Solskjaer has failed to win a trophy in nearly three years in charge at Old Trafford and tangible signs of progress after finishing second in the Premier League last season have been blown away amid a run of five defeats in their last nine games.

United are already eight points off the pace at the top of the table and there is a growing consensus that they need a coach to match the calibre of Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola and Chelsea’s Champions League winner Thomas Tuchel.

Solskjaer has led United to two consecutive top-four finishes for the first time since Alex Ferguson’s retirement as manager in 2013, but his time looks to be running out.

AFP Sport looks at five of the candidates to replace the 48-year-old if and when he is shown the door at Old Trafford.

Antonio Conte

A proven title winner, Conte turned a Chelsea side that had finished 10th the previous season into Premier League winners in his debut campaign in England in 2016/17.

The Italian is without a club having left Inter Milan in May after ending their 11-year wait to win Serie A.

Conte appears a perfect fit to solve United’s defensive woes that have blighted their season. Solskjaer’s men have kept one clean sheet in 21 games and shipped 11 goals in a week against Leicester, Atalanta and Liverpool.

However, Conte’s fiery temperament and tendency to fall out with his superiors could count against him.

“He’s not a fit for United,” said former United captain Gary Neville on Sunday.

Zinedine Zidane

Expectations were high for United to challenge for major trophies this season after the signings of serial winners Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane, along with £73 million ($100 million) winger Jadon Sancho.

Three of Ronaldo and Varane’s Champions League titles came under Zidane at Real Madrid and the Frenchman is also a free agent having ended his second spell with the Spanish giants in May.

Zidane proved himself a master of moulding a star-studded squad into a team at Madrid, where he also won two La Liga titles.

That is exactly what United need and his global profile fits the brand-building exercise the English giants have gone down in recent years, at times to the detriment of a well-functioning team on the field.

Brendan Rodgers

The outstanding option on the domestic market for United is Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers.

The Northern Irishman’s past as a Liverpool manager may rule him out for many United fans, but he has rebuilt his reputation since a rollercoaster three years at Anfield between 2012 and 2015.

Rodgers proved himself capable of handling the demands of winning every week in three years at Celtic, where he won a clean sweep of seven domestic trophies before returning to the Premier League with Leicester.

The Foxes have narrowly missed out on the Champions League for the past two seasons to Chelsea despite far inferior resources and beat the European champions to win the FA Cup for the first time in the club’s history last season.

Erik Ten Hag

The Dutchman is responsible for arguably the form team in Europe right now with Ajax cruising towards the last 16 of the Champions League and another Eredivisie title after thrashing PSV Eindhoven 5-0 on Sunday.

Ten Haag was linked with a number of top jobs after leading the four-time European champions to the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 1997 two years ago.

But unlike many of his players from that run, he is yet to be poached by one of Europe’s top clubs.

The former Bayern Munich youth team coach would fit the attacking style demanded of a United manager, as exhibited by a 4-0 thrashing of Borussia Dortmund last week.

Luis Enrique

The Spain coach is another with plenty of experience in getting the best out of a collection of talented individuals.

He won the treble in his first season at Barcelona and added another La Liga title with a front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar.

Fluent in English, Luis Enrique has never hidden his desire to one day coach in the Premier League

His success with Spain this year at Euro 2020 and the Nations League finals shows he is also capable of producing an exciting side without the same quality of stars he had on offer at the Camp Nou.

Source: AFP

Jubilant Newcastle fans descended on St James’ Park on Sunday to celebrate a new era for the club under the ownership of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund with few showing concern for the issues raised by human rights groups over the takeover.

Hundreds of supporters sported traditional Saudi headdress and flew flags of the Gulf kingdom ahead of the Magpies’ first match since a £300 million ($412 million) takeover was given the green light by the Premier League.

The protracted deal had been held up for over a year by a dispute over piracy of sports rights, including for English top-flight football, between Saudi and Qatar.ADVERTISINGhttps://8c753c88bbf2a44252e3b56fe4d3ee18.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

Saudi’s agreement to lift a ban on Qatari sports broadcaster beIN Sports cleared that obstacle, but the deal has been criticised by human rights groups.

Amnesty International has accused Saudi Arabia of using the global appeal of the Premier League to “sportswash” its reputation.

The fiancee of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed inside the Saudi consolate in Istanbul in 2018, has described the takeover as “heartbreaking”.

A billboard with the hashtag #justiceforjamal was driven in front of St James’ Park in the hours before kick-off.

