KUALA LUMPUR: Liverpool legend Ian Rush believes his former club are still capable of finishing this season’s Premier League (EPL) in the top four despite facing a less than convincing start.

Rush admitted that Arsenal and Manchester City are the favourites at the moment, but he did not see Liverpool’s position as something to worry about.

“For me, Arsenal and Manchester City are the favorites. But this isn’t a bad start for Liverpool.

“Actually I expected us to get a positive result against Arsenal, but it didn’t happen. If we won, the gap would have been only three points but now it’s nine points.

“So it’s not easy, but I believe Liverpool are on the right track. They know what they’re doing and success won’t come overnight,” he said when met at an event organised by Standard Chartered here.

The former Wales striker said that Liverpool’s main target this season is to secure a place in the Champions League, but admitted that the competition is becoming more open with several other teams also showing encouraging performances.

“I think the main target is to qualify for the Champions League. We’ve already talked about Arsenal and Manchester City, they really stand out.

“Brighton also beat Manchester City the other day, so the competition is still wide open. With teams like Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham, and Chelsea in the mix, and even Bournemouth and Brentford also posing a growing challenge, it’s going to be an exciting league campaign.

Rush, who scored 346 goals in over 660 appearances over 15 years with Liverpool, also recalled the most meaningful moments throughout his career, including the winning goal in the 1986 FA Cup final which he described as a dream since childhood.

“All the goals I’ve scored for Liverpool are special. My dream since I was a kid was to score the winning goal in the 1986 FA Cup final.

“My dream came true, so that’s one of them. But I think the first goal I scored for Liverpool gave me the confidence to keep scoring so many goals.

“Before that I played seven matches without scoring any goals. I came on as a substitute, scored the first goal in the European Cup and that gave me the confidence to continue scoring more goals,” he said.

LIVERPOOL: The defeat to Arsenal in a fierce Premier League (EPL) match is not expected to break Liverpool’s momentum as they are now eyeing a fourth consecutive victory in the Champions League (UCL) when they face Fenerbahce in Istanbul early Thursday morning.

The journey in the EPL is still long, but Arsenal’s victory at Anfield is considered a crucial decision for both teams.

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola also could not hide his disappointment over the incident that became the focus of the match when Jurrien Timber’s action of pulling Alexander Isak’s shirt in the penalty box was not penalised by referee Andy Madley.

The match was decided by a narrow margin, but the defeat sees Liverpool now nine points behind Arsenal, who are back at the top of the league table.

However, Liverpool displayed a convincing performance and are in a better position on the UCL stage after winning all three previous matches.

The Reds’ injury list has also been decreasing since the last international break, in addition to several key players starting to show improved performance, including Isak, who is now second in the EPL scoring list with six goals.

Liverpool’s performance is seen to be improving, in contrast to Fenerbahce who are currently sixth in the Turkish Super League after suffering two consecutive defeats.

The Istanbul giants are among the biggest spenders in Turkish football and have also made major changes to their attacking line-up in the summer transfer window by bringing in Romelu Lukaku, Mason Greenwood and Vedat Muriqi from Napoli, Marseille and Mallorca.

Muriqi was previously part of the Mallorca squad that was relegated to the Segunda Division, but still finished the season as La Liga’s second-highest scorer with 23 goals, just two goals short of Kylian Mbappe.

The Kosovo striker also made a brilliant start to his new club, scoring seven goals in 10 league appearances.

Fenerbahce have scored 24 goals in the league, but their defensive weaknesses were clearly evident when they were thrashed 6-0 by Aston Villa in the second leg of the UCL.

Despite playing at home in two out of three UCL matches so far, Fenerbahce still failed to record a win and only collected two points.

Victory over Liverpool is seen as very important for the team, who have to endure three away matches in the remaining four league phase matches.

However, their preparations have been affected by fitness issues for Greenwood and defender Nathan Ake, who has not played since the 2-2 draw against Slavia Prague in the third leg of the UCL.

Fenerbahce, who are plagued by injury problems, also lost 2-1 to Goztepe, a mid-league team, in last Saturday’s match.

Therefore, they will face a much tougher test against Liverpool and risk becoming victims of The Reds’ resurgence on the European stage.

LONDON: Michael Carrick’s position as Manchester United manager is increasingly under threat after his squad suffered a 0-2 defeat to Chelsea in the English Premier League (EPL) match at Stamford Bridge last night.

The defeat saw United extend their winless streak to nine consecutive matches in all competitions, increasing the pressure on Carrick, who had previously enjoyed the trust of the club’s management.

The cheers from Chelsea fans who chanted ‘You’ll be sacked tomorrow morning’ as Carrick left the pitch also illustrated the growing pressure the manager was feeling.

However, the former United midfielder avoided commenting on his future and instead wanted to focus on the team’s preparations for the Champions League match against Roma on Wednesday.

“I just want to focus on preparing the players for the midweek match,” he said.

United actually started the match with energy in the first half after captain Bruno Fernandes returned to the starting lineup, but failed to capitalize on several opportunities through Fernandes, Matheus Cunha and Amad Diallo.

Bryan Mbuemo also came close to opening the scoring when his attempt just rattled the goalpost.

