Vincent Kompany admitted Burnley’s 2-1 home defeat to West Ham was the toughest one to take yet in what has been a miserable start to life back in the Premier League.
The Hammers, poor by David Moyes’ own admission for most of the afternoon, scored twice in the space of five minutes to snatch victory away, with Tomas Soucek hitting a superb volley to win it in the first minute of stoppage-time.
It was a seventh-straight home defeat for Burnley to start the season and leaves them bottom of the table with just four points from 13 games.
“You can say that,” Kompany said with a rueful laugh when asked if this was the hardest one yet of Burnley’s 11 defeats.
“It’s what makes this game beautiful but also what makes this game hard.
“There’s no other way to say it. Today was a tough one to take but I’ve mentioned it before, it’s still a universal recipe, you’ve got to get back up and keep going.”
Burnley had led through Jay Rodriguez’s 49th-minute penalty after Luca Koleosho had been tripped by Mohammed Kudus and West Ham, without the injured Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio, rarely threatened to get back into the game.
But that all changed in a frantic finish as Kudus atoned for conceding the penalty by setting up the equaliser, with his cross deflected in by Dara O’Shea for an own goal and then picking out Soucek to strike the winner.
“You have to play until the end but in minute 86, probably what I would have said was how outstanding the performance was, on the ball, off the ball, disciplined, mature,” Kompany said.
“But as it is in football, it is shaped fairly by the result and every minute of the game is as important as the first one and in this case it’s tough…
“When you go home, if your children fall down what do you tell them? ‘Get back up and go again’. But you also have to really believe in that. I always have.
“What happens in the last five minutes is we throw everything away. It’s not good enough but it’s not supposed to be easy to get up to this level.”
Moyes recognised his side were lucky to escape Turf Moor with the points.
“I certainly didn’t see it (coming) at half-time with the way we started the game,” he said. “To get in at 0-0 was as good as it could get.
“We hadn’t played well in the first half at all, we were too slow, we never affected Burnley…The climax was great, it shows a lot of the things we’ve got about the team.
“A bit of resilience, we stuck at it, never wilted and had to find a way of getting a goal.
“We didn’t play at our best today. A lot of players were nowhere near their levels but ultimately we got three points in the Premier league.”
Soucek was the matchwinner in the 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest before the international break, then scored two in two for the Czech Republic, before his sixth club goal of the season and ninth overall broke Burnley hearts here.
“Tomas scored for the Czech Republic in midweek, he’s scored today, he scored against Forest so really he’s in a bit of goalscoring form,” Moyes said.
“He took it really well and he took it as someone who’s got a bit more confidence in his finishing.
“When he first came in he got 10 goals in his first season, last year not so much but this year, I think he is up to six already so that’s great.”
Real Madrid hit Twente for seven, five-star Wolfsburg also win big
Real Madrid had six different goalscorers as they trounced Twente 7-0 in the Women's Champions League on Wednesday, while Wolfsburg beat Galatasaray 5-0.
Signe Bruun opened the scoring three minutes into the Group B encounter at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, then Maria Mendez's header gave Madrid a 2-0 half-time lead.
Madrid, who had won one and lost one of their opening two games in the tournament, got a third through Naomie Feller five minutes into the second half, then Caroline Weir made it 4-0 with a brilliant free-kick.
Mendez headed home her second of the encounter shortly after the hour mark, while Oihane Hernandez and Carla Camacho got on the scoresheet late on to complete the rout.
The victory took Madrid second in the Group B standings ahead of Chelsea's trip to Celtic.
Wolfsburg were also convincing victors in Group A, getting off the mark for this season's competition as Rebecka Blomqvist scored a hat-trick in their 5-0 thrashing of Galatasaray.
The Bundesliga side – who failed to pick up a point or score a goal in their opening two matches – had a narrow 1-0 lead at half-time through Joelle Wedemeyer, before Blomqvist took centre-stage in the second period.
She tapped home after Janina Minge struck the crossbar, then added her second goal in the 77th minute and her third six minutes into stoppage time.
