New Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has reportedly spent his first few days identifying transfer targets with football director John Murtough, technical director Darren Fletcher and recruitment consultant Ralf Rangnick.

United's maneuverability in the transfer market will likely depend on the players they can first offload, in what is an already bloated and disjointed squad.

The Dutch manager joined United in the off-season after leading Ajax to the Dutch Eredivisie title.

TOP STORY – TEN HAG PRIORITISES NUNEZ, TIMBER DEALS    

Erik ten Hag has told Manchester United to make the signings of Benfica's Darwin Nunez and Ajax's Jurrien Timber as the first order of business this off-season, according to the Mirror.

Ten Hag wants to make six signings, with the Benfica striker and Ajax defender at the top of his priorities, with respective £80million and £35m price tags.

The two players would effectively be the first dominoes in the row, given the cumulative hit to their transfer budget. 

ROUND-UP

– Ten Hag and United are also considering a bid for Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante, according The Guardian.

– Meanwhile, Blues boss Thomas Tuchel will hold talks with Conor Gallagher over his future after his loan spell at Crystal Palace, per Fabrizio Romano.

– Romano is also reporting Ivan Perisic is set to sign this week for Tottenham on a free transfer from Inter.

– Roma boss Jose Mourinho is hoping to beat his former clubs in United and Spurs in the race to sign Paulo Dybala from Juventus, TyC Sports is reporting.

New Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has reportedly spent his first few days identifying transfer targets with football director John Murtough, technical director Darren Fletcher and recruitment consultant Ralf Rangnick.

United's maneuverability in the transfer market will likely depend on the players they can first offload, in what is an already bloated and disjointed squad.

The Dutch manager joined United in the off-season after leading Ajax to the Dutch Eredivisie title.

TOP STORY – TEN HAG PRIORITISES NUNEZ, TIMBER DEALS    

Erik ten Hag has told Manchester United to make the signings of Benfica's Darwin Nunez and Ajax's Jurrien Timber as the first order of business this off-season, according to the Mirror.

Ten Hag wants to make six signings, with the Benfica striker and Ajax defender at the top of his priorities, with respective £80million and £35m price tags.

The two players would effectively be the first dominoes in the row, given the cumulative hit to their transfer budget. 

ROUND-UP

– Ten Hag and United are also considering a bid for Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante, according The Guardian.

– Meanwhile, Blues boss Thomas Tuchel will hold talks with Conor Gallagher over his future after his loan spell at Crystal Palace, per Fabrizio Romano.

– Romano is also reporting Ivan Perisic is set to sign this week for Tottenham on a free transfer from Inter.

– Roma boss Jose Mourinho is hoping to beat his former clubs in United and Spurs in the race to sign Paulo Dybala from Juventus, TyC Sports is reporting.

Jeff McNeil delivered the go-ahead home run as the New York Mets continued their excellent start to the season with an 8-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.

Trailing 2-1 in the fourth inning with two runners on base, McNeil stepped up for the Mets for a three-run blast over right field.

McNeil revealed after the game that he thought he spotted an eagle in the crowd moments before stepping up. "I was kind of staring out into space, into nothing, and I saw something," McNeil said. "I don't know what it was. It was a bird."

McNeil's blast put the Mets up 4-2, before Francisco Lindor extended his RBI streak to a career-best six games.

Lindor's triple moved the Mets further ahead, with his long fly ball skipping off the wall at left-center field. He has 14 RBIs during his six-game run.

Pete Alonso was more quiet by comparison, but still drove in another RBI as he homes in on a franchise record held by Gary Carter of 34 RBIs in any month. Alonso now has 29 for May which is a franchise record for that specific month.

Kluber and Cole face off as Rays win

The Tampa Bay Rays ended the New York Yankees' four-game winning run with a 3-1 victory in their AL East clash.

Manuel Margot extended his hitting streak to 15 games with an RBI single in the eighth with Wander Franco scoring.

Corey Kluber and Gerrit Cole jousted on the mound across six innings, with Kluber allowing one run and three hits while striking out five. Cole struck out 10, giving up one run, two hits with three walks.

