Footybite

MANCHESTER: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said an extra day in preparation for their Champions League clash at Juventus allowed his squad to recover from their defeat to Crystal Palace.

City were held to a 2-2 draw at Selhurst Park on Saturday – a result that further dented their Premier League title defence – with Guardiola’s side missing several key players to injury including Rodri, Mateo Kovacic, John Stones and Phil Foden.

Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake are among the latest to join City’s injury list after the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest last week.

“We have started studying (the Juventus game) and are very lucky not to play on Tuesday, we play on Wednesday so we have more than a day for the players to recover,” said Guardiola.

According to Guardiola, the medical team is working hard to prepare the players.

“No need for sympathy, accept the challenge and maybe in the end we will be satisfied with the way we handled it compared to other seasons when we won the championship,” he said.

City lost 4-1 to Sporting and drew 3-3 with Feyenoord in their last two Champions League games.

GIRONA, Spain: Real Madrid closed the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to two points with a stylish 3-0 win at Girona early this morning thanks to goals from Jude Bellingham, Arda Guler and Kylian Mbappe.

Second-placed Real have 36 points and have played one game less than Barca, who drew 2-2 at Real Betis.

Girona, meanwhile, suffered their sixth defeat in 16 league matches and remain in eighth place with 22 points, two points shy of a European spot.

Bellingham opened the scoring in the 36th minute when he grabbed a rebound and shot from the middle of the penalty box before passing to Guler with a beautiful pass to double the lead 10 minutes after the break.

The England midfielder, who scored for the fifth consecutive La Liga game, was brilliant but had to be sent off after being tackled shortly before Mbappe made it 3-0 with a shot from a difficult angle in the 62nd minute to complete the victory.

Real boss Carlo Ancelotti told reporters Bellingham was fine but they were also missing defender Ferland Mendy with a muscle problem ahead of the Champions League clash at Atalanta early on Wednesday morning.

“Bellingham is fine, he can play. We have a muscle problem with Mendy but the rest are just tackles, nothing more,” said the Italian manager.

Girona are struggling without key players due to injuries and now face a tough match at home against Liverpool in the Champions League early Wednesday morning and away against Mallorca next Saturday in La Liga.

“Our team is suffering from a lot of injuries. It’s affecting our performance. We still have a few months to improve,” Girona defender Miguel Gutierrez told Movistar.

Girona are 30th in the Champions League table, three points behind Real who are 24th and the last place to qualify for the play-offs.

MANCHESTER: Ruben Amorim challenged his Manchester United squad to perform better after their 4-0 win over Everton.

After Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee scored two goals each, Amorim, who is unbeaten in his first three games since replacing Erik ten Hag, believes his men can put in a better performance.

“The result was good but we were more pragmatic. It wasn’t pretty but we got the result we wanted. We did the job – to win.

“Then we got a goal at the right time and it changed the game. You can’t just focus on the result, but how it was achieved.

“Like before the game, there are many things we want to do. But it’s better to work based on winning. Need to focus on performance rather than results.

“You could feel it during the game. It wasn’t the best performance, there were ups and downs. There were times when we were good and then there were times when we were pressured. We have to improve,” said Amorim.

Amad Diallo was man of the match when he assisted two goals at Old Trafford.

United have now climbed to ninth in the league, just four points behind the top four.

MANCHESTER, England: The new head coach of Manchester United, Ruben Amorim was happy and excited with the fans’ response to his presence at the English Premier League (EPL) giant club when his team won 3-2 over Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League action early this morning.

Amorim’s first action in charge was a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town in an EPL away match last Sunday.

“Half of the stadium doesn’t know me, I came from Portugal and haven’t done anything for this club yet. But the way they welcomed me made me feel at home and it’s something special,” he said.

“I will keep these wonderful memories for the rest of my career.”

However, Amorim, who accepted United’s offer after previous manager Erik ten Hag was sacked due to poor performance, considered his men’s performance to be a roller-coaster ride.

Striker Rasmus Hojlund scored twice to secure their second win of the Europa League campaign after Alejandro Garnacho opened the scoring within a minute.

“Of course, I see what everyone sees, good moments, difficult moments,” Amorim told TNT Sports.

