Category: Sport News

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool manager Arne Slot is facing increasing pressure after two consecutive defeats that have exposed the team’s weaknesses and raised questions about the balance of The Reds’ squad this season.

Liverpool, who started the season with seven consecutive wins, lost 0-1 to Crystal Palace before losing again when they travelled to Galatasaray in the Champions League after Victor Osimhen’s first-half penalty was the deciding factor.

Despite dominating the match with 16 attempts on goal, Liverpool failed to score, raising concerns about the direction of Slot’s team.

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool’s problems are not just the defeat itself, but rather have been evident since the start of the season.

“He (Florian Wirtz) is not going to be a success at all. He is a young player, just coming to a new league and there is still a long way to go. But for now, he needs to be removed from the starting lineup.

“Liverpool need to get back to last season’s form, rebuild their confidence and tidy up their defence. Right now they’re a bit of a mess,” said Carragher.

The previous club made a major overhaul with spending of almost 450 million pounds including bringing in Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for 116 million pounds and Alexander Isak for 125 million pounds.

However, neither of them have made a big impact apart from Hugo Ekitike who only scored three league goals but was suspended after being shown a red card.

Liverpool’s problems also involved the defensive line as Ibrahima Konate received heavy criticism while young centre-back Giovanni Leoni suffered a serious knee injury on his debut.

Slot, who also lost first-choice goalkeeper Alisson Becker due to injury, now faces a tough challenge ahead of a tough match against Chelsea this weekend.

LONDON: Jose Mourinho admits it is difficult to see Chelsea struggling under new owner Todd Boehly after the club was sold by Roman Abramovich to BlueCo in 2022.

The Blues legend will return to Stamford Bridge with Benfica for their Champions League clash against Chelsea tomorrow night, Mourinho’s first match at the stadium since 2020 when he was in charge of Tottenham.

“Chelsea… Abramovich’s Chelsea, my Chelsea, the Chelsea we built and stayed with for so many years is a winning club. It won everything with me, then with (Carlo) Ancelotti, (Antonio) Conte and (Thomas) Tuchel. Chelsea is a winning machine. Every season, Chelsea wins something.

“Then there was a big change with ridiculous investments and a few years that seemed to be lost – too many players, millions of dollars, accumulation of players and a team without a clear philosophy. For a few years, it was difficult. For someone who loves this club, it was difficult,” said Mourinho, 62.

However, Mourinho praised Enzo Maresca for successfully leading Chelsea back to winning ways after winning the European Conference League and Club World Cup last season.

“Maresca came and reshaped the club. The Europa League was also a great tournament to win. It brought the first trophy and brought back the winning culture of the club. If you can’t win the Premier League, you win something. Then they went to the United States and came back with a big badge on their chest. Now they have a good team,” he said.

Regarding the absence of the injured Cole Palmer, Mourinho joked: “I’m happy about that. He’s a phenomenal player. But Chelsea have a good squad, so if Palmer doesn’t play, it’s no problem. If (Heorhiy) Sudakov or (Vangelis) Pavlidis don’t play, I’m in big trouble. For Chelsea, it’s no problem.”

Mourinho said his return to London was more meaningful because he was able to meet his son.

“I’m going to see my son, because he’s there. My wife and daughter are in Portugal. My son is in London, so the best thing is to see him… and if possible, bring back the points we lost against Qarabag.

“But I know Chelsea are a great team, with great players, a good coach, great status and world champions. They also lost the first game, so of course they need points. If the fans are good to me, great. If not, no problem. I’m still happy to be back,” he added.

MANCHESTER: Former Aston Villa star Stan Collymore expects Manchester United to start ‘sniffing’ the opportunity to sign Unai Emery as a replacement for Ruben Amorim.

The United head coach is now under immense pressure after a poor start to the season, his worst since the 1992/1993 campaign.

Currently, United are only 11th in the English Premier League and were humiliated when they were eliminated early in the League Cup by small club Grimsby Town.

This season follows a lackluster performance last season which saw them finish in 15th place, their lowest position in the Premier League era.

Even more painfully, they also lost to Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final last May, thus ending a record of more than 10 years of playing on the European stage.

With Amorim’s position increasingly shaky, it is no wonder that several elite coaching names have begun to be linked with Old Trafford.

Among those mentioned is Emery, who was on United’s radar during Erik ten Hag’s difficult era last year.