Betts blasts Dodgers to victory

Mookie Betts continued his stellar May form with a leadoff homer in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 3-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Betts' leadoff homer was his 14th home run of the season and 11th of the month. It was also his 32nd career leadoff home run.

The win means the Dodgers improve to a 32-14 record in the NL West.

New York Rangers goal-tender Igor Shesterkin was the talk of the town after stopping 37 shots and providing two assists in their 5-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 6 of their NHL second round playoffs series.

The Rangers forced a Game 7 in the series as they continued their excellent home form buoyed by a strong start, winning their sixth straight game at Madison Square Garden.

Tyler Motte and Mika Zibanejad scored in the first period to earn Rangers a 2-0 lead with Filip Chytil netting two goals in the second. Artemi Panarin added another in the third period to close out the victory.

But Shesterkin earned praise from Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant after becoming only the fifth goalie in NHL history to have two or more assists in a playoff game.

"He made some real key saves for us," Gallant told reporters.

"Obviously the two assists are huge, but I think he was trying to get three there in the third when he passed it up the middle.

"He's outstanding. He's been like that all year for us."

Shesterkin now has three assists in 13 postseason games, setting up Zibanejad's first-period goal, along with Chytil's second.

"About the two assists, honestly, I think it was mostly the guys that did all the work," Shesterkin said via a translator. "I just got them the puck and they delivered."

Gallant was delighted with Rangers' home form, stating it did not surprise him, but the series-deciding Game 7 will be played in Carolina where the Hurricanes are 7-0 in this postseason.

"We have to play how we play at home," Chytil said.

"We found a way to win in Pittsburgh. It's a Game 7 now, so we have to find a way to win the game.

"We have to play hard, we have to play our game and don't focus on any other thing. Just focus on the game and I think we can win the game.”"

Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour admitted his side started too "raw" but was eager to move on with Game 7 on Monday.

"It's behind us now, we turn the page," Brind'Amour said. "The good news is we don't have to end on that. We have another shot here."

Fabio di Giannantonio claimed a stunning maiden MotoGP pole in his home race at the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello on Saturday. 

The rookie Gresini rider snatched pole as rainy conditions hovered over the Mugello circuit, leading an Italian front three on the grid with Valentino Rossi duo Marco Bezzecchi and Luca Marini was halted due to a red flag.

Initial spots of rain prompted the field to venture out on rain tyres expect Brad Binder, who gambled and lapped almost three seconds quicker, forcing the rest to return to the pits for slicks.

Di Giannantonio took chances on the testy Mugello circuit, sticking his 2021-spec Gresini on pole with a time of 1:46.156, and his response post-qualifying was naturally one of excitement.

"It’s one thing unimaginable, since you arrive right here in Mugello and anticipate to do a superb outcome for all of the individuals who come for you, who cheer for you, all of the help that you’ve got right here in your house race," he said post-qualifying.

"Already using a Ducati MotoGP bike in Mugello is one thing unimaginable, and getting to the pole place is one thing else.

"It was such a fantastic finish of the day for me, and one of many desires of my life is to be high on the grid in MotoGP."

Johann Zarco briefly held provisional pole but had to settle for fourth on his Pramac Ducati, ahead of Francesco Bagnaia on the factory Ducati.

He was followed by reigning world champion Fabio Quartararo, with Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro and LCR Honda's Takaaki Nakagami rounding out the second row.

While Jack Miller missed out on Q2, but qualifying was ultimately marred by a fiery crash for Marc Marquez, who had a big highside at Luco.

PROVISIONAL GRID

1. Fabio di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing) 1:46.156
2. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46) +0.088s
3. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46) +0.171s
4. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +0.227s
5. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) +0.315s
6. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +0.350s
7. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) +0.351s
8. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) +0.405s
9. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda) +0.511s
10. Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing) +0.523s

Veteran Brazilian full-back Marcelo has confirmed he is leaving Real Madrid following their Champions League final triumph.

