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LONDON: Ruben Amorim has defended Manchester United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir after their 1-0 defeat at Arsenal last night and insisted Riccardo Calafiori’s winning goal should have been disallowed.

Amorim chose Bayindir over Andre Onana for the Premier League opener against Arsenal, but the Turkiye goalkeeper made a mistake when he was too easily beaten by William Saliba, allowing Calafiori to head home an easy goal.

Bayindir’s performance has added to Manchester United’s problems at the goalkeeper position over the past few seasons.

Onana has also made a big mistake, leading to speculation that The Red Devils may be looking for a new main goalkeeper this summer.

Amorim was asked about the matter after the match at Old Trafford, but he defended Bayindir and suggested the goal should have been disallowed.

Amorim was asked if he was now thinking of replacing Bayindir with Tom Heaton, to which he replied sarcastically: “Why? But (Altay) conceded a goal like this, where?”

A reporter replied: “Spurs.”

Amorim added: “Without VAR. With VAR, it was a mistake. Then what happened in the next game? Arsenal. Altay played very well. I consider all aspects to choose who to play.

“When you touch the goalkeeper in that way, he has to use his hands to catch the ball, not push the player. Or if he chooses to push the player, then the ball will go away.

“If it’s allowed, we have to do the same. He chose to get the ball, so he couldn’t defend himself.”

When pressed about Onana’s absence from the squad, Amorim replied: “I’m not dropping Onana from the squad. It’s not a question of continuing to play Onana with just a week of training, without matches, without enough time to train. I’m happy with the three goalkeepers we have.”

MANCHESTER: Manchester United could be set to bring back club legend goalkeeper David de Gea in a move that could be considered a shock move from Fiorentina.

It is understood that the club received information that the 34-year-old Spanish goalkeeper has a clause in his contract at Fiorentina that allows him to move for a relatively small fee.

Sources have revealed that calls are being made after De Gea made a positive impact on his return to Old Trafford last week in a friendly, as well as telling supporters that “they might meet again”.

Ahead of the Premier League opener against Arsenal, United manager Ruben Amorim refused to reassure Andre Onana about his status as the number one goalkeeper this season.

Amorim said: “It’s the same as other players. They all have to fight for a place. I wouldn’t say one player is number one.”

Throughout his career at Old Trafford, De Gea made 545 appearances between 2011 and 2023, making him seventh on the club’s all-time appearance list.

However, a decline in form and contract issues led to his departure from United, before then-manager Erik ten Hag signed Onana from Inter Milan for £43.8 million.

After a year without a club throughout the 2023-24 season, De Gea has regained his form and confidence with Fiorentina.

However, United will need to release Onana, 29, or reserve goalkeeper from Turkiye, Altay Bayindir, to reduce the wage burden if they want to bring De Gea back.

However, United may also be able to continue without having to let go of their existing goalkeeper if the cost of acquiring De Gea is low enough.

United have also been linked with several big names in goal this summer, sparking speculation that Onana could be replaced.

Among the names mentioned are Emi Martinez (Aston Villa), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain) and John Victor (Botafogo).

UDINE, Italy: Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) won their fifth trophy of the year after beating Europa League champions Tottenham Hotspur 4-3 on penalties after a dramatic 2-2 draw in Udine, securing their first UEFA Super Cup triumph.

Despite not being at their best, PSG proved why they are European champions when a late comeback saw them come from 0-2 down in the 84th minute to equalise and eventually win on penalties, adding another trophy to their collection.

Spurs started fiercely, making opponents uncomfortable with a high-intensity approach, which clearly pleased their new head coach, Thomas Frank, on the sidelines.

Their best moment early in the game came when Richarlison won the ball in midfield before doing a one-two with Mohammed Kudus and unleashing a powerful shot that was successfully saved by PSG’s new goalkeeper, Lucas Chevalier.

Luis Enrique’s team looked a bit ‘rusty’ after a short pre-season, frequently losing the ball due to poor passing and having difficulty involving their key players in matches.

The mistake was punished in the 39th minute when they failed to clear the ball from a free kick sent into the penalty box.

Chevalier parried Joao Palhinha’s powerful shot against the crossbar, but Micky van de Ven – one of Spurs’ heroes in the Europa League win in Bilbao – quickly pounced on the rebound to score the opening goal.

