Oldham Athletic have become the first team to play in the Premier League to be relegated from the English Football League.

The Latics were part of the first Premier League season in 1992-93, where they avoided relegation on goal difference, before going down to the second tier in 1993-94.

Oldham had been a part of the Football League for 115 years, but defeat to Salford City – owned by former Manchester United players including Gary Neville, David Beckham and Paul Scholes – on Saturday sealed their relegation from League Two, and they will play in the National League next season.

The game was not without incident, with Oldham fans invading the pitch at Boundary Park with 14 minutes to go to protest against the club's ownership, which saw the match apparently abandoned with the score 2-1 to Salford.

However, the EFL confirmed later on Saturday that the final minutes of the game were played behind closed doors and the score remained unchanged.

"This afternoon's Sky Bet League Two fixture between Oldham Athletic and Salford City has been concluded behind closed doors," the statement posted to the EFL Communications Twitter account read.

"The remaining 14 minutes played resulted in a final scoreline of Oldham Athletic 1 Salford City 2 and as a result Oldham Athletic have been relegated from League Two.

"Despite the earlier announcement of the abandonment of the fixture, after discussions with both clubs, match officials, and stadium security it was agreed the match could be concluded today.

"The decision was taken in order to maintain the integrity of the competition given the importance of the fixture at both ends of the League Two table."

Novak Djokovic will chase the first title of his chaotic season when he tackles Andrey Rublev in the Serbia Open final on Sunday.

Playing in his home city of Belgrade, world number one Djokovic will be expected by many to carry off the trophy for a third time.

He scored a 4-6 6-1 6-2 victory over Russian Karen Khachanov in the first of Saturday's semi-finals.

Djokovic has made a habit of losing opening sets this week, rebounding from early deficits to beat fellow Serbians Laslo Dere and Miomir Kecmanovic on his way through to the last four, where it happened again.

The 34-year-old was able to recover and improve his career win-loss record to 13-2 at the clay-court tournament.

Djokovic, who has been prevented from playing events in Australia and the United States this year after refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, believes he is gradually building up form and match fitness.

He said in an on-court interview: "I'm already feeling quite comfortable on the courts. I think the three matches that went all three sets gave me enough of the match play.

"I was running enough in order to be at my optimum best. I don't think the lack of matches now plays a role. Maybe it was the case three or four days ago, not today.

"But in terms of the audience, of course that's going to be a huge motivation boost for me, so I'm going to enjoy the crowd's support as much as I can and hopefully bring the title to Serbia."

Rublev, another Russian, beat Italian Fabio Fognini 6-2 6-2 in the second semi-final, saying it had been his best performance of the week.

The world number eight is relishing playing Djokovic, saying: "It's going to be fun. Tomorrow I have nothing to lose, I can go out and enjoy it. He plays at home, so it will be his moment. The best I can do is fight and try to do my best."

Bayern Munich are champions of Germany for a 10th successive time after beating Borussia Dortmund 3-1 in Saturday's Klassiker to seal another Bundesliga triumph.

While the 2021-22 season has not entirely gone to plan, with Bayern falling well short in the DFB-Pokal and Champions League, they have once again dominated in the league.

Bayern's 10-in-a-row feat, with those successes coming under six different coaches, is something that has never previously been achieved in any of Europe's top five leagues.

Here, Stats Perform looks at the numbers behind the Bavarian giants' latest title romp.

Ten in a row unmatched

Bayern equalled Juventus' record, set between 2012 and 2020, with nine titles in a row last season and have now overtaken the Italian giants' record for successive crowns.

Prior to this ongoing run, Bayern's longest streak of consecutive titles were the three in a row they managed on three previous occasions (1972-1974,1985-1987 and 1999-2001).

The only other team to have had such a long run of dominance in the competition was Borussia Monchengladbach from 1975 to 1977 with three titles.

 

Julian's title joy

Julian Nagelsmann masterminded Bayern's latest triumph in his first season in charge, but he fell just short of setting the record for the youngest Bundesliga title-winning coach.