The 34-year-old left-back has been with Los Blancos since 2007, making almost 550 appearances for the Spanish powerhouse, trailing only Karim Benzema as the highest-ranking foreigner.

Marcelo, who was an unused substitute in Saturday's 1-0 win over Liverpool, confirmed after the game that he would leave the club this off-season with his contract expiring at the end of June.

"It was my last game with Real Madrid," Marcelo said.

Marcelo will exit the club with 25 titles as a Madridista, which is more than any other player in club history.

It had been speculated that the Brazilian may accept a pay cut to remain with Madrid next season.

Marcelo, who joined Madrid from Fluminense, made 18 appearances in all competitions this campaign.

Mexico got their international window off to a positive start, earning a 2-1 win over Nigeria in Arlington on Saturday.

In front of a healthy crowd in Texas, William Troost-Ekong's own-goal in the 56th minute eventually proved the difference between the two sides, only two minutes after Cyriel Dessers equalised for Nigeria.

Though Nigeria failed to qualify for this year's World Cup, El Tri are ramping up preparations for the event in Qatar, with this being the first of three friendlies before the CONCACAF Nations League opener against Suriname in June.

Santiago Gimenez opened the scoring for a makeshift Mexico squad in the 12th minute, with Gerardo Martino using the second half primarily as an opportunity to integrate Diego Lainez and Edson Alvarez from the bench.

Scottie Scheffler leads the Charles Schwab Challenge by two strokes coming into the final round, shooting a two-under 68 in Saturday's third round.

The world number one sits at 11-under coming into the final 18 holes at Colonial, after facing tricky conditions with intense heat and heavy wind gusts.

After posting bogey-free rounds on Thursday and Friday, Scheffler almost made it three rounds in a row but three-putted the par-four 17th for bogey.

He bounced right back with a long birdie putt on the 18th to close out the round on two-under, leading Brendon Todd and Scott Stallings on nine-under.

After missing the cut last weekend at the US PGA Championship, his first cut since his season start in October, the Masters champion could win his fifth PGA Tour title on Sunday.

Those five wins would come from a phenomenal 10 starts, after taking out the Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale in February, and would emulate Tom Watson's 1980 feat of five wins before the start of June.

Harold Varner III is in the running for his maiden PGA Tour victory, sitting a further stroke back from Todd and Stallings on eight-under after three rounds, also shooting a two-under 68 on Saturday.

John Huh, Cam Davis, Chris Kirk and Patrick Reed share a four-way tie for fourth on seven-under.

Also shooting a third-round score of 68 was Mito Pereira, finishing strong with three birdies over the closing five holes, including a long 15-metre putt to secure a birdie on the 18th.

Pereira is coming off his dramatic collapse on the final hole at the PGA Championship last weekend, missing the playoff between Justin Thomas and Will Zalatoris.

Both Thomas and Zalatoris have gone on from that performance at Southern Hills to miss the cut this weekend in Fort Worth.

Vinicius Junior hopes he has won the first of many Champions League titles after helping Real Madrid become European champions for a 14th time, defeating Liverpool 1-0.

Vinicius was the sole goalscorer in Saturday's final in Paris, left with a simple tap-in after Luka Modric's pass cut Liverpool open and released Federico Valverde to drill in a cross in the 59th minute.

Another victory clinched a double for Madrid after they claimed the LaLiga title with four games to spare in April.

This was special for Vinicius, though, as his breakthrough Champions League triumph, and he was struggling to come to terms with his achievement as he spoke to Movistar afterwards.

"Inexplicable. I have no idea what I have done today," he said. "Now to celebrate and have a lot of fun. We have enjoyed what we have done, getting here and winning... there is nothing better than winning with this shirt.

"It was a dream for me. To have scored in the final is the best thing a player can have. It's the first. I want to keep winning and keep making history here for a long time."

While Vinicius was new to this stage, 36-year-old Modric was not.

Much like in the 2018 final against Liverpool in Kyiv, Modric was at decisive best as the match progressed, riding out the initial waves of Reds energy to ultimately nullify their pressing.

