Manchester United manager David Moyes conceded that he was finding his job harder than he could have ever envisaged after a chastening 3-0 home defeat by bitter rivals Liverpool.
The loss on Sunday was United’s ninth of the Premier League campaign – five of which have come at home – and carried echoes of the 4-1 humiliation at Manchester City in September that foreshadowed the club’s current struggles.
The defending champions mustered just one shot on target in the entire game, while Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers claimed with some justification that his side “could have scored five or six”.
In the end the visitors had to content themselves with a brace of Steven Gerrard penalties and a late Luis Suarez strike.
Gerrard squandered a chance to complete a rare hat-trick of penalties when he sent a third spot-kick against the post, but the scoreline was still enough for United striker Wayne Rooney to brand it “one of the worst days I’ve ever had in football”.
With United 12 points below the Champions League places, having played two more games than fourth-placed City, their hopes of reserving a berth in Europe’s premier club competition via the league have been all but dashed.
They also trail Greek champions Olympiakos 2-0 ahead of the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Wednesday, making their chances of qualifying by winning the tournament appear almost equally remote.
It is only 10 months since Alex Ferguson stepped down as manager after overseeing the club’s 20th league title triumph, and Moyes admits that the pace of United’s decline has taken him by surprise.
“The job was always going to be hard,” he said. “Is it harder than I thought it would be? Yeah, I would say so.”
United have beaten only one of the teams currently in the Premier League’s top nine – Arsenal, in November – but despite the damning statistical evidence, Moyes played down suggestions of a malaise.
“That tells you we’re not doing as well as we should be,” he said.
“We have to play better and make ourselves harder to beat, harder to play against, and we are also going to have to make sure we are creating and taking more opportunities.”
He insisted that his players remain “confident” and “hard-working” and said that they would approach the game against Olympiakos at Old Trafford fully believing in their chances of reaching the quarter-finals.
“I think everyone wants to win, no matter what game you play, and give the supporters something to shout about,” he said.
Moyes took umbrage with some of referee Mark Clattenburg’s decisions and Rodgers conceded that Liverpool’s third penalty, awarded for a foul on Daniel Sturridge by Nemanja Vidic, was “harsh”.
Vidic was shown a second yellow card and angrily accused Sturridge of taking a dive, but despite Gerrard’s subsequent miss, there was no disguising the extent of Liverpool’s superiority.
They are now four points behind leaders Chelsea with a game in hand, but Rodgers remains reluctant to talk up his side’s title chances.
Asked if he had forbidden talk of the title, he told journalists: “I’ve not banned it. We have better things to talk about.
“It is about improving and getting better. I don’t lose sleep over it. We are up there on merit, so of course we have an opportunity -- I didn’t say no chance. If you think we have a chance, then write it.”
Rodgers also expressed bewilderment at Moyes’s pre-match admission that Liverpool were probably the favourites to win the game.
“I was probably surprised when I heard we were supposedly coming to Old Trafford here as favourites,” said the Northern Irishman.
“I would never say that at Liverpool, even if I was bottom of the league.”
Moyes responded: “I just thought Liverpool were above us in the league and playing well and I thought any average person would have said the same thing.”
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High fever (40°C/104°F)
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Rash
2020 Oscars winners: in numbers
- Parasite – 4
- 1917– 3
- Ford v Ferrari – 2
- Joker – 2
- Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood – 2
- American Factory – 1
- Bombshell – 1
- Hair Love – 1
- Jojo Rabbit – 1
- Judy – 1
- Little Women – 1
- Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl) – 1
- Marriage Story – 1
- Rocketman – 1
- The Neighbors' Window – 1
- Toy Story 4 – 1
COMPANY PROFILE
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Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
Rooney's club record
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
Kalra's feat
- Becomes fifth batsman to score century in U19 final
- Becomes second Indian to score century in U19 final after Unmukt Chand in 2012
- Scored 122 in youth Test on tour of England
- Bought by Delhi Daredevils for base price of two million Indian rupees (Dh115,000) in 2018 IPL auction
