Manchester United must demonstrate a greater clinical edge following their narrow 1-0 victory over Leicester City, so says Christian Eriksen.
Having opened the season with back-to-back defeats, United made it three consecutive Premier League wins under Erik ten Hag, with Jadon Sancho's 23rd-minute strike enough to settle the contest at the King Power Stadium.
Although fully deserving of their half-time lead, the visitors' level dropped significantly after the restart. David de Gea made a tremendous save from James Maddison's free-kick, while James Justin blazed a wonderful opportunity over in stoppage time.
But Leicester did not enjoy too many clear-cut opportunities, with United's solid defence generally keeping the Premier League's bottom side at bay.
And while Eriksen has urged his team-mates to capitalise when in the ascendancy, he is encouraged by the strides United are making after they recorded successive 1-0 wins in the space of five days.
"From the start we had, we had a lot of things we needed to change, and we've done that by winning," he told BT Sport. "It hasn't been beautiful for 90 minutes, but we have three wins.
"At the moment, we're winning 1-0 and keeping it tight. Obviously, we want to do better, but I think this is a good start and we can take something from this. The three points is the most important.
"Similar to Southampton [on Saturday], we did very well until we scored. Then, we have to keep momentum, we have to kill the game earlier – otherwise, it's going to be a tight game until the end like today.
"We're looking good; we're getting the points and we're getting the base of what we need to do."
Meanwhile, Sancho proved the matchwinner with his second goal of the season, having also netted in the 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford, applying the finishing touch to a fine team move.
Sancho missed pre-season preparations ahead of his maiden campaign at Old Trafford due to an extended break after helping England reach the Euro 2020 final, and feels he has benefitted from getting a full pre-season under his belt this time around.
"It was a great team goal. I'm happy that I got the goal for the team, and got three points," he said.
"Obviously, doing pre-season with the team [has helped me]. Last year, I missed pre-season, so I got to know the players a lot more [this year]. We've worked on [certain things], and I'm getting more comfortable.
"We hoped to start the season with two wins, but that woke us up. I'm happy that we got the third win today."
Inzaghi gets 'all answers needed' after Inter humiliate Frosinone
Clinical Inter returned to winning ways with a 5-0 thrashing of relegation-threatened Frosinone on Friday, and coach Simone Inzaghi admitted he had no questions left following his side's stellar performance.
Champions Inter stumbled to a 1-0 loss at relegation-battling Sassuolo last weekend but bounced back at Frosinone when five different players were on target to further hamper Frosinone's hopes of steering away from the relegation zone.
"I got the answers I wanted even though there was no need [for them]," Inzaghi told a press conference.
"A lot of guys who have played less answered and even contributed with a goal, I'm thinking about [Tajon] Buchanan and [Marko] Arnautovic.
"Important answers also came from [Kristjan] Asllani, who has grown a lot and has also played parts in important games."
Inter, who remained on track to beat the club record of 97 points set in the 2006-07 season, have also equalled the 15 away wins recorded in that season and maintained their 10th clean sheet, previously seen in 2007-08.
"I have a club that has been working for some time to ensure that the team improves because we always have to grow," Inzaghi said when asked if the team would be able to keep up the pace next season.
"Now we have two matches in which we will do our best, and then we will think about next season.
"The celebration? What our fans did to us will always remain within each of us. It's the shield of joy. I will always thank the fans."
Inzaghi is set to remain at Inter, with Italian media reporting he has already agreed to a new deal which puts him at the helm of the club beyond 2025.
He added: "You know what relationship I have with the club. We will all sit down and talk, but we are already in contact every day."
Al-Ittihad 0-5 Al-Ettifaq: Ekambi scores hat-trick in five-star display
Karl Toko Ekambi netted a hat-trick as Al-Ettifaq got back to winning ways in style with a 5-0 thrashing of Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.
He scored twice in four minutes at the end of the first half to send the visitors into the break 4-0 up before getting his third just 10 minutes after the break.
Seko Fofana had already given Steven Gerrard’s side the lead five minutes into the contest, while Moussa Dembele doubled their advantage from the penalty spot.
Al-Ittihad had the chances, but they could not find the back of the net, as they stayed fifth, but are now just six points above Al-Ettifaq.
Data Debrief: Clinical finishers
Al-Ettifaq had five shots on target against Al-Ittihad, scoring with all of them while creating an xG of 3.62.
With his hat-trick against Al-Ittihad, Ekambi has now scored 11 goals for the season, netting more than once for the first time since joining the club.
'The owners have common sense' – Ten Hag not worried about Man Utd future
Under-fire Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is not worried about losing his job at the end of the season, saying Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS have too much "common sense" to sack him.
Ten Hag has faced fierce criticism throughout a dismal season for the Red Devils, who are languishing in eighth in the Premier League table and are in danger of missing out on European qualification.
Monday's crushing 4-0 defeat to Crystal Palace was United's 13th in the Premier League this season – their most in a league campaign since 1989-90 (16) – and their 18th in all competitions in 2023-24.
They last suffered more in a single campaign in 1977-78 (19), while their overall tally of 81 goals conceded this term is their most since 1970-71 (82).
With the club preparing to enter a new era after handing control of football operations to minority shareholder Ratcliffe, Ten Hag's future has been the focus of much speculation.
On Friday, the Dutchman was asked if he felt his job could be under threat even if United beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final on May 25.
"No. The owners have common sense," he replied.
"You see we have had 32 different backlines, we've used 14 partnerships at centre-back. When they see we don't have a [fit] left back, they know that will have a negative impact on results.
"It’s a huge FA Cup final. We are happy to be there. It can be a highlight for us this season.
"We know the reason we are underperforming is because of injuries. No team will perform when you have so many injuries in key areas."
Asked if he felt any unease about the fact INEOS had not made a public statement in support of him, Ten Hag said: "This question you have to make to the owners, not to me.
"It's my job to speak to you. I don't care if they do or they don't. I am working on improving and developing my team."
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