LONDON: Roy Keane says, Pep Guardiola is the right person to guide England, if Lee Carsley is not interested in becoming a permanent manager.

After losing 2-1 at the hands of Greece, England, who were temporarily controlled by Carsley, came back to beat Finland 3-1.

His gamble – dropping Dean Henderson for the first time in four years and deploying Trent Alexander-Arnold at left-back – proved to be paying off.

Liverpool defender Jack Grealish and Declan Rice were on target at the Olympic Stadium to secure victory in the UEFA Nations League action.

But England are still looking for Gareth Southgate’s replacement with Carsley more likely to return to guide the country’s under-21 squad.

According to Keane, England should be looking for the best manager to continue the mission of the group of talented players that are currently there.

“Take Pep (Guardiola), take the best. The FA needs to find the best, I don’t know if financial factors play a role.

“If Lee is not interested, the FA should continue to look for the right individual,” Keane said.

Guardiola’s contract at Manchester City expires next summer.

After winning his first two games as caretaker manager, Carsley began to be positioned as a candidate to replace Southgate on a permanent basis.

But the manager of England’s youth squad feels that he is not yet eligible for promotion and is more interested in continuing his mission with the under-21 squad.

LONDON: Predictions of the final standings of the English Premier League (EPL) have been revealed after a supercomputer made thousands of predictions of match results with some of them surprising.

Liverpool top the table ahead of their second international break of the season with new boss Arne Slot enjoying a dream start to his managerial career at Anfield.

Manchester City and Arsenal trail close behind with just one point separating the top three after seven games, while Chelsea have impressed under Enzo Maresca.

Erik ten Hag’s third campaign at Manchester United saw them look to challenge for the title but instead endured their worst start to an EPL campaign and remain 14th in the table.

Now, Opta’s supercomputer has processed the data and predicted fans will celebrate the new EPL champions next May ending City’s stranglehold on the English premier league.

The predictive points model uses statistics from the season so far to simulate and rank the 20 teams competing with United fans expected to have a bad year if the numbers prove true.

The computer picked Liverpool to win the title for the second time in the EPL era, fending off challenges from Arsenal and Manchester City to do so.

Chelsea – buoyed by the sensational form of Cole Palmer – were surprise favorites to finish second in what was seen as an encouraging result for Maresca after years of the club’s struggles.

The Blues are expected to finish ahead of their London rivals, Arsenal, with Mikel Arteta’s men predicted not to finish in the top four but instead slump to eighth at the end of the season.

Pep Guardiola’s City are expected to drop to third place after winning the league for a record four seasons in a row, with Tottenham fourth and Aston Villa fifth.

However, Manchester United is predicted to end the season in 10th place which will see the club face consecutive ‘disasters’.

Wolves, Leicester and Ipswich are predicted to be relegated to the Championship League after struggling in the early weeks of the EPL.

LONDON: Paris St Germain manager Luis Enrique said he did not know how long it would take his team to bounce back in European competition after losing 2-0 to Arsenal in the Champions League at the Emirates.

The French champions, who lost their prolific striker Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid last summer, lost for the first time this season.

Goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka netted for Mikel Arteta’s side, and PSG saw both of their efforts hit the post.

Enrique, who dropped striker Ousmane Dembele due to a disciplinary problem, accepted responsibility for the defeat but questioned the fighting spirit of his men in London.

“Today we performed below the level required for a game like this. Arsenal were much better in terms of pressure, intensity, they won every fight.

“It’s impossible to get positive results when you don’t win every battle on the pitch, their defense pressures our strikers and our defense doesn’t do the same to their strikers. Arsenal are better,” Enrique said.

The Spanish operator took PSG to the semi-finals of the Champions League last season after they beat his former club Barcelona in the quarter-finals with Mbappe scoring twice and Dembele also finding the target.

Dembele is considered Mbappe’s replacement in PSG’s attack this season, but Enrique’s decision to drop the player ahead of the trip to the Emirates raises questions.

The 27-year-old was punished by Enrique after he showed his displeasure at being sent off in Friday’s win over Rennes.

MANCHESTER, England: Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has defended captain Bruno Fernandes after the midfielder’s lackluster start to the season, saying it is only a matter of time before the Portugal international returns to his best form.

Fernandes has completed just one assist and is yet to score a goal this season and the midfielder has been criticized for his performances in United’s last two games in draws with Crystal Palace and Twente Enschede.

Ten Hag was asked if the 30-year-old was tired after a difficult last season when he played more than 4,000 minutes for United before representing his country at Euro 2024.

“I think the team put him in a situation. I think he can and has proven it, many times in the Premier League, he can create many chances,” Ten Hag told reporters yesterday ahead of Sunday’s home game against Tottenham Hotspur.

“I’m sure he won’t do it any differently. He’ll get back to his best form.

“He has created chances but he will make the last pass, he will score 100 per cent. Only time will tell.”

United have conceded just five goals in the league this season and sit 11th in the table.

“We have players in the team who are capable of scoring goals. But it’s clear when you look at all the chances we create, we don’t score enough goals,” said Ten Hag.

United have failed to beat Spurs for two years and are in a clash that has traditionally produced plenty of goals.

