What the papers say
Real Madrid are keen on making Kepa Arrizabalaga’s loan move from Chelsea permanent, according to the Sun. The LaLiga giants reportedly want to pay no more than £17.5million for the 29-year-old Spain goalkeeper, who cost the Blues £71m five years ago.
Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey, 30, is being eyed by Juventus as a potential replacement for Paul Pogba, reports the Mirror. The Italian club are said to be looking at a loan deal in January, using the wages saved with Pogba reportedly facing a lengthy ban over a failed drugs test and Nicolo Fagiolo suspended for at least seven months over betting breaches.
Liverpool have been given a lift in their interest in Brazilian midfielder Andre according to the Mirror. A previous bid for the 22-year-old from Fluminense was reportedly rejected, but he has now indicated he would be open to a move in January.
Germany midfielder Florian Wirtz is catching Chelsea’s eye at Bayer Leverkusen, reports the Express. But the Blues are said to face competition from Manchester City for the 20-year-old.
Social media round-upPlayers to watch
Trevoh Chalobah: Borussia Dortmund are interested in the 24-year-old Chelsea defender, 24.
Giorgi Mamardashvili: Chelsea have reportedly watched the Valencia and Georgia goalkeeper, 24.
Australia has opted against a bid to host the 2034 World Cup with Saudi Arabia on course to stage the tournament.
With FIFA’s deadline for declarations of interest on Tuesday, Football Australia issued a statement saying it had “explored the opportunity” of a bid but had decided against it.
“Having taken all factors into consideration, we have reached the conclusion not to do so for the 2034 competition,” the statement said.
“Football Australia is ambitious to bring more major tournaments to our shores. We believe we are in a strong position to host the Women’s Asian Cup in 2026 and then welcome the greatest teams in world football for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup.”
It said hosting those events, in between the 2023 Women’s World Cup and 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, would complete a “truly golden decade for Australian football”.
Saudia Arabia announced its declaration of interest within hours of FIFA outlining the process for hosting the 2034 tournament.
The awarding of the 2026 finals to the United States, Canada and Mexico followed by Spain, Portugal and Morocco being set to host the 2030 finals – subject to formal approval by FIFA’s congress – means that only bids from the Asian Football Confederation and the Oceania Football Confederation will be considered for the 2034 finals.
Saudi Arabia confirmed on October 4 that it would bid for the showpiece tournament in 2034 when Saudi Minister of Sport Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal said in a statement via the Saudi Press Agency: “Hosting a FIFA World Cup in 2034 would help us achieve our dream of becoming a leading nation in world sport and would mark a significant milestone in the country’s transformation.
“As an emerging and welcoming home for all sports, we believe that hosting a FIFA World Cup is a natural next step in our football journey.”
Carlos Corberan was delighted after his West Brom side secured a 2-0 win against Coventry at the CBS Arena.
Grady Diangana pounced on a Ben Wilson error to slot home in the first half before Brandon Thomas-Asante fired in a second amid calls for offside from the Sky Blues’ back-line.
“The result of course was excellent,” said Corberan. “We know that Coventry is one team that didn’t lose at home so far, during the game we realised how difficult it was to win here tonight.
“The first goal was a collective action, Grady was showing how connected he is with the game because normally not every player will go for the second ball.
“The second was a very good action, very good pass of (Matt) Phillips, good running of Asante and the level of finish was excellent.
“I am very pleased to have the three points for the level of effort the players have put into the game tonight. In defence in the first half we need to defend much better. In attack we need to attack more, in the second half we improved in the counter attack but there are still things we need to do better to improve as a team.
“I didn’t watch the action (possible offside) so it’s impossible for me to make any decisions. You need to pause, to see with VAR to make the decision but on live, some actions are impossible.
“I think in one action if there is a clear offside it’s easy to see, if there is no clear offside it’s very difficult, and if there is no clear offside there is no advantage. I think VAR shows us sometimes that they disallow the goals in the action that you don’t see an advantage of the striker with the position of the defender.
“If there was an advantage I think the referee would have been watching. I hope it wasn’t offside because I always like to win with the results being fair.”
