Sports
Amorim’s record has a missing middle: Can Man United solve the riddle of midtable sides?
Ruben Amorim is fresh off the biggest win of his Manchester United reign. The team’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool on Sunday was the first time the Portuguese coach has managed back-to-back Premier League wins since his appointment nearly a year ago. It also made him the first United boss to win at Anfield since 2016.
There is, though, an argument that Brighton‘s visit to Old Trafford on Saturday is even more significant. Amid all the problems Amorim’s faced since taking the job a little under a year ago in November 2024, United’s record against the rest of the so-called Big Six has been respectable. In 11 Premier League games against those teams (Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur), Amorim has recorded three wins, three draws and five defeats. Victory over Liverpool served to reinforce a point the 40-year-old made after the narrow defeat to Arsenal on the opening weekend of the season: that United “can win any game in the Premier League.”
Amorim’s record against newly promoted teams is also good — five wins, one draw in six matches against Ipswich Town, Southampton and Leicester City last season, and Burnley and Sunderland in 2025-26. For a while, it looked like his players were only capable of beating sides not long removed from the Championship. But in games against the other 11 teams (Brighton, Bournemouth, Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Everton, Crystal Palace, Brentford, Fulham, Nottingham Forest, West Ham United and Wolves) his record drops to just three wins, three draws and 12 defeats from 18 games.
United’s biggest problem isn’t in games against Liverpool and Manchester City, or Southampton, Sunderland and Burnley. The issue, rather, is when they play anyone else.
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Against the Big Six, Amorim has a win percentage of 27.7% and has earned 1.09 points per game (PPG). For newly promoted teams, it’s a 83.3% win rate and 2.67 PPG. Against everyone else, however, Amorim’s win percentage is just 16.67%, with a miserable 0.67 points earned per game.
The match against Liverpool was a big result, but there’s a case to be made that victory over Brighton this weekend would represent a far better yardstick of United’s progress.
For Amorim, the issue around games against teams like Brighton is about pressure. There’s naturally extra pressure around a game United should win; beyond that, there’s an additional pressure to win in a certain way. Amorim touched on it himself before the trip to Anfield when he was asked why his team have fared better against bigger teams.
“Maybe the expectations,” he said. “When you have to win, it’s so much harder to play like that. That’s why when you play in big clubs, you need to win every match, especially when people are expecting you to win. We have some difficulties sometimes to deal with that. When people expect Manchester United to win that game, maybe it’s easier for the players to perform, and we need to change that.”
To a certain degree, what happened against Liverpool played into that. Despite Arne Slot’s team heading into the game on the back of three straight defeats, Liverpool were still heavy favorites. Against Brighton, United will be expected to win.
It was perhaps what drove Amorim to attempt to control the view of his team after beating Liverpool. “I want you guys [the media] to continue with the narrative you are,” he said. “Don’t change that. That is best for me.”
The one thing Amorim can control is how United play, and that in itself has caused him problems. It’s also something he predicted before he even arrived in Manchester. When Amorim’s Sporting CP thrashed Manchester City during his long goodbye in Portugal, he was quick to explain why United fans shouldn’t get too carried away. Sporting won 4-1 despite having only 27.3% possession and nine shots, compared with City’s 72.7% possession and 20 shots.
Asked afterward if he realized how excited United fans would be after the result, Amorim played it down. “It doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “Manchester United can’t play that defensively.”
It’s something he has battled with throughout his time at Old Trafford. After beating Ipswich 3-2 in February with 10 men following Patrick Dorgu’s first-half red card, Amorim acknowledged that his team was having more success when forced to play on the back foot.
“I think that is clear, and it is hard for me,” he said. “If we have players like Harry Maguire and [Matthijs] de Ligt defending the box, they are really strong, but then when they have to cover a lot of space, the game changes for them. … It is really hard for me to play like we play in the second half. But I feel the players are more comfortable sometimes defending in the low block.”
Not only did United not have expectations weighing them down at Anfield, Amorim also felt comfortable employing tactics that irked Slot. “It is always difficult to play against a team that defends in a low block and mainly plays the long ball,” the Liverpool manager said after watching his team have the majority of possession, more shots and more shots on target.
