United snatch Pep’s successor

GM football fans. Route One here, and we’re covering Amorim’s tough start to life at United, La Liga bosses calling for a postponement of games and much more.

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PREMIER LEAGUE MW10 STATS

Manchester United (13th) 1 – 1 Chelsea (4th). Eight of the last 13 league meetings between these sides have ended level, while this is the fixture with the most total draws in the competition’s history (27). Tottenham (7th) 4 – 1 Aston Villa (6th). Spurs have conceded the opening goal of a Premier League home game on 12 occasions in 2024; the most of any team this year. Liverpool (1st) 2 – 1 Brighton (9th). Liverpool have won eight of their 10 league games under Arne Slot, the most ever by a Reds manager in the same period. Premier League Matchday 10 results here.

Plus…

• Tonight’s game: Fulham vs Brentford (20:00 UK).

• Premier League table after Matchday 10; Nottingham Forest sit 3rd (More)

• Mourinho celebrating a last-minute winner in true Jose style (Watch)

• Vinicius Jr rejects contract extension at Real Madrid (More)

• Ruben Dias and John Stones ruled out until after the international break (More)

INTRODUCING PLAYER/GOAL OF THE DAY

You asked, and we listened! Routers want more ways to engage with R1, so we’re excited to introduce a new feature. Starting today, you can submit your "Goal or Player of the Day" using this link.

Each day, we’ll spotlight a "Router’s Player or Goal of the Day" in the Answer section at the end of the newsletter. It doesn’t need to be recent or tied to current games—just share a memorable moment with a brief explanation of why it stands out to you.

To kick things off, our editor has shared the first submission. Check it out!

MAN UNITED’S TOUGH RUN

United snatch Pep’s successor, but Amorim faces daunting start to life as Manchester United's head coach

Sporting has confirmed that Manchester United will pay £9.2mn to hire Ruben Amorim as their new head coach. His Sporting contract has a 30-day notice period. Ruud van Nistelrooy is in charge of their games until the international break.

United’s Chief executive Omar Berrada holds the 39-year-old in high esteem for ending a 19-year title drought at Sporting. Berrada — formerly Manchester City's football ops chief — would have known of their rival's plans to appoint Amorim after Pep Guardiola’s departure, whose contract runs out at the end of the season. Despite the trust in their new ‘coach’, though, Amorim doesn’t share Erik ten Hag’s previous title of ‘manager’. It suggests that the incoming coach will have a limited scope of responsibility compared to his predecessors.

Amorim faces a daunting start to life as United’s head coach. Opta says only five Premier League teams have a harder fixture run than United from the point of Amorim’s first game in charge. But the Portuguese coach will have two uninterrupted weeks to install his philosophy: short-passing possession and an aggressive pressing system. In all of Amorim’s 188 games at Sporting, he used either a 3-4-2-1, 3-4-3, or 3-5-2 formation.

POLL

HEAD START

🔮 Salah cryptic about Liverpool future. Mohamed Salah has posted a cryptic message on social media platform X. “No matter what happens, I will never forget what scoring at Anfield feels like,” wrote Salah. This is not the first time that the Egyptian winger has struck such a note. After Liverpool’s 3 – 0 victory over Manchester United last September, Salah said it was “his last season” at the club.

❌ Marcelo terminates contract after spat with coach. Former Real Madrid great Marcelo has mutually terminated his contract with boyhood club Fluminense after a touchline spat with his coach. Watch the sideline spat here. The full-back was about to come on as a substitute when Mano Menezes reacted to something Marcelo said and ordered him back to the bench.

😬 Gerrard fights to keep Saudi job. Steven Gerrard has held talks with Al-Ettifaq’s chiefs this week as he fights to keep his £15.2mn-a-year job. The Liverpool legend has suffered his fourth loss in six games, and his side currently sit 11th in the Saudi Pro League. The fans are starting to turn on Gerrard as he was booed off the field in their last game.