Coventry boss Mark Robins bemoaned a lack of belief within his side, who were handed their first home defeat since April and sit 20th in the Championship after three consecutive defeats.
Robins said: “The negative is obviously the result. We’ve got to a situation where we’ve lost the last three and we’ve conceded really poor goals and made some poor decisions.
“We’ve had plenty of the ball and got into good positions, but what I would say is we need to be more positive when we’ve got positions to shoot.
“We moved the ball well, we played through the midfield area pretty well and there are areas that we clearly need to be better in.
“There were some good things we did in the game but we can’t concede goals that give us a mountain to climb.
“Belief is a bit lacking in certain individuals but we made a lot of bad decisions as well.
“Ultimately they’ve got the win off the back of a goal we’ve given to them and an offside goal that wasn’t seen by the officials.
“I saw it live and it looked offside and then I went to have a look at the monitor and he was offside. But the action that led to it wasn’t right either. We tried to play offside, that was a major decision because we were still in the game, we had chances to equalise having gone a goal down.
“It’s poor by Ben Wilson. We can’t give people chances like that and expect people to keep the ball out of the net. It’s poor. We all make mistakes and it’s just how you deal with them and how you put those forward.”
Lionel Messi was crowned Ballon d’Or winner for a record eighth time after leading Argentina to World Cup glory.
The 36-year-old scored twice in the final as Argentina saw off France to win the tournament for the first time in his illustrious career.
Messi has since moved to Inter Miami having left Paris St Germain at the end of last season – but it was his imperious form for his country in Qatar which saw him crowned Ballon d’Or winner by France Football once again.
Meanwhile, Barcelona and Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmati won the women’s Ballon d’Or following a trophy-laden campaign for the 25-year-old.
Messi beat Manchester City’s hot-shot striker Erling Haaland into second place for the men’s award on a night where Pep Guardiola’s treble winners were well-represented.
Kylian Mbappe – just the second man to score a World Cup final hat-trick – was third after starring in France’s run to the final.
Kevin De Bruyne finished fourth while Rodri came fifth, Julian Alvarez – also a team-mate of Messi at international level – was seventh, and Bernardo Silva was ninth as City players dominated the top 10.
Messi was presented with the award by David Beckham, owner of Inter Miami and runner-up in the 1999 Ballon d’Or, and was in a reflective mood.
“I couldn’t imagine having the career that I’ve had,” he said.
“Everything that I’ve achieved. The fortune I’ve had playing for the best team in the world, the best team in history. It’s nice to win these individual trophies. To win the Copa America and then the World Cup, to get it done is amazing.”
City were also crowned the men’s team of the season after winning the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup last term.
Haaland’s fine season saw him win the Gerd Muller Trophy for the world’s top-scoring striker after hitting a record 56 goals last season.
Women’s Ballon d’Or winner Bonmati won a league and Champions League double before playing a pivotal role in Spain’s World Cup success, where she was also awarded the Golden Ball.
“This is a dream for me,” she said.
“I have really good players by my side. To reach three straight Champions League finals as a club is special. Let’s hope there’s much more to come.”
Bonmati beat Chelsea and Australia striker Sam Kerr into second place, with her Spain and Barcelona team-mate Salma Paralluelo coming third.
Two of England’s Lionesses who reached the World Cup final made the top 10, with Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps fifth and Rachel Daly of Aston Villa 10th.
Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez won the Lev Yashin Trophy for goalkeeper of the year after his starring role in his nation’s World Cup win.
England international Jude Bellingham’s meteoric rise continued as he was voted the Kopa Award winner for the best under-21 player in the world.
The Real Madrid and England midfielder picked up the trophy after the 20-year-old finished 18th for the main award.
Bellingham has hit 13 goals in 13 appearances since moving to Madrid in the summer, including a double to lead Real to victory in his first El Clasico against Barcelona on Saturday, but his success was for last season – where he shone for Borussia Dortmund and England.
England captain Harry Kane was 19th, with Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka coming 24th – while Mohamed Salah of Liverpool just missed out on the top 10 as he was 11th.
Barcelona and Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmati has won the women’s Ballon d’Or, France Football has announced.
