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PSG Rests Marquinhos but Messi, Neymar and Mbappe in Squad

Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian forward Neymar (C) is congratulated by Paris Saint-Germain's French forward Hugo Ekitike (L) and Paris Saint-Germain's French forward Kylian Mbappe after scoring his team's first goal during the French L1 football match between FC Lorient and Paris Saint Germain (PSG) at Stade du Moustoir in Lorient, western France on November 6, 2022. (AFP)
Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian forward Neymar (C) is congratulated by Paris Saint-Germain's French forward Hugo Ekitike (L) and Paris Saint-Germain's French forward Kylian Mbappe after scoring his team's first goal during the French L1 football match between FC Lorient and Paris Saint Germain (PSG) at Stade du Moustoir in Lorient, western France on November 6, 2022. (AFP)
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PSG Rests Marquinhos but Messi, Neymar and Mbappe in Squad

Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian forward Neymar (C) is congratulated by Paris Saint-Germain's French forward Hugo Ekitike (L) and Paris Saint-Germain's French forward Kylian Mbappe after scoring his team's first goal during the French L1 football match between FC Lorient and Paris Saint Germain (PSG) at Stade du Moustoir in Lorient, western France on November 6, 2022. (AFP)
Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian forward Neymar (C) is congratulated by Paris Saint-Germain's French forward Hugo Ekitike (L) and Paris Saint-Germain's French forward Kylian Mbappe after scoring his team's first goal during the French L1 football match between FC Lorient and Paris Saint Germain (PSG) at Stade du Moustoir in Lorient, western France on November 6, 2022. (AFP)

Brazil defender Marquinhos has been rested for Paris Saint-Germain's final game before the World Cup in Qatar because of muscle discomfort.

French league leader PSG said Saturday that its captain Marquinhos, who is a key player in coach Tite’s Brazil team and has made 71 international appearances, would be left out of the side to face Auxerre on Sunday.

But Argentina star Lionel Messi, France striker Kylian Mbappe and Brazil's Neymar will be included in the PSG squad before flying out to Qatar.

Messi missed last weekend's game against Lorient because of inflammation on his Achilles tendon, with central defender Presnel Kimpembe rested for a similar problem. Mbappe also went off near the end with muscle fatigue.

Kimpembe, who has played only one hour of football since sustaining a hamstring injury on Sept. 18, is also in coach Christophe Galtier's squad for the Auxerre game.

Kimpembe then flies out to join his France teammates in Qatar.

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Amorim is 'Very Excited' about where 14th-place Man United Can Go in 2025

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim reacts at the end of the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Newcastle United in Manchester, Britain, 30 December 2024. EPA/ADAM VAUGHAN
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim reacts at the end of the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Newcastle United in Manchester, Britain, 30 December 2024. EPA/ADAM VAUGHAN
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Amorim is 'Very Excited' about where 14th-place Man United Can Go in 2025

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim reacts at the end of the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Newcastle United in Manchester, Britain, 30 December 2024. EPA/ADAM VAUGHAN
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim reacts at the end of the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Newcastle United in Manchester, Britain, 30 December 2024. EPA/ADAM VAUGHAN

Despite his team entering 2025 in 14th place in the Premier League, Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim is “very excited” about the year ahead.
United’s 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle on Monday saw it suffer five league losses in the same calendar month for the first time since September 1962, and a fourth straight reverse in all competitions means the Red Devils have lost six of their last eight.
But in a message posted on his club's official X account on New Year’s Eve, Amorim wrote: “I know it will take a lot of hard work from everyone to get there, but I am very excited about where we can go together in 2025.”
Amorim is yet to halt the alarming slide which led to Erik ten Hag’s dismissal in October, and his team is seven points above the drop zone with increasing talk of a relegation fight, including by Amorim himself who has called it “a possibility.”
But the Portuguese says he's determined to press on with the 3-4-3 system despite the difficulties United’s squad has had in adapting, The Associated Press reported.
“Of course I didn’t choose the players specifically for these positions but that I already knew,” he said. “But I understand they have a lot of difficulties because they spend two years playing one way and then they are playing another."
Amorim did not have the benefit of a pre-season to implement such a major change to United’s tactical model, and admitted that is having a significant impact.
“I think the players are losing everything, the small things that we try to work on in training," Amorim said. "After one goal they lose everything because we don’t have the base, we don’t have time to build the base to cope with the difficult moments so it’s really hard in this moment.”
United has the toughest of starts to 2025 when it travels to play league leader Liverpool on Sunday in what is widely considered English soccer’s fiercest rivalry.