Sports

Erik ten Hag hits back at Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United criticism

Published

6 days ago

September 13, 2024

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has dismissed Cristiano Ronaldo’s recent criticism of his comments regarding Red Devils’ chances of winning the Premier League.

Ronaldo, speaking on a podcast with his former United teammate Rio Ferdinand, criticised Ten Hag’s pre-season comments where the manager stated that United was “a long way away” from winning the Premier League for the first time since 2013. Although Ronaldo agreed that his old club may not be ready to win the league, he argued that Ten Hag, as the manager, should not have sent such a message.

When asked about Ronaldo’s remarks ahead of Man United’s trip to Southampton, Ten Hag clarified that Ronaldo had essentially agreed with him. “No, he said this, if you read the article very well,” Ten Hag responded. “He is entitled to his opinion. It’s OK. He is far away in Saudi, far away from Manchester.”

Following consecutive defeats by Brighton and Liverpool, United faces Southampton knowing that another loss would mark their worst start since the 1986-87 season when Ron Atkinson was replaced by Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ten Hag provided updates on his squad, confirming that full-back Luke Shaw, who has yet to play for United this season despite making three appearances for England at Euro 2024, remains unavailable.

Striker Rasmus Hojlund will also miss the game as he recovers from a hamstring injury suffered during the summer tour in the United States. On a positive note, new signing Manuel Ugarte is fit, though the £50.2 million Uruguay midfielder only returned from international duty on Thursday.

In the wake of the Liverpool defeat and a two-week break, Ten Hag’s future has become a hot topic of debate, with many speculating that the 54-year-old might not last the season, especially as co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe begins to assert his influence. Despite the uncertainty, Ten Hag, who recently returned to manage his former club FC Utrecht in a charity match, remains focused and unfazed by the speculation.

“It doesn’t impact me,” Ten Hag said. “I know where we are in the process what we have to do and where we are going. I have said before that we are still in a transition period. We have to integrate a lot of young players into the team and still have to deal with injuries and bring players back into the team.”

He added, “Before anyone thinks about excuses, no, we have to win every game. I know that. The team knows that. It doesn’t matter who is available.”

Sports

Champions League: PSG, Dortmund win, Inter Milan hold Man City

Published

11 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Paris Saint-Germain needed a late dose of luck to beat Girona 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night.

The Ligue 1 champions toiled against the debutants at home for 88 minutes without finding the back of the net.

However, Nuno Mendes’ low cross was fumbled into his own net by goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga.

England Under-21 winger Jamie Gittens’ double set last year’s Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund on their way to a 3-0 victory at Club Brugge. Serhou Guirassy scored the third from the penalty spot.

Manchester City and Inter Milan played out a goalless draw at the Etihad.

In Scotland, Celtic thrashed Slovan Bratislava 5-1 to record their biggest win in the competition ever.

Sports

Rising Nigerian Football Star, Hadriel Gets Elite X1 Canada Invitation

Published

11 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Eleven year old high rising Nigerian football star Hadriel Chukwuziterem Opara who has been attracting the attention of football coaches and scouts has been selected as one of the 12 players across Canada that will represent Elite X1 Canada in the prestigious NIKE powered Norwich City Mna Cup UK taking place from October 10-14, 2024.

According to the letter of invitation from the organisers, the tournament will enable the players engage in top level competition with 16 academy teams from renowned clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Sporting Lisbon and Norwich City.

The invitation letter also noted that the players will be exposed to world class facilities at Norwich City FC’s State-of-the – art Lotus training centre featuring advanced training environments like the exclusive Soccer Bot 360 system.

The organisers while stating that the tournament will enable the players showcase their talents on an international stage, assured that all the matches will be filmed, providing a valuable footage that could open doors to future opportunities.

Meanwhile Hadriel a Pepsi Academy product who has not hidden his intention of playing for the National U-15 team noted that he’s humbled by the invitation expressing hope that the programme will help him further improve his football skill.

Sports

Just in: Delta grabs first position at national youth games

Published

12 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

WITH 41 gold, 27 silver , and 30 bronze medals totalling 98, Delta State has emerged the winner of the 8th edition of the National Youth Games ( NYG), tagged Asaba 2024.

Latest update of proceedings released on Wednesday night showed that Lagos State has outpaced erstwhile second placed Edo State with a total medals haul of 62, comprising 25 gold, 19 silver and 18 bronze medals respectively .

Edo State is placed third with 17 gold, 12 silver and 24 bronze medals respectively.

Ebonyi and Zamfara States could not land any medal to their credit during the games, according to the medals table update so far.

The NYG is expected to come to a close today (Thursday), with the closing ceremony at the Stephen Keshi international Stadium, Asaba, the Delta, Nigeria.