The 25-year-old enjoyed a fine year for club and country – winning a league and Champions League double before playing a pivotal role in Spain’s World Cup success, where she also won the Golden Ball.
Bonmati beat Chelsea and Australia striker Sam Kerr into second place, with her Spain and Barcelona team-mate Salma Paralluelo coming third.
Two of England’s Lionesses who reached the World Cup final made the top 10, with Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps fifth and Rachel Daly of Aston Villa 10th.
Manchester City were crowned the men’s team of the season after Pep Guardiola’s side delivered the treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
Meanwhile, City’s Erling Haaland won the Gerd Muller Trophy for the world’s top-scoring striker after hitting a record 56 goals last season.
Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez won the Lev Yashin Trophy for goalkeeper of the year after his starring role in his nation’s World Cup win.
England international Jude Bellingham was voted the Kopa Award winner for the best under-21 player in the world.
The Real Madrid and England midfielder picked up the trophy after the 20-year-old finished 18th for the main award.
Bellingham has hit 13 goals in 13 appearances since moving to Madrid in the summer, including a double to lead Real to victory in his first El Clasico against Barcelona on Saturday, but his success was for last season – where he shone for Borussia Dortmund and England.
Jude Bellingham’s meteoric rise continued as he was awarded the Kopa Trophy for the best player under the age of 21 in world football.
The Real Madrid and England midfielder picked up the trophy at the Ballon d’Or event in France, where the 20-year-old finished 18th for the main award.
Bellingham has hit 13 goals in 13 appearances since moving to Madrid in the summer, including a double to lead Real to victory in his first El Clasico against Barcelona on Saturday.
The Kopa Trophy was awarded for his form last season, when Bellingham helped Borussia Dortmund to finish second in the Bundesliga and starred for England at the World Cup in Qatar.
“I just want to thank everyone who has helped me get to this point – from Birmingham to Dortmund and now Real Madrid and the national team,” he said.
“Thanks for the support, it means a lot – and more to come.”
Former winners Gavi and Pedri – both of Barcelona – were in the top five, as was Bellingham’s Real Madrid team-mate Eduardo Camavinga.
Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala came second, having roomed with Bellingham during their time together in the England youth set-up.
Bellingham had finished second in 2021, with Manchester United’s Jadon Sancho the only other England player to ever finish in the top three – taking second place in 2019 while at Dortmund.
Anwar El Ghazi is set to play for Mainz again after the German club said he has “distanced” himself from a social media post about the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The former Aston Villa forward was suspended on October 17 by the Bundesliga club, who called the now-deleted Instagram post “intolerable”.
It was widely reported that El Ghazi would have his contract terminated, but Mainz have confirmed that the 28-year-old Dutchman will be staying.
A club statement read: “Anwar El Ghazi is warned by 1. FSV Mainz 05 for publishing a post on social media two weeks ago.
“After the publication, the club immediately released its player from training and games.
“Since then, in several conversations with the club’s board, El Ghazi has distanced himself from his post on his Instagram channel, which he himself deleted after just a few minutes.
“He regretted the publication of the article and its negative impact, especially for the entire club.
“In this context, El Ghazi also clearly distanced himself from terrorist acts such as those by Hamas, which led to a renewed escalation of violence in the Middle East two weeks ago, to the board.”
The club added: “He (El Ghazi) emphasised his sympathy with the victims of this attack as well as with all victims of this conflict. He made it clear that he did not question Israel’s right to exist.
“The club’s board clearly emphasised to Anwar El Ghazi in the discussions that it requires its employees to commit to the club’s values.
“This implies a special responsibility towards the State of Israel and the Jewish people, which derives from German history, but also the history of the club with its Jewish club co-founder Eugen Salomon.
“Against the background of El Ghazi’s commitment and the remorse he has shown, the club’s culture of dealing with mistakes requires that the player be given a chance for rehabilitation.
“Anwar El Ghazi will therefore return to training and games at 1. FSV Mainz 05 as soon as possible.”
El Ghazi joined Mainz on a free transfer last month from PSV Eindhoven and has made three substitute appearances.
He played for Lille and Ajax before moving to Villa in 2018. He made nearly 120 appearances in four years at Villa and also had a loan spell at Everton during his time in England.
Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate is unlikely to play again before Christmas.
The Japan international suffered a hamstring injury in the first minute of last week’s Champions League draw with Atletico Madrid, and tests have revealed significant damage.
Manager Brendan Rodgers said: “Reo, we are not 100 per cent on the exact timings, but he is certainly going to be out until after Christmas, we think, so that’s a shame.”
The 25-year-old will miss a major chunk of the season with Celtic playing 12 games before Christmas, including three in the Champions League.
The Hoops travel to Dundee on Boxing Day before hosting Rangers four days later and Hatate may face an extended period out given the winter break follows Celtic’s trip to play St Mirren on January 2.
Rodgers added: “It’s a disappointment for him. He has had a bit of a broken start to the season and obviously this will take him over the halfway point in the league.
“So it is very frustrating for him, especially someone who really commits himself to his game and his professionalism. Everything he does, he tries to do right.
“But he is in a great place for that support, from the coaches, the manager to the medical team, the whole staff here will support him like we do with all the players. And hopefully we will get him back sooner rather than later.”
Hatate had a six-week spell out with a hamstring injury in his other leg towards the end of last season, and missed a month with a calf injury earlier this term. So Celtic will explore all avenues to ensure Hatate’s return to fitness is lasting.
“That’s the ideal scenario,” Rodgers said. “It’s just investigating everything he is doing outside of here as well as here and trying to piece it all together.
“There are also unfortunately players that, sadly, their collagen means they pick up lots of injuries and how their body is, and they can just maybe sometimes never stay fit.
“He is a guy that has come into the game late. He has done fantastic when he has been fit and available for Celtic.
“It’s just a case of trying to look deeper into everything around his development and what he is doing here and what he is doing away from here, just to see if there is anything that we can find out.
“Because ideally you want your best players available, and he is certainly one of our top players.”
There was better news for Rodgers ahead of Wednesday’s cinch Premiership meeting with St Mirren after Alistair Johnston was passed fit after taking a clearance to the face during Saturday’s draw with Hibernian.
Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham continued their stunning starts to life at their new clubs with multi-goal performances over the weekend.
Bellingham’s brace fired Real Madrid to victory over Barcelona in El Clasico while Kane hit a hat-trick in Bayern Munich’s 8-0 rout of Darmstadt in the Bundesliga.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the England duo’s season to date.
Goals galore
Kane kick-started the second-half scoring in Bayern’s wild win on Saturday, in a game which at half-time was goalless with Bayern playing with 10 men to Darmstadt’s nine.
His eventual treble, completed in the 88th minute and including one from his own half, sees him one ahead of Bellingham in the scoring stakes this season but the latter’s contribution on Saturday stands out as all the more impressive.
With Real trailing to Ilkay Gundogan’s early goal for Barca, Bellingham blasted a stunning 30-yard equaliser midway through the second half before popping up with a close-range volley in stoppage time to give his side the Clasico spoils and a four-point lead over their rivals in LaLiga.
It is the third time this season he has scored twice in a game, following the wins over Almeria and Osasuna, giving him a goal-a-game record in his first 13 games for the Spanish giants.
Kane, in the same number of matches, has 14 goals, including another hat-trick in a 7-0 win over Bochum and a brace against Augsburg.
Both men scored in England’s 3-1 win over Scotland, one of three appearances this season for the national team as they sat out the friendly with Australia. That gives Bellingham 14 goals in 16 games for club and country and Kane, who added a brace against Italy, 17 in 16.
Bellingham, of course, has produced those numbers from an attacking midfield position and while acclimatising to a more advanced role than he had been used to with former clubs Borussia Dortmund and Birmingham, or with England. Kane leads the line and has already benefitted from four penalties for Bayern and another against Italy.
Brits abroad
Kane and Bellingham are already on their way to establishing themselves among the most prolific English or British players overseas.
Gary Lineker scored 20 goals in his debut LaLiga season with Barcelona, and 52 in 138 games for the club across three seasons in all competitions.
Michael Owen netted 16 times in his one season at Real, where David Beckham won a league title in his fourth and final season and Steve McManaman won two Champions Leagues, scoring in the 2000 final.