A pivotal figure in the club's run in the knockout stages to make the Champions League final, and with a contract extension on the horizon, Modric also intends to stick around and keep winning.

"We're still letting what we've done sink in," he told Movistar. "This club is without doubt the greatest in the history of football. We always say that, and we have to repeat it – there’s nothing like Real Madrid.

"Character, never giving up, believing right to the end. We did that today. Five Champions Leagues were impossible to imagine. But now I have five, and hopefully there'll be more."

Jurgen Klopp congratulated Real Madrid on their Champions League final win but highlighted the number of statistics in Liverpool's favour as they came up just short in Paris.

Indeed, Klopp claimed a historic performance from goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois could only be possible if "something is going wrong" for victors Madrid.

Courtois made nine saves against Liverpool to preserve a clean sheet, capping one of the great individual Champions League campaigns.

He finished top of the competition's charts for saves (59), save percentage (80.6, minimum five saves) and goals prevented according to expected goals on target data (4.7).

Courtois capped his terrific European run in style at the Stade de France, as his save tallies for both the final and the campaign as a whole were highs for any single Champions League season since Opta records began in 2003-04.

His heroics also contributed to Liverpool setting a new record for the most shots attempted in a final without scoring (24).

Despite this profligacy, with Vinicius Junior putting away one of just four Madrid attempts in a 1-0 success, Klopp put forward Liverpool's case for winning the match and pinpointed Courtois' display as a concern for their opponents.

"After the game, when I saw the stats, it was 50-50 possession," he told a news conference. "We had a lot more shots, a lot more shots on target, but the most decisive stat is absolutely on Madrid's side.

"Just to make sure that nobody thinks I wouldn't congratulate Real Madrid, I do that now, but I [also] congratulated everybody present and involved outside personally.

"They scored a goal, we didn't – that's the easiest explanation in the world of football, and it's hard, harsh to get anyway, [but we] respect that of course.

"When the goalkeeper is man of the match then something is going wrong for the other team, so we had, I think, three really big chances where Courtois made incredible saves. I would have loved to have had a few more of this calibre."

This was Liverpool's 63rd game of a long season, in which they played three finals and took the Premier League title race to the wire, and Klopp acknowledged fatigue could have been a factor while still believing the Reds did enough to go home with the trophy.

"Let me say, [the number of matches] doesn't help, but I don't think it was the reason," he added.

"We all know, the chances we had, when the player shoots a ball, the ball going in or is on the foot actually only an inch, that's all. Nothing to do with being at the peak of your physical things or not.

"We had these situations, the chance in the one-on-one situation from close range from Mo [Salah]; we know how often Mo scored in these situations. It was just an outstanding save from Courtois, we have to respect that as well.

"I think Madrid had one shot on target, is that right? And that was a goal.

"But, look, I understand 100 per cent and I respect 100 per cent the reason for playing football and having these kinds of competitions is to win the game, and whatever you do – as long as it's in the rules – it's allowed and you can do it. It's completely fine."

Andrew Robertson described Liverpool's players as "devastated" by their Champions League final loss to Real Madrid, as Vinicius Junior's winner condemned the Reds to a heartbreaking reverse in Paris.

The Brazil winger's 59th-minute goal ensured Madrid repeated their 2018 final win over Liverpool to earn their 14th European crown, while only Juventus (five) have now lost more Champions League finals than the Reds (three).

Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp has now lost more finals in the competition than any other coach (three), and despite winning the EFL Cup and FA Cup after penalty shoot-outs, Liverpool have failed to score a single goal in five and a half hours of football in major finals this term.

Having threatened a quadruple after embarking on a brilliant four-front trophy hunt this season, Liverpool only have the domestic cups to show for their efforts after also missing out on the Premier League title to Manchester City.

Speaking to BT Sport after the game, Robertson said the Liverpool dressing room was a sombre place following the narrow reverse, admitting his side had not reached their highest level at the Stade de France.

The Scotland international also hailed Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois after he put in a remarkable performance to keep out the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

"Obviously it's quiet, devastated – that's what happens when you come to finals and don't win," Robertson said of the atmosphere among the Liverpool ranks.