“There was confusion at the end of the match trying to defend the advantage but the players did a good job. They ran, they pressed, they tried to do what we tried to implement in the last three days and we won.

“Yes, it’s like you’re riding a roller-coaster. We started well, but then we were punished with two goals in two moves. I like the way the players tried to play our style of play,” he said.

“Sometimes we win the ball and we had problems before because we gave the ball away too much to the opposition – in the mind of having to control the ball. They really tried and I think we deserved to win.”

MANCHESTER, England: Angel Gomes remains Manchester United’s main target under new boss Ruben Amorim.

Red Devils transfer experts Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox believe the four-capped England star could be a key pillar in Amorim’s plan to achieve success.

The Portuguese coach is fully supportive of bringing the player home as he has long admired the 24-year-old midfielder.

Gomes left United to join Lille on a free transfer in 2020 and his five-year contract expires next summer.

The French club could lose Gomes, who is valued at £25 million with Tottenham also interested in signing the London-born player.

Gomes can negotiate with several clubs this January to tie a pre-contract agreement.

But United believe the star player, who grew up at Salford, could be brought back to Manchester as a long-term replacement for Casemiro.

Gomes said of the chance to return to Old Trafford last month: “There’s always going to be that sentimental soft spot, so of course it’s hard to say no.”

He joined United at the age of six and broke into the Under-18 squad at 14.

Gomes became the club’s youngest player since Duncan Edwards in 1953 to make his top-flight debut at the age of 16 years and 263 days, coming on for the final two minutes of a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace in May 2017.

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool reportedly want to sign Lyon star to replace Mohamed Salah, with the French club desperate to sell players due to financial problems.

Salah is a Reds legend after scoring 221 goals, and assisting a further 99 in 366 appearances since joining the English club in 2017.

The Egyptian winger, who lifted the Premier League and Champions League trophies with Liverpool, continued his excellent run of form this season – netting 10 goals in 17 appearances in all competitions under Arne Slot.

The English Premier League leaders are now running out of time to keep the star whose contract will expire in the summer.

Liverpool are said to be preparing to face the challenge without Salah and have shown interest in French star Rayan Cherki.

French giants Paris Saint-Germain are also interested in the services of the Lyon winger.

“My future will be known at the end of the season. Lyon is my priority. When the time comes to ask that question, ask it, but now is not the time,” said Cherki when asked about the future at Lyon.

Cherki’s contract expires in 2026 but it will be extended by another year should he remain at the club until next summer.

The club’s management wants to keep the young star, who was recently listed for France’s under-21 squad.

Lyon, the seven-time Ligue 1 champions, will lose their French top-flight status at the end of the season if they fail to resolve the club’s financial problems.

MANCHESTER, England: Ruud van Nistelrooy urged Manchester United players to fully support their new manager Ruben Amorim before ending his tenure as interim boss with a 3-0 win over Leicester.

The Dutchman signaled to first-team players he was expected to leave Old Trafford when the Portuguese manager arrived in Manchester yesterday and the club later announced Van Nistelrooy was leaving the team.

The United legend – who made a huge impact in the first-team dressing room despite only being appointed assistant manager four months ago by the sacked Erik ten Hag – has called on his star players to work hard to restore glory under the new boss.

Van Nistelrooy told them he was proud to be back at Old Trafford and that his stint as interim manager – which saw him win three games and draw once – only helped strengthen his managerial career.

A source said: “Ruud explained to his boss that he wants to stay at United because he loves the club.

“But he is also pragmatic and expects Amorim to want to control everything, including his coaching staff.

“He told the players he was delighted to be back and to have the opportunity to manage the club for the last four games.

“It has helped his coaching career, strengthened his already established relationship with United and he has not ruled out a return one day.

“He explained to his players and demanded that they give everything to the new manager.”

Previously, it was reported that the main squad wanted to see Van Nistelrooy stay and work under Amorim after their relationship grew closer on the training field and in the dressing room.

Van Nistelrooy scored 150 goals in 219 games for United under legendary manager Alex Ferguson before moving to Real Madrid after falling out of favor with the Scotsman.

