LONDON: Pep Guardiola said today that Manchester City’s mood was improving after three consecutive wins but refused to comment on the potential signings of new players to bolster an injury-hit squad in January.

Premier League (EPL) champions City had won just one of their 13 matches in all competitions before their 2-0 win over Leicester on December 29.

They then beat West Ham 4-1 in Julen Lopetegui’s final game in charge of the London club and thrashed fourth-tier club Salford 8-0 in the third round of the FA Cup last week.

“Before, it was impossible to win one game, now we win three and it helps us,” said Guardiola ahead of the meeting with Brentford early this Wednesday morning.

“We did well, but we’re still waiting to see who we are. You know who we are, but of course the feeling is better.”

He added: “We had a difficult game (against Brentford). Thomas (Frank) and his team always created problems. They are an amazing team.”

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia: Real Madrid are chasing their dream of equalling a record 14th Spanish Super Cup title in the final against Barcelona after second-half goals from Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo helped them win 3-0 over Mallorca in the semi-final early this morning.

England midfielder Bellingham broke the deadlock after the hour mark with a flicked shot into the centre of the goal before an own goal by Mallorca defender Martin Valjent doubled the lead in injury time followed by Rodrygo’s close-range strike.

Spanish champions Real will face Barcelona for the trophy on Sunday after goals from Gavi and Lamine Yamal gave Barca a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao early yesterday morning.

Barcelona and Real will face each other in the final of the competition for the third time in a row, with Carlo Ancelotti’s men winning last year while Barca last lifted the trophy in 2023.

Barcelona holds the record with 14 championships while Real has 13.

The Spanish Super Cup has been contested by four teams since 2020, featuring the winners and runners-up of La Liga and the Copa del Rey.

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has defended Trent Alexander-Arnold over his lacklustre display against Manchester United.

Van Dijk also rejected the notion that Real Madrid’s desire to sign his teammate was the cause of Alexander-Arnold’s negative impact.

Alexander-Arnold was the source of Lisandro Martinez’s opening goal which saw the two teams tied 2-2 at Anfield, thus showing that the player’s performance was below his true standard.

The right-back’s lackluster performance has been ongoing for a long time and has often been the subject of debate regarding his future with the English Premier League (EPL) leaders.

The 26-year-old’s contract is set to expire at the end of this season and this means he can now sign a pre-contract with a club abroad.

Spanish giants Real reportedly made a bid to sign him but Liverpool are believed to have rejected the offer.

Liverpool are scheduled to face Tottenham in London on Wednesday in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final.

“Trent has people around him, his family and we are here for him too,” said Van Dijk.

“He wants to perform at the best level possible, just like we do. That’s the main focus.”

MANCHESTER: Marcus Rashford is reportedly doubling down on his efforts to leave Manchester United this month as he holds talks with top sporting agencies.

Before losing to Newcastle, Rashford was left out four times by new manager Ruben Amorim, sparking speculation about the striker’s future at Old Trafford.

Rashford then revealed he was willing to take on the new challenge and has now taken the first step in his bid to leave United.

According to The Sun, Rashford has met with leading sports agency Stellar to help him leave Old Trafford in this month’s transfer window.

The same agency helped Gareth Bale move from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid in 2013.

The United star is currently represented by his brother Dwaine Maynard who is ready to work with Stellar to make his brother’s move happen.

Rashford’s last appearance for United was on December 12 when he played 56 minutes against Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League.

He was dropped from the squad for the games against Manchester City, Tottenham, Bournemouth and Wolves.

Rashford, whose contract with United only expires in the summer of 2028, made 426 appearances for the club and scored 138 goals.

MANCHESTER: Harry Maguire revealed why new manager Ruben Amorim is facing a difficult situation at Manchester United, and the former captain blamed the squad for not being good enough.

United slipped to 14th in the Premier League after a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Wolves – their fifth defeat in 10 games under Amorim.

Matheus Cunha opened the scoring directly from a corner, the second time in a week that United had been conceded in the same way, before Hwang Hee-chan refused to go in after injury.

Bruno Fernandes was also sent off after receiving two yellow cards and Maguire expressed the differences between Amorim and former manager Erik ten Hag.

“I think it is very difficult for the controller and his troops to come because the method is not the same as the old controller.

“They are different in terms of what they want and demand, so it is difficult for them because they want to improve the team’s performance in defensive patterns and set-piece situations.

“He’s not good enough for us and the fans,” said Maguire, who has regained his place in the starting line-up under Amorim.

United have been conceded 10 times from set pieces this season and Maguire is worried that their weaknesses will continue to be targeted by opponents.

“If it happens often, you can’t blame luck, but it’s hard to swallow the fact that twice the opponent scored goals from corner kicks.

“I don’t think the Tottenham network is legitimate, but I haven’t seen this one. There are situations that cannot be avoided, but apart from that you need to assess your own mistakes and correct them,” he said.

LIVERPOOL, England: Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca insisted he was “really happy” despite his team losing their grip on the Premier League title race following a goalless draw at Everton late last night.

The Blues can take top spot from Liverpool if they win at Goodison Park before the leaders meet Tottenham Hotspur at home early this morning.

Chelsea, on the other hand, saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end as they failed to score for the first time since October.

With Liverpool winning 6-3 in a remarkable match in north London, it meant Chelsea finished the day in second place – four points behind the Reds and having played a game more than the leaders.

Maresca – speaking before Liverpool’s victory was confirmed – said: “I’m really happy. I just told the players I’m happier today than I was after the game with Brentford (which they won 2-1 last weekend).

“The reason I’m a bit worried about this match: tough match, tough stadium, tough team.”

He added: “Defensively they are the best, they are one of the top five teams in Europe in terms of clean sheets so you struggle to create chances against them.

