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• Rooney slams Man Utd players' attitude after Arsenal defeat

  Wayne Rooney slammed Manchester United's players after Erik ten Hag made reference to the Red Devils' questionable attitudes following Sunday's defeat to Arsenal.

  Ten Hag's side were hammered 4-0 on Monday away to Crystal Palace and followed that up with a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal, leaving them eighth in the league table and three points adrift of the top six.

  The United manager was quizzed on the difference between the two performances, suggesting the differing showings had been down to players' "attitude".

  Rooney, speaking on Sky Sports, echoed Ten Hag's sentiments as he questioned the application of United's underwhelming performers.

  "I've said this a few weeks ago, the players need to look at themselves," the United and England great said. 

  "When you've got your manager during an interview and he's talking about attitude and attitudes not being right, that is a massive insult.

  "If I saw my manager saying that, there is no way I'd let that ride until the end of the season. I feel some players are just trying to get to the end of the season so I feel for him in that way.

  "Ultimately, it's his job to make sure the players are right."

  Ten Hag has failed to get a tune out of United, dropping out of the Champions League in the group stage and suffering in the Premier League, with their only hope the upcoming FA Cup final with Manchester City.

  The Red Devils have lost 19 games in all competitions this season, their most since 1977-78 (also 19), while their nine defeats at Old Trafford this term is their joint-most at home in a single campaign.

  United have also conceded in 10 successive games in all competitions for the first time since October 2021, while the 82 goals they have conceded this season is their most since 1970-71 (also 82).

  Ten Hag has had to deal with injuries to the likes of Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire and Marcus Rashford among others, with Rooney doubling down on his criticism of United's players.

  "As we look at the injuries, some of them players can play," the former Everton and Derby County boss continued, with Bruno Fernandes also absent for the Arsenal clash.

  "It's easy, you've got a European Championship coming up, an FA Cup final coming up. It's easy for the players, because they're getting a bit of stick now, to stay out for a little bit and come back for the FA Cup final and get ready for the European Championships.

  "I've seen it myself over the years, I just think the players who are injured are not filling themselves with any credit at the minute and the manager is going to take all the stick for that."

• Djokovic bemoans 'completely off' performance after early Italian Open exit

  Novak Djokovic lamented his dismal showing as Alejandro Tabilo profited from the world number one's "completely off" performance to triumph at the Italian Open.

  Tabilo stunned Djokovic with a straight-sets victory in the third round on Sunday, winning 6-2, 6-3 in his maiden ATP Tour clash with the Serbian.

  The Chilean advances to the fourth round at a Masters 1000 event for just the second time after Indian Wells in 2023, with Djokovic unable to explain his struggles in Rome.

  "I just wasn't able to find any kind of good feelings on the court, to be honest, striking the ball. I was completely off," he said.

  A six-time champion in Rome, the 36-year-old won his opening-round match at the ATP Masters 1000 event against Corentin Moutet.

  However, Djokovic was inadvertently hit on the head by a falling water bottle when leaving the court after that victory.

  Whether that incident impacted his performance against Tabilo remains to be seen.

  "I don't know, to be honest. I have to check that," he said. "Training was different. I was going for [a] kind of easy training yesterday.

  "I didn't feel anything, but I also didn't feel the same. Today under high stress, it was quite bad – not in terms of pain, but in terms of this balance.

  "Just no coordination. Completely different player from what it was two nights ago. Could be. I don't know. I have to do medical checkups and see what's going on."

  Tabilo's next opponent will be Karen Khachanov, who saw off Francisco Cerundolo 6-2, 6-4, while Djokovic is made to wait for his 1100th match win.

• West Brom 0-0 Southampton: Hawthorns draw sets up intriguing second leg

  West Brom and Southampton played out a goalless draw at the Hawthorns on Sunday in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final.

  Both teams had plenty of chances, but a combination of poor finishing and impressive goalkeeping from the Saints' Alex McCarthy and the Baggies' Alex Palmer ensured the tie remains finely poised for the return leg at St Mary's Stadium on Friday.

  Roared on by a loud Hawthorns, the hosts started well but were unable to capitalise, and it was Southampton who went closest in the first half as Kyle Walker-Peters smashed a deflected effort wide, while Palmer kept out Flynn Downes' shot.

  West Brom rallied, though, and had a golden opportunity to take the lead with 33 minutes on the clock as Grady Diangana nodded Tom Fellows' cross goalwards, only for McCarthy to get across and make a brilliant stop.

  The tempo slowed somewhat after the interval, but the game burst into life again with just over 10 minutes to play, as McCarthy denied Diangana before substitute Ross Stewart lashed goalwards up the other end, only to see his shot somehow kept out by the wrong-footed Palmer.

  Both sides pressed for a precious goal late on, but neither could break the deadlock and it remains all to play for at St Mary's to see who will face either Leeds United or Norwich City at Wembley on May 26.

  Data debrief

  There was certainly attacking endeavour on display at the Hawthorns, but neither side could find the back of the net despite the teams combining for 1.76 xG (expected goals), split 1.03 for Southampton and 0.73 for the hosts.

  With Norwich and Leeds drawing 0-0 in their first leg earlier on Sunday, it is the first time since 2011 that the first leg of both Championship play-off semi-finals have ended goalless.