Wales’ record scorer Gareth Bale was another British star to ply his trade at the Bernabeu and scored over 100 goals for Real, with nine in his first 13 games – while often operating from the bench – setting up a tally of 22 in his debut season.
Kevin Keegan scored 12 in his first season at Hamburg in 1977-78, a total already surpassed by Kane and Bellingham, while Wales forward Mark Hughes managed only five goals alongside Lineker at Barca and seven in a season on loan at Bayern. Mark Hateley’s most prolific seasons at AC Milan and Monaco brought 11 and 14 goals respectively.
Jadon Sancho, a team-mate of Bellingham at Dortmund, took time to establish himself after moving from Manchester City’s youth academy. He did scored 13 goals in his first season as a regular starter, though eight of those came from December onwards. Tammy Abraham got 27 in his first season at Roma, albeit with nine in the unheralded Europa Conference League.
Bellingham himself scored only 12 league goals in three years with Dortmund – he is only two away from that already with Real, and more than halfway to his 24 in all competitions for the German side.
Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni has stressed that Barcelona’s Gavi was not to blame for the injury he suffered in El Clasico.
Tchouameni sustained a fracture in his foot during Saturday’s contest at Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium.
Replying to a social media post showing footage of a coming together between him and Gavi in the game, the France international wrote: “It’s not Gavi’s fault. I was injured at the end of the first half.”
Real had said on Sunday: “After the tests carried out on our player Aurelien Tchouameni by the Real Madrid medical services, he has been diagnosed with an incomplete stress fracture in the second metatarsal of his left foot.”
A dramatic encounter saw the visitors came from behind to win 2-1 thanks to a Jude Bellingham brace, with the England midfielder’s second goal coming in stoppage time.
Calo Ancelotti’s Real lead LaLiga on goal difference from second-placed Girona, while Xavi’s defending champions Barca are four points behind in fourth.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said Alexis Mac Allister’s versatility has added a different dimension to his midfield this season.
The Argentina World Cup-winner was a stand-out performer in a deeper-lying role again on Sunday as Liverpool strolled to a 3-0 home win against Nottingham Forest.
After Liverpool’s seventh league win of the season kept them three points behind leaders Tottenham, Klopp said of Mac Allister’s role: “It’s obviously really not a discussion we have, otherwise we wouldn’t play him there.
“But I think today everybody could see the benefit of a player who comes rather from the offensive side of the game than from the other side.”
Mac Allister scored 12 goals for Brighton last season in a more advanced position before signing a five-year deal with Liverpool, who paid £55million for him in June.
He was key to Liverpool in his new role on Sunday as they kept Forest pinned deep in their own half, with two goals in four first-half minutes from Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez followed by Mohamed Salah’s second-half effort.
“I’m really pleased for him,” Klopp added. “A lot of defensive top moments, he checked the counter, was really there. He’s good at these things. That’s why we play him there.
“We have a really creative player in the centre of the park, together with Trent (Alexander-Arnold) in some moments obviously, which is very helpful.”
Forest’s winless league run was extended to six games as boss Steve Cooper contends with a string of injuries, but they remain five points above the relegation zone.
Chris Wood was a late withdrawal from Sunday’s squad due to a hamstring injury and with Taiwo Awoniyi returning to the bench after a groin problem, Cooper was short of options up front.
He said: “We were defensive and tried to play on the counter-attack. But I came here the other night when Liverpool played Toulouse and it finished 5-1 and was over fairly quickly.
“You can come here and try to be expansive and you can be on the end of a really, really difficult result. We’re not on the end of a good result, of course, but I’ve seen really good teams come here and get punished.
“We were forced into the team we had to pick, certainly at the top end of the pitch. When we got some of the players in more normal positions, you could see a little bit of a better identity. But the third goal killed it.”
Defending champions Clarendon College and last year’s semi-finalists Manchester High maintained their perfect win records in this season’s ISSA/Wata DaCosta Cup with wins over Mile Gully High and first-time qualifiers Tacky High, respectively, to kick off the Round of 16 on Saturday.