But there was little other sign of protest as Newcastle fans celebrated the departure of unpopular former owner Mike Ashley and dreamt of a transformation of their fortunes on the field.

“We’ve been waiting for this for 14 years. The atmosphere is immense, I haven’t seen it like this for years,” said Chris, a fan dressed in Saudi headdress.

“I’m just excited for the new era in Newcastle, you can feel it everywhere.”

Governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Yassir Al-Rumayyan, was handed a huge ovation by the 55,000 crowd as he was presented as the club’s new chairman before kick-off.

Newcastle have not won a major trophy since 1969 despite regular attendances of more than 50,000.

“It doesn’t matter where the money comes from, as long as we win something,” said another supporter, Rob McCafferty.

The club from northeast England began the day second bottom of the table, without a win in their opening seven league games of the season.

However, the fans are already dreaming big as they aim to follow in the footsteps of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, two clubs transformed by state-backed takeover from Abu Dhabi and Qatar respectively.

On top of being linked with a host of star players in the January transfer market, supporters are keen to replace manager Steve Bruce.

“The manager is the first thing,” said another fan, Sam Gardner. “Ideally (Antonio) Conte, but I don’t know if he is interested.”

Source: AFP

The four-time African Footballer of the Year is far from happy with his former club’s form in all competitions this campaign

Cameroon legend Samuel Eto’o has admitted that he has been made to suffer with Barcelona’s poor results, who are experiencing a difficult period.

The Blaugrana are yet to win a match in the Uefa Champions League this season having suffered defeats to Bayern Munich (3-0) and Benfica (3-0) in their first two games.

In La Liga, Ronald Koeman’s men currently occupy the ninth spot with 12 points after seven games – five points behind leaders Real Madrid.

Eto’o expressed his disappointment with Barcelona’s form and he has called on the players to avoid bowing out of the Champions League in the group stage.

They sit at the bottom of Group E behind Bayern Munich, second-placed Benfica and third-placed Dynamo Kyiv after two games.

“Recently, Barcelona have made me suffer,” Eto’o was quoted by Marca. “These are tough times for those of us who love the club.

“It would be hard to accept group stage elimination in the Champions League. I still hope they can go through.”

After the international break, Koeman’s side will aim to turn things around when they host Valencia for a La Liga fixture on Sunday before a cracking league game against Real Madrid on October 24.

Eto’o, who featured in a number of El Clasicos during his playing career, talked up the importance of encounters against the Blancos at the Camp Nou.

“Barcelona have started the season badly, but the Clasico is a unique match and the players must make the most of it to change the dynamic of the season,” he added.

“Beating Real Madrid could be worth six points.

“Those of us who have played that fixture know it’s the most beautiful game in the world. I have played in Champions League finals, but I can say that the Clasico is unique. There’s nothing else like it.”

During his five-year stint at Barcelona, Eto’o enjoyed tremendous success with three La Liga titles, two Champions League trophies and other domestic honours.

The 40-year-old recently announced his intention to become the next president of FecaFoot, who has been without a substantive head since 2018.

Cameroon, meanwhile, are getting ready to host the continent for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in January.

Source: Goal.com

France won the Nations League on Sunday after coming from a goal down to beat Spain 2-1 in Milan.

Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe struck to claim the title for world champions France after Mikel Oyarzabal put Spain ahead midway through the second half.

The win will ease some of the pain created by an early exit from Euro 2020 at the hands of Switzerland and highlighted just how powerful France are going forward.

Les Bleus came out on top of a match at the San Siro which came to life after Oyarzabal slid home the opener in the 64th minute.

As well as the two goals from their superstar attackers, France had other opportunities to score through Mbappe before a frantic finish in which Spain launched an assault on the French goal.

Didier Deschamps can thank Hugo Lloris the match didn’t go into extra-time after the France captain pulled off a fine stoppage time save to deny Yeremi Pino a late leveller.

Earlier Italy took third place after beating Belgium 2-1 in Turin through goals form Nicolo Barella and Domenico Berardi.

(AFP)

Ronald Koeman’s future as Barcelona coach may already be decided but the outcome of the next two games, starting with Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday, could buy him some extra time.

Three matches without a win and a press conference in which Koeman cancelled questions and demanded support felt more like the final week of a tenure about to be brought to an end.

A goalless draw away at Cadiz ended with Gerard Pique playing up front and while Pique called for calm after the game, the club captain also shied away from backing his coach.