Despite Villa’s slow start to the season, Emery’s work at Birmingham has received much praise.

The possibility of him leaving Villa Park is now heating up after the club’s President of Football Operations, Monchi, a close friend of Emery, announced his resignation on Monday.

Commenting on the matter, Collymore said on the X account: “Monchi… there’s been a lot of praise on social media for his hard work in terms of signing players, but for me only three players have really been successful, Tielemans, Rogers and Pau, out of over 20 players brought in. That’s just a modest record.

“Emery wants Monchi, so the question is whether Emery’s time at Villa will slow down and end at the end of the season, or whether he has come to terms with the fact, let go of a good friend for ‘business’ reasons and will work with someone new.”

Collymore added that clubs like Villa need at least 80 percent success in recruitment to remain competitive.

However, he did not rule out the possibility that Emery would be in the running for another big club in Europe.

“He’s not a local, there must be clubs in Spain, maybe even Italy that are interested.

“If United are serious about making changes, they will also try to get them because they can offer huge financial resources that Villa cannot match,” he said.

“Everything will be clear in 48 hours. If he wants to stay, Emery will show it with clear words. But if he avoids questions about his future at Villa, the club’s owner and Monchi’s successor will have to quickly prepare a list of new candidates.”

LONDON: Bernardo Silva has expressed frustration at what he described as an unfair fixture schedule after Manchester City had just 66 hours of rest between their Champions League match and a tough clash with Arsenal.

City had just beaten Napoli on Thursday, but only had two days’ rest before drawing 1-1 against Mikel Arteta’s squad, who had a longer preparation period.

Silva described the situation as unfair and claimed that the English Premier League and UEFA should have played a better role in giving players additional recovery time, let alone involving high-profile matches.

More significantly, the City captain also highlighted last Sunday’s performance, which saw Pep Guardiola’s team appear more defensive than usual, as a ‘bad day’ for the quality of top-level football.

“We can’t go to one of the most important games of the season with such a lack of rest. It’s not fair.

“They have five days of rest, we only have two and a half days. In a big match, things like this shouldn’t happen,” he said.

Silva understands the importance of the commitment of various competitions and the demands of broadcasting, but insists that priority should be given to the level of physical readiness of the players.

“We don’t mind playing every three or four days. We’re used to 60 games a season. All we ask for is a little sanity. For big games like Arsenal against City or Liverpool, the players have to be in equal physical condition to make it fair,” he added.

The Portuguese star admitted that he had not been at his best since the start of the game, and even described fatigue as the factor that prompted Guardiola to change his tactical approach to defense.

Silva also revealed that complaints made by team captains to the authorities had previously received no attention.

“We’ve tried to speak up, but they don’t listen. We want something to change, but it never happens,” he said.

LONDON: The pressure on Ruben Amorim is increasing when statistics show that the Manchester United manager now holds the worst record among English Premier League (EPL) managers.

In the derby at the Etihad, United were humiliated by local opponents, Manchester City 0-3 thanks to a goal from Phil Foden and two goals from Erling Haaland, thus maintaining their lackluster start to the season.

The defeat followed after losing 0-1 to Arsenal, drawing 1-1 with Fulham and only narrowly winning 3-2 over Burnley before the international break.

United have currently only collected four points from four matches, sitting 14th in the league with a goal difference of -3, eight points behind leaders Liverpool.

To make matters worse, Opta data reveals that since Amorim took over last November, United have scored just 31 points from 31 league games, the worst among the 17 clubs over that period.

The record is the same as Tottenham, but the Red Devils are worse with a goal difference of -13 to -4.

While Liverpool are top with 68 points from their last 31 matches, followed by Arsenal (64) and Chelsea (58), United are also continuing to decline despite Amorim’s reluctance to move away from the 3-4-3 system he has used since arriving at Old Trafford.

“This is not the record that Manchester United should have. I accept it, but I will not change my philosophy.

“If I want to change, I will decide for myself, not anyone else. If not, the club can change management,” said Amorim after the defeat to City.

Despite receiving criticism and the risk of losing support, Amorim maintained his approach.

“I understand that the fans are disappointed, that’s normal with decisions like this. But I suffer more than them. I always think about what’s best for the club and will do everything while I’m here,” he said.

United, who finished 15th last season, have struggled once again in the opening stages of the campaign, with Amorim managing just eight league wins since taking charge of the Red Devils.