SCHLADMING, Austria (AP) — Timon Haugan won a men's World Cup night slalom on Wednesday to give the Norwegian ski team its second victory in two days.
Haugan beat Austrians Manuel Feller and Fabio Gstrein for his second win of the season, a day after teammate Alexander Steen Olsen had triumphed in a giant slalom on the same hill.
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France's Clement Noel competes during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Schladming, Austria, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
Austria's Manuel Feller competes during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Schladming, Austria, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Switzerland's Loic Meillard competes during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Schladming, Austria, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Norway's Timon Haugan competes during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Schladming, Austria, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Germany's Linus Strasser competes during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Schladming, Austria, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
“This is crazy, this is the best one so far. Schladming is just different,” Haugan said.
It was the last men’s slalom before the Feb. 4-16 world championships in nearby Saalbach-Hinterglemm, where Haugan won last March when the resort hosted the World Cup finals.
“With the last win and the win in Saalbach last year it's hard not to be one of the favorites,” Haugan said.
Watched by 22,500 spectators, Haugan improved from second position as first-run leader Linus Strasser, who won the annual night race last year, dropped to fourth.
The German carried a lead of more than three-tenths of a second into the final run, but lost parts of that advantage at every split time.
Strasser has not won since his back-to-back triumphs within four days in the classic slaloms of Kitzbuehel and Schladming last year.
Six days before the country hosts the worlds, Feller and Gstrein earned the first podium results in slalom this season for the Austrian team.
Feller won the World Cup slalom title last year but has struggled to replicate the form and consistency that earned him the globe.
For Gstrein, it was the first top-three result of his World Cup career after finishing fifth several times, most recently at the classic slalom in Adelboden a few weeks ago.
Olympic champion Clement Noel, who led the discipline standings before the race after winning four events, including in Kitzbeuhel last Sunday, was 0.71 off the lead after the first run before skiing out in his second.
Since Noel failed to score points, Henrik Kristoffersen went top of the slalom season standings again, three points clear of the Frenchman. Kristoffersen finished 1.18 seconds behind his Norwegian teammate Haugan in eighth.
The men's World Cup has one more race before the worlds: a downhill in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, on Sunday.
AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
France's Clement Noel competes during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Schladming, Austria, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
Austria's Manuel Feller competes during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Schladming, Austria, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Switzerland's Loic Meillard competes during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Schladming, Austria, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Norway's Timon Haugan competes during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Schladming, Austria, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Germany's Linus Strasser competes during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Schladming, Austria, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United managers come and go with disturbing regularity and Pep Guardiola has faced a few since taking charge at Manchester City 10 years ago.
On Saturday in fact, Michael Carrick becomes the sixth.
That number sums up the varying fortunes of the Manchester rivals over the past decade, with City dominating the Premier League and conquering Europe while United has lurched from one crisis to another.
Asked on Friday what the secret was to his longevity, Guardiola's answer was brief.
“Results,” he said. "If you don’t win, you’re sacked. So we won a lot. That’s why I’m still sitting here. There’s no other secret."
Guardiola has won 15 major trophies at City, including six Premier Leagues and the Champions League. This season City is still in contention for four trophies.
By contrast United crashed out of both domestic cup competitions at the earliest possible stage, is seventh in the Premier League and didn't qualify for any European competition.
Ruben Amorim last week became the sixth permanent United manager to be dismissed since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. Former player Carrick was hired this week until the end of the season while United's hierarchy weigh up its long-term options.
One of those could include Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner, who announced on Friday he will leave when his contract expires at the end of the season. The 51-year-old Austrian is reportedly being considered by United.
"I am looking for a new challenge,” Glasner said, adding he had not spoken to another club.
For now, Carrick has the hot seat and 17 games to make his case to stay in charge beyond this season.
“I’m eager to succeed," he said. "We’ve got a big job to do. It’s an important job and it always is here to win games and to play well and to to do it in a certain way.”
United's priority is to secure Champions League qualification from a top four position. Should Carrick achieve that, as well as provide the type of attacking soccer the club's fans crave, his case will be strengthened.
“We want to be top of the league ... but we've got to take some small steps towards that and European football would be a step forward and we've got to keep pushing.”
Victory against second-placed City at Old Trafford would be the perfect start for Carrick, who then has to prepare for a trip to league leader Arsenal.
United has had to get used to living in its neighbour's shadow since Ferguson departed.
The once dominant force in English soccer has not finished above City in the standings since taking the title in Ferguson's final season.
Since then City has won 18 major trophies and United five.
While United was runner-up twice to Guardiola's City, it finished 19 and 12 points adrift each time.
“It is what it is,” said Guardiola who has experienced far more intense rivalries in England with Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool and Mikel Arteta's Arsenal.
“You know since day one the opinion I have of Man United. But what happened (there), I don’t know because I’m not there.”
Despite City's bulging trophy cabinet, its head-to-head statistics in one-off games are much closer.
Carrick's first Manchester derby will be Guardiola's 27th, more than any other City manager. He has won 14 of them, including penalty shootouts and victories against each United manager he has faced from a list including Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick, Erik ten Hag and Amorim.
United has won nine.
The teams met in back-to-back FA Cup finals in 2023 and 24, winning one each.
City has enjoyed more dominant wins — scoring three or more goals on seven occasions — and in 2022 routed United 4-1 and 6-3.
James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola reacts after Erling Haaland missed a scoring opportunity during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion in Manchester, England, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
FILE - Manchester United's manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, right, and assistant Michael Carrick stand on the touchline during the English League Cup soccer match between Manchester United and West Ham at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson, File)
