The hiring of Skip Schumaker as a senior advisor may mean that the Texas Rangers have their future manager under contract.

But if current manager Bruce Bochy, who is likely to be inducted into the Hall of Fame once his career is over, wants to continue beyond 2025, the Rangers will enthusiastically welcome that.

According to one source, Bochy will have the latitude to continue if that's what he wants.

"If [Bochy] wants to manage beyond 2025, [the Rangers] are good with that," a highly ranked source told ESPN.

Bochy, who turns 70 in April, just completed his 27th season managing in the big leagues -- for the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants before he became the Rangers' skipper in 2023 -- and ranks eighth all time in managerial wins with 2,171, the most for any current manager.

Next season, he will likely pass Dusty Baker and Sparky Anderson on the list. Bochy's teams have won four championships -- the Giants in 2010, 2012 and 2014, and the Rangers in 2023.

Schumaker, 44, is viewed as a rising star in the managerial ranks after his first two seasons, with the Miami Marlins.

Miami made the playoffs in 2023 and Schumaker was named National League Manager of the Year. But when the Marlins' ownership effectively pushed out Kim Ng, the GM who hired Schumaker, he asked the team to void a 2025 option year on his contract, and he left the Marlins after the 2024 season.

One year into his tenure with the Padres, Mike Shildt has been rewarded with a two-year contract extension that ties the manager to San Diego through 2027.

The Padres announced the agreement Wednesday with the 56-year-old manager after they went 93-69, finishing five games behind the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West and claiming the top NL wild card.

"I am honored to continue leading this team toward Peter Seidler's vision of bringing a World Series championship to San Diego," Shildt said in a statement. "In collaboration with our players and coaching staff, we are committed to building on our success, serving our community and the City of San Diego, and delivering a winning team to our incredible and deserving fan base."

San Diego swept a two-game wild-card series against the Atlanta Braves, then took a 2-1 lead on the Dodgers in the best-of-five NL Division Series. Los Angeles bounced back to win the final two games 8-0 and 2-0.

The Padres tied for first in the majors with a .263 batting average and ranked sixth with a .745 OPS. Their 3.86 team ERA rated 12th, and their pitching staff's 1,453 strikeouts came in sixth.

Shildt previously managed the Cardinals from 2018 to 2021, logging a 252-199 regular-season record and guiding St. Louis into the postseason in three of his four seasons. He was voted NL Manager of the Year in 2019.

"As Mike demonstrated this year, he has an unwavering commitment to winning and a unique set of skills that got our group to perform at a high level," Padres president of baseball operations and general manager A.J. Preller said in a statement. "He possesses a true love for this team and the game of baseball, and I am thrilled to continue to work together with Mike to bring a championship to the City of San Diego."

Field Level Media contributed to this report.

SAN ANTONIO -- Free agent pitcher Kyle Hendricks has agreed to a one year, $2.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN.

Hendricks, 34, posted a 5.92 ERA for the Chicago Cubs last season but was better in the second half after a stint in the bullpen. His ERA was 4.41 from mid-July to the end of the regular season. He threw 7.1 shutout innings in his last start as a Cub in late September after spending the first 11 years of his career with Chicago.

The Angels are hoping Hendricks finds more consistency in 2025, similar to what he displayed at times late in 2024. They also have a young pitching staff which needs mentoring. Hendricks can help in the that department as well.

Hendricks won the ERA title in 2016, helping the Cubs to a World Series title. He was the last member of that team still playing for the Cubs until he became a free agent just a few days ago. Overall, he's 97-81 with a 3.68 ERA.

Hendricks is from the Los Angeles area, having gone to Capistrano High School in Mission Viejo, California. He was originally drafted by the Angels in the 39th round in 2008 before attending Dartmouth. Additionally, his dad worked in the Angles ticket office for six years when Kyle was a teenager.

Zheng Qinwen crushed Jasmine Paolini to secure a place in the WTA Finals last four on her tournament debut.

