LONDON: Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was not carried away by the string of excellent results of his young squad after the 3-0 victory over Aston Villa in the English Premier League.

For Maresca, the situation does not change his previous stance that Chelsea are not mature enough to compete for the league title this season.

Chelsea dominated the game against Villa with Nicolas Jackson, Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer finding the target to lift them to third in the league, sharing 25 points with second-placed Arsenal and nine behind leaders Liverpool.

According to Maresca, his squad is still far behind Liverpool and Manchester City in terms of experience in important matches and the pressure of chasing the title.

“These players, some of them, in their life, their experience, may have only played one final.

“So you’ve got to go through it more often to get better and when we start getting that experience, we’ll be better to compete.

“We will get there soon, but for now we are still far away and not ready to compete with the clubs,” said Maresca.

Chelsea reached the League Cup final at Wembley last season but lost 1-0 to Liverpool.

LONDON: Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta, admitted that his team needs to reach an almost perfect level if they want to catch up with the leaders of the English Premier League, Liverpool, who are now far ahead.

After an inconsistent start to the season, Arsenal returned to form with an emphatic 5-1 win over Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League in midweek.

Before that, they also ended a four-match winless drought in the league by defeating Nottingham Forest 3-0.

Victory over West Ham, early this Sunday morning is expected to propel Arsenal to second place in the league, at least before the important action between Liverpool and Manchester City at midnight on Sunday.

Speaking in a pre-match press conference today, Arteta said his team’s main focus was to maintain consistency.

“If Liverpool continue to be at this level, they will be difficult to catch. But, our focus is on our own performance. Consistency will open up opportunities for us to win more matches,” he said.

Arteta also praised the team spirit of his players after recording two important wins after the international break.

“The win gave new energy and confidence to the team. Now, it’s a matter of maintaining the momentum, especially with a tight schedule every three days,” he said.

MADRID: Barcelona said yesterday they are delaying their return to action at Camp Nou until mid-February at the latest as the iconic stadium undergoes modernization and expansion work.

The Spanish giants released a statement stating that their La Liga home games against Valencia and Alaves, scheduled for January 26 and February 2 respectively, will be held at their current stadium, the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

Barcelona said UEFA rules prevent clubs from changing stadiums during the early stages of the Champions League and “logistical problems and additional costs” if they use two stadiums at the same time.

Camp Nou may host the Catalan club’s next match against Rayo Vallecano on February 16.

Barcelona said last month they were aiming to return to Camp Nou at the end of 2024 with an initial capacity of 62,000.

The stadium is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2026 with a capacity of 105,000, when the project dubbed “Espai Barca” is completed and the stadium roof is installed.

Modernization work at Camp Nou began in June 2023 but it was delayed due to permit constraints and complaints about working conditions.

Therefore, Barca requested to extend the contract for the use of Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys until March 31, 2025 as a precautionary measure.

MANCHESTER: Ruud van Nistelrooy’s assistant at PSV Eindhoven, Andre Ooijer, revealed that the former interim manager of Manchester United was disappointed when he had to leave Old Trafford.

The former Dutch and Blackburn defender said that his best friend wanted to remain as an assistant coach at Man United.

Van Nistelrooy took charge of the 13th-placed Premier League club on an interim basis after Erik ten Hag was sacked last month.

He recorded three wins and a draw in four games under his charge, before Ruben Amorim took over the Man United squad.

Amorim also brought his coaching line and Van Nistelrooy had to leave Old Trafford after his name was not in the plans of the former Sporting Lisbon manager.

“Ruud wants to stay as an assistant. He will say something if he is not interested in working with Amorim.

“Ruud had the opportunity to become a manager at another club, but he chose to work at the club he loves the most.

“Don’t forget, Ruud was brilliant (as a manager) at United, drew against Chelsea and won the other three games. You can see the fans love him.

“He excels in difficult situations. He has never lost as a manager.

“If Amorim fails to get good results in the first few games, the fans will definitely ask Ruud to come back,” said Ooijer.

Amorim will be tested in his first game as United manager against Ipswich on November 24.

LONDON: England captain Harry Kane criticized several players who withdrew from the national team ahead of the League of Nations action against Greece and Ireland, stating yesterday that the country must always come before the club.

England face Greece in Athens early tomorrow morning followed by Ireland three days later at Wembley but nine players, some in the starting line-up, have been called up while boss Lee Carsley pulls out through injury.

Manchester City’s Jack Grealish and Phil Foden, Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice, Chelsea’s Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill, Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite have all withdrawn from the squad.

Kane said that didn’t happen when Gareth Southgate was in charge because he created an atmosphere where players couldn’t wait to get into the England training camp.

“The joy of playing for England, I think he sparked it. Every camp, the players are excited to come, the players want to play for England and that’s the most important thing. I think England is more important than the club,” Kane told ITV Sport.

“It’s the most important thing you do as a professional footballer. Gareth is good about it and he’s not afraid to make a decision if it starts to deviate from certain players.

“It’s been a shame this week. Obviously I think it’s the toughest period of the season now and maybe some have taken a bit of advantage of it. I really don’t like it to be honest… I think England have to come first before anything else.”

While Kane is currently enjoying a winter break from football following his move to German giants Bayern Munich, the player at the English club faces a busy festive season.

New England manager Thomas Tuchel will only take over in the new year but he has no chance to work with the squad until the next international break next March.

Carsley said the withdrawal from the squad gave other players a chance to impress the new coach.

“Harry has his own opinion but I can only work with what’s in front of us,” said Carsley, who will end his interim spell against Ireland on Sunday.