Brighton at home is a different game than Liverpool away. Fabian Hurzeler’s side won 3-1 at Old Trafford in January despite having less than 50% possession and only three shots on target. Seven days after facing Brighton, United will travel to Nottingham Forest, where they lost 1-0 in April despite having 62.8% possession and 23 shots. Forest had 31.8% possession and just two shots on targets, but won thanks to a clinical early counterattack finished off by Anthony Elanga.
In short, Brighton and Forest offer Amorim a different problem to the one he faced at Anfield. It’s one that, so far, he has struggled to solve. Amorim called the result at Liverpool “the biggest win in my time at Manchester United,” and it’s easy to understand why. It was a statement victory in a big game against a fierce rival.
But the true measure of where his team is at will come this weekend. Amorim acknowledged that in the media room at Anfield on Sunday. “It has been a good day,” he said. “Now we must focus on Brighton. We will see after Brighton.”
Brighton at Old Trafford perhaps doesn’t come with the hype and glamor of playing Liverpool at Anfield. For Amorim, however, it has taken on an even greater importance.
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Xia Brookside certainly has made an impact on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) over the last few weeks.
As Brookside climbs the ladder to get back into the TNA Knockouts World Championship, she appeared to make an enemy along the way. Brookside helped Arianna Grace retain the title over Lei Ying Lee at Rebellion when she put Grace’s foot on the rope to break up the pin attempt.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
Xia Brookside attends the “Freelance” screening at Regal Waterford Lakes in Orlando, Fla., on Oct. 24, 2023. (Jose Devillegas/Getty Images)
Brookside was far from finished with Lee. Last week, Lee wanted answers from Brookside. The English wrestler gave Lee a hug in the middle of the ring, but assaulted her. Their feud is heating up.
Outside of the ring, Brookside revealed on Sunday she was starting “a new chapter.” She posted a video of herself getting baptized.
“Something I’ve been considering for a very long time, after getting consistent in going to church weekly, reading daily and the incredible support from my man, it felt like the easiest decision I’ve ever made,” she wrote on X. “Thank you to everyone that came to support me.”
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Candice LeRae and Xia Brookside compete during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on Sept. 2, 2025. (Matt Pendleton/WWE)
Brookside, whose real name is Xia-Louise Brooks, is the daughter of retired pro wrestling star Robbie Brookside. He currently works as a trainer and producer for WWE NXT.
She started her pro wrestling career in the United Kingdom and worked her way through the independent scene, eventually joining WWE in 2018. She was featured in WWE NXT UK before she joined Stardom in Japan and eventually TNA.
She’s held championships in International Pro Wrestling United Kingdom and Rise Wrestling during her career. She was also ranked No. 91 on Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s list of top women’s wrestlers in 2019.
Mina Shirakawa enters the ring during the women’s pro-wrestling event Stardom at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Dec. 29, 2022. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
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Brookside is back to making an impact on TNA again and is sure to be in line for the knockouts title down the line.
TOULOUSE:
Clermont stunned Toulouse 27–24 on Sunday to hand the Top 14 leaders their first home defeat in nearly a year.
Toulouse still have a 12-point cushion over their closest challengers Pau at the top of the table, but this result showed coach Ugo Mola and his staff have work to do before the end of the season.
“It’s a bit more than just a reminder. We’ll take the time to analyse this in order to come back with a different mindset,” Mola said.
Clermont, on the other hand, climbed to fifth place with 61 points, cementing their status as serious contenders for a playoff spot.
Toulouse had not lost at home since May 17, 2025, but perhaps it was the the sight of France superstar Antoine Dupont on the bench or their unfamiliar beige jerseys — matching those worn by the city’s football team the same weekend — that upset the league leaders.
They began smoothly enough as Teddy Thomas crossed the try line after just 42 seconds, superbly set up by Romain Ntamack.
The prospect of a one-sided match grew when Emmanuel Meafou powered over in the ninth minute, and then Paul Graou, in his 100th appearance for Toulouse, made it 21–0 after just 10 minutes.
But Toulouse lost their grip on the game.
