• Everton host United at Goodison Park on Saturday
• Ruben Amorim ‘frustrated and angry’ by run of poor form

Ruben Amorim’s succinct explanation for why Everton have enjoyed the kind of new manager bounce which has eluded him at Manchester United was that “David Moyes is doing a better job” than him.

Amorim, who has overseen just four wins from his 14 league games in charge, takes United to Goodison Park on Saturday. Everton have picked up 13 points from a possible 18 since Moyes, the former United manager, replaced Sean Dyche in mid-January. It has been a far less seamless transition at United with Amorim struggling to implement his tactics amid a litany of problems on and off the pitch.

New year, new look England, same lack of consistency. Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses began their Nations League campaign with a profligate and frustrating 1-1 draw against Portugal in Portimão.

“I’m disappointed about the result,” said the England manager, who also took time after the game to express her solidarity with Spain’s players after Luis Rubiales was convicted of sexual assault for kissing Jenni Hermoso after the World Cup final against England. “I stand with the Spanish players and it’s really sad they have this on their path. They are changing society, and they have so much courage to stand for this and themselves and we stand in solidarity with them. We have the Nations League starting tonight, we are talking about this but we should be talking about the Spanish team and how good they are at football.”

Telling Núñez off in public feels unnecessary at this late stage, like shoehorning a needless car chase into a film’s third act

Stop getting Darwin Núñez wrong! At the very least, can we please stop comparing him unfavourably with Andy Carroll. This should be taken as a general cease-and-desist plea from those of us with an interest in preserving the Carroll legacy. But it also feels like an important note of distinction in a week when Arne Slot has unexpectedly made Núñez into a person of interest in the Premier League title race by dwelling on his now-famous miss against Aston Villa.

There may be sound internal reasons for this. Slot is very shrewd. The season has so far been an exercise in control and smart judgment. But from the outside, telling Núñez off in public feels unnecessary at this late stage, like shoehorning jeopardy into the third act of a generic Hollywood movie, the needless car chase four-fifths of the way through Paddington 5: Paddington Harder.

Red Rose have lost four in row against Scots, but if they can back up Les Bleus win there will be talk of top-two finish

In recent times the Calcutta Cup has morphed into the “Scottish play” the English would rather not mention by name. One Red Rose win in seven attempts and four consecutive victories for Gregor Townsend’s side has certainly been an uncomfortable sequence for those who, for decades, regarded death and taxes as only marginally more inevitable than Scotland losing down south.

So much for the supposed dead weight of history. “What’s done cannot be undone,” murmured Lady Macbeth but she wasn’t privy to the skill and daring of Finn Russell or the killer finishing of Duhan van der Merwe. The last time England lost three or more consecutive home games in this fixture was in the early 1900s before Twickenham became their spiritual home.

After defeat in India, England start tournament against Australia, who are without their feared fast-bowling trio

In contrast to the drawn-out 50-over World Cup and its T20 equivalent, the Champions Trophy is quite a cutthroat affair, with one slip-up in the group stage manageable but two likely terminal. Jos Buttler called it a brutal format before England’s opener against Australia in Lahore on Saturday, while his opposite number, Steve Smith, spoke of needing a “quarter-final” mentality.

As unforgiving as it is, there is a fair bit riding on this Champions Trophy for Buttler, a captain who lifted the T20 World Cup in 2022 straight after replacing Eoin Morgan but has struggled to live up to it since. Series results have nose-dived, both world titles were surrendered meekly, and the messaging has often been confusing. Matthew Mott paid the price as head coach last year but not every shortcoming was his.

• Latest score from 8pm ET start at TD Garden in Boston
• Old rivals meet in first edition of hockey tournament
• Matthews and 19 more: Team USA Olympians to watch
• Email beau.dure@theguardian.com with your thoughts

Yes, “game time” was 8 pm ET. No, I don’t know when it’s actually going to start. We have not gotten to the national anthems yet.

ESPN is hyping US goalie Connor Hellebuyck, with good reason – he’s allowed just two goals in two games with a .957 save percentage.

• Woods joins PGA delegation at White House on Thursday
• LIV representatives also present in Washington

Donald Trump’s involvement in professional golf’s peace talks has ramped up further, with Tiger Woods among those afforded an audience with the US president at the White House on Thursday afternoon.

Woods joined the PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan, fellow board member Adam Scott and representatives of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in a meeting hosted by Trump amid increasing hopes the fractured sport can unite over the coming months. Key sticking points were expected to surround the precise role for Yasir al-Rumayyan, the PIF’s governor, in golf’s new world and where the Saudi-established LIV Tour sits on the sport’s schedule.

The current iteration is done and manager must decide if he has the energy for exhausting process of reconstruction

There was some talk after Manchester City’s win against Newcastle United last Saturday that City’s players had been inspired, freed from their shackles and generally reinvigorated by the club’s recent legal victory in a tribunal hearing over certain time-specific aspects of financial regulation.

Could this be true? Are we underestimating the effect of these things? Did the pitch mics at the Bernabéu pick up Nico González in the pre-match huddle saying: “Lads, we’ve all absorbed the news about the related third-party transaction rules being declared improper. I am as a consequence bang up for this.” Did the cameras detect Savinho whispering: “Guys, we are now free to seek our own definition of market value. This commercial potential is hugely energising. Hit me early over the top.”

• Wing has reinjured shoulder and could be out for season
• Injury leads to questioning of RFU’s contract system

England’s Calcutta Cup preparations have been tainted by the fallout from Immanuel Feyi-Waboso’s shoulder injury, which raises questions over the Rugby Football Union’s new central contracting system.

Feyi-Waboso reinjured his shoulder at England’s training base on Wednesday after suffering a dislocation on Exeter duty on 21 December, with the Chiefs confirming he will be sidelined for up to 14 weeks. He is unlikely to play again this season and, as he will be out of action when Andy Farrell names his British & Irish Lions squad, Feyi-Waboso’s chances of touring Australia are hanging by a thread.

Women in sport are left exposed by the lack of backing that men receive, and by toxic attitudes that must be called out

If you watched any of Emma Raducanu’s Tuesday match against Karolina Muchova, it was probably only the two clips, stitched together neatly for the news highlights. Raducanu approaching the umpire. Raducanu wiping away tears with a towel.

An emotional Raducanu is an instant headline, although this wasn’t a case of injury or frustration. Having seen a man in the crowd whose off-court behaviour had already concerned her, she was doing the sensible thing and reporting it. The Daily Mail reported that she was “reduced to cowering behind the umpire’s chair”. What a brilliantly multi-purpose use of language: paternalistic readers can get heroically angry on her behalf while the others write her off as a snowflake.