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    ‘I played five minutes and it was my fault’ – Chelsea star opens up on horror season after big money transfer

    A CHELSEA ace endured his first and only horror season after moving to Stamford Bridge.The Blues splashed a staggering £62million to sign the Premier League star in 2022 following a brilliant campaign.A Chelsea star struggled greatly upon his arrival at Stamford BridgeCredit: PAMarc Cucurella barely played 10 minutes for Chelsea at Fulham in 2023Credit: GettyChelsea star Cucurella admitted that was his faultCredit: XBut upon his arrival in west London, Marc Cucurella struggled to replicate the impressive performances he displayed at Brighton the season before.Cucurella, 26, opened up about his difficult start with the Blues after reuniting with former Seagulls boss Graham Potter, who helped him burst onto the scene in the English top flight.The versatile full-back’s struggles didn’t hit home until a disappointing match at rivals Fulham in January 2023 when Chelsea lost 2-1.The Spain international barely played 10 minutes after coming on as a late second-half sub.Read More on ChelseaCucurella felt confused and his confidence was shattered with a section of the Chelsea fans booing him as he never had a bad season with any of his former teams until he joined the West Londoners.However, the defender took full responsibility and recognised it as “his fault”.Now the ex-Brighton star has been established as a key figure for new Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca.Cucurella told La Media Inglesa: “When things started to get a bit complicated, it’s difficult because you start to notice that everything that happens is your fault.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS“I remember a game, I think we lost, at Fulham. 2-1, I think, or 2-0. I played for five minutes or 10 minutes and [it was] my fault, you know.“I say yes, I know, but I haven’t played. And then people boo me, this is also difficult.Marc Cucurella charges over to Chelsea bench and changes boots after being totally at fault for Tottenham’s second goal“And I don’t know, you lose a bit of, above all, your confidence in yourself. I think this is the most important thing.“It’s difficult, but ultimately I am working to reach a point where [I feel that] on the day you play well you’re not the greatest and on the day you play badly you’re not the worst.“I came from [an environment] where this had never happened to me. “I want to say that in every team I was at before, I always played and everything was great. I’d never had a bad season in any team.“And clearly, I came here [to Chelsea] and in my first year this happened to me and it was difficult.“But then, ultimately, like everything in life, until it happens to you, you don’t know how to confront it. “Now, if I were to end up having another bad season, it wouldn’t affect me like before and I would come out of it better.” More

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    Emotional ex-Tottenham star Nabil Bentaleb, 30, scores just four minutes into return after suffering cardiac arrest

    NABIL BENTALEB scored just four minutes into his first appearance since suffering a cardiac arrest last June.The former Tottenham star, 30, now plies his trade for his hometown club Lille in Ligue 1.Nabil Bentaleb celebrates scoring on his first appearance of the seasonCredit: AFPThe midfielder, 30, was mobbed by the Lille benchCredit: RexPrior to last night’s match, Bentaleb had not played since featuring in a World Cup qualifier for Algeria on June 10 last year, having suffered with a cardiac arrest later that month.He was subsequently fitted with a defibrillator by the same heart specialist that treated his former Spurs team-mate Christian Eriksen.Following eight months of rehab, Bentaleb was cleared to return to action by the French Football Federation last Wednesday.Having returned to full training, the all-action midfielder was named as a substitute for Lille’s trip to Rennes on Sunday evening.READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWSBruno Genesio’s side went into the match having endured a shock home defeat to lowly Le Havre last weekend.While their hosts had won their first two matches under their new boss, former Newcastle and Aston Villa full-back Habib Beye.With the score level at 0-0, Bentaleb was called upon to replace Ngal’ayel Mukau in the 76th minute.Barely four minutes later, the returning star was on the scoresheet – stabbing home the rebound after Brice Samba had saved Chuba Akpom’s header.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERSBentaleb was back in the matchday squad for the first time since suffering a cardiac arrestCredit: AlamyBentaleb ran to the bench in celebration, being mobbed by his thrilled team-mates in the process.Things got even better on 86 minutes, with Akpom scoring Lille’s second to secure a 2-0 victory on Bentaleb’s return.Spurs fans hold sit-in protest against board and owenrs after Man Utd winSpeaking after the match, boss Genesio said: “It’s worthy of a film. He deserved it, because I don’t believe in luck, he believed in himself.”It’s an incredible, wonderful story.”Nabil’s goal put us on cloud nine, it’s hard to describe. It could be a moment that will mark the end of our season, that will remain engraved in the history of the club, of this season – and in Nabil’s mind, of course.”Prior to Bentaleb’s introduction, it had looked as if it may not be Lille’s day in front of goal.Akpom had been denied from the penalty spot, before having a goal disallowed for an extremely narrow offside.Rennes defender Christopher Wooh was sent off on 74 minutes, receiving a yellow card for bundling the forward over.READ MORE SUN STORIESLille’s victory saw them rise back above in Lyon into fifth in the Ligue 1 table, just two points off the Champions League places.They will return to action this Saturday when they host AS Monaco.Bentaleb was awarded man of the match for his goalscoring cameoThe popular returning star was celebrated by Lille’s fans at the end of the matchCredit: AFP More