Aged 34 years and 275 days on the day of the Dortmund win, Nagelsmann is 35 days older than Matthias Sammer was when Dortmund lifted the title in 2002.

Incredibly, Nagelsmann is a seasoned campaigner when compared to Lippo Hertzka, who had only just turned 28 when he won LaLiga with Real Madrid in 1931-32.

Lewy leads from the front

Robert Lewandowski has scored 33 Bundesliga goals this term, which is 12 more than next-best Patrik Schick, meaning he is now almost certain to win another Golden Boot award.

The Poland international has been at his ruthless best once again this campaign, netting every 81 minutes in the top flight.

It seems almost certain that Lewandowski will finish top of the Bundesliga scoring charts for the seventh time, and the fifth time in a row since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang did so in 2016-17.

The only other player to have finished top scorer in the division as many times was Bayern great Gerd Muller, who did so between the 1966-76 and 1977-78 campaigns.

Muller the magician

Prolific striker Lewandowski is very much the poster boy of this Bayern side, but that is not to say he has done it all on his own this season.

Thomas Muller, for example, has assisted 17 goals in 30 games. That is the most of any player in Europe's top five leagues.

However, he is still short of the 21 Bundesliga assists he managed in the 2019-20 campaign, with that the most of any player since Opta began recording such data in 2004-05. He still has three games to match that total.

 

Neuer another ever-present

Muller has been a key member of Bayern's squad throughout their decade of dominance, as has goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer.

The pair will set a record for the most German top-flight titles won in a row, surpassing ex-team-mates David Alaba, Jerome Boateng and Javi Martinez, who have all left.

Germany international Muller also lifted the title in 2010, with his overall haul of 11 seeing him surpass Alaba as the competition's outright most decorated player of all time.

Bayern Munich secured the Bundesliga title for a 10th consecutive season as they saw off rivals Borussia Dortmund 3-1 in Der Klassiker.

Dortmund needed a win on Saturday to halt Bayern's procession to a historic crown, but despite a steely second-half showing the visitors never looked likely to prolong the title race.

Indeed, they were run ragged in the first half as Bayern cruised into a 2-0 lead courtesy of Serge Gnabry and Robert Lewandowski.

Emre Can's 52nd-minute penalty made matters more interesting, though an eighth straight Klassiker victory was capped off by Jamal Musiala's goal late on.

Bayern's fans were in party mode after 15 minutes, with Gnabry slamming a wonderful strike beyond Marwin Hitz from the edge of the box after Dortmund failed to clear a corner.

With Erling Haaland skewing wide at the other end, Gnabry swept in a second just before the half-hour mark, yet it was disallowed by VAR for Kingsley Coman having strayed offside.

Nevertheless, it was 2-0 in the 34th minute – Lewandowski helping himself to a customary goal against his former club when Bayern pounced on Dan-Axel Zagadou's error.

Leon Goretzka and Lewandowski passed up chances to stretch Bayern's lead and the hosts were made to pay early in the second half when Can coolly converted from the spot after Joshua Kimmich's foul on Marco Reus.

Bayern were suddenly living dangerously, and first Manuel Neuer and then Lucas Hernandez had to make last-ditch interventions to deny Reus.

Lewandowski dragged wide and was then denied by Hitz as Bayern searched for a third, yet it came via substitute Musiala, who tucked in from close range in the 83rd minute to round off a decade of dominance.


What does it mean? History made by Bavarian giants

Bayern are the first team across Europe's top five leagues to win their respective top flight on 10 successive occasions – they had previously shared the record of nine with Juventus, who won Serie A each year from 2012 to 2020.

Fittingly, Bayern sealed the title against their great rivals, though it has been a rather one-sided rivalry in recent seasons. In fact, only against Hamburg (between 1982 and 1985) have Dortmund suffered as many consecutive defeats against an opponent as they have Bayern (eight).

Lewy hits another against his old side

It was only fair that Bayern's talismanic striker got in on the act as they clinched the title. Lewandowski has scored more goals against Dortmund, who he left in 2014, in all competitions than against any other club in his career (27).

Haaland frustrated

It may well have been Haaland's final Klassiker appearance, but it was not one to remember.

