Sports
More headache for Ten Hag as Tottenham hammer Man U 3-0
Tottenham piled more pressure on Erik ten Hag’s position as Man United manager with a dominant 3-0 win at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Spurs made a flying start when Brennan Johnson tapped in from Micky Van de Ven’s storming run after three minutes.
Tottenham should have added to their lead long before Man United were reduced to 10 men when captain Fernandes was shown a straight red card on 42 minutes.
Dejan Kulusevski finally doubled the visitors advantage two minutes into the second half before Dominic Solanke rounded off the scoring.
Ten Hag began the season under scrutiny after surviving an internal review at the end of last season.
A shock FA Cup final victory over Manchester City was widely credited with saving the former Ajax coach’s job after finishing eighth in the Premier League last season.
A third defeat in United’s first six league games of the new campaign leaves the Red Devils down in 11th and time surely running out for their beleaguered boss.
United face daunting trips to Porto in the Europa League and Aston Villa on league duty next weekend before a two-week international break that clubs often use to implement managerial change.
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou was himself under pressure just over a week ago.
But Spurs have won four games in 12 days and turned in arguably their best performance of the Australian’s reign.
Van de Ven’s stunning surge from well inside his own half to the United by-line set the tone as his cross left Johnson a simple task to score for the fourth consecutive game.
Tottenham were without injured captain Son Heung-min and missed the South Korean’s clinical finishing as they tried to kill the game off.
Andre Onana saved one-on-ones from James Maddison and Timo Werner, while Johnson smashed another effort off the post.
At the other end, Joshua Zirzkee had United’s best chance to equalise when he was denied by a brilliant low save from Guglielmo Vicario.
Any hope of a United fightback was killed off by a moment of madness from their skipper.
Fernandes slipped as he slid into a challenge with Maddison but raised his studs to catch the England international.
Ten Hag responded by sacrificing his only striker in Zirkzee for the much-criticised Casemiro at half-time.
The Brazilian was one of those at fault for the second Tottenham goal.
Solanke outmuscled Casemiro to send Johnson tearing down the right and his deflected cross was cleverly flicked beyond Onana by Kulusevski.
Thereafter the 10 men showed plenty of fight and Casemiro came close to halving United’s deficit.
But more calamitous defending allowed Solanke to slide in Tottenham’s third from a corner.
Solanke should have rubbed salt into United wounds when Onana saved another one-on-one.
The travelling support taunted Ten Hag with chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” during the second half.
United’s new football leadership team handed the Dutchman an extension to his contract less than three months ago.
How quickly they backtrack on that decision now appears a matter of time.
Manchester United’s Dutch manager Erik ten Hag reacts after the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on September 29, 2024.
Manchester United’s Portuguese midfielder #08 Bruno Fernandes is sent off by English referee Chris Kavanagh during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on September 29, 2024.
Sports
I Failed In Front of the World Four Years Ago — Lookman’s Touching Speech After Winning CAF Award
Super Eagles star, Ademola Lookman had delivered a touching speech after winning the 2024 CAF Men’s Player of the Year award.
According to him, he learned from his failure four years ago which made him a better player.
He said: “Just over four years ago I failed in front of the world. Fast forward four years, I’m the best player in Africa,” Lookman said after receiving the award.
“I want to say to the young children and people watching this: don’t let your failures weigh you down that they break your wings. Matter of fact, turn your pain into your power and continue to fight.
“Firstly. I want to thank the Almighty God for everything he has been doing in my life, and everything he has been blessing me with.
“I want to thank the president, I want to thank all my teammates- club and country. I want to thank them for all their support and love that they gave me.”
“This award today is a blessing to me, to my family, to my nation, and to be recognized as the best player in Africa. It’s something incredible and I’m extremely proud of.”
Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman, South Africa’s Ronwen Williams, and Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie emerged as some of the standout winners at the 2024 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards.
Lookman, who plays for Atalanta, clinched the prestigious CAF Men’s Player of the Year title, beating contenders such as Simon Adingra, Achraf Hakimi, Ronwen Williams, and Serhou Guirassy.
South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams dominated the night, bagging both the Men’s Interclub Player of the Year and the Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year awards.
Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie, known for her stellar performances, was named Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year.
Full List of CAF Awards 2024 Winners
CAF Men’s Player of the Year: Ademola Lookman (Nigeria)
Women’s Interclub Player of the Year: Sanaa Mssoudy
Men’s Interclub Player of the Year: Ronwen Williams (South Africa)
Women’s Club of the Year: TP Mazembe
Men’s Club of the Year: Al Ahly FC
Men’s National Team of the Year: Ivory Coast
Women’s National Team of the Year: Nigeria
Men’s Young Player of the Year: Lamine Camara
Women’s Young Player of the Year: Doha El Madani
Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year: Chiamaka Nnadozie (Nigeria)
Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year: Ronwen Williams (South Africa)
Women’s Coach of the Year: Lamia Boumehdi
Men’s Coach of the Year: Emerse Faé
Goal of the Year: Mabululu (Angola)
Brazil legend Ronaldo has confirmed he wants to become president of the country’s football governing body to address a “deep crisis” the sport is facing nationally.
“I have hundreds of motivations, but I think the biggest of them is really to restore international respect to Brazilian football,” he said in an interview on Monday with the Globoesporte website.
Ronaldo said he wanted to be an “alternative for significant change” as candidate for the job of running the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF).
“O Fenomeno” (“The Phenomenon”), as the 48-year-old became known over the course of his 1993-2011 career, said he wants to use the CBF presidency to help Brazil’s national team to regain its glory as five-time world champions.
“The Selecao has to recover its prestige. I’ll do everything so that the players understand the historic importance of playing for the national team,” he said.
Ronaldo scored both goals when Brazil beat Germany in the 2002 World Cup final in Japan, and was twice winner of the Ballon d’Or.
To lodge his CBF candidacy, he needs the support of Brazilian regional clubs and federations.
To get those, he promised to travel “all around Brazil” and share the “incredible plans” he has for the sport.
The date of the next CBF election has not yet been set, but should happen between March 2025 and March 2026, according to Brazilian media.
‘Much deeper problem’
Current CBF chief Ednaldo Rodrigues has been criticized for slotting in temporary coaches for the national team after Tite’s 2022 exit while waiting for Carlo Ancelotti to arrive — something that did not happen when the Italian decided late last year to extend his contract as manager of Real Madrid.
Currently coached by Dorival Junior, the Selecao are fifth in South America qualifying for the 2026 World Cup tournament, seven points behind leaders Argentina.
“My problem is not Ednaldo. The problem is much deeper. My goal is to bring the people closer to the Selecao. Today, the people are indifferent when the Selecao plays,” Ronaldo told Globoesporte.
“I am an alternative of significant change for Brazilian football, which is going through a deep crisis,” he said.
Ronaldo, a former star for Barcelona, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, already has leadership experience.
In 2018, he took majority control of Spain’s Real Valladolid, and in 2021 did the same for Cruzeiro, the Brazilian club where he started his career.
He sold his Cruzeiro stake in April this year.
In his interview, Ronaldo said he was in talks to “very soon” sell his Valladolid stake to avoid “any obstacle” to his CBF candidacy.
AFP
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