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    Ruben Amorim reveals Man Utd must be ‘really careful’ over Christian Eriksen ‘heart situation’ as star misses Spurs loss

    MANCHESTER UNITED boss Ruben Amorim has revealed that Christian Eriksen missed yesterday’s trip to Tottenham due to his “heart situation”.The Danish midfielder, 33, suffered a cardiac arrest while playing at Euro 2020.Christian Eriksen missed yesterday’s trip to former club TottenhamCredit: AFPHe subsequently made an amazing return to action after having an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) fitted.After being unwell in the week, Eriksen was not available for Sunday’s 1-0 defeat at former club Spurs.Speaking after the match, Amorim said of the situation: “I think Leny (Yoro) and Chris, they were sick. So they will recover.”Of course Chris has the heart situation and we have to be really careful with that.READ MORE MAN UTD NEWS”It’s nothing about the heart! I’m just saying the heart rate has to be controlled because he has a fever.”Eriksen and Yoro were two of several Man Utd stars to miss out, with Kobbie Mainoo also missing and Amad Diallo having been ruled out for the season.The quartet joined long-term absentees Lisandro Martinez, Mason Mount and Luke Shaw in being sidelined – while Manuel Ugarte, Jonny Evans and Altay Bayindir were also missing.Following his side’s defeat, which leaves them 15th in the Premier League, Amorim didn’t want to hide behind the injuries.Most read in FootballRuben Amorim’s side lost to Spurs for a third time this seasonCredit: GettyHe said: “We still had a starting XI with first-team players. It’s no excuse. It’s not nice when you lose five players in one week, but that’s part of football, part of life.”I believe you have to deserve fortune. At the moment, apparently we don’t deserve it. I don’t believe in fortune coming out of nowhere.”Man Utd player ratings vs Tottenham: Hojlund arguably worst No9 in club’s history as Dorgu has nightmare debutWith Tottenham having suffered with several injury issues of their own in recent months, and the likes of Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Dominic Solanke, Radu Dragusin and Richarlison still out, boss Ange Postecoglou had little pity for Man Utd.He said: “If I check my office, I don’t have any sympathy cards from other managers, so that hasn’t happened. There’s definitely a few.”I could see Ruben there, players out of position, kids on the bench. Well, welcome to my world. But that’s for one game. Now do that for two months.”Do that for two months. Any club. Do that for two months. I thought Man United were good today, considering all that, and we had our days when we were good. We beat Liverpool in this spell.”Man Utd used just one substitute yesterday, with 17-year-old striker Chido Obi-Martin replacing Casemiro very late on.Amorim, 40, will hope to have Eriksen and Yoro back available as the Red Devils travel to in-form Everton this weekend. More

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    How Man Utd star’s ‘failure to follow Ruben Amorim’s instructions’ may have cost Red Devils the game at Tottenham