The 22-year-old, China's Olympic gold medallist in the summer, showcased her power in an easy 6-1 6-1 win that eliminated Italian Paolini.

It left Zheng with a 2-1 group-stage record, with her sole loss coming against Aryna Sabalenka on the first day of the tournament.

She is the second Chinese woman to reach the semi-finals of the tournament following the legendary Li Na in 2013.

"I didn't know what would happen when I came here," said Zheng. "I just told myself to enjoy it, especially because I am in a really difficult group."

Having already clinched the year-end world number one ranking, Sabalenka will top the group if she beats Elena Rybakina later on Wednesday.

The tournament, contested between the top eight singles and doubles players, offers record prize money, with an unbeaten singles champion set to collect just under 4m.

The WTA Finals are being held in Saudi Arabia for the first time - a move which has been criticised by some because of the country's human rights record.

Former South Africa captain Bob Skinstad thinks the Springboks will be wary of Huw Jones at Murrayfield on Sunday, saying the Scotland player is "one of the best centres in the world".

The sides meet just over a year on from their World Cup pool opener in Marseille, where the Boks overpowered Gregor Townsends men en route to lifting the trophy.

Despite the gulf between the sides that day, Skinstad says the South Africans will be respectful of the threats Scotland pose, Jones in particular.

"Huw Jones, for me, he's been under-recognised as a player for a long time," Skinstad, who won 42 Springboks caps between 1997 and 2007, said.

"I think Jones is probably one of the best centres in the world. I love the way he runs, I love the way he distributes. He'd fit into a South African team."

Talking to the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast, Skinstad added: "It's not often that you can say, 'let's pick 12 of the opposition players who can fit into a world champion team'. But I would look across the Scottish guys and say they've certainly got a good run at eight or 10 guys who could turn out for another international team, which is fantastic.

"That means you're in the top five, top six in the world, just by sheer weight of numbers of quality players."

Full-back George Furbank says England will "take their learnings" from a run of three narrow defeats by New Zealand as they prepare to face Australia in the Autumn Nations Series.

England surrendered leading positions on all three occasions as they lost their two-match summer series in New Zealand before opening their autumn campaign with a two-point home defeat by the All Blacks at Allianz Stadium last Saturday.

Steve Borthwick's side were also beaten 33-31 by France in their final Six Nations game this year after a last-minute Thomas Ramos penalty.

Furbank, 28, says England are aiming to improve their discipline and make "better decisions" in the closing stages of matches.

"Test rugby against the top sides is probably always going to come down to the last quarter but each match is different," Furbank told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"There are learnings to take from last week and the big one for us was the amount of penalties we conceded in the final quarter.

"We lost five, having conceded only a couple leading up to that.

"It's about being smart in that area to give you territory and close the game out. We have to be quicker at taking those learnings into games.

"Ultimately you just want to make good decisions and not allow the opposition in.

"If we kept that ball better we could have got down in their half, but we gave New Zealand momentum again."

England have beaten Australia in 10 of their last 11 meetings and will be favourites when the two sides renew their rivalry at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

Furbank says the hosts want to play with the England "DNA" against Joe Schmidt's side, who have also lost their last three Tests.

"We probably didn't move the ball as well as we could have [against New Zealand] and we squandered a few opportunities, even before the last quarter," added Furbank.

"We need to get that right but it's about putting our DNA on the pitch, in the way we want to attack and defend.

"There might be opportunities to play through Australia or to go wide but it's about being loaded on the pitch to be able to pull both triggers."

While British and Irish Lions prop Furlong's absence is a considerable loss to Ireland's pack, head coach Andy Farrell welcomes back several of his backline players.

Full-back Hugo Keenan returns after his involvement with Ireland's Olympic sevens team, while Jamison Gibson-Park is restored at scrum-half after injury ruled him out of the summer Test series in South Africa.

Mack Hansen, who missed the Six Nations and Springbok series because of a shoulder injury, starts on the right wing with Calvin Nash on the bench.

