20/09/2025

SPORTS SATURDAY | SEPT 20, 2025

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SHORTS Pressure grows on Graham Potter

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (centre) scores their first goal past Napoli’s Vanja Milinkovic (left). – REUTERSPIC

GARY O’NEIL is one of the managers West Ham United are considering should they decide to dispense with Graham Potter. The London club’s dismal start to the season, including a 3-0 loss to London rivals Tottenham last time out, has naturally seen them assess how things are going, and begin to consider alternatives. And after four defeats in five with 14 goals conceded in that spell, West Ham have opted to assess their options. O’Neil is a favourite for the Hammers due to his work at Bournemouth and Wolves that is highly respected in Premier League circles. It has been noted how he was able to manage different difficulties at both clubs. And that is viewed as particularly relevant since the 42-year-old is considered a good fit for the potential systems the current shape of the squad can play. O’Neil has impressed some with his ability to develop players but is equally able to work with an existing squad. West Ham would also not be forced to pay compensation to a club for his services, with O’Neil currently a free agent. While there is also an extra connection between O’Neil and the club from his time playing in claret and blue as a midfielder for two and a half seasons between January 2011 and the summer of 2013. O’Neil was dismissed by Wolves last term on Dec 15r, with the club languishing in 19th in the table and four points from safety. Vitor Pereira replaced him at Molineux and kept them in the Premier League. Uefa, Atletico investigate ‘spitting’ chaos ATLETICO MADRID and Uefa are set to investigate the chaotic scenes at the end of the team’s defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League, with a member of the Spanish side’s coaching staff appearing to spit towards a supporter at Anfield. Atletico manager Diego Simeone was sent off following Virgil van Dijk’s dramatic winning goal, with Simeone’s altercation with a Liverpool supporter in the crowd resulting in a mass confrontation near the away team’s dugout. Simeone later said that while he regretted his actions, he had received insults from supporters during the game. A Liverpool supporter has claimed in a video on social media that he was spat at, with TV footage appearing to show a member of Atletico’s coaching staff spitting into the crowd after Simeone was pulled away by stewards. Uefa could decide to take disciplinary action while it has reviewed all footage available, while Atletico said it would “conduct an internal investigation” into the incident. TV cameras showed a Liverpool supporter cheering in Simeone’s face as the Argentine was held back by stewards, with the Atletico manager claiming that his volatile reaction was sparked by insults from the supporter in question.

50 and counting Guardiola backs Haaland to break Champions League goalscoring record P EP GUARDIOLA backed Erling Haaland to break the Champions League’s all-time scoring record after becoming the quickest player to reach Nistelrooy, Lewandowski, the two monsters Cristiano and Messi, for Erling to be there is unbelievable.” City were able to take full control in their league phase opener at the Etihad Stadium after Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo was sent off for bringing down Haaland after 21 minutes. Ű BY ANDY HAMPSON

ond nine minutes later. Guardiola said: “When it was 11 against 10 we made a really good performance against a team that have the DNA of the Italian teams – defend very well, block the crosses, how aggres sive they are, how strong their mentality is. “I was really pleased because after 10 against 11 you can be more anxious and in a hurry, but it was completely the opposite. “Every pass was with intention and every moment was with intention. “Antonio’s (Conte) teams are always really, really tough to beat.” Napoli manager Antonio Conte did not com plain about the red card for Di Lorenzo but did feel the incident had a big impact on the game. The former Chelsea and Tottenham boss said: “The game changed after the sending off. “My feeling was that the players knew what they wanted to do and they wanted to do try to test themselves against Manchester City, but ultimately we can’t draw too many conclusions from that game. “City are a team that is very well equipped to win this competition. “We have to learn from this but my take-away is very positive. “They could have pulled our pants down and won 5-0 or 6-0 but we didn’t deserve a thrashing and we didn’t get one.” On the decision to take off De Bruyne, who received a hero’s ovation at full-time regardless, Conte said: “I was disappointed but destiny happened like that. “This was our first red card under me and I was very sorry I had to make that substitution.” – The Independent rebuild after last season’s disappointing third place finish. The big question this week is how much more time will Manchester United give struggling manager Ruben Amorim? Since his first match in charge, no ever-present Premier League team have performed worse than United, who have taken just 31 points from 31 games. United host Chelsea after last week’s dismal 3-0 defeat at Manchester City, and could find themselves in the relegation zone if results go against them. Former United captain and record goalscorer Wayne Rooney believes his old team have “got worse” since Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag last November. The Portuguese manager appears to retain the backing of United’s hierarchy, who are desperate to avoid yet another reset, but their patience is not limitless. United can take heart from the fact they have not lost to Chelsea in the Premier League at Old Trafford since 2013. But Enzo Maresca’s men have made a steady start to the season and have been tipped as outsiders to challenge for the title. – AFP

