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• Zenden: Off-the-field uncertainty at Man Utd unhelpful for Ten Hag

  Boudewijn Zenden believes ongoings off the pitch at Old Trafford have not made Erik ten Hag's time at Manchester United any easier.

  Ten Hag's first season at Old Trafford was promising, finishing in the top four and ending the club's trophy drought as the Red Devils lifted the EFL Cup.

  However, Ten Hag's second season in Manchester has not reached the same standards, and though the club will face rivals Manchester City at Wembley in the FA Cup final later this month, United currently sit eighth in the Premier League, 14 points off the Champions League places.

  Ten Hag's tenure at Old Trafford has included a number of off-the-field incidents, with a fallout between himself and Jadon Sancho leading to the winger going out on loan to Borussia Dortmund, while Jim Ratcliffe also became co-owner of the club earlier this year.

  Zenden feels that events off the pitch have not made Ten Hag's job easy, as well as the lofty expectations that managing a club the size of United comes with.

  "I have a feeling a bit that at United, there's more going on than just the results, and that doesn't make it easy for Ten Hag," Zenden told Stats Perform. "As I said, you have the press, the pundits that all have their view on United.

  "That also comes probably with the frustration of the fact that United are one of the biggest clubs in the world that also had their time in Europe where they were very strong.

  "For that matter, they were a little bit off the pace, and that upsets people of course. You have to be able to guide the club, the team, the players, the crowd, everybody through that particular period and seize out the storm."

  With United stumbling in the Premier League, Ten Hag has come into increasing conflict with reporters of late.

  Ten Hag's countryman Arne Slot is reportedly in the frame for the Liverpool job with current incumbent Jurgen Klopp leaving at the end of the season.

  Zenden believes Slot's composure with the media will serve him well should he join Liverpool, an area where he feels Ten Hag has sometimes been lacking.

  "I think what could be in Slot's favour is that I think he's relatively calm in his press conferences," Zenden continued. "I don't think he will get tempted quickly to start an argument with the press.

  "I'm sure the press will be happy to try and lure him out to get a few controversial phrases out, but the way I look at it now, I think he's a little bit more composed.

  "This is something that maybe Ten Hag didn't help himself with also a few times this year. There's been a lot of upset. The results have not been what probably everybody would have expected."

• Chelsea 5-0 West Ham: Five-star Blues run riot again at Stamford Bridge

  Chelsea claimed another big win at Stamford Bridge on Sunday as they swatted aside West Ham 5-0 to further boost their European hopes.

  In the hosts’ second London Derby of the week, Cole Palmer was joined on the scoresheet by Noni Madueke, Connor Gallagher, and Nicolas Jackson, who was at the double.

  Palmer’s 15th-minute opener, Gallagher’s volley and Madueke’s header put Chelsea in complete control by the interval, with Jackson’s second half brace providing the icing on the cake.

  The victory lifts Chelsea up to seventh, above Manchester United – who face Crystal Palace on Monday – while out-of-form West Ham remain in ninth, with their chances of European qualification all but over.

  West Ham broke troubled Djordje Petrovic with a direct Jarrod Bowen corner early on. Caught unsighted, the Serbian had to palm away.

  Yet Chelsea had the lead when Palmer was on hand to score his 21st goal of the season after Jackson’s cross had ricocheted off former Blues defender Kurt Zouma.

  Bowen struck the crossbar with a fierce header, but Chelsea doubled their lead on the half-hour – Zouma’s block falling kindly for Gallagher, who thundered in on the volley.

  It was 3-0 just six minutes later thanks to Madueke, who was on hand on to nod in from Thiago Silva’s flick on.

  Gallagher and Bowen exchanged efforts off the crossbar before the interval, after which Chelsea grabbed their fourth when Madueke turned provider for Jackson to tap home.

  Bowen struck the crossbar for a third time in the 79th minute, yet Chelsea were soon celebrating again as Jackson broke away and found the bottom-right corner. Although it was initially disallowed for offside, the goal was awarded after a VAR review, as the Blues capped off a dominant performance to move into their highest league position of the season.

  Goals easy to come by at the Bridge as Chelsea share the load

  Chelsea have now scored 16 goals in their last four home games, and there is clearly now some cohesion to the attacking unit, especially at Stamford Bridge. Indeed, their home record is now 10 wins, four draws, and four losses in 18 Premier League contests.
  
  Palmer was typically brilliant. He has now scored or assisted against 14 different Premier League opponents this season for Chelsea.

  He became just the seventh player to have scored or assisted against 14 different teams in a Premier League season for the Blues, most recently Eden Hazard in 2018-19 (15).
  
  But Chelsea shared the load on Sunday, with Madueke and Jackson both ending the day having scored and assisted, so the pressure is not all on Palmer, at least.

  Moyes’ west London woe

  David Moyes has never won an away Premier League match against Chelsea, now failing with his 19th attempt (D7 L12).

  The only instance of a manager taking charge of as many matches at a venue without winning is Moyes himself at Anfield (19 games).

  Indeed, Mauricio Pochettino is the 11th different Blues boss Moyes has lost to at Stamford Bridge during his 22 years as a Premier League manager across spells with Everton, Man United, Sunderland and West Ham.

  It does look like a sour ending for Moyes at West Ham. He is soon out of contract and both Ruben Amorim and Julen Lopetegui have been heavily linked. 

• Simeone insists Atletico 'cannot stop pushing' after narrow Mallorca win

  Diego Simeone insists Atletico Madrid "cannot stop pushing" in their pursuit of Champions League qualification after a narrow 1-0 victory over Mallorca.

  Los Rojiblancos tightened their grip on fourth place in LaLiga, with Rodrigo Riquelme's fine individual effort in the fifth minute enough to secure back-to-back wins.

  With four games remaining, Simeone's side moved onto 67 points, six clear of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, who they beat 3-1 last weekend.

  The Atleti boss was thrilled by his players' performance levels, but has urged them not to rest on their laurels.

  "The team interpreted the plan very well," he said. "The commitment was incredible from [Angel] Correa to [Jan] Oblak to play an intelligent game from a defensive point of view.

  "After the goal, we controlled the game. We defended as a team and did a great job. We need to continue improving, and we can't stop pushing until the season is over."

  Echoing his manager's thoughts, defender Axel Witsel told Movistar Plus+: "It was very important to win. We wanted to win and stay six points ahead. We have to keep it up.

  "After Riquelme scored a fantastic goal, we managed to stay well-organised to secure the result."