle on Boxing Day. United has lost five of their last six games against Eddie Howe's team. If they want to win on Friday, they might have to do it without Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo.
Mainoo got hurt during training on Saturday, which kept him from playing at Villa Park. Fernandes seemed to hurt his hamstring in the loss against Villa.
I think Kobbie might be out [against Newcastle], and Bruno is out, so we will see. We are going to find ways to deal with it. No excuses. "We have to win the next game, and we will try our best," Amorim said when asked about the injured players at the press conference after the game.
VAR REVIEW: CHELSEA 2-2 BOURNEMOUTH, ESTêVãO PENALTY DRAMA EXPLAINED! WAS IT A FOUL OR A DIVE
Explaining the VAR: How an 11th-minute penalty check at Stamford Bridge saved a point for Chelsea against a resilient Bournemouth.
Every week, the Video Assistant Referee stirs up drama in the Premier League. Let's break down how these calls are made and if they're actually right.
This season, we're digging into the big moments to explain the VAR process and the rules of the game.
What went down: Chelsea's Estêvão was moving into the Bournemouth box, with Antoine Semenyo on his tail. Estêvão went down after some contact with Semenyo. The ref, Barrott, waved off Chelsea's penalty shouts, saying there wasn't a foul. He thought both players made contact naturally as they were running, and Estêvão basically tripped himself.
VAR said, "After looking at it, VAR Pawson suggested Barrott take another look at the monitor for a possible penalty because Semenyo might have tripped Estêvão."
VAR's take: Pawson had to figure out if the contact was just part of the play, like the ref thought, or if Semenyo fouled Estêvão. It was clear Estêvão tripped, but the question was how the contact started.
At first glance, it would be hard for Pawson to disagree with the ref because the main TV angle wasn't clear. But after checking out the sideline and behind views, Pawson saw that Semenyo stepped into Estêvão's path, making enough contact with his leg to cause him to trip.
Pawson told Barrott to check the monitor for a possible penalty. Barrott watched the replays, agreed, and gave Chelsea the penalty.
The call: It was a reasonable VAR call based on today's standards. But it's a borderline case.
Barrott seemed unsure of the monitor and needed some convincing from different angles.
A lot of the time, this kind of contact is just from players running normally, and someone goes down. To give a penalty, there really needs to be a clear foul by the defender. You could say that happened here, but it's a pretty low standard for VAR to get involved.
Chelsea 2-2 AFC Bournemouth
Referee: Sam Barrott
VAR: Craig Pawson
What: VAR check for a foul in the box
When: 11th minute
BREAKING: UNAI EMERY REVEALS THE REAL REASON BEHIND HIS COLD ARTETA HANDSHAKE SNUB NOW
Unai Emery explains why he skipped the post-match handshake as Arsenal’s 4-1 win ends Aston Villa’s 11-game streak at the Emirates.
Unai Emery said he didn't shake Mikel Arteta's hand right after Aston Villa lost at the Emirates Stadium since the Arsenal manager kept him waiting.
This loss stopped Villa's winning streak at 11 games, their first in almost two months.
Villa held their own in the first half, but Arsenal scored early in the second when Gabriel got to the ball before Emi Martinez on a corner.
Martin Zubimendi quickly made it 2-0, and Leandro Trossard scored a third goal a little after an hour had passed.
Soon after entering the pitch, Gabriel Jesus scored, making it 4-0. Ollie Watkins was able to respond by tapping in a goal late in the game after Donyell Malen's nice play.
After the game, Emery waited to shake Arteta's hand, but he went to the locker room since Arteta was still celebrating with his team.
It’s easy to see. I like to do things fast,” Emery said when asked about why he didn’t shake Arteta’s hand.
“I shake hands, then I go to the dressing room with my players and coaches. I was waiting.
“Arteta was busy with his coaches, so I went inside. It’s not a big deal for me.”
About the match, Emery commented, “We played great in the first half, and things were going our way. We had corners and defended well. We didn’t let them get a corner in the first half.
“We felt good, but we let in the first goal in the second half. Onana getting hurt didn’t help since he’s important for set pieces and in the midfield.
“We didn’t quit, and we kept playing hard. We scored one goal and almost scored more. Arsenal is the best team in the league and should win the title.
“I’m not sure which day it is since we’ve played Arsenal twice already, and we still have to play Nottingham. But I’m happy with our goals and how we're trying to attain them.