LA LIGA CRITICISM

La Liga managers criticise decision to play matches after deadly floods, Barca continue to dominate

Several La Liga managers say that matches in the Spanish top flight should have been cancelled following floods in Valencia. The deadliest flash floods in Spain’s modern history have killed at least 211 people (satellite images of floods here).

Some games were postponed, including Valencia versus Real Madrid and Villarreal versus Rayo Vallecano. But Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone condemned the League’s decision to go ahead with eight league matches. Other managers – including Barcelona’s Hansi Flick and Girona’s Michel – echoed Simeone’s thoughts.

Barcelona remain dominant in La Liga. After their 3 – 1 win against Espanyol on Sunday, Flick’s men go nine points clear at the top of the table. The Catalan side have scored 40 goals in their first 12 games of the season, only achieving more (42) in 1950/51.

AROUND THE FOOTBALL WORLD

Top Five European Leagues

> Harry Kane scored twice as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich eased past visitors Union Berlin 3 – 0 on Saturday to provisionally open up a three-point gap at the top (Highlights)

> Ligue 1 leaders PSG continued their unbeaten start after an early goal from Ousmane Dembele secured a 1 – 0 win over RC Lens; PSG sit six points clear (More)

Rest of the World

> Rangers staged a second-half comeback to beat Motherwell and secure a Scottish League Cup final place against Celtic (More)

> Former Chelsea player Damien Duff led his side Shelbourne FC to be crowned League of Ireland Premier Divison champions; they were 25/1 to win at the start of the season (More)

Women’s Football

> The Women’s Super League agrees a record £65mn domestic five-year TV deal with Sky Sports and BBC (More)

> Jamaica FA falsely claims women’s team coach was cleared of alleged sexual misconduct by Fifa’s Ethics Committee (More)

ROUTER’S VOICE

Last week, we asked you: Do you think the independent regulator will negatively impact the Premier League’s competitiveness?

🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 📉 Yep, it will make the Premier League less competitive... (26%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙄 Nope, it won't have an impact on competitiveness... (70%)

⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (write in!)... (4%)

Your punditry takes:

• 🙄 M.B: “It won't affect the competition as such, but it will hopefully cut out a lot of the BS we get like the constant power struggle between PL and Man City.”

• 📉 N.T: “The Premier League will not be as competitive anymore. We won't compete with the Saudi league or MLS when it comes to transfers.”

• ✍️ Z.Z: “It definitely will affect competitiveness, but if done properly, long-term it will need to a more sustainable pyramid and better footballers and footballing organisations competing for Premier League spots.”

EXTRA TIME

Beckham and Adidas release new Predator boots. / w images

… and Real Valladolid unveils holographic badge.

Haaland is officially the most wasteful Premier League striker. / w analysis

Never forget Cruyff teaching Stoichkov how to use a skipping rope. / via X

How did Erik ten Hag really compare to his Man United predecessors?

Vinicius Jr criticised for ‘arrogance’ after Ballon d’Or response.

Club legends who have become club bosses.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Who Am I… 

• I’ve won league titles in both England and Spain.

• I played in the 2014 Champions League final but lost to Real Madrid.

• I was born in Brazil but played internationally for Spain.

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Premier League

• Fulham vs Brentford (20:00)

FA Cup 1st Round

• Chesham Utd vs Lincoln (19:15)

La Liga

• Celta Vigo vs Getafe (20:00)

Serie A

• Empoli vs Como (17:30)

• Parma vs Genoa (17:30)

• Lazio vs Cagliari (19:45)

*All time in UK. EST -5. PST -8. CET +1. CST +8. JST +9.

Answer

Diego Costa.

Goal of the Day

Today’s Goal of the Day is from R1’s Editor: Robin van Persie’s header against Spain in the 2014 World Cup. I know it was the same year as THAT James Rodriguez volley, but there’s something about Van Persie’s instinct in a split second that captured me in that moment. I was stunned when it hit the back of the net – and so too was Iker Casillas.

R1 Editor’s favourite goal can be seen here. Submit your entry for Goal/Player of the Day here.