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.”
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
MILWAUKEE PREVAIL: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points as the Bucks withstood Nikola Jokic’s 27th triple-double of the season to beat the Nuggets Golden State star Stephen Curry on Thursday drilled 12 three-pointers in a scintillating 56-point display that carried the Warriors to a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. Curry’s explosive performance helped the Warriors dig themselves out of a 17-point hole, with the point guard signaling the start of the fightback with a three-pointer from beyond the half-court line to end the first half that pulled the Warriors within 66-52 at the break. In the third quarter, he single-handedly outscored the Magic with 22 points to Orlando’s 21. The four-time NBA champion finished two three-pointers shy of former teammate Klay Thompson’s record for most
RSS