However, failure to capitalise on that opportunity punished United when Morgan Rogers put Chelsea ahead four minutes into the second half.

Rogers brought the ball from his own area before passing through a United defence that seemed hesitant to react, before beating goalkeeper Senne Lammens with a stunning finish.

United’s situation worsened when Lisandro Martinez was shown a red card following a hard tackle on Wesley Fofana midway through the second half, awarding Chelsea a penalty.

Cole Palmer converted a penalty kick in the 63rd minute, although Lammens managed to touch the ball while trying to clear the attempt.

Carrick admitted that his team’s failure to capitalize on opportunities and defensive mistakes were the cause of the defeat.

“We failed to capitalize on the opportunities we had. The second half was out of our control. There are times in a game when you face difficult situations and you have to overcome them.

“You concede easy goals and things become more challenging when you have to play with 10 players,” he said.

Carrick also praised the spirit of his players who remained united despite facing difficult times recently.

The result saw United risk falling into the relegation zone as they were in 17th place, just one point above the bottom three, while Chelsea temporarily jumped to fourth place.

MANCHESTER: Manchester City reached the League Cup quarter-finals after beating Brighton and Hove Albion 4-3 on penalties, although manager Enzo Maresca admitted his team had not practised the penalty shootout since the start of the season.

Goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli emerged as the hero when he saved two penalty kicks to help the defending champions overcome Brighton after the two teams were tied 2-2 in the fourth round match at the Etihad Stadium early this morning.

Rulli denied Yasin Ayari and Lewis Dunk’s shots to ensure City continued their progress to the last eight, thus easing the pressure after their first defeat in the English Premier League (EPL) this season.

Phil Foden, Enzo Fernandez, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki each converted their shots for City, while Mateo Kovacic failed to convert his chances.

“Honestly, since I’ve been here, we’ve never practiced penalties,” said Maresca, who took over from Pep Guardiola last summer.

He was, however, satisfied with the composure of his players when facing the situation, including Kovacic who scored the first goal in the match before failing to convert a penalty kick.

In the intense action, Brighton first took the lead through Malick Yalcouye before Kovacic equalized before the break in the first half.

Georginio Rutter put Brighton back in front early in the second half, but City ensured the match went to penalties when Vitor Reis converted Cherki’s free-kick.

Maresca also praised Doku’s contribution, which made an impact after being included as a substitute, while stressing that every player must take advantage of the opportunity whether they are in the starting lineup or from the bench.

The victory was important for City after they lost to Aston Villa in the EPL last Saturday, thus ending their perfect start to the league this season.

City will now turn their attention to the quarter-final against Bradford City, a third-tier club, with the chance of progressing to the semi-finals wide open.

At the same time, the club is still awaiting the outcome of an appeal against a finding of guilty regarding breaches of EPL financial regulations, a case that could potentially carry severe penalties if their appeal is rejected.

Despite facing a busy schedule, Maresca does not regret his decision to rest several key players, including Erling Haaland, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ruben Dias, Elliot Anderson and Josko Gvardiol.

The manager made nine changes to the starting line-up and described the performances of the players given the opportunity as very satisfactory.

He also praised Rulli, who took over from Donnarumma, especially his composure as he helped City build their attack and made several important saves throughout the match.

MANCHESTER: Manchester United’s top brass are holding talks about the possibility of sacking Michael Carrick after the humiliating 0-3 defeat to Bournemouth at Old Trafford.

United CEO Omar Berrada and Director of Football Jason Wilcox arrived at the Carrington training centre today, despite most of the players being given the day off.

Team captain Bruno Fernandes was also present at Carrington for treatment, although the first squad did not train.

Fernandes was left out of the starting line-up against Bournemouth after reportedly questioning Carrick’s tactics following the 1-4 defeat to Como in midweek.

He, however, remained on the bench and was not used in the latest defeat.

It is understood that United’s hierarchy held internal discussions on Sunday night about the next steps, but they have yet to reach an agreement on a compensation package with Carrick’s agent.

Carrick had a brief chat with Berrada and Wilcox after the defeat to Bournemouth before leaving the stadium.

The defeat was United’s sixth in 12 games in all competitions and increased the pressure on Carrick who now faces the possibility of losing his job.

Several candidates have been considered as replacements, including Julian Nagelsmann and Eddie Howe. Both are reportedly being monitored by United, while former Tottenham and Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is also open to the possibility of a move if a concrete offer is made.

However, United reportedly have reservations about appointing Conte and have so far not made an official approach to the Italian coach.

Howe, who left Newcastle United in July, is said to be monitoring developments at Old Trafford following the possibility of United offering him the position.

Meanwhile, Nagelsmann has the support of United’s Director of Recruitment, Christopher Vivell, who previously worked with him at Red Bull.

Nagelsmann, 39, is reportedly interested in taking over at United after leaving his post as Germany coach last summer.

In a related development, Carrick’s future is increasingly in question after United only won two of their previous 11 matches and are now facing great pressure following the team’s poor performance.

Carrick previously insisted that he did not expect to be sacked and wanted to continue with his duties as usual.

“I didn’t expect anything, to be honest. I’m going to carry on as usual and I love this club,” he said after the defeat to Bournemouth.