03/10/2025

SPORTS FRIDAY | OCT 3, 2025

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Ű BY DAMIAN SPELLMAN

Woltemade will keep getting better: Howe

NEWCASTLE boss Eddie Howe is confident there is more to come from record signing Nick Woltemade after the striker opened his Champions League account in Brussels. The 23-year-old, a £69 million (RM400m) summer acquisition from Stuttgart, scored for the third time in four starts in the Magpies’ 4-0 victory at Union St-Gilloise. The German provided a further riposte to those – principally Bayern Munich executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge – who said Newcastle were “idiots” for meeting Stuttgart’s asking price for Woltemade. Head coach Howe said: “His potential is high. It is an exciting start for him and he’s done really really well and more importantly he is willing and he wants to do the work and he wants to improve.

“It is difficult to put a percentage on what he is right now but there is more to come and there will be more to come physically and more to come tactically as we go through the journey together with him. “We will be doing a lot of physical work with him to get him robust enough for the Premier League week in week out.” It was Woltemade who took credit for the opening goal when he flicked Sandro Tonali’s shot on to defender Kevin Mac Allister, who unwittingly deflected it past his own keeper, but Union’s fortunes were to dwindle further as the evening wore on.

Substitute Harvey Barnes put the icing on the cake with the fourth 10 minutes from time to cap a fine trip to Brussels after the Magpies’ opening defeat to Barcelona. Howe said: “There are things we can improve but it was a big step in the right direction, an important stage as well in the Champions League because we have to start well. “These competitions are so high and the demands are so big on us that if we’re slow starters, we could leave ourselves too much to do, so I certainly leave here in a lot healthier, positive frame of mind and I’m looking forward to the next game.” – The Independent Carragher calls Liverpool a mess, wants Wirtz dropped JAMIE CARRAGHER said Liverpool are a “mess” and called on head coach Arne Slot to “earn his money” by fixing the issues in the team after suffering back-to-back defeats. Liverpool fell to a 1-0 defeat at Galatasaray in the Champions League on Wednesday, following a first Premier League loss of the season at Crystal Palace on Saturday, and Carragher said those results had been coming. The Premier League champions required late goals to win their first five games of the season but after a summer of heavy spending Carragher said Liverpool have lost their balance and called on big money signing Florian Wirtz to be dropped. Ű BY JAMIE BRAIDWOOD

Fedde Leysen’s clumsy lunge at Anthony Elanga allowed Anthony Gordon to double his side’s lead from the spot two minutes before the break and he repeated the feat with 64 minutes gone after Leysen had been adjudged to have handled after a VAR review. Woltemade appeared keen to take at least one of the spot-kicks and, although Gordon prevailed, Howe had no issue with that. He said: “I love it. The best strikers I’ve worked with want to score. Even if there is a directive, they don’t care. They want to score. They want that responsibility. I’ve got no issue with that at all.”

Arteta hails squad depth Gunners’ boss able to rest Rice, Eze and Saka in win over Olympiacos.

Ű BY ANDY SIMS

Podence an equaliser. And the tension was palpable around the Emirates until Saka plundered the second two minutes into stoppage time. “I’m very happy, winning in the Champions League is always very complicated,” added Arteta. “We started really well, got

“It was great to see him,” smiled Arteta. “So glad that he’s doing so well. Very happy for him. “And it’s strange at the same moment because he was my coach. So when you have to play against your former coach, it’s always something weird. “I’m getting older – which I think is

M IKEL ARTETA believes Arsenal’s strength in depth makes them bet ter equipped to go even further in this season’s Champions League. The Gunners reached the semifinals last term before bowing out to eventual winners Paris St Germain. Arteta was able to rotate his squad for yes terday’s 2-0 league phase win over Olympiacos with a stacked bench including Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka. And it was England winger Saka who settled some frayed nerves when he climbed off the bench to score their second goal. “With all respect, last season

good. I learned a lot from him and from my time with him. It was a good experience. “Thank God we won the game and I wish him all the best.” – The Independent

the goal, a lot of threats and two or three big chances, but when you don’t put them away in this competition you have to be care ful.