He stepped in as caretaker manager after United sacked Ten Hag following a 2-1 defeat at West Ham, which saw them languish in 14th place in the English Premier League (EPL).

He inspired a 5-2 win over Leicester in the fourth round of the League Cup and then a 1-1 draw with Chelsea.

United then beat PAOK 2-0 in the Europa League before winning 3-0 over Leicester in the EPL last Sunday – his last game in charge.

Amorim was seen in Carrington yesterday waiting to get his work permit.

MANCHESTER: Pep Guardiola is optimistic of being able to overcome the problems that plagued Manchester City after the team recorded three consecutive defeats for the first time since 2018.

Defeat at the hands of Brighton, early this Sunday morning will cause Guardiola to create his own personal record, losing four games in a row for the first time in his managerial career full of championship trophies.

The English Premier League champions are currently facing serious injury problems, including the loss of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri who has been confirmed to be out of action for the rest of the season.

Guardiola was also unable to list some of his star players who were injured this weekend, but he hopes the upcoming international break can bring much-needed recovery to his side.

“This is football, things like this do happen. We know the reason behind this difficulty,” said Guardiola in a pre-match press conference today.

“I’m looking forward to this game and after the international break, some players will come back in better condition. For all the problems we have, the little problems that every player has, we will solve them.”

City’s three-game losing streak came in three different tournaments.

After being knocked out of the League Cup by Tottenham and losing for the first time in the Premier League since December to Bournemouth, City suffered a shock 4-1 defeat at the hands of Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League in midweek.

However, Guardiola rejected the notion that this defeat allowed him to get to know his players better than when they won four Premier League titles in a row.

“They have proven many times what they are capable of,” added Guardiola.

LONDON: Martin Odegaard is about to return to action with Arsenal after being sidelined since last September due to an ankle injury.

Odegaard, who suffered the injury while on duty with the Norwegian national team, has been seen training again in recent weeks.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta confirmed the matter by stating that the 25-year-old has entered the final phase of his recovery.

“He’s been training on the pitch for the past few weeks, but he still has a lot to do,” Arteta said.

“As far as we can do in this last stage of recovery, we will have to answer once we have players around him and he starts competing with the team. He is still doing it again.”

It is understood that the Arsenal captain is working hard to be listed on the visit to Newcastle tomorrow. However, what is clear is that he may be back in the squad for next week’s clash against Inter Milan.

In addition, Arsenal also received positive news regarding Gabriel’s fitness level. The player from Brazil was injured during the team’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool last Sunday, but Arteta confirmed that the issue facing the player was not very serious.

Riccardo Calafiori will be ruled out until the international break after picking up a knee injury during the team’s 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk.

Kieran Tierney is also close to returning to action while Takehiro Tomiyasu is also on the injury list in the Gunners squad.

LONDON: Liverpool head coach Arne Slot continued to raise questions about his team’s expectations when they drew 2-2 at Arsenal early this morning, although he praised the Reds’ fighting spirit after falling behind twice.

After a record-breaking start to his Anfield career, winning 10 of Slott’s first 11 games in all competitions, Liverpool recorded their first draw of the season in a thrilling clash at the Emirates Stadium.

Slott, who has repeatedly said it is too early in the campaign to judge his team, returned to his familiar theme after they grabbed a late point.

“I know you (the media) like to talk about the title contenders and where we actually are in the league – and that’s part of your job too,” he said.

“The only thing I see: can you get a result in a tough match on the opponent’s court like this?

“The way we did it pleased me… to see that we can compete with a strong team like Arsenal in their stadium, it’s very pleasing.

“But where exactly it will take us at the end of the season, I can’t tell you yet.”

Mohamed Salah’s late equaliser put Liverpool second, one point behind champions Manchester City with Arsenal five points adrift in third.

Liverpool made the title race a three-way tie for most of last season before collapsing at the bottom of the competition and impressive performances of late have raised the prospect that they could challenge for the Premier League title for a second time.

“To go down twice against a very strong and good Arsenal team, then to get a point is nice to see, especially because we have to play away in Europe this week, we have one less day to recover and prepare,” Slot said. .

The Dutchman picked up his second yellow card of the season leaving him just two yellow cards away from serving a sideline suspension.