“It’s not an easy game and you have to learn to play differently. Football is not just about how good you are with the ball, it’s also about how you defend and how you deal with it.”

It was Everton’s first match since the Friedkin Group (TFG) completed its takeover of the Liverpool club, with new executive chairman Marc Watts in the Goodison crowd late last night.

It was Everton’s second consecutive goalless draw after a 0-0 draw at Arsenal last weekend but Toffees boss Sean Dyche, whose contract expires at the end of the season, knows only a win will impress the club’s American owner.

PARIS: Teenage striker Marc Guiu scored a hat-trick as Chelsea thrashed Shamrock Rovers 5-1 for a sixth successive win in the Europa League, and advanced to the last 16 with maximum points.

The 18-year-old is now the tournament’s top scorer with six goals, two of which came in the victory in Astana last week.

The young Spaniard headed in Chelsea’s first goal but Markus Poom equalised for the Irish club.

Guiu capitalised on another mistake by the visitors’ defence to put Chelsea back in front, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall adding a goal before Guiu completed his hat-trick in first-half injury time.

Marc Cucurella scored the hosts’ fifth goal at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea finished the league with 26 goals scored – eight more than any other club.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca admitted that Guie was disappointed that he was not given many opportunities to play, having not played any minutes in the Premier League since coming on as a substitute in the opening match of this season.

“Marc (Guiu) was a little disappointed because Nicolas (Jackson) and Christopher (Nkunku) stood out more.

“When you are the number nine player and other players in the same position are performing brilliantly, you have to wait for that opportunity.

“The important thing is that they work hard every day and then the opportunity will come,” Mareca said.

Joining Chelsea in the last 16 are Vitoria Guimaraes and Fiorentina who drew 1-1 in Portugal. Vitoria are also unbeaten in the league.

Rapid Vienna, Djurgarden, Lugano, Legia Warsaw and Cercle Brugge also advanced to the next round.

DOHA: Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho has won the FIFA Puskas Award, the annual prize given to the most beautiful goal scored.

Garnacho’s stunning scissor kick against Everton in the Premier League – scored in November last year – missed out on a nomination for the 2023 award, meaning the Argentine will have to wait a long time to win the prestigious award.

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It was a moment of wonder that came unexpectedly in the third minute of action at Goodison Park.

There were also parallels with Wayne Rooney’s goal against Manchester City in 2011 and Garnacho did just that when he met Diogo Dalot’s cross from the right.

“I tried this technique many times in training,” Garnacho told FIFA recently.

“I thought, ‘This is the time to do it, to see what happens.’ And I scored the goal, so it was perfect!”

“After the goal, my teammates were patting each other on the head. They were like, ‘How did you do it?'”

The rising Argentine star’s stunning goal was nominated among 10 goals and topped the charts after a vote by fans and a panel of experts, garnering a total of 26 points.

Yassine Benzia finished in second place with 22 points, followed by Denis Omedi in third with 16 points.

The FIFA Puskas Award recognizes the most impressive goal in men’s football with the nomination period from August 21, 2023 to August 10, 2024.

The award is named after legendary Hungarian striker Ferenc Puskas, who is known for a number of stunning individual goals.

Garnacho, who celebrated his 20th birthday in July, finished last season with 10 goals in all competitions and has already scored eight goals this season.

It is the fifth time in the 15-year history of the Puskas Award that the winning goal has been scored in an EPL match, following in the footsteps of Olivier Giroud (2017), Mohamed Salah (2018), Son Heung Min (2020) and Erik Lamela (2021).

Malaysian player Faiz Subri won the award in 2016 while playing for Penang.

LONDON: Chelsea are now just two points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool after goals from Marc Cucurella and Nicolas Jackson gave them a 2-1 win over Brentford.

It was the fifth consecutive victory for Enzo Maresca’s squad in the league.

Chelsea pressed Brentford from the start, with 15 attempts in the first half, but only Cucurella’s 43rd-minute header beat goalkeeper Mark Flekken. It was the Spanish centre-back’s first league goal for Chelsea.

However, Cucurella’s glorious night ended with a red card when he received a second yellow card for a foul on Kevin Schade late in the game.

10 minutes from time, Jackson added his ninth Premier League goal of the season after receiving a pass from Enzo Fernandez.

According to Jackson, the players followed the plan set by the manager.

“We did that. It was harder at the end because they wanted to score again,” Jackson said.

Jackson’s goal saved Chelsea after Brentford finally found the target in the last minute through Bryan Mbeumo.

“Our second half was amazing, and I think we were unlucky not to capitalise on it,” said Brentford manager Thomas Frank.

Meanwhile, Maresca maintains his stance that Chelsea are not yet ready to compete for the league title this season due to more experienced rivals.

“No matter how many games we win, I don’t think we’re ready. They won’t concede goals like we did.

“One of the reasons is because I think the competition is the way to win the title. We can’t concede like that and give the opponent a chance.

“Fans can put that dream into practice, but for me we’re not ready yet,” Maresca said.

LIVERPOOL: Mohamed Salah has come out to defend Darwin Nunez from fan criticism, even comparing his teammate to the former Liverpool star.

Nunez has been the victim of criticism from fans after only scoring three goals in 18 appearances this season.

But Salah dismissed criticism of his team-mate and claimed he was happy playing with Nunez, just like he was with Roberto Firmino.

The Brazilian also suffered a slump at Anfield but he and Salah showed their compatibility and managed to stay with Liverpool for eight seasons, with the duo scoring 36 goals in 245 appearances.

“Who is my favourite pairing? Firmino. Now generally I like to play with Nunez.

“A lot of people don’t like him but I like playing with him. Nunez has different skills. Not everyone understands his game,” said Salah.

Salah and Nunez have played 96 games together and scored 16 goals between them.