After that shot in the first half, the 21-year-old – who might well be bound for Manchester City – had to wait until the 80th minute for his next attempt, which was blocked. Another half-chance fell his way a moment later, but the Norway international blazed over from the centre of the area. He was taken off before the game was up, having failed to get any of his three efforts on target.

What's next?

Bayern travel to Mainz in their next outing, while Dortmund host Bochum.

Bayern Munich wrapped up the Bundesliga title with three games to spare on Saturday, with a 3-1 Klassiker triumph over fierce rivals Borussia Dortmund seeing Die Roten over the line.

Dortmund needed to take at least a point at the Allianz Arena, but Bayern's victory means they have now racked up a record-extending 10 straight top-flight titles. 

Serge Gnabry's terrific opener had the home fans rocking and he had a second ruled out prior to Robert Lewandowski doubling the lead. 

Emre Can's 52nd-minute penalty gave Dortmund a lifeline, albeit a brief one as Jamal Musiala rounded out the win seven minutes from time meaning the champagne corks could be popped for Bayern.

While the 2021-22 season has not entirely gone to plan, with Bayern falling well short in the DFB-Pokal and Champions League, they have once again dominated in the league.

Bayern's 10-in-a-row feat, with those successes coming under six different coaches, is something that has never previously been achieved in any of Europe's top five leagues.

It marks Julian Nagelsmann's second trophy as a coach, but his first league title.

Tottenham stuttered to a 0-0 draw at Brentford on Saturday, handing bitter rivals Arsenal the advantage in the race for fourth in the Premier League.

Arsenal defeated Manchester United 3-1 earlier in the day to open a three-point lead over Antonio Conte's men, and Spurs' inability to follow suit prevented them going ahead of the Gunners on goal difference.

Spurs offered little attacking threat during a first half that Brentford enjoyed the better of, with their set-piece prowess causing the visitors problems and bringing about a great chance as Ivan Toney hit the woodwork.

The contest was more open in general after the interval but still the best opportunities fell the way of Brentford, who again hit the frame of the goal through Toney and only failed to clinch a deserved victory due to lacking the finishing touch.

Thomas Frank's side looked fired up from the off and nearly took an early lead when Vitaly Janelt robbed Ryan Sessegnon before teeing up Bryan Mbeumo, whose shot was deflected agonisingly wide.

It was from corners where Brentford posed a more consistent threat, however, with Toney's runs to the back post a regular nuisance.

But their best opportunity arrived when Toney waited centrally for a corner delivery, rising highest and heading against the crossbar.

A brief Spurs improvement after half-time did not amount to much as Brentford were soon in the ascendancy again, Christian Eriksen seeing a 20-yard effort deflect just wide.

From the resulting corner, Pontus Jansson had a header cleared off the line and Eriksen – facing his former club for the first time since returning to the Premier League – was denied by Hugo Lloris.

Spurs had another fortunate escape right at the end, as Toney crashed a header against the upright.

Inter went back to the top of the Serie A table with a routine 3-1 win against Roma at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Saturday.

Goals from Denzel Dumfries, Marcelo Brozovic and Lautaro Martinez took the Nerazzurri to victory, continuing their excellent record against the team from the Italian capital, despite a late strike from Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

It was not the result or performance that former Inter coach Jose Mourinho will have been looking for, with the defeat coming as a big blow to the Giallorossi's hopes of European qualification.

Simone Inzaghi will have been very pleased with what he saw from his team, who move a point ahead of Milan in the race for the Scudetto having played the same number of games, with their city rivals facing Lazio in Rome on Sunday.

Inter took the lead just before the half-hour mark as some neat play from the home side saw Hakan Calhanoglu play a through ball to Dumfries, who ran onto it like a striker to slide the opener past Rui Patricio.

It was 2-0 just 10 minutes later as Brozovic found himself on the left side of the penalty area, before cutting inside Gianluca Mancini and firing into the far top corner of the net.

The third arrived early in the second half as a neat ball from Nicolo Barella found Martinez, whose shot was parried behind for a corner, but the Argentine headed home the resulting outswinging delivery from Calhanoglu.