Jack Crowley is retained at fly-half while Garry Ringrose and Bundee Aki are named in midfield.

Joe McCarthy and James Ryan line up in the second row, with Tadhg Beirne and Josh van der Flier alongside Doris in the back row.

Ulster's Rob Herring, who has not played yet this season, provides the hooker cover from the bench with Conor Murray, Ciaran Frawley and Jamie Osborne selected as the backline replacements.

After Friday's much-anticipated rematch with the All Blacks, Ireland host Argentina, Fiji and Australia during their autumn campaign.

SALT LAKE CITY -- There are two versions of Ryan Smith. There's the public-facing 40-something billionaire tech mogul who answers questions in a way that can be direct, earnest and open to admitting he might not have the right answer ... or an answer at all.

That's the version most people see. But there's also another version of Smith that's unapologetically Utahn. That version comes out in the way he talks about Salt Lake City, the state of Utah and the preconceived beliefs many people have about a place that they've likely never visited.

While the first version of Smith is the reason the Utah Hockey Club exists, it's the second version that is hell-bent on ensuring that the franchise is going to thrive in the most Utah way possible.

"I put everything in Utah. They said we couldn't build tech here, and we'd have to move to the Bay Area," Smith said. "We couldn't get venture funding here. We couldn't IPO a company from here. We couldn't sell. We proved every single person wrong.

"Then I think that people started believing, 'Holy cow. What's going on in Utah?' That's incredibly gratifying when you're fighting for a bigger cause."

This is the mission facing the Utah Hockey Club when it comes to achieving success long term. While the UHC is a new venture, the team relocated from Arizona where they were the Coyotes. Before that, they were the original Winnipeg Jets, relocating to the desert in 1996.

The club is trying to prove that Salt Lake City and Utah as a whole can support the NHL. It's trying to prove that it can make hockey a staple, just like the Utah Jazz have been doing in the NBA for several decades.

Perhaps the most important point the Utah Hockey Club could make is that as Salt Lake City keeps growing, so could the city's professional sports landscape.

"Utahns especially want to show they are more than a flyover state," said Josh Furlong, a broadcaster and the sports director for KSL. "They recognize they are not going to be Los Angeles, Seattle or New York. They want to showcase what Utah has to offer. You have a rabid fan base that will support your team. I think you have a bunch of people who want to showcase that. I don't know if it is some type of FOMO situation where they feel like they're not being included. But they want to be in that mix among the best places.

"You want people to feel what you see. You have this beautiful landscape, friendly people and a great atmosphere for sports culture."

"Utah! Getting bigger and better. Utah! Always leading the way. New technology is here. Growing faster each year. This is the place!"

Those are lyrics from "Utah ... This Is The Place." Written in 1996, it later became the state song in 2003. At the time of the song's creation, Utah was on the verge of announcing itself to more of the world, using sports and entertainment as a mechanism.

The Jazz reached three straight Western Conference finals from 1996 through 1998, with two NBA Finals appearances. Salt Lake City received international exposure during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. In 2005, the University of Utah was the first school to have the No. 1 picks in both the NBA and NFL drafts in the same year, with Andrew Bogut and Alex Smith. The state's fortune was also extended to film in 2004 when a few graduates of BYU's film school made the coming of age cult classic "Napoleon Dynamite."

Decades later, it appears Utah could once again be following a similar path, but with more to gain.

Utah Hockey Club president of hockey operations Chris Armstrong didn't quote the lyrics from the state song when asked about the future. But his words resemble a similar sentiment when he mentions Utah having the nation's No. 3 economy and the youngest state based on median age (30.7 years old).

"It's a unique moment in time where we're building something new from the ground up and we get to do it with everybody here," Armstrong said. "So that is why we see a successful and thriving future. It's only continuing to grow that outpaces most cities in North America, and we think that's a great opportunity for a new sports franchise."

The history of sports fandom in Utah began with major college programs BYU and the University of Utah establishing athletic programs. Smaller schools such as Southern Utah, Utah State, Utah Valley and Weber State have also built followings in various sports.