Second-rower Marcos Kremer picked up an orange card and a 20-minute suspension and Harry Plummer was shown a yellow — both for head contact with Kalvin Gourgues — allowing Clermont to work their way back into the match, relying on solid set pieces and Toulouse’s many errors.
Leon Darricarrere got Clermont back on track before captain Baptiste Jauneau brought his team within seven points in the 31st minute.
After the break, prop Giga Tutisani helped Clermont close the gap to just three points and their iron defence, combined with Toulouse’s indiscipline, then turned the match on its head, with New Zealand kicker Harry Plummer kicking two penalties to give his side the lead.
Clumsy and lacking inspiration, Toulouse squandered chances in the opposition 22 and ultimately had to concede defeat.
Sports
Diego Pavia accepts Ravens rookie minicamp invite after making unfortunate NFL Draft history: reports
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Diego Pavia, the polarizing former Vanderbilt quarterback who was runner-up in Heisman voting last season, has reportedly found a home in the NFL after going undrafted this weekend.
Pavia accepted an invitation to the Baltimore Ravens’ rookie minicamp on a tryout basis, per multiple reports. He doesn’t have a spot on the roster yet, but it’s a start as he looks to crack into the NFL with Baltimore.
Of course, Lamar Jackson, the two-time MVP quarterback, is cemented as the team’s starting quarterback, but perhaps Pavia can stand out enough in rookie minicamp to earn an invitation to training camp this summer.
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Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia throws a pass against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the first quarter during the ReliaQuest Bowl at Raymond James Stadium on Dec. 31, 2025. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images)
Pavia was not expecting to be undrafted this weekend, but he became the first Heisman Trophy finalist since 2014 to not hear his name called through the seven rounds in Pittsburgh.
Pavia won the SEC Offensive Player of the Year and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award for best upperclassman quarterback after throwing for 3,539 passing yards and 29 touchdowns, both of which single-season school records, to give the Commodores its first-ever 10-win season.
Vanderbilt just missed out on the College Football Playoff after finishing 10-3.
POLARIZING COLLEGE FOOTBALL STAR, HEISMAN TROPHY FINALIST GOES UNDRAFTED
Pavia ultimately finished second in Heisman voting to Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza – the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft by the Las Vegas Raiders. So, what ultimately led to Pavia not getting drafted?
While his personality may have factored in, Pavia’s official height at the NFL Scouting Combine turned some heads. Vanderbilt had him listed at 6-foot, but he was measured at 5-foot-9 7/8, which would make him the shortest quarterback in the NFL if he were to step foot on the gridiron today. The average height is 6-foot-2 for an NFL quarterback.
However, those shorter than the average have seen success, including Minnesota Vikings newest member, Kyler Murray, who went first overall to the Arizona Cardinals in 2019 coming out of Oklahoma. He’s listed at 5-foot-10.
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia celebrates after the team’s win against Kentucky at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., on Nov. 22, 2025. (Mark Zaleski/The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Pavia barked back at critics during the Senior Bowl in January regarding his height.
“Yeah, my size has been doubted my whole life,” he said at the time, via AL.com. “I feel like the only thing the NFL cares about is can you win, and I view myself as a winner. I’ve been fortunate with all these great teams that I’ve had — we’ve never had a losing season. So that’s something to look forward to, I hope, for the rest of my career, that’s how it’s going to be.
“I feel like God has blessed me in so many ways to be a connector, and I feel like that’s one of my superpowers that I’ve got — I can connect. We unite, and then once you unite, you want to play for one another, and once you give 120% effort, there’s no one that can stop your team.”
Pavia’s personality, viewed by some as more cocky than confident, may have played a factor as well. After finishing runner-up to Mendoza in Heisman voting, Pavia was spotted at a New York City nightclub next to a sign that read, “F— Indiana.” Then, he posted on social media a photo with friends and a caption that read, “F— ALL THE VOTERS, BUT…FAMILY FOR LIFE.”
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia throws a football during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 28, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
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Pavia later apologized for his decision to post that on his socials.
No matter the case, Pavia has a shot now with the Ravens and new head coach Jesse Minter, as he aims to show enough to join the quarterbacks group in training camp. Other than Jackson, the Ravens have Tyler “Snoop” Huntley on the roster to start the season.
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