Author: admin

LONDON: Ruben Amorim has the potential to land a new job in his homeland just days after leaving Manchester United.

Jose Mourinho is currently under immense pressure at Benfica after his team fell 10 points behind in the league title race.

The club also struggled in the Champions League when they were ranked 25th overall.

The Daily Mail report claims Amorim is in the “top position” to replace another former Manchester United manager.

Mourinho’s position is said to be increasingly shaky, while Benfica has a long history of interest in Amorim’s services.

Previously, Amorim dismissed rumours of a return to Benfica in September after the club’s presidential candidate, Joao Noronha Lopes, expressed his desire to bring him back.

Lopes was also present at the match at Old Trafford after publicly describing Amorim as the future manager of Benfica, but he lost out in the election to club legend Manuel Rui Costa.

Amorim was sacked by Manchester United on Monday after launching open criticism following the 1-1 draw against Leeds the day before.

The Portuguese manager insisted he wanted to play a full-time manager role and not just a head coach, and was seen mocking director of football Jason Wilcox and head scout Christopher Vivell.

The club’s internal situation is said to be beyond repair, causing Amorim to leave United as the worst manager in the Premier League era with a winning percentage of only 31.9.

LONDON: Thierry Henry insists injuries are not an excuse and Arsenal must win the Premier League this season.

The last time the Gunners won the league title was in the unbeaten 2003-04 season when Henry was the backbone of the team.

This time, Mikel Arteta’s team is at the top of the league with a two-point lead over Manchester City ahead of a busy end-of-year schedule.

However, they have been tested by injuries to players including Ben White, Gabriel, Kai Havertz and Cristhian Mosquera.

Several other players such as William Saliba, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Jesus also escaped some resistance.

White, 28, was forced off after half an hour of play in the dramatic 2-1 win over Wolves on Saturday and will be out for at least a month.

Henry, 48, said: “Injuries, a busy calendar – don’t talk about it. Every team has problems. Let’s see who will be at the top at the end of the season. We have to win the league. It has to be this year.

“In a long season, teams will be tested, injuries will happen and things won’t always go our way. How we deal with it is important.

“From Christmas until the end of February, we can see more clearly who can win the league.”

Arsenal travel to Everton tomorrow, before facing Crystal Palace in the League Cup quarter-finals, followed by Premier League matches against Brighton, Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Liverpool until January 8.

During his eight years with the Gunners, Henry won two Premier League titles, three FA Cups and four Golden Boots, including three in a row from 2004 to 2006. He also holds Arsenal’s record for highest goalscorer with 228 goals.

Recently, Henry was awarded Lifetime Achievement at the BBC Sports Personality Awards 2025.

“I wouldn’t have succeeded without great players, a great team and a great coach. Thank you to everyone who believed in me and those who didn’t,” said Henry.

LONDON: Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has responded to John Terry’s criticism of the rotation of players during the defeat to Leeds.

In his statement ahead of the match against Bournemouth this weekend, Maresca said: “We are looking into why our performance was not satisfactory against Leeds.

“I don’t know if the solution is to have 12 or 14 players and the others only play a few minutes.

“We’re trying to understand if you can play every two or three days with the same 11 players, I don’t know. This is the hardest thing for me this season.”

Chelsea legend Terry previously lashed out at Maresca on social media, claiming a lack of experience and player rotation were affecting the team’s performance at Leeds, and suggested a fixed starting line-up.

Maresca stressed that players such as captain Reece James and key defender Wesley Fofana need to have their playing minutes controlled due to injury history.

He also admitted that the substitutes are not on par with the main players. “Andrey, unfortunately, is not Moi. Tosin is not Wes. They are different. If I say Andrey is like Moi, that would be a lie,” he said.

Regarding the defeat to Leeds, Maresca stressed the problem was not lack of experience.

“We always talk about experience when we drop points. When we win against Barcelona or draw with Arsenal, nobody talks about experienced players.

“We have experienced players, but they are not playing. Who is the oldest on the pitch? Tosin. Is he playing well?” asked the manager.

Maresca also stressed that although some substitutes performed less than satisfactory, his rotation policy was praised for ensuring that key players like James were in the best physical condition.

Chelsea’s board of directors and sporting director fully supported the manager’s decision despite fan criticism of the replacement.

The 42-year-old manager also stressed that his team will continue to develop young players and has no plans to sign new players in the January transfer window.

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool manager Arne Slot admitted that his team is no longer feared by opponents after Sunderland stole a point following a 1-1 draw at Anfield early this morning.

Sunderland came close to recording their first win at Anfield since 1983 when Chemsdine Talbi opened the scoring in the 67th minute.

Liverpool saved a point after Mukiele was hit by Florian Wirtz’s own goal in the 81st minute.

Slot said his team no longer intimidated opponents.

“The teams we face now believe they can get results. Not just believe because it’s been proven this season.

“Even the matches we won gave other teams confidence that something was possible,” said Slot.

The 2-0 win over West Ham on Sunday did not signal a change for Slot.

Mohamed Salah was left out of the starting lineup for two consecutive matches, while Wirtz and Alexander Isak failed to perform according to their purchase value.

Slot added: “I already know Sunderland are a team that is difficult to concede and to create chances.”

The draw kept the pressure on Liverpool, who have won just two of their last nine league games since their opening five victories.

MANCHESTER, England: Ruben Amorim admits he has had to go through a process of adapting to the demands of the English Premier League (EPL) in his first year as Manchester United head coach.

The Portuguese coach arrived at Old Trafford in November 2024 and when Everton visit early next Tuesday morning, it will mark a year since his debut which ended in a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town.

Managing a club as big as United has a profound impact on anyone and Amorim is no exception.

“I think I’ve changed a lot as a coach,” the 40-year-old said in an interview with Premier League Productions . “I see a lot of things differently.

“I have an idea of ​​how to play, how to shape the game and I’ve changed that.”

The change has been evident since the arrival of Senne Lammens, when the new goalkeeper was given the freedom to make long passes when the situation required.

“Here, in the EPL, the focus is very much on data,” Amorim explained. “So you have to adapt the way you work.

“Of course you have your own style of play, but you have to adapt, understand when you need more possession, how we win corners to put pressure on the opponent, all that stuff.”

According to him, adjusting to the intensity of the EPL not only involves tactics, but also the off-field demands that come with the responsibility of managing a club with a global following as big as United.

“Last year, I felt constantly overwhelmed by the number of matches,” admitted Amorim. “I didn’t have time to calm down or realize my job not only on the field, but also off the field to motivate everyone.

“Last year I was too emotional because I was struggling with decisions. I always say change takes time, but I am the one responsible for managing everything and controlling my emotions better.”

United have also faced an unbalanced playing style this season, scoring the most goals in the first half (11), but also conceding the most in the second half (14). Amorim explained the reason.

“I think we lost intensity,” he said. “In a few games, we lost Casemiro to injury. Harry Maguire too.

“They are important players, not only in terms of play but also experience and dead ball situations, things that many people don’t pay attention to.

“We also lost momentum when we were ahead. We started thinking ‘don’t concede’, when the thinking should have been ‘we already have one goal, get another to end the match’.

“So it’s a mental thing but also a physical thing. We need to improve both.”