Professional sports came on the scene in 1979 when the Jazz relocated from New Orleans and eventually became one of the NBA's most successful franchises throughout the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.

MLS came to the area in 2004 with Real Salt Lake, which averages 20,291 fans per game, and extends to the Utah Royals of the NWSL, a team that was revived in 2024. The Royals' first game drew 20,370 fans which set a state record for the most fans at a women's sporting event.

Both RSL and the Royals are owned by Smith, a BYU graduate, along with Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils managing partner David Blitzer.

In 2034, Salt Lake City will join Athens, Beijing, London, Los Angeles and Paris as one of the few cities to host multiple Olympics when the Winter Games return.

"Utah is crazy for sports," said Eric Schulz, a senior lecturer in marketing and strategy at Utah State. "I think it will probably be the same pattern that Denver had. Denver just had the Nuggets and the Broncos for a long time. Then the Rockies came to town and then the Avalanche came to town. There's been a lot of growth in Utah over the last 20 years with people who have come from other parts of the country. Look at Las Vegas. Who thought a hockey team in Las Vegas would do so well?"

Armstrong said the Utah Hockey Club received more than 30,000 season-ticket deposits. It's a similar figure to that of the Seattle Kraken when they garnered more than 32,000 deposits ahead of their first season.

Armstrong also said that the franchise "feels very confident" in that it could finish this season as both a top-20 revenue team and a top-20 ticketing team in the NHL despite playing in at a basketball-first venue that has around 5,000 obstructed view seats.

"I don't know too much about what the perception is, but I can tell you that on the ground that all you see is growth around you," Armstrong said. "I think the culture of hockey lends itself to the community of Greater Salt Lake and of Utah. Hard-working, honest, passion, camaraderie, pride in team, pride in state. ... I think that speaks to the response that we've received with season-ticket deposits."

THERE WILL BE challenges along the way.

Those Jazz teams with Karl Malone and John Stockton created a generational fandom that has played a role in why the Jazz still continue to be such a massive draw.

Harnessing that fandom became an instant priority for the Utah Hockey Club. Exactly a week after the Coyotes' last regular season game, the team was flown to Salt Lake City, where they were greeted by 12,000 fans at the Delta Center.

In the offseason, the club organized an online poll encouraging fans to vote on its future team name. In June, the SEG announced 520,000 fans had participated, before narrowing it down to six potential options.

Chris Barney, the Smith Entertainment Group's president of revenue and commercial strategy, said the club will market to everyone. But they're concentrating on attracting young people so that they can grow those generational fans.

Part of that plan is creating a youth hockey program. Many of the NHL's teams playing in nontraditional markets -- especially Western Conference teams -- have used these programs over the past 30 years. The short-term goal is to drive new, young fans to the sport. The long-term goal is to make the youth of today the season-ticket holders of tomorrow.

What makes the Utah Hockey Club's plan different is their connection to the Jazz. The Junior Jazz is the NBA's largest youth basketball program, with more than 60,000 members spread across Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Idaho.

Barney, who grew up playing in the Junior Jazz, said that the Jazz designate 1,800 tickets every home game for program participants.

"Our goal is to develop a youth hockey program in which there's an Auston Matthews playing somewhere in the NHL [in the future] that's a product of Salt Lake City with the infrastructure that we have built," Barney said. "That might be one of the most important things. It's not right in front of our face, but we have a five-year strategic plan. Developing and building it out is darn near the top."

Barney explained that there are county recreation departments that are incubators for youth who end up playing sports in the community. With SEG already having those relationships in place through the Junior Jazz, they hope to do the same with the Utah Hockey Club when it comes time to introduce ice hockey and street hockey throughout the community.

The most recent USA Hockey membership numbers show that Utah had a combined 4,869 players between males and females. Of those 4,869 registered players, there were 3,168 who were younger than 18, while 2,073 were under 14. In 2016-17 -- the final period before the Golden Knights arrived -- the state of Nevada had 1,699 combined registered players. In 2023-24, there were a combined 5,560 male and female players, with 2,861 of them being 18 and younger.