“The club has been on the crest of a wave for many years and we are not used to this,” Pique said. “We all need to make an effort to give stability. We can complain or pull in the right direction. Let’s not look for friction because this doesn’t help anyone.”

After drawing with Granada, Koeman seemed both to dismiss Barcelona’s possession mantra and denigrate his players in one breath. “If you look at our squad, what are you supposed to do? Play tiki-taki?” Koeman said, in a reference to tiki-taka, the name attributed to the style played under Pep Guardiola.

But a 3-0 victory over Levante on Sunday has, at least briefly, lifted the mood ahead of a week that is likely to be taken as a litmus test for whether Koeman returns from the international break still in charge.

After facing Benfica, with the pressure on in Group E after the opening defeat by Bayern Munich, Barcelona play on Saturday away at Atletico Madrid, La Liga’s reigning champions, who are enduring a rocky start themselves.

A loss in either game, even at this early stage, would represent a damaging blow to Barca’s hopes in either competition and perhaps convince the board the need for change is now.

Yet a better combination of results could also earn Koeman some breathing space, even if it appears clear the Dutchman is not the long-term choice of club president Joan Laporta.

A period of stability would suit Laporta, given he needs time not only to identify a successor but also persuade them to join a club still working off more than a billion euros of debt and too broke to make significant signings for at least another year.

And while the two-week international break might seem the preferable moment to make a change, a new coach would then be plunged into three games against Valencia, Dynamo Kiev and Real Madrid, meaning a potentially turbulent start.

The better scenario both for Koeman and the board would be that the team recovers, in a similar way to last season when an uncertain first few weeks gave way to a gradual gathering of momentum.

There were certainly reasons for optimism against Levante, who rolled over for the kind of morale-boosting victory ideally suited for the start of a testing week.

The biggest cause for enthusiasm was the return of Ansu Fati, the inheritor of Lionel Messi’s number 10 shirt, who raised the roof by coming on after 10 months out through injury and then sent the fans ballistic by scoring in the 91st minute.

Ansu’s return could be transformative, not only because of what the 18-year-old brings to Barcelona’s attack but for what he represents, now more than ever: a La Masia graduate and one of the club’s last remaining claims to belonging with Europe’s elite.

Even before Ansu’s introduction, the crowd were admiring the performances of the 19-year-old Nico Gonzalez and the 17-year-old Gavi in midfield. Luuk de Jong and Memphis Depay scored the opening goals to suggest the summer transfer window was not entirely a backward step.

Barca also scored early, which allowed the players to operate more freely and avoid the unpalatable tactics witnessed in recent weeks when the team has been searching for a goal.

Levante, though, were generous opponents and Koeman cannot expect the same from Benfica, who are unbeaten, having won 10 of their 12 games so far this season, with the scrap to join Bayern in the last 16 – which also includes Kiev – far from clear-cut.

“We are Barcelona, we are going for La Liga and the Champions League and all the competitions we are in,” said Fati on Sunday. “All the teams want to win everything but we are Barca, we have to fight.”

Source: AFP

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski has been awarded the Golden Shoe as top scorer in European football last season.

The Polish sensation scored 41 goals in 29 Bundesliga appearances for Bayern in the 2020-21 season. The 33-year-old Striker broke Gerd Mueller’s record of 40 goals in the German top flight set in 1971-72.

Lewandowski’s tally represents the highest in Europe since Cristiano Ronaldo received the prize in 2015 with Real Madrid, after bagging 48 goals. The Pole has already scored seven goals in only five games this season, as the Bavarians top the early Bundesliga Table.

Source: Presstv

Barcelona’s under-pressure coach Ronald Koeman delivered a bizarre press conference on Wednesday as he read a pre-prepared statement before leaving without answering questions.

Koeman’s position is fragile, after Barca followed up a 3-0 defeat by Bayern Munich in the Champions League last week with a 1-1 draw at home to Granada in La Liga, with the team’s tactics and style coming under scrutiny.

In his press conference, Koeman sat down and was introduced by the club’s press officer, who said the Dutchman wanted to read a short statement.

Reading from a piece of paper, Koeman said: “Hello everyone. The club with me as coach is in a situation of rebuilding.

“The financial situation of the club is connected to the sporting activities and vice-versa. This means we as a team have to rebuild the team without being able to make any big financial investments. This needs time.

