Onana insists Man Utd will 'step up' under Amorim

By Sports Desk November 06, 2024

Andre Onana is confident he and his "pragmatic" Manchester United team-mates will "step up" under incoming boss Ruben Amorim. 

The Portuguese will officially take over the reins at Old Trafford on November 11, succeeding Erik ten Hag, who was dismissed last week following a poor start to the season.

Amorim masterminded Sporting CP's 4-1 victory over Manchester City on Tuesday in what was his final home game in charge of the reigning Primeira Liga champions.

The 39-year-old's preferred formation is 3-4-3, compared to the 4-2-3-1 system utilised by Ten Hag and continued by interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy.

However, Onana insists United's squad will have no problem adapting to the new tactics.

"I did watch [Sporting's game against City] yesterday, it was a great victory for them," the goalkeeper said ahead of United's Europa League clash with PAOK on Thursday. "It's a different system, but my team-mates are all pragmatic.

"I think everyone here is capable of playing in each system, so I don't think this will be an issue for us. We have big players, they will step up."

Meanwhile, ahead of his penultimate match in charge, Van Nistelrooy provided an update on pre-season signing Leny Yoro.

The defender, who is yet to make his competitive debut for the Red Devils, returned to full training on Wednesday having fractured his foot in August.

"He's been managed very well after his injury in pre-season," the interim boss said. "Obviously, we knew it was going to be a long one.

"It's a big moment for him as it's the first time that he's been back in full training. We will bring him back partially over the coming weeks, and look to get him on board as soon as possible."

Related items

  • Cavalier field seven players in Concacaf Caribbean Cup semis Best XI Cavalier field seven players in Concacaf Caribbean Cup semis Best XI

    Jamaican champions Cavalier FC had a number of standout performances in the recently-concluded Concacaf Caribbean Cup semi-finals, and so it comes as no surprise that seven of their players are named in the organiser’s Best Eleven (XI) from those fixtures.

    Cavalier, who are set to contest the two-leg finals against Dominican Republic counterparts Cibao FC on November 26 and December 3, will be hoping to continue their rich vein of form to cop the Caribbean Cup on this occasion. They lost last year’s final to Suriname’s Robinhood.

    Among those that had standout performances for Cavalier are Suriname-born Shaquille Stein and Trinidad and Tobago’s Kaile Auvray, along with defenders Richard King and Jeovanni Laing.

    The 2024 Concacaf Caribbean Cup Best XI for the semifinal fixtures is:

    Goalkeeper

    Miguel Lloyd, Cibao FC – With four saves in two games, Lloyd helped decide a tightly contested series against Haiti’s Real Hope to help Cibao reach the final. He had a clean sheet in the second leg to seal a 4-2 win on aggregate.

    Defenders

    Jimmy Guillaume, Real Hope FA – Guillaume was active along the defensive line for Real Hope in the series against Cibao. He was one of the most effective passers of the semifinals with an 88% accuracy.

    Richard King, Cavalier FC – King contributed to two clean sheet performances in their contest against Dominican Republic outfit, Moca FC. He had two steals and five shots in 190 minutes to help Cavalier reach the final.

    Jeovanni Laing, Cavalier FC – Laing had three steals and one shot in 180 minutes to help Cavalier keep consecutive clean sheets and advance to the final.

    Christopher Ainsworth, Cavalier FC – Ainsworth scored a goal to help Cavalier to victory in the second leg. He also had one steal for a defensive line that did not concede in the semifinals.

    Midfielders

    Rivaldo Correa, Cibao FC – Correa added two goals to his tally in the semifinals, along with one steal, to help Cibao reach the final with a 4-2 aggregate.

    Jean López, Cibao FC – Lopez struck the opening goal of the series against Real Hope and contributed one assist and two steals.

    Juan Díaz, Cibao FC – Díaz scored a goal and added three steals to help Cibao advance to the final, overcoming Real Hope.

    Dwayne Atkinson, Cavalier FC – Atkinson continued his offensive rhythm in the current campaign with one goal, 10 attempts and two assists.

    Forwards

    Shaquille Stein, Cavalier FC – Stein struck a hat-trick to help Cavalier advance to the final while also taking the lead in the Golden Boot race.