"We're all in," Barney said. "We're not going to dip our toe in. We're all in."

ANOTHER CHALLENGE IN building a fan base is that while Salt Lake City and Utah as a whole are growing, growth does not come cheap, which sets up a dichotomy that exists for many franchises in 2024.

"Utah has a ton of rising costs. Especially in real estate," Furlong said. "There is a real pain point here with things being overpriced, and the housing market being really tough. Utahns love to get things for free or for cheap. The cheaper you make it, the better it is going to be. That said, you have someone like Ryan Smith who is trying to appeal to other people in the tech world who have limitless amounts of cash.

"The general fan wants it to be as cheap as possible because there are other factors, but tech people want to showcase this as a premier destination."

Chris Hartweg is the publisher and CEO of the Team Marketing Report, which produces the Fan Cost Index, a model that calculates what the cost would be for a family of four to attend a sporting event.

Hartweg said recent history shows that new teams -- whether they be expansion or relocation -- were more expensive than the league average when they debuted. He said that the Nashville Predators (1998-99), Columbus Blue Jackets (2000-01) and Minnesota Wild (2000-01) were all within 3% above the league average ticket prices in their first season. Those are the outliers in recent NHL history.

The Atlanta Thrashers (1999-2000) were 34% above league average. The Vegas Golden Knights (2017-18) were 30% higher, while the Seattle Kraken (2021-22) were 58% higher.

"With dynamic pricing, (teams) know where all the price points are," Hartweg said. "They know they want to move this many more season tickets if they go to this level. They know going in what's the most that they could get before diminishing returns. That's business. It happened in Seattle."

Hartweg pointed out that the Kraken lowered their prices for the second season, but were able to charge a hefty premium for two main reasons that could also apply to the Utah Hockey Club: a new team, and a new venue.

Hartweg said it's possible that UHC's fans could be in store for a pricey first season, with the possibility of an uptick in prices once the Delta Center renovation project is completed in 2027.

Then there's the role of the secondary market. Hartweg said the average family looking to go to a game might purchase tickets on the secondary market, and they might not know where to find the strongest deals.

Utah's upcoming three-game home stand against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Vegas Golden Knights and the Washington Capitals offers a wide range of price points for the cheapest available ticket.

A cursory glance across numerous secondary ticketing sites shows that the composite least expensive ticket at Delta Center for the Nov. 13 game versus the Hurricanes is $37, while the least expensive ticket for the Nov. 18 game against the Capitals is $58, should fans want to watch Alexander Ovechkin continue to chase Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record.

It's a contrast compared to the demand ahead of the Nov. 15 game against the Golden Knights, a perennial Stanley Cup contender that could become one of the UHC's chief geographic rivals. Those sites list the least expensive ticket for the game on Nov. 15 against Vegas as $119.67. The composite cheapest lower-bowl tickets with an unobstructed view is $248.

"When a new team comes in, it's Christmas Day," Schulz said. "They can come in and buy the best seats and put in orders for blocks of a hundred and resell them on the secondary market. If they can get their hands on them, they only have to resell a quarter of the season and they already have their money back. If a team goes to the playoffs, it's like 12 Christmases having those tickets."

Barney said the franchise has a "multiyear strategy" when it comes to how ticketing will work for fans from various economic backgrounds.

He said that adding 6,000 unobstructed seats once the Delta Center renovation is completed will help with making the UHC more accessible. Another step is to work with community partners to ensure they're getting UHC tickets in the hands of fans from underrepresented groups so they can also have access.

They'll also continue to sell those obstructed view seats that Barney also called the "partial ice" seats or "single-ice seats" -- in reference to the steep angles behind each goal -- that will start at $19 per game.

"We want to make sure we're being strategic about how the tickets are being distributed," said Barney, who grew up in nearby Kaysville. "I think the move to make sure that concessions are also more affordable for people was also really important."