“The young talent today could be the next big world stars in just a few years. To rebuild this team, young players will be given opportunities like Xavi and Iniesta had in their day. But we must ask for patience.

“Achieving a high ranking in La Liga is a great success. In the Champions League we can’t hope for miracles. The defeat by Bayern Munich last week has to be analysed with that perspective.

“The process we’re in now with the staff and the team deserves unconditional support, in words and actions. I know the press recognises this process.

“It’s not the first time in Barcelona’s history this has happened. We count on your support in these difficult times.

“As staff and players, we are very happy with the great support of the fans, like we had in the match against Granada. Visca Barca, thanks to everyone.”

Several names, including Xavi Hernandez, Roberto Martinez and Antonio Conte, have been mentioned as possible successors to 58-year-old Koeman, whose relationship with club president Joan Laporta has been strained in recent weeks.

After the defeat at home to Bayern, Laporta posted a video addressed to Barcelona supporters in which he said: “I am as disappointed and upset as all of you are… Do not doubt we will resolve this situation.”

Koeman was asked about the club’s loss of identity after the draw against Granada on Monday.

His team had delivered 54 crosses and ended the game with central defenders Gerard Pique and Ronald Araujo playing up front.

“If you see the list of players, what do you do? Play tiki-taki? Tiki-taki when there are no spaces?” said Koeman.

“We did what we had to do. We tried to win another way. We don’t have players one-on-one or with speed. We’re talking… I’m not going to say more because it seems I have to argue about everything.”

Barcelona head to Cadiz on Thursday in La Liga, having won two and drawn two of their opening four league games.

Source: AFP

Ronald Koeman’s position as Barcelona coach became even more fragile on Monday as Ronald Araujo’s late header was only enough to rescue a 1-1 draw at home to struggling Granada.

Granada were ahead inside two minutes and while Araujo’s equaliser gave Barca a dramatic finish at Camp Nou, the whistles from the home fans at the final whistle indicated a point was far from enough.

Barca have now won only two of their opening five games of the season and Koeman’s future looks increasingly uncertain, particularly on the back of last week’s 3-0 drubbing at home to Bayern Munich.

Koeman reacted to that result by picking a young team that included Eric Garcia, Sergino Dest, Alex Balde and Yusuf Demir, all aged 20 or younger.

But another stodgy performance did little to inspire confidence, with Barca’s best efforts at finding an equaliser in the second half reduced to a series of speculative crosses slung into the penalty area.

Koeman insisted on Sunday he was “calm” and not fearing for his job but an already-strained relationship with club president Joan Laporta will be pushed to breaking point if results do not improve.

There were 85 seconds on the clock when Domingos Duarte headed Granada in front.

Sergio Escudero was quickest to his cleared corner and he beat Sergio Busquets twice, once to the ball and then again to the line where he fed Duarte, who nipped in front of Frenkie de Jong at the back post.

Barca tried to exert some control but they never really stretched Granada, who could have doubled their lead when Jorge Molina volleyed over a cross from the lively Darwin Machis.

Sergi Roberto cushioned a shot against the crossbar to begin a late surge of pressure at the end of the first half, which also saw Araujo go close with two headers in quick succession.

Luuk de Jong came on for Sergi Roberto at half-time, indicating a more direct approach was coming but Granada were not uncomfortable. Depay hooked over from a de Jong ball in before Oscar Mingueza’s delivery grazed the top of the crossbar.

As Barcelona grew more desperate, they became more predictable too, as more and more crosses were slung into the box in the hope someone might capitalise. De Jong should have scored with 11 minutes left but headed over from five yards.

Araujo was booked after a skirmish with Granada’s defenders and then, with the adrenaline still pumping, he grabbed an equaliser for Barca, keeping the ball alive in the box and then dashing forward to meet Gavi’s chipped ball in.

Barca chased a second but it was too little too late. Granada took a deserved point.

Source: AFP

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admits Manchester United must “do better” after their embarrassing midweek Champions League defeat as he prepares to take his Premier League leaders to face West Ham.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka was sent off against Young Boys in Tuesday’s opening Group F encounter, with Jesse Lingard’s errant back-pass gifting the Swiss hosts a goal in time added on in a 2-1 win.

But it is a different story in the Premier League, with United — now boasting Cristiano Ronaldo in their ranks again — top of the table after three wins from their first four matches.

“Our attitude is like you’d expect it to be,” Solskjaer said at his pre-match press conference on Thursday. “They’re focused, of course a little disappointed but not too downbeat.