    Kaile Auvray, Cavalier FC – Auvray scored a brace, including the series-winning goal, to help Cavalier return to another Caribbean Cup final.

     

  • Man City must 'look at ourselves individually and collectively' ahead of Brighton clash, says Silva Man City must 'look at ourselves individually and collectively' ahead of Brighton clash, says Silva

    Bernardo Silva says Manchester City must "look at ourselves individually and collectively" ahead of facing Brighton on Saturday.

    The reigning Premier League champions head to the Amex Stadium having suffered three successive defeats across all competitions for the first time since 2021.

    After their 32-game unbeaten league streak was ended by last weekend's 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth, City's latest setback saw them well beaten 4-1 by Sporting CP in the Champions League on Tuesday.

    And Silva has urged his team-mates to stop the rot heading into the international break.

    "We just need to look at ourselves individually and collectively and see what we can do better, because we need to turn things around," the City midfielder said.

    "We have one more game before the international break, which will definitely be good for us. At the moment, with the injuries that we have and the psychological part as well, it will be good to have that rest.

    "But before that, we have a big game again; a very tough game, Brighton away is never easy. Three points would help massively to keep us in the race or in a good position to then come back and still be close to the top.

    "We'll look at ourselves and try to do better on Saturday."

    Brighton are also seeking a response after they were beaten 2-1 last weekend by Liverpool, who are two points clear of City at the Premier League summit.

    Florian Hurzeler's side led at Anfield through Ferdi Kadioglu's first-half strike, but the Reds struck twice in the space of two minutes to condemn the Seagulls to only their second league loss of the season.

    "It's a disappointing result because I think my team deserved more," the Brighton boss. "We didn't carry on playing in the second half like we did in the first half.

    "We expected Liverpool to press with more intensity and, of course, there were two goals from outside the box.

    "It was a tough experience, but if we stick together and learn to find the solutions when the opponent is pressing with more intensity, then I am sure the results will come."

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Brighton and Hove Albion – Danny Welbeck

    Welbeck is certainly Brighton's man in form, having either scored (three) or assisted (one) a goal in each of his last four Premier League games.

    The forward is now looking to register a goal involvement in five successive league games for the first time.

    Manchester City – Phil Foden

    Still seeking his first Premier League goal of the season, Foden will welcome the opportunity to face Brighton.

    The England forward has netted more Premier League goals against the Seagulls than he has any other opponent, with eight in just seven starts.

    Foden will also be encouraged by the fact Brighton have never registered a clean sheet against City in the Premier League (14 meetings).

    MATCH PREDICTION: MANCHESTER CITY WIN

    City have only ever lost successive Premier League games on three occasions under Pep Guardiola - in December 2016, December 2018 and October 2023.

    Nevertheless, their historic record against Brighton will certainly offer them a reason to be optimistic heading into this encounter.

    City have 37 points from 42 available against the Seagulls in the Premier League (won 12, drawn one), while scoring 40 goals during that span.

    Meanwhile, Brighton's defeat at Anfield means they have now dropped 10 points from winning positions this season, just four fewer than they did in the entire 2023-24 campaign.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Brighton and Hove Albion – 25.3%

    Draw – 23.3%

    Manchester City – 51.5%

  • Real Madrid's Tchouameni out with sprained ankle Real Madrid's Tchouameni out with sprained ankle

    Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni has suffered an ankle sprain and will be sidelined for the foreseeable future, the Spanish champions revealed on Wednesday.

    The 24-year-old France international was replaced by compatriot Eduardo Camavinga in the 46th minute of their stunning 3-1 loss to AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday.

    The Athletic subsequently reported Tchouameni is set to miss at least four weeks due to the injury, and Madrid have now confirmed the blow.

    "Following tests carried out today by Real Madrid's Medical Services on our player Aurelien Tchouameni, he has been diagnosed with a sprained left ankle. His progress will be monitored," the club said in a statement.

    Madrid, who are second in LaLiga with 24 points from 11 matches, nine fewer than leaders Barcelona who have played a game more, next host fifth-placed Osasuna on Saturday. 

    They then visit Leganes in the league after the international break and Liverpool in the Champions League on November 27.

    France, meanwhile, will host Israel in the Nations League on November 14 and travel to Italy three days later. 

     

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.