Rodgers’ last game as head coach was Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace, which resulted in 25 points from 28 games for Leicester. They haven’t won in all competitions since Feb. 11, losing six of their last seven games.
In 2015-16, Leicester won the Premier League title against all odds, but are now in danger of relegation after nine seasons in the top division.
The performances and results this season have been below our general expectations. We were confident that continuity and stability would be the key to correcting our course, said Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha.
Unfortunately, the desired improvement has not happened, and with 10 games left in the season, the board is forced to take alternative measures to protect our status in the Premier League.
Rodgers moved to Leicester in February 2019 after a successful stint at Scottish Celtics, where he won the Premier League twice as well as two domestic titles.
He led Leicester to their first FA Cup triumph in 2021, when they beat Chelsea in the final, as well as consecutive fifth-place finishes in 2019-2021.
However, after finishing eighth last year, Leicester failed to significantly strengthen their squad at the end of the season, signing only defender Vauth Fayes and reserve goalkeeper Alex Smithies.
The achievements of the team under Brendan speak for themselves, added Srivaddhanaprabha.
We have experienced some of our best soccer moments under his leadership and will always be grateful to him and his staff for the heights they have helped us achieve on the field.
The task ahead of us in the last 10 games is clear. Now we need to come together – fans, players and staff – and demonstrate composure, quality and fight to cement our position as a Premier League club.
Rodgers became the 11th manager fired in the Premier League this season and the 12th manager to leave the team. The only teams in the bottom half that have not changed their managers are Nottingham Forest and West Ham United.
Assistant manager Chris Davis has also left the club, and coaches Adam Sadler and Mike Stowell will take over training.
The team announced Potter’s departure on Sunday, a day after the 2-0 loss to Aston Villa that resulted in Chelsearemained in 11th place.
Graham has agreed to work with the club to facilitate a smooth transition, Chelsea said.
Potter was hired in September to replace Thomas Tuchel.
Benzema scored his three goals within seven minutes as Madrid defeated Valladolid 6-0 in the Spanish league on Sunday, boosting team morale before facing Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semifinals.
After today’s game, we will go to Barcelona with great confidence, Madrid defender David Alaba said.
We know it will be a different game, it will be difficult, but we want to go there and try to win.
Madrid will go to Barcelona to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat in the first match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti used Benzema and several other main squad players against Valladolid, despite Madrid’s upcoming visit to Camp Nou.
Rodrigo, Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez also scored for second-place Madrid, who are now 12 points behind leading Barcelona in the league after the Catalan club beat last-place Elche on Saturday. Madrid increased its lead over third-place Atletico Madrid to eight points,
147251. Atletico will host fifth place Real Betis at home on Sunday.
Benzema, who has not scored in the league since February, scored his first goal with a close-range header after a Vinicius Júnior pass in the 29th minute. The Frenchman added another goal with a shot from outside the penalty area in the 32nd minute, and in the 36th minute he scored his third goal in a volley with his back to goal.
When Benzema plays at his best, everything becomes easier, Ancelotti said.
Benzema was replaced by Eden Hazard to get some rest in the 65th minute, earning loud applause from the fans at the Bernabeu.
Rodrigo opened the scoring for Madrid with a low shot from outside the penalty area in the 22nd minute after a combination started by Eduardo Camavinga, who improvised in the role of left-back due to the suspension of Nacho Fernandez and injuries to Antonio Rüdiger and Ferland Mendy.
Asensio scored his fifth goal with a left-footed shot from outside the box in the 73rd minute, and Vazquez – in his 300th game for Madrid – scored his sixth in regulation time after a Hazard pass.
Alaba, who was injured in the game against LivThe first time he was in the Champions League, he returned to the Madrid squad. Vazquez played at right-back in place of Dani Carvajal after Carvajal joined the Spanish national team. Midfielders Luka Modric and Federico Valverde came off the bench to get some rest before the Copa semifinals.
