Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim on Sunday defended his decision to again omit forward Marcus Rashford from his squad for his side’s 1-0 win over Fulham, insisting he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford has not featured for United since the middle of last month, after he admitted that he was ready for a new challenge in his career, with the England international not in the team’s traveling party for Sunday’s narrow English Premier League victory.
Amorim has always been adamant he would not allow anything less than full application from his players, even if the club are struggling to find form under the Portuguese coach.
“It’s always the same reason,” Amorim told reporters when asked about Rashford’s latest omission. “The reasons is the training, the way I see what a footballer should do. In training, in life, and it’s every day, every detail. So if things don’t change, I will not change. It’s the same situation for every player. If you do the maximum, if you do the right things, we can use every player.”
“You can see it today on the bench — we miss a little bit of pace to go, to change the game, to move some pieces, but I prefer like that. I will put [goalkeeper coach Jorge] Vital before I put a player that does not give the maximum every day. I will not change in that,” he said.
On the eve of his 40th birthday, Amorim joked that he feels 10 years older after a difficult first two months at the club.
United were fortunate to emerge from their trip to Craven Cottage with three points. Lisandro Martinez’s late deflected winner was the visitors’ only shot on target in a poor contest.
The victory was only the fourth time Amorim has tasted league success since taking over from Erik ten Hag in November last year, with the 20-time top-flight champions still struggling in mid-table.
“It’s not 40 ... I’m 50,” Amorim told the BBC when asked if the Fulham win was the perfect birthday present. “After two months at Manchester United it’s 50. It’s a privilege to spend my 40th birthday here. That feeling of winning and three points is really important for us. You cannot see a great improvement in the team and that is a fact, but to win helps us to improve.”
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia yesterday advanced to the women’s doubles final at the Australian Open after defeating New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 in their semi-final. Hsieh has won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and has a shot at a 10th tomorrow, when the Latvian-Taiwanese duo are to play Taylor Townsend of the US and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the championship match at the A$96.5 million (US$61 million) outdoor hard court tournament at Melbourne Park. Townsend and Siniakova eliminated Russian pair Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva 6-7
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
FINAL WEEK LOOMS: PSG rose to 22nd place to set up another tense challenge against 24th-placed Stuttgart, while Man City require victory against Club Brugge Manchester City are on the brink of a humiliating UEFA Champions League exit after a stunning loss to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, while Real Madrid is no longer at risk after routing Salzburg. Man City blew a two-goal lead in a high-stakes clash of super-wealthy underachievers that PSG won 4-2 in Paris, who could still be eliminated alongside the English champions after the final round of games next week. Only the top 24 in the 36-team standings are to advance. Man City, the 2023 champions, are in 25th place, but could squeeze into the knockout playoffs round by beating Club Brugge. “We will
RSS