Ten Hag said he expects a tough match against Ange Postecoglou’s men who have collected seven points and are 10th on goal difference.

MILAN: Liverpool celebrated their return to the Champions League after a year away with a 3-1 win over AC Milan at the San Siro.

Despite a slow start, Arne Slot’s squad secured the three points with goals from Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai.

The clash between the two European giants saw Milan punish Liverpool’s defense with Christian Pulisic’s third-minute goal.

But the visitors began to dominate the game and both Liverpool centre-backs found the target before the break, with Szoboszlai securing victory in the second half.

“A great way to celebrate my birthday. You wouldn’t be able to say this after five minutes, but after that we played well,” said Liverpool manager Arne Slot, who turned 46 yesterday.

Pulisic opened the scoring by sprinting down the right unchallenged and scoring from a difficult angle.

The joy of the home fans did not last long as Liverpool began to dominate the game until the end.

“A shaky start with a goal conceded. But after that, with calmness shown, keep playing, try to find answers, I think it’s very good to see,” said Van Dijk.

Konate equalized in the 23rd minute when he leapt high to head home Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick – his first goal in two-and-a-half years.

Captain Van Dijk put Liverpool in front after he headed home Kostas Tsimikas’ corner before the break.

Szoboszlai confirmed the win in the 67th minute by completing Cody Gakpo’s pass.

It was Slot’s first Champions League game with Liverpool since he replaced Jurgen Klopp.

They also managed to make up for the disappointment of the English Premier League after being surprised 1-0 by Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Saturday.

The last time the visiting team came from behind to win the Champions League at San Siro was Liverpool in December 2021.

MIAMI: Mauricio Pochettino has been appointed as the new manager of the United States (US) national squad, announced the governing body of US soccer.

The former Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Espanyol manager replaces Gregg Berhalter who was sacked in July after a disappointing Copa America campaign.

Pochettino is the biggest name in charge of the squad and the first foreign coach since German football legend Jurgen Klinsmann, who was sacked in 2016.

Pochettino, 52, has been unemployed since leaving Chelsea in May after just one season in charge of the Premier League club.

Details of his contract have not been disclosed, but Pochettino will lead the US to the 2026 World Cup which the country is co-hosting with Mexico and Canada.

The Argentinian manager, who managed big names such as Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe while at Paris Saint-Germain, is looking forward to getting started with his new team.

“The decision to join the US is not only about football for me; it is about the journey that the team and this country will go through.

“The energy, enthusiasm and determination to achieve something historic here – inspires me. Such an opportunity is hard to turn down.

“I see a group of talented and potential players, together we will build something special and something to be proud of,” said Pochettino.

Pochettino inherits a young squad that reached the last 16 at the Qatar World Cup in 2022, losing to the Netherlands at that stage.

BUENOS AIRES: Lionel Messi will miss Argentina’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Colombia due to injury while Paulo Dybala was recalled to Lionel Scaloni’s squad.

Messi has not played with his club Inter Miami since suffering an ankle injury during Argentina’s 1-0 win over Colombia in the Copa America final in Miami, United States.

Roma forward Dybala has not made an international appearance since March 2023 but could get a chance to make his 38th appearance for the national team in Messi’s absence.

The world champions will also be without the services of Angel Di Maria following the veteran winger’s retirement from international football.

Argentina currently top the South American zone qualifiers for the 2026 finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The top six teams from 10 countries will automatically qualify for the finals.

Scaloni’s side will host Chile on September 6 before facing Colombia in Barranquilla four days later.

MILAN: Napoli manager Antonio Conte apologized to club fans after his squad lost 3-0 at Hellas Verona in Serie A action.

Conte and Napoli got off to a disappointing start as Verona scored three goals in the second half, with the manager saying he took full responsibility for the defeat.

“We allowed Verona to create chances at the start of the second half, and in the blink of an eye we were behind.

“Then we melted like snow under the sun. I think we need to apologize to the Neapolitan supporters, who were loyal to us.

“I as a coach need to take responsibility for this defeat,” said Conte.

Conte said the 2023 champions need to work harder to reach the desired stage.

The 55-year-old also feels he needs to strengthen his squad before the transfer window closes.

“In the market, one, two, three, four may come, no matter how many clubs want to sign. This problem needs to be addressed, and it is not an easy matter,” he said.

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MANCHESTER: Manchester United’s new co-owner Jim Ratcliffe has revealed the real reason he didn’t sack Erik ten Hag even though the club is enduring its worst season in the Premier League era.

Ratcliffe, 71, also explained why he felt the club had lost its way before his arrival and he was working to rebuild the English giant.

United finished the 2023-24 Premier League campaign in eighth place, the fastest achievement since the 1989-90 season.

A negative goal difference for the first time in 34 years and 14 league defeats – the worst since the 1989-90 season – further soured United’s image under Ten Hag.

But victory over rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final ensured United will continue to play on the European stage this season.

When fans and observers called for the Dutch manager to be sacked, Ratcliffe decided to continue giving Ten Hag a chance rather than looking for a new manager for the sixth time after Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.

“Erik is a good guy and did his best, but it was too much work.

“He’s trying to reshape the squad but at the same time trying to ‘repair the roof’,” Ratcliffe said.