“You know, it’s a setback, we have to do better, and we’ve got five games to get those 10, 12 points that we need.

“Of course it’s not the start we wanted but we’re a good team that can bounce back again.”

The Norwegian boss said teams were judged by outcomes rather than intentions.

“It’s always the outcome that decides what headline we’ll see and very, very rarely is the game either fantastic or really, really bad,” he said. “It just hovers about good or not good enough.

“We know that the expectations are high and we expect more of ourselves as well. The performance level wasn’t up to our standard.”

Lingard, who tweeted how upset he was for his part in the defeat, returns to the London Stadium on Sunday, where he spent a productive spell on loan last season.

The England forward’s Red Devils contract expires at the end of the season and he would be able to talk to foreign clubs about a free transfer as early as January.

But Solskjaer said United were keen to tie the 28-year-old down to a new Old Trafford deal and were talking to him.

“We see him as a Man United player in the future as well,” he said. “Jesse has come back to us after a great spell at West Ham.

“He showed his qualities, he’s back in the England squad and he’s scoring goals for England.

“We really want to see the best of Jesse this season and we hope to see him, we support him, and we hope to keep him here with us. He’s a Red through and through.”

Source: AFP

Lionel Messi came to Paris to win the Champions League again and on Wednesday he is set to finally make his first start for his new club when they kick off their European campaign in Bruges.

Five weeks have passed since Messi was presented as a Paris Saint-Germain player and declared he was in “the ideal place” to win the biggest prize in club football for the fifth time.

In more than a month he has been seen in a PSG jersey for just 24 minutes as a substitute in a Ligue 1 game at Reims.

The 34-year-old had been expected to make his full debut for the Qatar-owned club last weekend but in the end he was rested against Clermont after returning from international duty with Argentina.

However, PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino is expected to finally unleash the six-time Ballon d’Or winner from the start at the Jan Breydel Stadium against Belgian champions Club Brugge in the Group A opener.

If Neymar and Kylian Mbappe start too, it will be the first time the superstar attacking trio will have been on the pitch together for the Parisians.

Expectations are sky-high, both for Messi at his new club and for PSG in the Champions League, a trophy they have yet to win but crave more than anything.

PSG will play Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City -– the team that knocked them out in last season’s semi-finals -– as well as RB Leipzig in a group that could hardly have been tougher, but this is a team built to go all the way.

“It makes me think of Liverpool when I arrived there. Liverpool were building a team to win the Premier League. Here I have joined a team that has been built to win something. I said to myself: ‘This is going to be massive’,” Georginio Wijnaldum, another of PSG’s summer signings, told sports daily L’Equipe.

– Lucky? –

They should, at the very least, be far too strong for their first opponents, even if the former European Cup finalists have been Belgian champions in three of the last four seasons.

The last time PSG went to Bruges was in the group stage two years ago. There was no Messi then, and there was no Neymar either, but Mbappe bagged a hat-trick in a 5-0 win.

This summer Wijnaldum and Messi were joined at the Parc des Princes by Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, flying full-back Achraf Hakimi and former Real Madrid skipper Sergio Ramos, as well as Portuguese prospect Nuno Mendes.

Ramos has not played at all yet, while Messi has been slowly preparing himself, but PSG have still won five games out of five in Ligue 1, scoring 16 goals.

Their recruitment drive, coupled with their decision to knock back up to 200 million euros from Real Madrid for Mbappe even with the France star in the final year of his contract, has had some of their European rivals up in arms.

“State-owned clubs are as dangerous for football’s ecosystem as the Super League was,” said La Liga president Javier Tebas, calling PSG’s spending “unsustainable” in a football economy suffering from the impact of the pandemic.

PSG have always claimed they have not breached UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations and issued a stinging rebuke to Tebas, calling his remarks “insulting and defamatory”.

When it comes to Messi, La Liga’s loss is PSG’s gain. That is clear even if Messi has hardly contributed anything on the field for his new team.

“There are many more people who have a wider vocabulary to describe him closer to the reality Leo deserves,” Pochettino told UEFA.com when asked for his impressions of his compatriot.

Pochettino, who is without the suspended Angel di Maria for the start of the European campaign, was wary of playing up PSG’s Champions League chances just yet.

“This is a really unpredictable competition…you need to be lucky,” he told UEFA.com.

Then again you can’t get much luckier as a coach than having Messi, Neymar and Mbappe in your team.

Source: AFP