    MAN Utd star Diogo Dalot may have cost his side their defeat against Tottenham on Sunday.The Portuguese defender appeared to lose Son Heung-min in the lead up to Spurs’ goal.Ruben Amorim cut a frustrated figure on the touchline at the Tottenham Hotspur StadiumCredit: AlamyDiogo Dalot appeared to lose Son Heung-min in the build-up to Tottenham’s goalCredit: AlamyDalot was urged to get tighter to Son before he volleyed for James Maddison to tap homeThe South Korean forward’s volley caused panic in the Red Devils’ defence, before James Maddison tapped home from close range.However, reports say United manager Ruben Amorim urged his fellow countryman to get tighter to Son a minute before the goal.That’s according to the Manchester Evening News’ Samuel Luckhurst, who claims the defender failed to follow his coach’s orders.Amorim cut a frustrated figure on the touchline at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.Read more Man Utd newsHe saw his side fall to a 1-0 defeat on their travels, their ninth in 21 games under the ex-Sporting Lisbon coach.During the game, he was seen with his shoulders slumped, arms outstretched at his team’s positioning, and lamented Casemiro for a loose pass.Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund also felt Amorim’s wrath after he was given offside.BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERSThe defeat was United’s second on the bounce in the Premier League.Most read in FootballHowever, Amorim was missing 12 players for the game in North London.Man Utd player ratings vs Tottenham: Hojlund arguably worst No9 in club’s history as Dorgu has nightmare debutLisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Amad Diallo, Mason Mount, Altay Bayindir, Kobbie Mainoo, and Jonny Evans are all on the treatment table.While, Christian Eriksen and Leny Yoro were both absent because of illness.Man Utd ratings v SpursMANCHESTER UNITED slipped to a 12th defeat in the Premier League with Rasmus Hojlund coming under fire again.Here’s how SunSport’s Katherine Walsh rated the Manchester United players against an underachieving Spurs side – who are now three places above them in 12th – in North London.Andre Onana – 3United can’t do anything with him between the sticks. Can’t be trusted to collect anything.His opposite number Vicario showed him a thing or two after returning for the first time since Spurs thrashed Man City in November.At fault for the first goal when he palmed out a relatively weak bouncing shot into Maddison’s path in the 13th minute.Noussair Mazraoui – 5An OK performance. Clever link-up play with Zirkzee but couldn’t get hold of Spence down the left-hand side.Pulled out an excellent cross for the Dutchman’s headed chance late-on.Matthijs de Ligt – 6His clearance stopped an obvious 2-0 before the half-an-hour mark.Harry Maguire – 5A mixed bag. Long ball over the top for Hojlund’s chance in opening 10 minutes and went on a few attacking runs himself in the first half.Did well to stop Dejan Kulusevski from having a go at the edge of the box. But bizarrely stopped in his tracks when a cross came flying into Son later on.Diogo Dalot – 6A difficult afternoon for the Portugal international as Son and Djed Spence left him for dead a few times.Hesitated when asked to shoot from five yards to make it 1-0 but helped Onana out with some clearances too.Patrick Dorgu – 4A Prem debut to forget. He was almost invisible from the left-hand side. And lacked quality when asked to get involved more in the second half.Was stupidly caught offside with Bruno Fernandes offloading a stunning cross pitch pass and booked late-on.Casemiro – 5Looked every bit a player that hasn’t played Premier League football for two months. Unsurprisingly booked for a late one on Son.Bizarrely dropped to the turf asking for a free-kick when nobody touched him. Was forced to play 89 minutes with eight teenagers on the bench. A difficult afternoon, indeed.Bruno Fernandes – 5Interceptions and breaking up play is not a part of the captain’s game. An uncharacteristically poor cross left United open on the counter.Did get back to stop Son from having a shot at Onana on the hour mark and started ticking in attack in the final 20 minutes.Alejandro Garnacho – 4Looked shaky and cut a frustrated figure after blazing over an absolute SITTER from 10 yards to level the scores.A bit of a shocker and looked a completely different player to the one who got United into the fifth-round of the FA Cup last week.Woke up a bit in the second half as Vicario kept him at bay with several superb stops. But the 20-year-old is clearly better off the bench.Joshua Zirkzee – 6The best of a desperately poor front three. There’s a street player in there and he’s great with his touches at times.But curled wide from 23 yards, stuck a header wide in the 70th minute and kicked an air shot in the final five minutes.Rasmus Hojlund – 3Is Hojlund the worst No 9 in United’s recent history?The young Dane, who was unlucky to have a chance saved by Vicario, was second best in every loose ball and kept losing possession.He was even caught offside after a pass from an Onana goal-kick in the first half – how often do you see that happen?The absentees forced Amorim to name a nine-man bench that included eight teenagers.That included highly-rated striker Chido Obi, as well as Ayden Heaven who was signed from Arsenal last month.Incredibly, the only player who had played in the United first team in the past was Victor Lindelof. More