Madrid has not yet been to the Copa since 2014. Before the international break, Barcelona lost 2-1 at Camp Nou in a league match.
There is no doubt that we are 100% ready, Ancelotti said of the Copa match against Barcelona.
Our only thought will be to win.
Valladolid remains without a league win against Madrid since 2008 and without a league win at the Bernabeu since 2000.
The team, ranked 16th and owned by former Brazilian striker Ronaldo, is one point away from the relegation zone. It has won only one of its last seven league games.
CELTA HOLD
Celta Vigo squandered the lead twice and saw striker Iago Aspas’ attempt hit the wooden wall late in the half in a disappointing 2-2 draw with relegation-threatened Almeria.
Almería, ranked 18th, has won once in its last eight league games. Celta, ranked tenth, has won three of its last four matches.
Now even a top-four finish looks far from guaranteed for a club put up for sale and looking for Champions League qualification as another attractive target for potential buyers.
United’s 2-0 loss to Newcastle on Sunday further exacerbated the race for two likely spots behind Arsenal and Manchester City, who hold the top two spots in the Premier League, in next season’s major European competition.
Goals from Joe Willock and Callum Wilson in the second half partially avenged Newcastle’s loss to United in the English League Cup final on Feb. 26 and lifted the Saudi Arabian-controlled Northeast team into third place, above United on goal difference. Tottenham is one point behind both teams and in fifth place before Monday’s game against Everton.
For United, it’s just one point — a 0-0 home draw with struggling Southampton — out of a possible nine in their last three league games. It’s a worrying drop in form amid a busy schedule for Eric ten Hague’s side, who also continue to compete in the FA Cupand the Europa League.
United also suffers from Casemiro’s absence from the league because of the Brazilian’s four-match suspension. The team’s midfield was overwhelmed at St. James Park when Newcastle laid siege to David de Gea’s goal, which was not breached until after the break.
In the 65th minute, Willock’s point-blank strike made the score 1-0 after Allan St. Maximin kicked the ball over the goal, and in the 88th minute, Wilson, who came on as a substitute, converted Kieran Trippier’s free kick.
It was the third consecutive league win for Newcastle, putting the failure earlier in the year, when the team scored just three points in five games, behind them.
MOYES RELIEF
On a day when Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers lost his job, the pressure on David Moyes was relieved by West Ham’s 1-0 win over Southampton in a tense match between the teams that started Sunday in last two places.
Nayef Agurd’s 25th-minute goal was enough to lift West Ham from 19th place to 14th and leave last-place Southampton three points from the safety zone in one of the tightest relegation battles in years.
Look, I work for results, I have to get results, Moyes said. There’s no defense that’s going to stop me from losing my job.
West Ham are still only one point above the relegation zone.
Southampton have not been out of the Premier League since.2011-12.
Bayern took advantage of a serious error by Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, who returned from injury, and rose two points above Dortmund in eight rounds before the end of the championship.
This was Tuchel’s first game in charge of Bayern – and against his former club.
It was a good first step, said Tuchel, whose predecessor Julian Nagelsmann was sacked last week after Bayern’s 2-1 defeat in Leverkusen.
Kobel was credited as the author of the goal, with Dajot Upamekano’s goal, Müller added two more by the 23rd minute, and Kingsley Coman made the fourth in the 50th as Bayern outshot the visitors.
Emre Kahn’s penalty in the 72nd minute and Doniell Malin’s last-minute goal were consolations for Dortmund.
It was Dortmund’s first Bundesliga defeat in 2023, and it continued the Black-Yellows’ long losing streak in Munich.
After this game, we need to draw the right conclusions and process them, saidL coach of Dortmund Edin Terzic. Tomorrow we will look at the table and see that the gap from the leader is only two points.
Tuchel chose a four defender, but there was little indication that the former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain coach contributed after such a short stay in Munich.
Bayern grew in confidence, while Dortmund struggled to recover from the shock of the first goal.