“We had to make an incredi ble save to deny them a goal which you need in this com petition as well. “After that we had moments of overall

“I’m not watching a top team,”Carragher said on CBS Sports . “Liverpool aren’t playing football at the moment, they are playing basketball. It is just end-to-end and I don’t think top teams play like that. “I expressed that to the manager early on, he’ll know that a lot better than me. He is obviously a fantastic manager. “But right now Liverpool went from, I would call them a workman like team last season, and they have sprinkled a little bit of stardust on it terms of the transfers that they have brought in. “And they haven’t gained anything going forward but they have lost a lot defensively. “I think for the manager now, last season was such a smooth

we were looking (at the bench) and we had five academy players there, that probably never played professional football in the Champions League, so it makes a difference,” said Arteta. “Today we decided to change six players because I want everybody to really be involved and feel part of it, and it was great. “We had the feeling as well that

dominance but we got a lit tle bit deeper and every time they put

balls in the box it was dan

gerous. “We missed two big chances but found a way with Bukayo and breathed a little bit.” It was a surreal evening for the Gunners chief as he was up against vet eran Olympiacos boss Jose Luis Mendilibar, who had coached Arteta when he was just 13.

physically we were dropping because we played a really intense match in Newcastle a few days ago. “The ones that came in again, they lifted the level, and they helped us to win the game, and that’s great.” Gabriel Martinelli tapped Arsenal into a 12th-minute lead but they needed a David Raya wonder-save to deny ex-Wolves man Daniel

ride for them, he’s now got to really earn his money. “He did last season, won the Premier League, unbe lievable. But there’s a few problems there that he has got to fix and it’ll be really interesting how he goes about it because he’s spent a lot of money. “Liverpool got battered by Newcastle in the second half of that game. Newcastle had 10 men. That can’t happen. “Crystal Palace created seven big chances at the weekend. That’s more than any team has conceded in the Premier League all season. Liverpool are the cham pions. “This has been coming. This is not a shock. And the manager needs to fix it.” Wirtz has yet to score for Liverpool or make an assist since his £116 million (RM672m) move from Bayer Leverkusen, and Carragher believes the Reds must go back to the midfield three that led them to the Premier League title last season. “Right now I don’t think the balance of the team is right and the obvious one that stands out is Florian Wirtz,” Carragher added. “I think he needs to come out of the team, Liverpool go back to what they were last season and then go from there and build some confidence, build some defensive solidity. “Because right now it is a mess. It’s not the losses, it is not the defeats. This has been coming from day one.” – The Independent

Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard (right) battles for the ball with Olympiakos’ Costinha during their Champions League match yesterday. – AFPPIC

SHORTS

forced him to miss the whole of the 2023/24 season. He joined PSV Eindhoven on loan in the second half of last season, having featured eight times under Ruben Amorim prior to that. Wright brace fires Coventry’s rout of Millwall COVENTRY boosted their bid for promotion to the Premier League as Haji Wright struck twice in a 4-0 rout of Millwall at The Den yesterday. United States forward Wright is the top scorer in the Championship with seven goals after his double maintained Coventry’s free scoring start to the season. Frank Lampard’s second-placed side remain unbeaten and they closed to within two points of leaders Middlesbrough as their goal tally reached 22 in eight matches. Adrian Segecic made sure Watford’s poor

away form continued as his 79th-minute equaliser handed Portsmouth a 2-2 draw at Fratton Park. The Hornets looked to be ending their nine match winless streak on the road after Imran Louza and Rocco Vata scored following Yang Min-hyeok’s early strike for Portsmouth. But Segecic came off the bench as the pressure mounts on Watford boss Paulo Pezzolano. West Brom won 1-0 against Norwich to condemn the Canaries to a fifth successive defeat at Carrow Road. Josh Maja side-footed home in the 20th minute to get the visitors back to winning ways after three games without a victory. QPR drew 0-0 with Oxford at Loftus Road in the night’s other match. The hosts are now unbeaten in five league matches since being hammered 7-1 at Coventry on Aug 23.

Malacia set for United return TYRELL MALACIA will rejoin Manchester United’s first-team training. The 26-year-old was part of the summer’s “bomb squad” alongside Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho and Antony, deemed surplus to requirements. While the others left, Malacia stayed after a loan to Spanish side Elche fell through. He has been training with the U-21s, but his senior squad reintegration is now complete. Sources confirm this was a planned change, not a reaction to United’s form or player injuries. Malacia joined United in 2022, Erik ten Hag’s first signing as head coach. He was a regular for the Red Devils in the 2022-23 season but suffered a long-term knee injury towards the end of that campaign, which