Hartweg said it's common for teams to provide more cost-effective food and drink offerings to help offset the price of a game ticket. He said there are places that offer $5 beers, but it might come with the caveat that it's in the 700 section of the arena.

Delta Center has what's called a "Mountain Menu" which is a fan-friendly pricing option in which a bottle of water is $2 while hot dogs, ice cream, nachos and popcorn are $3. There were also other options such as Chick-fil-A, with 30 nuggets for $30, while a chicken sandwich and waffle fries cost $16.

"It's worth the price," said Christian Priskos, who grew up in Salt Lake City. "We have a Tier 1 NHL team that's in downtown Salt Lake City. It's not only boosting the local economy with local business, local bars and local restaurants and everything you want to do. But it's also boosting the social scene as well. People want to say 'Salt Lake is a sleepy town.' But, we're not. We're a Tier 1 city and the Utah Hockey Club is another step toward showing that."

WHILE THE FOOD and drink prices might be new to Utah Hockey Club fans, those are the prices that Jazz fans have grown accustomed to paying over the years. And the SEG can take components of its playbook from running the Jazz to serve Utah hockey fans.

On the ice, they are boosted by a strong collection of young talent -- and the ninth-best prospect pipeline. A playoff appearance in Year 1 is a real possibility.

From a fan engagement perspective, both Armstrong and Barney shared how going to the Delta Center for a Utah Hockey Club game could be a first for a number of people in the area. At present, the Jazz are in a rebuild yet have sold out for 296 consecutive games. Delta Center, which holds 18,306 fans for basketball, had more than 14,000 fans attend a preseason basketball game less than 24 hours before the first game in UHC history.

Armstrong said that element of demand coupled with how historically engaged fans across Salt Lake City and the state of Utah have been could also play a role in the Utah Hockey Club having long-term success.

"There's a lot of Utahns who haven't been able to experience a live sporting event in the building because the Jazz have sold out so many consecutive games," Armstrong said. "It gives people another opportunity to be part of this world-class venue in Salt Lake they have not been able to access with the Jazz. ... Now we've given them that new product that gives them that chance."

Chelsea duo Erin Cuthbert and Zecira Musovic praised new manager Sonia Bompastor following their unbeaten start to the season and the smooth transition to her leadership.

The Blues have won all five of their first Women's Super League (WSL) games as well as their opening two Champions League group stage games against Real Madrid and FC Twente.

It is the first time that Chelsea have had a five-game unbeaten streak to start the league season, and under the guidance of Bompastor, who took the helm of the club in the summer following Emma Hayes' departure to the United States women's national team, Cuthbert said there is more to come as the French manager continues to mould the side.

"It's unfamiliar territory for us. We've not really been in that position," Cuthbert told ESPN on Tuesday. "I think it's our best-ever start to a WSL season, which is amazing. But again, it's only a start, so I'm very much going to be the pessimist in this and say we're five games in, and so much can happen yet from a 22-game season."

Chelsea have won three points in all five of their WSL games thus far, but still have a game in hand against Manchester United to be played on Nov. 23.

Their goal difference is already vastly ahead of their title rivals, with Chelsea scoring 20 goals from 13 different players so far. Cuthbert praised the "unpredictability" in Bompastor's style, which has allowed the forwards to flourish.

"When you have a manager for so long and then someone new comes in, you don't know how long the teething process is going to be," Cuthbert said. "But I think everyone's embraced it.

"There has been a lot of change, staff and players at the club, so there's been so much going on behind the scenes that maybe the fans don't see. They can only see in the 90 minutes that we play. And I still think we've got another level to us.

"I still think the more time Sonia has under us, the more time she's going to develop exactly how she wants to play. But I think we've probably got the best squad we've ever had, and Sonia's certainly setting the stall out early."

Cuthbert also lauded Bompastor's high standards in training which have ensured that players are performing to the best of their ability on the pitch.

"She's very demanding," Cuthbert continued. "That's something I really like from a manager. She knows what she wants. She doesn't settle, she doesn't like sloppiness in training. She doesn't let you sort of sit back and chill for 10 minutes.