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    Antony equals last season’s Man Utd goal tally in FOUR games with Real Betis as LaLiga hails stunning volley

    ANTONY scored yet again for loan club Real Betis as he equalled last season’s goal tally for Manchester United in just four games.The Brazilian winger joined his new Spanish club in January on a deal running until the summer.Antony struck another goal for new loan club Real BetisHe has now matched his Man Utd tally from 2023/24 in just four gamesCredit: EPAAntony had been frozen out at United by Ruben Amorim after struggling to fit into his 3-4-3 system.But the £84million flop has hit the ground running in LaLiga.Antony first bagged an assist just 14 minutes into his Betis debut.His performance earned a coveted Man of the Match award.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLAnd he followed that up with a goal in his second appearance under ex-Man City boss Manuel Pellegrini.Antony’s second strike came playing for Betis in the Europa Conference League this week.And today saw him hit his third goal for the Spaniards in their 3-0 LaLiga win over Real Sociedad.Antony struck a sumptuous volley from the edge of the box to give his side a second-half lead.Most read in FootballJOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUSAntony was even hailed by LaLiga’s official X account, which posted: “Antony. What a player.”Indeed, the forward now has as many goals in just four games for Betis as he managed throughout the whole of the 2023/24 campaign for United.Antony shows his excitement as he joins Real Betis LaLiga praised Antony on XAnd fans reckon the Red Devils could do with having Antony back right now.That’s after they were beaten 1-0 by fellow strugglers Spurs, with Amorim having to name EIGHT kids on the bench due to injuries.One fan said: “Looks like United binned the wrong players.”Another declared: “You have to ask what is wrong at United.”One noted: “United are a cursed club.”Another added: “Best thing he did was get away from United.”Antony was also presented with the Player of the Match award for the third time in four games. More

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    DAZN host stuns in leather boots and see-through top at Juventus vs Inter as fans hail ‘new Diletta Leotta’

    ELEONORA Incardona has been hailed by DAZN viewers as the ‘new Diletta Leotta’.The stunning TV presenter, 34, hosted coverage of Juventus vs Inter on Sunday for the streaming giant. Eleonora Incardona wowed DAZN viewers with a stunning lookCredit: https://www.instagram.com/eleonoraincardona/Stunniing Eleonora wore a see-through top and knee-high leather bootsCredit: https://www.instagram.com/eleonoraincardona/Glam Eleonora was compared to stunning TV presenter Diletta LeottaCredit: InstagramAnd fans were left in awe of the stunning brunette’s amazing look.Eleonora donned a see through top that revealed a brown push-up bra.She matched that with a mini skirt and some sexy knee-high leather boots.The gorgeous host shared her glam outfit on Instagram to her one million plus followers.Read more sport newsNeedless to say, they were full of compliments in the comments section.One wrote: “Super attractive.”A second shared: “Perfect beauty.”A third posted: “The new Diletta Leotta.”Most read in FootballWhile a fourth added: “So gorgeous.”Some comments even controversially suggested she could replace Italian TV legend Leotta next season. Glam presenter Diletta Leotta shows off underboob in tiny black dress as fans call Prem Wag ‘magnetic attraction’Eleonora was once engaged to Diletta’s stepbrother Mirko Manolo.However, she now dates Italian international midfielder, Samuele Ricci.She revealed in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport: “I am very happy with him. I met him in one of the most complicated periods of my life.”I was only thinking about work to distract myself from everything else. And instead I met a wonderful person, with sound principles and strong values.” More

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    Burnley stars left raging as Preston reject their request immediately after racism claim against Milutin Osmajic

