By Lisa Richwine and Dawn Chmielewski LOS ANGELES Before Hollywood writers walked off the job in early May,

Mauricio Pochettino admitted Moises Caicedo’s international commitments with Ecuador have complicated the midfielder’s early Chelsea career. The club paid a British record £115million to sign the 22-year-old from Brighton in August but frequent trips to South America to play for his country have limited the time he has been able to spend working with coaching staff at Cobham. He has played 14 times in all competitions since his arrival, recovering from a red card on his first appearance against West Ham to become a steady if not yet spectacular performer in the heart of midfield. Since joining Chelsea he has been called up three times by Ecuador and played in six matches, with each international window requiring a more than 11,000-mile round trip, sometimes not arriving back in London until the early hours of the day before Chelsea’s next game. He revealed in an interview with the club’s website this week that he spent much of his first 10 days in England alone in a hotel room in tears and suffering from homesickness, after joining the Seagulls from Independiente del Valle in his home country in January 2021 during the Covid pandemic. Restrictions on movement for people arriving into the UK meant he was unable to meet his Brighton team-mates until completing a period of quarantine, during which he phoned his parents in Ecuador asking to return home. He recovered to become one of the standout successes of the team that Roberto De Zerbi led to a club-best sixth-placed Premier League finish last campaign, sparking a bidding war between Liverpool and Chelsea in which Pochettino’s side were victorious. The manager reiterated a call for patience as Caicedo navigates life at Chelsea amid a hectic World Cup qualifying schedule internationally. “When we signed him we knew what is going to happen,” said Pochettino. “He’s an emotional guy, an emotional player that needs time to recover. “It didn’t help also the international games, travelling to Ecuador, to South America. That is really tough every single month, two or three weeks then go 10, 12 days away, then come back sometimes with some injury. “It’s not an excuse but it’s the reality. Now we need time. Of course I say (the team) always need to perform. That is our mentality. But in some situations like his, we need to give time and not to be unfair in the way that we assess him.” Caicedo has formed a reliable partnership in midfield with Enzo Fernandez, who the club paid a then-British record £107m to sign from Benfica in January while Graham Potter was in charge. Pochettino revealed that the Argentinian World Cup winner asked for extra time off during the summer due to fatigue and was granted permission to join up late with the squad on their United States tour. “It’s different because Enzo arrived last January, he was with different coaches here,” said the manager. “He asked when we arrived for a period of holiday because he was tired after the World Cup and everything. He joined us in North Carolina. “I cannot judge the past. Only I can talk from when we arrived (at Chelsea). We expect all, not only (these two), all the players, even the ones not too much involved, to push their level.” Read More Erik ten Hag backs under-fire Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana Ange Postecoglou knows he can succeed at Tottenham by sticking to plan Vincent Kompany feels increasing diversity at boardroom level the key to change Burnley belief still burning bright for Vincent Kompany Tiger Woods says fatigue to blame for dropped shots in closing holes Phil Vickery and Gavin Henson among ex-players named in rugby concussion lawsuit

SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 15, 2023--

Pep Guardiola has claimed that he has not properly trained his Manchester City players in his seven years at the Etihad Stadium – despite winning five Premier League titles, the Champions League and a treble. And the Catalan said it is impossible to work with his players on the training pitch now without risking injuring them, because the fixture list is so packed. Guardiola said City are instead learning from their past after revealing they only did 20 or 25 minutes work on the pitches at the Etihad Campus to prepare for Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool, while they had a shorter pre-season than everyone else to give players time off after winning two finals in June. “In seven years I don’t train,” he said. “Maximum 35 minutes. We don’t train. They started pre-season 15 days before… do you know what 15 days is? We played the FA Cup final and the Champions League final. They had 15 days more with the new players. We didn’t do one day [of] tactical [work]. The day before, we train… it is the same for Jurgen [Klopp, the Liverpool manager], I’m pretty sure. We did 10-15 minutes with the ball and 10 minutes defensively.” City face RB Leipzig in the Champions League next and Guardiola is worried that if he tries to work with his players, he will lose others. Midfielders Kevin de Bruyne, Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes are injured while the ill Jack Grealish also missed the Liverpool game, as he only named six outfield substitutes. “Before Tuesday it will be 10 minutes on the pitch, moving in that way,” Guardiola added. “We cannot train. If we train, we don’t have players for the next game. We don’t have them. That’s why we have to learn from the past: just understand what you have to do. The press, who jumps. This is what we absolutely rely on.” Guardiola joked that, instead of time on the training pitch, his players absorbed his message from his good looks. “Because I’m really good. I’m a handsome man, I seduce them,” he smiled. “No, today we have the TV images, we talk individually. I spoke with Ruben [Dias] and Kyle [Walker] about what happened at Chelsea [in the 4-4 draw]. They can make mistakes but just understand it. If they lose the ball, they lose the ball. But it’s about where and when you move, the spaces. Today [Saturday] was so good. I know what I’m talking about.” John Stones was an unused substitute on Saturday and Guardiola said the defender needs more time before he returns to the starting 11 or he may break down again. He explained: “He feels good but we want to give him one or two weeks to have proper strength training sessions. John is so important for us, I like him playing when he’s completely ready. He’s going to train, partially or complete, with us. His legs especially, to be sure that when he comes back he is stronger. And we then use him, we need him.” Read More Man City boss Pep Guardiola taking safety-first approach with John Stones Terry Venables inspired a generation to dream and left England wanting more Opposing managers happy with a point as Manchester City and Liverpool draw

The United Nations Development Program says it's secured an insurance coverage to start a ship-to-ship transfer of 1.1 million barrels of crude from a rusting tanker moored off the coast of war-torn Yemen — oil that could cause a major environmental disaster

A man charged with stealing ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in the “The Wizard of Oz” from a Minnesota museum has pleaded guilty

Critics of cash bail as a condition of pretrial release say it is especially unfair to Black people and other people of color

Riley Adams had a career-high four hits and finished a triple short of the cycle as the Washington Nationals tied their season high with 18 hits in a 6-4 win over the Detroit Tigers 6-4

SAVE $150: As of Oct. 23, at Best Buy, you can get a Microsoft Surface

Twenty-seven bodies were found while 57 people are still missing after the landslide in Maharashtra state.

Chris Eubank Jr gained revenge against Liam Smith on Saturday, stopping his rival as the Britons returned to the scene of their first clash. Smith dropped Eubank Jr twice at Manchester’s AO Arena in January before the referee waved off the middleweight bout, but the boxers’ roles were reversed on Saturday. In the same building, it was Eubank Jr who dropped Smith twice before securing a TKO in the 10th round. Eubank Jr, 33, looked the slicker fighter all night, switching targets between the head and body while picking his shots wisely. Meanwhile, 35-year-old Smith looked languid and was watching rounds slip away from the first bell. The first knockdown came in the fourth round – the frame in which their first fight ended – as Smith was dropped to a knee and smartly spat out his mouthguard to buy time. In fact, he bought more than he might have imagined, briefly quelling Eubank Jr’s momentum. When the action resumed, Eubank Jr sought a finish but – as it eluded him – he elected patience as the bout wore on. In the 10th round, however, he put down Smith again with a left hook after a fast start to the round. Smith let out a deep breath as he rose to beat the referee’s count, with blood trickling from a cut above his right eye. The Liverpudlian was only delaying the inevitable, however, as Eubank Jr backed him up to the ropes and unloaded shots, overwhelming Smith. Eventually, referee Kevin Parker stepped in to wave off the fight, sealing Eubank Jr’s redemption. Re-live updates and see all results below. We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Read More Chris Eubank Jr banishes demons by stopping Liam Smith to cap off slick showing Errol Spence Jr triggers Terence Crawford rematch clause in bid for redemption The Independent’s pound-for-pound boxing rankings

Ed Sheeran postponed his Las Vegas concert just hours before he was due on stage on Saturday (09.09.23) due to "challenges" with production.