PSG were surprised again just a few minutes into the second half.

Cristian Romero, who was announced as Spurs’ new captain for the upcoming season yesterday, celebrated the appointment with a header into the corner of the goal after receiving a perfect cross from Pedro Porro to double the team’s lead.

However, as time went on, Les Rouge et Bleu began to increase the tempo.

Desire Doue fired a low shot that was saved by Guglielmo Vicario – who plays in his hometown – before Ousmane Dembele curled a shot wide.

After constant pressure, they finally got the goal they wanted when substitute Lee Kang In fired a beautiful shot from outside the penalty area that beat Vicario, paving the way for a thrilling finish.

PSG continued to dominate the game and attack the Spurs goal and as the match neared its end, Dembele slipped in on the right before sending a powerful cross that Goncalo Ramos headed home to equalise, sparking thunderous cheers from the French fans and sending the match into penalties.

Vitinha missed PSG’s first penalty, but Van de Ven and Mathys Tel also failed to convert their respective kicks for Spurs.

Nuno Mendes then calmly slotted home the winning fifth kick, ensuring PSG claimed their first Super Cup trophy.

It was a perfect start to the season for the Ligue 1 champions.

Spurs, although disappointed, can take the positive side because they managed to provide great resistance to the team considered the best in the world at the moment, thus increasing their confidence to go far in the Champions League this season.

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool manager Arne Slot said his team is excited to face Crystal Palace in the Community Shield at Wembley Stadium tomorrow.

The English Premier League champions, who have a chance to equal the record of 20 English league titles, will face FA Cup champions Crystal Palace.

The Reds are now chasing a 17th Community Shield title, having last won it in 2022.

“It’s good to start the season by winning something. We have a chance at the start of the season. We’re going to face a tough Crystal Palace team.

“They have proven how difficult it is to win against them in a single match.

“Counter-attacks, free kicks, long passes to (Palace striker Jean-Philippe) Mateta and the individual quality of their strikers. (Athletic) Bilbao, AC Milan and Yokohama have given us tough competition in pre-season.

“Palace started the season well, still the same team. An interesting challenge for us to start the season,” said Slot.

Liverpool’s last visit to Wembley ended in a shock 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United in the League Cup final last March, but Slot refuses to dwell on that defeat.

“We don’t look back because Newcastle’s system is different, but the way they play is probably similar to Palace.

“They used every free kick to send the ball into our penalty area. Palace also threatened from set pieces. There are some similarities between the two teams.

“This Sunday, a goal would be very valuable,” he said.

Liverpool have so far signed Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and several other players in the transfer window, while Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal.

LONDON: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says the Gunners believe this season will be different as they look to overcome some narrow setbacks in their title chase.

Arteta has not won any trophies since lifting the FA Cup in his first season as manager in the 2019-20 season.

However, he managed to turn Arsenal into a consistent contender for major trophies.

Arteta’s men finished the English Premier League (EPL) as runners-up for three consecutive seasons and advanced to the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2009 last season.

Now, pressure is mounting on the Spanish manager to steer his team further after another transfer window involving major investment.

Almost £200 million was spent on new striker Viktor Gyokeres, midfielders Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard, central defender Cristhian Mosquera as well as winger Noni Madueke and goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

“We know what our targets are and what we want to achieve this season – there is great confidence in our ability to achieve them,” Arteta said in his programme notes ahead of the pre-season friendly against Villarreal later this morning.

“We’ve been very, very close in recent seasons and the whole team will determine whether we achieve it or not.

“But at the same time, we need to make sure we don’t lose focus on what we need to do every day to reach the level we want.

“We need to set the demands we want in this goal, because that’s the most important thing – the internal demands should always outweigh any external demands. That’s what we try to achieve every day.”

Arteta also added that he wants his players to feel “invincible” when playing at home due to the special relationship they have with the club’s supporters.

“We want our fans to immediately connect with the players, start building momentum and start feeling at home that we are invincible,” he said.

“That we played here with such passion, energy and an incredible connection with our fans, that we were confident we would win the game.”

Arsenal will begin their EPL campaign with a highly anticipated match against Manchester United on August 17.