Vivien Endemann powered home a fifth for Wolfsburg one minute later, as they provisionally moved within three points of Lyon and Roma ahead of their meeting.
Amorim will 'change the energy' at Man Utd, says Fernandes
Ruben Amorim has been backed to "change the energy" at Manchester United by club captain Bruno Fernandes.
Amorim officially took the reins as United head coach on Monday, with Ruud van Nistelrooy having served as interim boss after Erik ten Hag was sacked last month.
The 39-year-old enjoyed a wildly successful four-year spell in charge of Sporting CP, which began in March 2020, two months after the Lisbon giants sold Fernandes to United.
Amorim delivered two Primeira Liga and two Taca da Liga trophies during his time at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, recording a 71% win rate through 231 matches at the helm (164 wins, 34 draws, 33 losses).
In the Primeira Liga, they won 77% of their games under him (120/156), the best win ratio of any team across Europe's top 10 leagues since he took charge.
Amorim's first game in charge of United will be a Premier League trip to Ipswich Town on November 24, and Fernandes has faith that he can change their fortunes.
"I hope he does the same here because you know sometimes a person can change the energy of a space, if it's the right moment," Fernandes told United's media channels.
"We hope this is the right moment for him to come and bring his energy, bring his qualities and his knowledge of football, because he's done something really, really special at Sporting.
"If someone doubts that, it's about just looking at the past. Sporting was to be about 20 years without winning the league, and he got back to win the league, and he won it two times in four years with a really youthful team, in a moment of change.
"So hopefully he can do the same here for us and [hopefully] it's going to be a successful time for all of us."
Amorim will become the youngest coach to lead United since a 33-year-old Wilf McGuinness took charge of them on Boxing Day 1970 against Derby County, and Fernandes believes one of his main strengths is his man-management style.
"Obviously for me, what stands out as I said to you is the connection he has with the players," Fernandes added.
"I've seen many, many moments where players were struggling and he kept his faith in them. He always goes to the press conference and defends his players.
"He had a really youthful team so they needed that and hopefully when he comes here he can do the same again with the youth.
"Us players with the most experience, we have to help him to get that and get the best out of every player at this club."
Aguero: City players must adopt Guardiola mentality to rediscover form
Manchester City all-time top scorer Sergio Aguero thinks that the players need to be more like manager Pep Guardiola if they are to continue their golden era.
Aguero's rallying cry came after City's fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions on Saturday, the first time Guardiola has gone this long without a victory in his career.
The Citizens have lost four straight games for the first time since August 2006, when Stuart Pearce was manager of the club and are 11 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League.
But despite their recent run, the Argentine, who 260 times in 390 appearances for City, is confident that his former side can finish the season with more silverware.
"I think City are favourites to win everything, including the league, the [FA] Cup, the Club World Cup and the Champions League," he told Sky Sports News.
"Whatever City has to play for, they'll be the firm favourites. I think it all depends on the mentality they have because it's not easy to always be the favourites."
Last season, City became the first team in history to win four consecutive Premier League titles but, with their form taking a dip and Guardiola out of contract at the end of the season, there is the potential for instability at the Etihad.
But, according to Aguero, their manager is the key to their past and future success.
That frame of mind is understandable, given that Guardiola is the most successful Manchester City manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies – 50% of the major honours in the club's history – with a win percentage of 72%.
"I think City are where they are because Guardiola knows very well how to keep that mentality," Aguero said.
"For me, he's the key man for the club so that the players have the same winning mentality.
"Sometimes it gets difficult to win and it's normal, but Pep's team has been up there since he took charge, and that's something many people don't see.
"I think we have to acknowledge he's the reason his players have a winning mentality. He's strict and he makes the team be consistent every single game throughout the season.
"We should take our hats off because it's not easy to be there with the players every day, especially considering the players we're talking about.
"All the time, he's like, 'come on, we have to keep winning!' Living that every day can get exhausting sooner or later, but he's been doing this for days, months, even years, and I think that's why City are one of the favourites because Pep never rests and he never gives a rest to his players.
"That, for me, is the key to success for any team."
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