Man Utd: Decision to be made after West Ham defeat - Rio Ferdinand
Manchester United "have big decisions" to make about the future of manager Jose Mourinho, says former defender Rio Ferdinand.
The Red Devils' 3-1 defeat at West Ham on Saturday made this their worst start to a top-flight season since 1989-90.
It is their third loss in seven league games and follows a home Carabao Cup exit to Championship side Derby.
"There will be conversations at the top level about the future of the manager and the squad," Ferdinand told BT.
"The basics are not being done and something has to be said."
Asked
post-match if he could assure United fans the situation would improve,
Mourinho told BBC Radio 5 live: "I can assure Manchester United fans
that I give 100% every day, every training [session], every 24 hours of
the day, every match - that I can assure.
"And I can
assure that I am a brave man with lots of experience and tomorrow
morning I will be there and I will fight hard for the match on Tuesday.
We go with everything we have for that match"
However, Ferdinand added: "You can't let a situation like this continue
throughout the season - wars in the press, leaks, players on one side of
the dressing room, Mourinho and his staff on the other. If that
continues this will be one of the worst seasons in the club's history."
West
Ham's victory at London Stadium was their biggest over Manchester
United in 36 years, achieved through Felipe Anderson's fifth-minute
strike, a Victor Lindelof own goal and a simple finish from Marko
Arnautovic after questionable defending.
Substitute Marcus
Rashford had given the visitors hope when his smart finish from a corner
reduced the arrears to 2-1, but former midfielder Paul Scholes said
"the fight was just not there".
"That was as bad as you've seen
from a United team for a long time," Scholes told BT Sport. "The
attitude has been questioned before and it has to be questioned again.
The hunger and desire to get amongst people wasn't there.
"At this minute, this club is in a bit of a mess.
"Is
this the end for the manager? I don't know. Who's going to get more out
of this team? We just know at this moment in time it feels wrong."
Mourinho
took the United job in the summer of 2016, and led the team to success
in the Europa League and League Cup in his first season.
They were runners-up to Manchester City in the Premier League and Chelsea in the FA Cup last season. Match of the Day pundits discuss Jose Mourinho & Paul Pogba
UEFA revealed that both Messi and Ronaldo are yet to break nine records in the history of Champions League and Europe League.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi might be two of the world's greatest footballers but there are nine football records they are yet to break.
On Tuesday, September 26, 2018, the Union of European Football Associations, UEFA, revealed nine unique records that the world adjudged best players are yet to break despite their record-ladden career.
According to UEFA, the Barcelona striker, who is a citizen of Argentina and the former Real Madrid and now Juventus star, who is a citizen of Portugal, still have their short comings despite their beautiful careers.
The European football union stated that both players have not yet broken nine records in the history of Europe’s topflight competitions, (Champions League and Europe League).
1. Most appearances – Messi has 126, while Ronaldo has 158, but the record is being held by Porto goalkeeper, Iker Casillas (179).
2. Most final goals – Messi has scored only two final goals (in 2009 and 2011), while Ronaldo has four (one apiece in 2008 and 2014, and two in 2017) but is still three shy of the record shared by two Real Madrid legends, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, who have both scored seven.
3. Oldest goalscorer – AC Milan legend, Paolo Maldini scored for his side’s defeat to Liverpool at the age of 36 in the 2005 Champions League final and also Roma legend, Francesco Totti scored at the age of 38 in his side’s Champions League group stage clash against CSKA Moskva in 2014.
4. Player with most success with different clubs – Clarence Seedorf (Ajax 1995, Real Madrid 1998, Milan 2003, 2007) and Zlatan Ibrahimovi? (Ajax, Juventus, Internazionale, Barcelona, Milan, Paris Saint-Germain) are both ahead of Messi and Ronaldo.
5. Fastest goal – Roy Makaay scored in 10.12 seconds for Bayern München against Real Madrid in 2007. Ronaldo’s earliest Champions League goal came in the fourth minute for Real Madrid against Juventus in 2013, while Messi’s fastest goal came in three minutes into Barcelona’s 7-0 win against Celtic in 2016.
6. Long-distance goal – Manchester United legend, Ryan Giggs has sixteen long-distance goals in the Champions League. Ronaldo has 13, while Messi has 14.
7. Goalscoring consistency – Bayern Munich forward, Gerd Müller has 0.97 goals per game ratio. Ronaldo has 0.76, while Messi has 0.82.
8. Fastest hat-tricks – Bafétimbi Gomis got his fastest hat-trick for Olympique Lyonnais against Dinamo Zagreb in 2011. Ronaldo scored his fastest hat-trick in 12 minutes for Real Madrid against Malmö in 2012, while Messi scored his fastest hat-trick in 22 minutes for Barcelona against Arsenal in 2010.
9. Most goals in a single European season – Colombia striker, Radamel Falcao scored 18 goals for Porto during the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League. Messi’s best year came in 2011/12 when he ended the European season with 14 goals, while Ronaldo set a European Cup/UEFA Champions League record with 17 in 2013/14.
Real Madrid: Why pressure is on Karim Benzema after Cristiano Ronaldo exit
"Decent but not great" and "a tad over-rated".
That was Gary Lineker's verdict on Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema last October. And, although the former England captain's tweet - along with Benzema's angry response ("I'm embarrassed for him") - generated plenty of controversy, it was difficult to argue against Lineker's opinion.
Benzema was in distinctly underwhelming form, going through a run of one goal in 10 games. That drought lasted pretty much the whole season, which saw Benzema register a paltry tally of five league goals in 32 appearances.
Increasingly, Lineker's views were echoed by Real fans, with Benzema regularly subjected to jeers and whistles.
When the end of the season was followed by the departure of coach Zinedine Zidane, who had always been regarded as a zealous protector of his fellow Frenchman, Benzema's future was looking doubtful.
But the transfer window provided a double shock. Not only did Real fail to make a high-profile addition to their forward line despite being linked with Eden Hazard, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar among others, but they also waved goodbye to the iconic Cristiano Ronaldo.
