04/01/2026

theSun on Sunday JAN 4, 2026

SPORTS 13

Slot: Liverpool’s season has been ‘constant battle’

SIDENETTING SPURS’ JOHNSON COMPLETES PALACE SWITCH Brennan johnson yesterday completed a move from Tottenham to Crystal Palace for a reported fee of £35 million (RM191m). The Wales international, 24, has signed a four-and-a-half year deal at Selhurst Park. The forward, who fell out of favour under Thomas Frank at Spurs despite being the London club’s top scorer last season, is set to make his debut for Palace in their Premier League match against Newcastle at St James’ Park today (11pm Malaysian time). “I’m really excited and I’m really happy,” said Johnson, who is Palace’s record signing. “Crystal Palace are such a great club, one that I’ve always admired. It’s a great time for me to be here and join the journey that this club is on.” The transfer will be a huge boost to Glasner, who said his threadbare side were in “survival mode” following Thursday’s 1-1 draw with Fulham. ENDRICK ‘ADAPTING WELL’, SAYS FONSECA Brazilian starlet Endrick will miss Lyon’s first game after the winter break but is settling well into life in France since arriving on loan from Spanish giants Real Madrid, Lyon coach Paulo Fonseca said yesterday.The highly-rated 19 year-old fell out of favour at Madrid this campaign under Xabi Alonso and joined the Ligue 1 club in late December on loan until the end of the season as he seeks to secure his spot in the Brazil squad at the 2026 World Cup. Endrick is expected to pull on his new club’s colours for the first time on Jan 11, for a French Cup meeting with fellow Ligue 1 side Lille. Rafael Leao fired AC Milan top of Serie A with a tight 1-0 win at Cagliari yesterday. Adrien Rabiot set up Leao who fired past Elia Caprile after 50 minutes in Sardinia. Milan move two points ahead of Inter Milan who host Bologna tomorrow (3.45am Malaysian time) with third-placed Napoli at Lazio. The visitors came out fighting after the break, Ruben Loftus-Cheek heading over before Leao breaking the deadlock having hit the crossbar minutes earlier.The visitors secured all three points to maintain their unbeaten run on the road this season. Cagliari remain 14th in the standings on 18 points. Lensnotched their seventh successive win to beat Toulouse 3-0 yesterday and move four points clear of Paris Saint-Germain at the top of Ligue 1. Lens have held top spot since Nov 30 and will stay there for at least another fortnight as next weekend is given over to the French Cup. The game turned when Toulouse striker Emersonn was sent off for an ugly challenge on Odsonne Edouard. Lens did not benefit from the one man advantage until the start of the second half when they laid siege to the Toulouse goal. LEAO FIRES MILAN TO TOP OF SERIE A LENS MOVE FOUR POINTS CLEAR

“Realistically those two teams (Arsenal and City) are quite far away from us and we should not look at those two at this moment in time,” said the Liverpool boss. “We have had our struggles throughout. Now we have been seven (league) games in a row unbeaten but if you say this you feel like, ‘They are flying through the league’, but that is not what we are doing. “Every single game we play it’s hard work. We are mainly the team that is probably better than the other team but not enough.” Slot said he and his men would keep working to “find a moment where we can fly through the season”.

ARNE SLOT (pic) says the first half of Liverpool’s season has been a “constant battle”, admitting the Premier League title race appears to be a duel between Arsenal and Manchester City. Defending champions Liverpool are fourth in the table at the halfway stage, 12 points behind the Gunners and eight behind City following a 0-0 draw with Leeds on Friday. Third-placed Aston Villa are six points clear of the Reds. Slot’s team have recovered ground after a terrible run of nine defeats in

each other, sometimes a bit lucky, sometimes a bit unlucky,” he admitted. Slot, who won the Premier League in his first campaign at Anfield, believes fourth place is a fair reflection of Liverpool’s season so far. “Although the margins are small so that could have influenced us having three, four, five, six more points maybe,” he said ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Fulham (11pm Malaysian time). “But from open play, from where we are, when I look at Arsenal, I look at City and I look at us, it’s fair that we are not above them. “That we are so many points behind them, there are reasons for that but it wouldn’t be fair if we were above them for the way we have played.” – AFP

12 matches in all competitions starting in late September but they remain well of the pace.

“But for the first 19 games it has been a constant battle, close to

Squad stays

Amorim says ‘no talks’ over January transfers at United

RUBEN AMORIM (pic) said yesterday that there are “no conversations” about poten tial Manchester United reinforcements in the January transfer window as he jug gles a depleted squad. The Red Devils reached the Premier League’s midway point sixth in the stand ings – just three points behind Liverpool in the final guaranteed Champions League spot. But United, who face Leeds today, have squandered a number of opportunities in recent weeks to move into the top four, dropping more points in a disappointing 1-1 draw with bottom club Wolves on Wednesday. Amorim suggested at his pre-match press conference yesterday that major reinforcements this month were unlikely,

signing Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo, who is understood to be on his way to Manchester City, while Joshua Zirkzee and Kobbie Mainoo are among those linked with a January exit. Asked if any players had knocked on his door and asked to leave, Amorim said: “No, none. I don’t expect them to come to me to ask anything.” Leeds, unbeaten in six matches, are searching for a first home win against their arch-rivals since September 2002 and Amorim said that his men must be prepared for a hostile atmosphere. “Of course I will try to put a team that is ready to cope with that and then I will try to read the game and try to under stand what I should do to help them to win the game,” he said. – AFP

even though he is struggling with a raft of absentees as a result of injuries and inter national duty. The Portuguese manager’s tone appears to have changed just two weeks after he said “we will see” whether there would be any movement. “The transfer window is not going to change,” Amorim said. “We have no con versations in this moment to have any change in the squad. “There’s a process, there’s an idea that is going to continue. We are near the places of the Champions League, but we are near also … eight teams behind us, so let’s focus on the next game. “Just that. Our focus is to win the next game.” United were reportedly interested in

Frank confident of winning over unhappy Tottenham fans THOMAS FRANK said he shares the frustrations of Tottenham fans after another lacklustre display from his team but believes he will win them over. The Spurs boss was booed by supporters following Friday’s drab goalless draw at his former club Brentford, who also chanted “boring, boring Tottenham”. “We’re working very hard,” the beleaguered Frank said. “I understand (the fans’) frustrations. I share them too.” The Dane was asked by reporters whether he could be successful without the fans behind him. fans behind us.” Frank was asked whether there was a misalignment between what he saw as success in terms of results and the type of stylish football that Spurs fans crave.

is that I know we will be able to score a lot of goals and I know we will be much more dominant in a lot of games. “But with the current situation with too many of the top players out, playing a lot of games, that just makes it more tricky. Also with no time to train, it’s just reality. “Right now it’s the talk of the town, fair enough. Tomorrow (it) will be forgotten, it will be a new thing and we, just behind the scenes, need to be calm and work on the things very hard and keep improving.” – AFP

“I think expectation is good and I also think we are probably in a bit of a transition,” he said. “Not that we don’t want to play a lot better, but the club, the squad, the injuries, all that, taken into consideration, is part of that.” Frank added: “I’m 100 percent sure (what) will happen

“I will try to maybe turn that question around and say if you are successful the Tottenham fans will be behind you,” he said. “So the fans will get behind us and I’m pretty sure that, yes some booed last night (but) I’m still pretty sure there’s a lot of

The result left the club, who host Sunderland today (11pm Malaysian time), 12th in the Premier League, with just two wins from their past 10 league games.