"We had chances, we came up against an unbelievable goalie tonight, he pulled off some unbelievable saves. But if we're being honest as well, I think we could have played a bit better, especially in the second half. 

"I thought first half we played well, we were in control, we were the ones pushing. Second half, we didn't start great, they started getting a hold of the game a bit more. 

"When you come up against an experienced team, they know how to win finals. Once they got their noses in front, they showed that."

Liverpool dominated for long periods in the French capital, attempting 24 shots across the contest.

That tally is the most a team have mustered without scoring in a Champions League final since records began (in 2003-04), and Liverpool were punished for their failure to break the deadlock when Vinicius turned home from Federico Valverde's cross.

Robertson was left to rue Madrid's counter-attacking excellence after the loss, also praising the LaLiga champions for their ability to see out the lead.

"We're a pressing team, we try to press from the front, and it's worked so much for us this season," he added. 

"We were trying to win the ball high up, and obviously they've ended up breaking, and then we've been caught at the back post, and next minute it's in the back of your net. That's football for you, and you have to deal with that. 

"Obviously it's hard to get back into the game when you're playing against a very experienced team in these finals, they know exactly how to see out a game. 

"We had our chances, but it just wasn't meant to be."

Jurgen Klopp has revealed the families of Liverpool's players were caught up in the chaotic scenes ahead of their Champions League final with Real Madrid at the Stade de France.

Saturday's contest was delayed by 36 minutes due to large numbers of Liverpool fans still being outside the ground ahead of the scheduled start time of 21:00 CET.

Police outside the venue have been reported to have used tear gas or pepper spray, while a number of fans were recorded attempting to climb over safety barriers.

European football's governing body blamed the delays on supporters with fake tickets trying to get into the 81,000-capacity stadium.

However, in a statement released shortly before full-time in their 1-0 loss, Liverpool hit out at those in charge of security and called for an investigation to be held.

Asked at his post-match news conference about the incident, and the ensuing fallout, Klopp said: "I haven't been able to speak to my family about it yet.

"I know families had a real struggle getting into the stadium. I heard a few things were not good.

"What I heard is that we will have further investigations to figure out what was going on there. Obviously it was pretty tricky out there, but I don’t know more about it."

Vinicius Junior scored the only goal in the 59th minute, though Madrid required a number of fine saves from Thibaut Courtois to land their fifth Champions League in nine years.

Liverpool end a gruelling 2021-22 campaign with an EFL Cup and FA Cup double, having missed out by a point to Manchester City in the Premier League title race.

Michael Owen described Liverpool as the best team in Europe after they lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League final, but Rio Ferdinand said it was "disrespectful" to rank the Reds ahead of their conquerors.

Former England striker Owen had playing spells with both Liverpool and Madrid, and he remains convinced the Reds are the continent's top side, despite them finishing runners-up to Manchester City in the Premier League and now Madrid in Europe.

After chasing a quadruple for months, Liverpool have finished a remarkable season as FA Cup and EFL Cup winners.

Vinicius Junior settled Saturday's final in Paris, with Thibaut Courtois pulling off several fine saves to keep out Liverpool and clinch a 1-0 win.

"I still think they're the best team in Europe, I really do," Owen said, assessing Liverpool as a pundit on BT Sport.

"On other occasions, Liverpool would be having their name etched on the trophy this time.

"The season they've had, I still think they're the team to beat. Real Madrid have got past them today, but you [Ferdinand] know as well as anyone, a one-off game is a one-off game, it's exactly that. I still think they're the most fearsome team in Europe, and they've not got any of the big two trophies this season to show for that, and that will be the biggest pill to swallow."

Ferdinand, a former captain of Manchester United, responded by saying: "How can you say they're the best team in Europe when they've lost the league, and they've lost the Champions League final?"

Ferdinand acknowledged Liverpool have become an "unbelievably exciting team", but he said: "You've got to get your hands on the big trophies to be called outright the best team in Europe.

"I don't think they can be considered that, and I think it would be disrespectful to a team like Madrid who have gone and done what they've done."