    RAGING Burnley players wanted Milutin Osmajic to be subbed after Hannibal Mejbri accused Preston’s forward of racism.Clarets’ Zian Flemming went to the Preston bench to ask why Osmajic had stayed on following the accusations of a slur against Hannibal during Saturday’s 0-0 stalemate.Burnley wanted Milutin Osmajic to be subbed after an alleged racist comment to Hannibal MejbriCredit: GettyThe incident allegedly occurred during Burnley’s 0-0 draw with Preston on SaturdayCredit: RexNorth End manager Paul Heckingbottom is currently serving a touchline ban.But stand-in boss Stuart McCall stood his ground and refused Burnley’s request, sparking CJ Egan-Riley to hurl the ball in his direction — greeted by sarcastic applause from the coach.Osmajic was later taken off in the 77th minute, with Hannibal being subbed by Burnley six minutes earlier.Preston insiders reveal Osmajic was close to tears when he went to see referee Andrew Kitchen after the game.READ MORE EFL NEWSOsmajic and Hannibal were called in by the official who will report the incident to the FA ahead of an investigation.The Montenegrin striker said he has black team-mates and pals in the Preston ranks and would not have insulted them.The FA will quiz both about an alleged racist comment.In October, Osmajic was hit with an eight-match ban after biting Blackburn’s Owen Beck.Most read in ChampionshipThe incident took place during Preston’s 0-0 draw with Rovers in September.Osmajic was only shown a yellow during the game and was able to play in Preston’s next two games.But the FA launched an investigation and subsequently charged him.Osmajic missed Preston’s next eight matches and was also fined £15,000. More

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    Pep Guardiola warns Man City stars they have just ‘1 per cent’ chance of coming back to knock out Real Madrid

    PEP GUARDIOLA says Manchester City will give everything to be part of the one per cent club when they travel to the Bernabeu on Wednesday.Their Champions League hopes are hanging by a thread after the dramatic 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid at the Etihad in the first leg last week.Pep Guardiola has given his side a one per cent chance of going throughCredit: RexJude Bellingham scored the winner in the first leg last weekCredit: GettyHowever, City will travel to Spain and face their old rivals in good heart after their best performance of the season saw them thrash Newcastle 4-0 on Saturday.Although they won against the kings of Europe on their own patch five years ago, Pep knows the odds are stacked against them repeating it.But he says that no matter how “minimal” the chance is they have to try to grab it against Carlo Ancelotti’s holders.Guardiola said: “It’s better to travel to Madrid with this result [4-0 against Newcastle], than with a last-minute defeat, or any defeat.READ MORE IN FOOTBALL“So of course, the victory helps us, but the margin to win in Bernabeu in that position, everybody knows what it is.“If we’d kept the 2-1 lead we had with five minutes to go, it would be different but with 2-3 we know what the chance is. The result was not good.“If you ask before the game what the percentage to go through is, we’d arrive at about one per cent or I don’t know what.“It will be minimal, but as much as you have a chance, we will try, that’s for sure.Most read in Champions LeagueCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS“Like we always do — so let’s see what happens.”City fans took great heart from their dominant performance against the Toon –— who are rivalling them for a top four spot this season.Pep Guardiola says Akanji’s season all-but over as Man City star suffers injury while playing ‘in emergency’ But the manager is refusing to get carried away by one result and feels the issues that have held them back in recent months still need to be resolved.He said: “This season, the reality is we have been miles, miles away.“If we’d performed like we did on Saturday, would we have finished 22nd in the Champions League table?“Of course not, we would have finished higher, but the reality is we have been really, really poor in performance in the results this season.“Just for one game, on Saturday, we played really good but it’s not going to change the opinion, the reality, the team.“We are still not good in terms of day by day.“There are many, many games that we were playing the level we wanted to play and at the end, we lost it.“It was not just the three points, it’s how [it was] affecting our minds for the next game. It happened a lot of times.”Guardiola decided against playing defensive pair Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake against Newcastle in the hope they may be ready to face Real Madrid on Wednesday.He brought in Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis in January — meaning he was able to give his regulars the afternoon off.Asked if they could play in the Bernabeu, Guardiola said: “I hope so.READ MORE SUN STORIES”On Saturday they were not good, Ruben said, ‘I’m not ready to play 90 minutes, maybe 15-20’. Nathan was sick and had some problems after the game against Madrid so both were not ready to play.“But having Vitor Reis on the bench as well, I wouldn’t risk them.” More