Enzo Maresca does not believe his Chelsea side are in the English Premier League title race, despite an impressive start to the season in his first campaign at Stamford Bridge.

Victory over Aston Villa at home on Dec 1 would be a seventh win in 13 league games under the Italian, who was appointed as Mauricio Pochettino’s successor in June.

Ahead of the clash, Chelsea were fourth in the table, level on 22 points with Arsenal, who could leapfrog them should they beat West Ham United on Nov 30. The result of that match was unavailable at press time.

The Blues are a point behind Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion, and nine points adrift of leaders Liverpool.

Chelsea are in the hunt to return to the Champions League after two seasons away and Maresca has fashioned an effective team from a bloated squad.

But the 44-year-old Italian was keen to play down suggestions that his side could be the one to end City’s four-year title streak this season.

“No,” he said, when asked whether they were in the title race.

“I said many times I didn’t like the pressure. I don’t like to say ‘Yes we are there’ but we are not there.

“Arsenal are ahead of us, City is ahead of us, Liverpool showing they are ahead of us. The important thing is we improve game after game and then we will see.

“For me, it is not about points or the table, it is about the process. Five years together (Arsenal), nine together (City). Liverpool is different but they didn’t make too many changes from before. It’s not about the points difference on the table, it is about the time together.”

Liverpool and City are meeting on Dec 1, giving Chelsea the chance to make up ground on the teams above them but Maresca also urged caution.

“You have to be realistic. You can see the difference between us and the rest in this moment. It doesn’t mean we are not going to compete and win games. We will do that to the end. The main focus has to be the feeling we are improving game after game,” he added.

Maresca played for Sevilla from 2005 to 2009, about four years before current Villa boss Unai Emery took charge of the La Liga club and led them to three Europa League titles.

He heaped praise on the Spaniard, who was appointed by Villa in October 2022 and helped the Birmingham-based side qualify for the Champions League by finishing fourth in the Premier League last season.

“Villa have a top manager, they are doing fantastic. I know Emery from Sevilla and I know how intense they are. They are showing fantastic things with very good players. It will be a tough game,” he said.

Villa, three points back, are winless in seven consecutive matches in all competitions and Emery has urged his side to “keep going”.

“Now, we are going to face Chelsea. Of course, difficult, and those three points will be very important,” the 53-year-old said.

“The most important thing is to try to build our team, to feel comfortable and strong and try to correct some mistakes we are doing.”

-AFP/Reuters

Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana has won the FIFPRO Impact Award for humanitarian work, for the medical care his foundation provides to underprivileged communities in Cameroon and other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Doctors have performed more than 1,200 surgical operations over the past three years in collaboration with the 28-year-old’s Andre Onana Foundation, which works with medical professionals to provide surgery and care for people, particularly children.

The honour is part of FIFPRO’s Annual Merit Awards that recognise players giving back to their communities. The global soccer players’ union will donate $10,000 to Onana’s foundation.

“When I passed through Barcelona, Amsterdam and Milan on my way to Manchester United, I had people who helped me on that journey. When I was down, they gave me a hand so that I could stand up,” Cameroonian Onana said on FIFPRO’s website. “I’ve never forgotten the help I received.

“Because of the people in the past who supported me, I feel I have a responsibility to give back and help others.”

Onana said the plan when he started the foundation was to help blind children in Cameroon, but it has since grown to become an NGO, bringing doctors and surgeons, mainly from Spain, to Africa to perform procedures.

Onana’s United teammate Marcus Rashford won the award in 2020 for his campaign to continue free school meals for disadvantaged children in the United Kingdom when schools were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finland international Linda Sallstrom won FIFPRO’s Player Activism Award for speaking out on human rights issues, such as equality, racism and democracy. In March, she confronted fans in Gothenburg, Sweden who she said made misogynistic slurs against her and her teammates.

Former South Korea goalkeeper Ga-Ae Kang won the Player Voice for leading efforts by Korean footballers and the country’s player union KPFA to improve employment conditions for female players and raise the visibility of the Women’s K League.

-Reuters

Ruben Amorim admitted Manchester United were “confused” and “afraid” as his first match in charge of the troubled club ended in a frustrating 1-1 draw at struggling Ipswich on Nov 24.

Amorim’s initial taste of the Premier League started with Marcus Rashford putting United ahead in the second minute.

But Omari Hutchinson’s deflected strike hauled Ipswich level before half-time to deny Amorim a debut victory after replacing the sacked Erik ten Hag.

Amorim has arrived from Sporting Lisbon to find a team in turmoil and languishing in 12th place in the Premier League.

While he was impressed by United’s work rate against third-bottom Ipswich, he conceded there were numerous flaws to iron out.

“It is a tough league. My players were thinking too much during the game. You can feel it. Not just on the ball but where they are supposed to be on the pitch,” he said.

“We lost some balls. When you start like this with one goal, you have to control the tempo. We cannot do it at the moment but they really tried.

“You have to keep the ball and know the momentum. We are doing some things not in the right moment. We have to address this.

“If you see the first half we were a little bit afraid. When we don’t have training, we had two days, they are confused a little bit. You feel that in the data.”

Despite having just two days to work with the whole United squad after the international break, Amorim deployed his preferred 3-4-3 formation.

That system helped Sporting win two Portuguese titles in his four seasons with the club, but Amorim said United found it tricky to adapt with little preparation time.

“It is hard with just two days. Everyone talks about the 3-4-3 but that is not the concern. A system is a system, but the understanding of the game we have to improve a lot in this area,” he said.

“I know it is hard for some guys to understand this. We have two ways. We try to just win games and don’t risk nothing. Then I guarantee at this stage next year we would have the same problems.

“So now we will have some problems, but we have to address the new idea and try to be better at the same stage next year.”

Questioning whether United have the strength required to succeed in the Premier League, Amorim added: “First they have to understand the game, then they need to be so much better physically to cope with the high pressure. We need time to work on this.

“They want this. Sometimes they don’t know how to get it. That is my feeling.”

-AFP