50 goals. The Norway striker brought up his half-cen tury in just his 49th appearance in the compe tition – smashing Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s pre vious record of 62 games – with the opener in City’s 2-0 defeat of 10-man Napoli yesterday. At just 25 years of age, Guardiola sees no reason why Haaland, who has already scored 12 goals in seven games for club and country this season,

German referee Felix Zwayer initially waved away the City appeals, but Haaland was sure he had been denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity. The striker jumped up immediately and could be seen mouthing “red card” in the referee’s direction. Zwayer was sent to the monitor by VAR Christian Dingert, and after a couple of replays, he finally decided he agreed with the Norwegian.

should not go on to break Cristiano Ronaldo’s record mark of 141. The City manager

From that point on, Napoli were up against it. The Italians responded by sacrificing for

said: “In that rhythm, yes (he could break the record). If he’s not injured he could play for 10-12 more years, and he maintains this progression, absolutely. “What can

mer City play maker Kevin De Bruyne on his Etihad return but the hosts eventu ally broke their defensive rear

I say? The numb e r s speak for

guard. Haaland opened the scoring with a deft header from Phil Foden’s neat flick after 56 minutes and Jeremy Doku added a fine solo sec

themselves. We are lucky to have him. Van

Erling Haaland.

Liverpool crave easy win in Merseyside derby

PREMIER LEAGUE leaders Liverpool will aim to cut out the late drama against Everton today (7.30pm Malaysian time), while Arsenal seek to prove they are title challengers against Manchester City. Arne Slot’s Liverpool have made a habit of scoring late this season on the way to winning all four of their league matches so far. Their two main challengers, Arsenal and Manchester City, clash at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, while troubled Manchester United host Chelsea. Andy Robertson wants Liverpool to get back to “winning a bit simpler” after yet another dramatic late twist in their victory over Atletico Madrid this week. Virgil van Dijk’s header in stoppage-time on Wednesday earned the Reds a 3-2 win in their Champions League opener. Arne Slot’s team have now scored a winner in the 83rd minute or later in all five games they have played this season. “We need to get back to winning a bit simpler and easier,” Liverpool left-back Robertson told TNT Sports . “The assistant manager turned to me when Virgil put it in and said he’s getting too old for it, so

I can’t imagine what the fans are like.” Next up for Liverpool are Merseyside rivals Everton, who have made a bright start to the season under David Moyes. But the visitors face a stiff task at Anfield, where they have won just once in 28 games in all competitions. On the day of Arsenal’s match against Liverpool last month, the club issued a social media post urging the team to “make a statement”. They failed to do so, allowing Liverpool to strike a psychological blow early in the title race with a 1 0 win, sparking criticism of Gunners manager Mikel Arteta for his conservative game-plan. But the Gunners have another chance to show this could be their year on Sunday, when they host Manchester City. Arsenal have been Premier League runners-up for three seasons in a row, finishing behind City on two of those occasions. For eight years the Gunners failed to beat City home or away in the league but they are now eyeing a third straight win against Pep Guardiola’s men at the Emirates. City haven’t beaten Arsenal since April 2023 and a victory in north London would a significant boost to Guardiola, who is in the midst of a major