The visitors started the match better, but Kobel gave Bayern the lead in the 13th minute. Upamekano sent a long promising pass forward, and Kobel, who was under no pressure, miscued his shot, allowing the ball to slip past the goal behind him.
Everyone saw it, said Dortmund captain Marco Reus. He has won so many games for us this season, made so many great saves. That situation was bitter.
Cobel, who had just returned from missing four games due to a hip problem, looked bad again when Müller outplayed him from close range at the near post in the 18th minute, and again when he let the rebound from Leroy Sane’s shot land at the feet of Müller, who scored the veteran Bayern player’s second goal five minutes later.
Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck, who returned from the German national team with a hip problem, was forced off the field before halftime. Mats Hummels came on in his place against his former team.
In the 50th minute, Sane set up Koman to make the score 4-0. Koeman reached the ball, but could not hold it. Coman had already missed two good chances before the break.
It could have been worse for Dortmund – Eric Choupo-Moting’s spectacular goal was cancelled due to offside, Serge Gnabry’s goal was also cancelled and Bayern missed several more chances before Dortmund’s late reply.
UNION STILL FLYING HIGH
Stuttgart midfielder Genki Haraguchi scored an own goal in his first return to Union Berlin as his former team won 3-0 to secure third place.
Sheraldo Becker scored in the 51st minute to put Union ahead, then Kevin Behrens struck from close range in the 67th, a minute before Haraguchi deflected Behrens’ ball into his own goal.
That gave Union a four-point lead over fourth-placed Freiburg, who, despite a 1-1 draw with Hertha Berlin, still retain their last place in Champions League qualification.
Jesseto Ngancam scored in the 77th minute for Hertha to salvage a moral point in the fight against relegation. Hertha climbed one point above Schalke.
In addition, Jeremy Frimpong, Florian Wirtz and Sardar Azmun scored for Bayer Leverkusen, which beat Schalke 3-0. Schalke remained one point above last-place Stuttgart. The Gelsenkirchen-based club later reported that one of the fans died after the emergency at the end of the game.
Wolfsburg captain Maximilian Arnold scored an own goal and missed a penalty, but his team struggled with two missed goals to draw 2-2 at home to Augsburg. German midfielder Felix Nmeja scored in compensatory time, set up by American midfielder Kevin Paredes.
On the first day of Ruven Schroeder’s tenure as Leipzig’s sporting director, the team lost 3-0 at home to Mainz and continued their decline. Now Leipzig has lost both games after a 7-0 loss to Manchester City in the Champions League.
While the Catalans took another step toward their 27th La Liga title, Real Madrid will look for a win over Valladolid on Sunday to keep their faint hopes alive.
La Liga’s top scorer, Lewandowski, was back on the goal trail after three goalless games in the league, opening the scoring in the 20th minute with a close-range strike after Ronald Araujo headed the ball to him in front of goal.
Ansu Fati doubled the lead in the 55th minute when he received a pass from Ferran Torres in his own half and broke forward to the edge of the field before firing a low shot into the far corner, scoring for the first time in the league since October.
Barcelona’s trademark high pressing paid off in the 65th minute when Gavi took the ball from Elche defenders and put Lewandowski in the striking position, who had no trouble scoring his second goal of the evening and 17th of the season.
Torres got on the scoresheet in the 70th minute, firing a shot into the left corner and scoring his third goal of the league in a game in which the other players took the lead in the absence of key players such as Ousmane Dembele, Pedri, Rafinha and Frankie De Jong.
It was beautiful: two from Robert, one from Ferran and one from Ansou. A great night for strikers and players who needed and found confidence, Barcelona coach Javi Hernandez told reporters.
We showed that we are one, and regardless ofof the one who plays, all benefit.
On Wednesday, Barcelona will face bitter rivals Real Madrid for the fourth time in 2023 in a Copa del Rey semifinal return match in which they lead 1-0.
Elche is on the verge of relegation, with 13 points in 27 games and 14 points away from the safety zone.