"There's no let up from her and I really enjoy that. She knows exactly what she wants. She demands a lot of technical execution from everyone, and I think she will never settle on what she wants to achieve, which for sure, certainly demanding training at a high intensity."

The Scotland international joined Chelsea in 2017 from Wolfsburg and spent eight seasons under former manager Hayes.

Having now spent four months under Bompastor, Cuthbert has recognised the similarities and differences between the two Chelsea coaches.

"I think that there's a lot of similarities, like strong female powerful women and women in these positions always have a really good sense of man management," she said.

"They always know how to handle the players and how to handle a big squad that everyone has an expectation to play so I think that is difficult for a manager. They all have such a special ability to be able to handle that. I think her and Emma do.

"I think the differences are maybe slightly more focused on training and how she manages players, how she manages them on the pitch, what she demands. I think Emma demanded things, but she demanded different things. I think Sonia demands a lot of technical execution. There's a greater focus on building up from the back."

Teammate Musovic echoed Cuthbert's praise of her manager, insisting that Bompastor's philosophy is living up to the "Chelsea way."

"It's new management; things have been running really smoothly and in a really good way," the goalkeeper, who joined Chelsea in 2021, told ESPN.

"I really like to work with Sonia and the new management. I think she's really ambitious. She's intense in a good way. She knows what she wants from us, from herself and that's a type of coach that I really like, someone who's demanding.

"[She is a] really good coach, a good person, something that we value in Chelsea as well, you have to be a good person because that's when we can find each other and work together."

Musovic echoed Cuthbert's sentiments around Bompastor's levels of intensity and winning drive.

"I think both are big winners, which I really admire and love about both of them. Emma, we know that Emma is one of the biggest winners of them all," she continued.

"And then you have Sonia who's also a big winner and she demands a lot from us in training. Everything starts there in the daily habits. What are we doing on a daily basis that we can then bring with us into the game? So yeah, similarities for sure, but also differences that make them unique in their way."

Rúben Amorim has warned Manchester United supporters not to expect his new team to play as Sporting CP do when he takes over.

Expectations at Old Trafford are high after Amorim, who will take over as Man United's new manager on Nov. 11, led Sporting to a 4-1 home win over Manchester City on Tuesday.

It was City's first loss in the Champions League this season.

"It doesn't mean anything," Amorim said. "I've said it before. We can't transfer one reality to another. Manchester United can't play that defensively. It doesn't mean anything, it's going to be different team and world, no time to train. I would say it was a fluke, we were lucky in the game and I will make other assessments later."

The impressive victory was Amorim's last home game in charge of Sporting.

"I couldn't ask for anything better," he said. "But we had luck -- this was a one off."

Amorim, who has won two Portuguese league titles with Sporting since joining in 2020, including their first in 19 years, was given a standing ovation at the Alvalade stadium.

"It was a very important moment for all," he said. "They [Sporting fans] know what I did for them and they know what they did for me. It's a moment that I will cherish for life. We all deserved to have a moment like this. It wasn't the best moment in Alvalade, that was when we lost to Manchester City 5-0 [in February 2022] and everyone applauded at the end.

"I take this to the Premier League, but when I get there it will be a different world. When I'm at the next club, the approach will have to be different.

"It's going to be fun and I'm ready for the challenge."

Amorim signed a contract at Old Trafford until 2027 with the option of an additional year held by the club.

In ending City's record 26-game unbeaten run in the Champions League, Sporting also consigned the Premier League champions to a third straight loss in all competitions -- something that hasn't happened since April 2018.

Amorim is not getting carried away and said he has great respect for Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola.

"He's so much better than me at the moment," Amorim said. "But I believe a lot in my new club. We will start from a low level, and we will improve the team, the club."

Amorim's last game with Sporting will be Sunday's league game at Braga.

Sporting have won all 10 of their league games this season and lead the standings, three points clear of FC Porto.