Clarendon College are the early leaders in Group 1 on goal-difference after beating a stubborn Mile Gully High 2-0 at Glenmuir High for their 11th consecutive win of the season.
St Elizabeth Technical edged 10-man Cornwall College 3-2 at Jarrett Park in the day’s other Group 1 game.
Manchester High gave Tacky High a warm welcome to the Round of 16, beating them 4-1 in Group 2 and took their perfect run to 13 games.
The other Group 2 game saw Happy Grove suffer their first loss of the season, going down 2-4 to B.B. Coke after leading 2-1 at halftime.
Christiana High are the early leaders in Group 3 after a 3-2 win over William Knibb while Dinthill Technical and McGrath played out a goalless draw. Interestingly, Dinthill had already beaten McGrath twice this season.
In Group 4, a Demar Williams’ 20th minute goal was good enough for Frome Technical to beat Port Antonio High 1-0 at Carder Park while Garvey Maceo and Glenmuir played out a 1-1 draw.
FIFA has sent its “support and prayers” to Liverpool forward Luis Diaz following the kidnapping of his parents in Colombia.
It has been confirmed that Diaz’s mother has been rescued and after the player returned home to be with family members, the Colombian authorities have stepped up their search for his father.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Instagram: “On behalf of FIFA and the global football community, I would like to extend our support and prayers to Luis Diaz, his family and his friends in these difficult times.”
The Colombia football federation (FCF) has also issued a further statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, demanding that those holding Diaz’s father release him immediately without conditions.
The FCF said: “We ask the captors of Luis Manuel Díaz, father of @LuisFDiaz19, to release him now, without conditions. Football is peace. Lucho, we are with you. Colombia is with you.”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said after Sunday’s 3-0 home win against Nottingham Forest that preparing for the game had been “the most difficult I’ve ever had in my life”.
Klopp added: “I didn’t expect that, I wasn’t prepared for it.
“I don’t want to make the game bigger than it was, but definitely, we tried to help Luis with the fight we put in because obviously we want to help and we cannot really help.
“So the only thing we can do is fight for him and that’s what the boys did.”
Liverpool secured their fifth straight home Premier League win to move three points behind leaders Tottenham.
But Klopp said: “How can you make a football game really important on a day like this? It’s really difficult. I’ve never struggled with that in my life.
“We heard late last night about it. We spoke to Luis, he wanted to go home…Then we got the news with his mum, which is fantastic, and since then nothing really.
“We are obviously the first people to get involved and we try to have knowledge of everything as much as we can, but we don’t want to disturb in any way the important people there, we just want to support, that’s it.”
Liverpool said in a statement: “Liverpool Football Club can confirm it is aware of an ongoing situation involving the family of Luis Diaz in Colombia.
“It is our fervent hope that the matter is resolved safely and at the earliest possible opportunity. In the meantime, the player’s welfare will continue to be our immediate priority.”
Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro said on X: “In an operation in Barrancas, Luis Diaz’s mother has been rescued, we continue the search for the father.”
Liverpool signed Diaz from Porto in January 2022 in an initial £37.5million deal that included a potential extra £12.5million in add-ons.
The 26-year-old winger has made 11 appearances this season and scored three goals.
Diaz was an unused substitute for Thursday’s 5-1 Europa League win against Toulouse after starting the Premier League victory over Everton last weekend, but was not in the 18-strong squad for Forest’s visit to Anfield.
Jonny Evans says Manchester United have to move on from their derby disappointment and believes injuries have played a part in Erik ten Hag’s second season struggles.
A promising first campaign under the Dutchman has been forgotten as a challenging start to this term continued with Sunday’s humbling at home to Manchester City.
Erling Haaland’s brace and a late Phil Foden goal sealed City a derby victory at Old Trafford that was more one-sided than even the 3-0 scoreline suggested.
Outclassed, outthought and outmanoeuvred for the most part, it was an embarrassing end to the Red Devils’ admittedly unconvincing three-match winning run in all competitions.
“It’s never easy – everyone’s disappointed,” said experienced defender Evans, who was frustrated by the decision to award a first-half penalty for Rasmus Hojlund’s tug on Rodri.