LONDON: Enzo Maresca shouted a warning to Arsenal that Chelsea’s management is now different from the squad that was beaten 5-0 by the club when under the guidance of Mauricio Pochettino.

Maresca will face Mikel Arteta’s men looking to prove his squad’s ability against the top flight since replacing Pochettino last summer.

Chelsea have lost to Manchester City and Liverpool this season, and drew with Manchester United last weekend.

Although Cole Palmer is not fit enough to start the game, Maresca believes his men are capable of challenging Arsenal at Stamford Bridge tomorrow.

“I didn’t know during the last two years how he felt. But now, I’m sure we can compete and beat any team.

“We are on the right track. I hope this Sunday we can give the fans a good day.

“Arsenal is so close to the best team in England, Manchester City. I want to win a game like this.

“From the beginning I stressed, I will analyze the performance rather than the result. You think we should lose to Liverpool?

“I hope we can win on Sunday. We were so close against Liverpool and City. We shouldn’t have lost,” Maresca said.

MANCHESTER: Manchester United interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy believes his side can bounce back from their worst start to the season after seeing his team’s spirit shown in the two games since Erik ten Hag was sacked.

Moises Caicedo’s second-half strike cancelled out United’s early penalty for a 1-1 draw in the Premier League clash at Old Trafford.

Despite not managing to collect full points, Van Nistelrooy said there were positives to take from the match.

“We take the lead first and the performance, with the spirit shown, is the basis for building a team… then the quality of football will emerge.

“That is the basis needed to build it, and there is still a lot of time to improve the position,” said Van Nistelrooy.

The draw saw United climb one place, to 13th after 10 games.

Van Nistelrooy said, since the day Ten Hag was fired, the situation has been very difficult for the team.

“Six days, emotions up and down, obviously very sad to see Erik go, the next day you have to focus again for the game against Leicester (Wednesday’s 5-2 League Cup win), because 75,000 fans will be at Old Trafford, so we have a responsibility , and the players realize they need to do better,” he said.

United’s nine goals in 10 games, the third-worst in the league, is their lowest tally at this level since the 1973-74 league campaign.

LONDON: Ruben Amorim has been announced as Manchester United’s new manager to replace the sacked Erik ten Hag.

The 39-year-old Portuguese coach, who won two Primeira Liga titles with Sporting Lisbon, signed a contract until 2027 and will join the club on November 11.

“Manchester United is delighted to announce the appointment of Ruben Amorim as head coach of the men’s first team, subject to work visa requirements,” United said on their official website.

“He will be with the team until June 2027 with an additional year option, once he completes his responsibilities with his current club.”

United describe Amorim as one of the most exciting and high-calibre young coaches in European football.

Ruud van Nistelrooy will continue to manage the team until Amorim arrives at Old Trafford.

United sacked Ten Hag on Monday after a 2-1 defeat at the hands of West Ham left them 14th in the Premier League, with just three wins from nine games.

LONDON: Liverpool boss Arne Slot insists Erik ten Hag will be back at “a big club again” after being sacked by Manchester United.

Ten Hag’s two-year spell as United manager came to an end yesterday, with the English giants languishing in 14th place in the league following a 2-1 defeat at West Ham last weekend – his final game in charge.

Slot’s team was also involved in putting pressure on his compatriot from the Netherlands, Ten Hag with a 3-0 win at Old Trafford last September.

But despite the animosity between Liverpool and United, the Reds boss – in his first season in the hot seat at Anfield after replacing Jurgen Klopp – was sympathetic when asked about the Ten Hag during yesterday’s pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool’s League Cup clash with Brighton at home.

“He is a Dutch manager which makes it more difficult for me,” said Slot, 46.

“I sympathize with his plight. We’re all in this job so we know it can happen.

“I only know him a little bit and I know how hard he works. For him it’s certainly disappointing. But we also know how good he was at Ajax and he won two trophies (League Cup and FA Cup) here.

“I think you’ll see him at a big club again after this.”

Ten Hag helped United deny Premier League champions Manchester City a domestic double with a surprise FA Cup final victory over their neighbors at Wembley last May.

“I feel really sorry for him, it’s one of the best jobs in football,” City manager Pep Guardiola said of Ten Hag.

“There’s only us, not teachers or architects or anything like that.

“I wish him the best and he will come back stronger. If the results are not good enough, you will be fired. No one is different, including myself.”

LONDON: Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said he could only blame his team’s finishing after the 2-1 defeat at the hands of West Ham late last night.

United slumped to 14th in the Premier League (EPL) table after Jarrod Bowen’s controversial stoppage-time penalty gifted the Hammers all three points.

Crysencio Summerville put West Ham ahead against the run of play 16 minutes from time before Casemiro equalised.

Ten Hag were furious at the awarding of the penalty after VAR intervened when Matthijs de Ligt collided with Danny Ings in the penalty box.

United captain Bruno Fernandes’ red card was withdrawn after he was sent off in last month’s 3-0 defeat at Tottenham and Ten Hag said VAR was inconsistent in challenging the referee’s decision in the middle of the pitch.

“Before the season they explained the VAR process – only when it was clear they could intervene,” said Ten Hag.

“What they didn’t do against Spurs, it was a bad decision. Now they made a bad decision and they both had an impact on the game. I’m not criticizing the officials, I’m criticizing the process.”

However, less sharp finishing in front of goal caused United to fail to get a much-needed win.

Diogo Dalot missed chances despite the goal gaping, while Alejandro Garnacho and Fernandes were guilty of missing golden opportunities in their dominant first half.

“We created too many chances, played good football, especially in the first half. That’s how I want my team to perform whether with the ball or not,” stressed Ten Hag.

United’s tally of eight goals from their first nine games is their worst in the EPL era.