“You wish you could turn back the clock, but you know we’ve got to move on now.
“We’re disappointed obviously. We put a lot into the second half to get back and you know 2-0, maybe the chance with Rashy (Marcus Rashford) we sort of get back in it.
“But you know (it’s) probably disappointing that we didn’t create too much in the second half.”
Sunday’s defeat means United have lost five of their opening 10 league games, leaving them 11 points behind leaders Tottenham and Evans believes that absentees are a mitigating factor.
United boss Ten Hag has had deal with a swathe of injuries, with Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Amad Diallo ruled out of the derby.
Four of those played key roles in February’s Carabao Cup triumph against Newcastle, who head to Old Trafford in the fourth round on Wednesday as the holders look to bounce back from Sunday’s City humiliation.
“At this club that’s what it’s all about, you’ve got to (move on),” defender Evans, who returned to the club in the summer, told MUTV.
“We’ll be preparing for the next game now and making sure preparations are ready.
“I think we’ve been disrupted with a lot of injuries this season in terms of key personnel.
“Probably a lot of our starting players would be, you know, they’re missing.
“I think the manager’s found out difficulties having to sort of work on team, on tactics and having to change the personnel quite a lot with only two days in between games.
“So that’s been difficult, hopefully we can get more players back and get a real sort of opportunity to create freshness within the playing squad.”
City lost at Newcastle in the previous round, so Pep Guardiola’s side get a rare midweek off before hosting Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.
Haaland will be expected to add to this season’s 13-goal haul when the Cherries come to town, fresh from using Old Trafford taunts to fuel his brace and assist on Sunday.
“The performance was incredible,” the striker told the club website.
“Fantastic from every single player. Fantastic from every Manchester City player. It was fantastic.
“I think we performed throughout the 90 minutes, every single minute.
“We controlled the whole game. Big shoutout to everyone. I’m happy to play in this team.”
Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka insists he is not concerned about burnout and is ready to answer manager Mikel Arteta’s challenge of playing 70 games this season.
The England winger, 22, captained the Gunners to a 5-0 victory over Sheffield United on Saturday afternoon to keep them within two points of the top of the Premier League.
Saka has started all-but one of Arsenal’s Premier League and Champions League games this season, sitting out the victory over Manchester City with a hamstring complaint.
Missing the win ended a streak of 87 successive league appearances for Saka, stretching back to May 2021.
Saka’s durability has been an asset for club and country as Arteta called for him to keep playing and contributing to Arsenal’s quest for silverware.
“Look at the top players in the world, they play 70 matches and every three days and make the difference and win the game. You want to be at the top, you have to be able to do that,” the Spanaird said last year.
Saka, who notched up 62 appearances for both Arsenal and England last season, believes he can produce the kind of numbers Arteta is demanding.
“I think it’s possible,” Saka said. “When you look at the top players, they are there every three days and they are winning games for their team.
“So I’m trying to be at that level, and to obviously be at that level I need to push myself. Of course, it’s difficult, but I’m trying to do it and give it my best.
“I think I’m really focused on the next coming games and what I can do for the team. My focus is not really there (on talk of potentially burning out).
“I’m a guy who always wants to be on the pitch, always wants to give my best, and if I’m injured and I have to be forced to be out, then of course I will sit out.
“But as long I’m there and I’m ready to play, I am always going to give my best and tell them that I want to play.”
Saka is expected to be rested as Arteta shuffles his pack for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup fourth-round trip to West Ham.
But he could once again be sporting the captain’s armband when Arsenal travel to Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday, with skipper Martin Odegaard nursing a hip problem and regular stand-in Gabriel Jesus out with a hamstring injury.
“It was a really special moment for me,” Saka said of leading out Arsenal as captain for the first time.
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“To be honest, I can’t really describe how I was feeling when I was walking out. I just tried to take in the atmosphere and just realise where I am and where I’ve come from.
“Then obviously I had to switch my focus to the game and we did, and we got the three points – which is the most important thing at the end of the day.
“We are close to the top of the table in the Premier League, we are top of our Champions League group and we are still in all the other competitions.
“I think that is something we can be proud of, but I agree there is another level for us to go to. We are pushing.”
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