There was nearly a calamitous fourth as a cross from the right was helped back to Patricio by Rick Karsdorp, and realising he could not pick the ball up, the Portugal international urgently kicked the ball away before Joaquin Correa could take advantage.

Mkhitaryan fired in a consolation past Samir Handanovic from just inside the box with five minutes remaining but it was too little too late for the visitors.

What does it mean? Nerazzurri look good for title run-in

This was a surprisingly comfortable win for Inter, coming up against a Roma side that had not been beaten in 12 Serie A matches, the longest unbeaten streak for the Giallorossi in a single league campaign since May 2016 (17 under Luciano Spalletti).

However, the ease with which they took a two-goal lead allowed them to manage the game from there, and in truth the visitors gave them very few problems.

Inter remain unbeaten in their last 10 Serie A matches against Roma (W4 D6). The last side to reach 10 straight matches without defeat against them in the competition was Milan between 1988 and 1996 (17).

Title credentials on show again

When Inter were beaten 2-0 at home by Liverpool in the Champions League and then again by Sassuolo in the league in late February, things looked bleak for Inzaghi's side.

However, they have gone unbeaten in 11 games in all competitions since then, and have won their last five, sealing a place in the Coppa Italia final and top spot in Serie A, for now.

Inter a special problem for Mourinho

Returning to one of his former clubs where he enjoyed so much success was meant to be a pleasure for the self-proclaimed "special one", but it was yet another day of misery for him.

Mourinho took charge of Inter for 76 Serie A games between 2008 and 2010, averaging 2.2 points per game. After this defeat, the Nerazzurri are the only team against which the Portuguese has lost 100 per cent of his matches against (among sides he has faced more than once in the competition).

What’s next?

Inter travel to Bologna on Wednesday for more Serie A action, while Roma head to England to face Leicester City in their Europa Conference League semi-final first leg on Thursday.

Iga Swiatek had to come from a set down to book her place in the Stuttgart Open final with a hard-earned victory over Liudmila Samsonova.

The world number one produced a 22nd consecutive victory as she scraped a 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-5 win in a contest that lasted more than three hours.

The Pole will face third seed Aryna Sabalenka in Sunday's final on the German clay.

Swiatek broke early to race out to a 3-0 lead, but was pegged back by her Russian opponent, who fought hard to claim the first set on a tie-break.

The 20-year-old was looking to break the record of Serena Williams, equalling a feat of winning 28 sets in a row, but Samsonova prevented her from doing so.

It was the first time Swiatek had dropped a set since her Indian Wells Open last 16 match against Angelique Kerber in March, but she soon got back into her rhythm and clinched the second set 6-4.

She broke early again in the decider, but was once more broken back by a determined Samsonova, and Swiatek showed frustration with herself as she struggled to put away her opponent.

However, an unusually sloppy service game from Samsonova gave Swiatek another break in the 11th game of the set, which she closed out to seal her place in the final.

The other semi-final in Stuttgart saw Sabalenka overcome second seed Paula Badosa 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.

There were 14 double faults (seven each) in the match, but it was Sabalenka's big serve that ultimately led her to victory, hitting nine aces and winning 76.9 per cent of points on her first serve.

The Belarusian also saved six of eight break points faced as she ultimately eased past her Spanish opponent.

At the Istanbul Cup, third seed Veronika Kudermetova will play Anastasia Potapova in the final after seeing off second seed Sorana Cirstea in straight sets, 6-3 6-3.

Potapova had earlier come from a set down to beat Yulia Putintseva 2-6 6-2 6-2 in the other semi-final.

Royal Challengers Bangalore were skittled out for 68 as the Indian Premier League high-flyers suffered a nine-wicket drubbing at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The feeble effort was the lowest score posted by any team in the IPL this season, and the writing was on the wall early for a side who entered the match sitting third in the table.

South African quick Marco Jansen took three wickets in the second over of the Bangalore innings on his way to figures of 3-25, removing Faf du Plessis (5), Anuj Rawat (0) and Virat Kohli (0) to earn man-of-the-match honours. The out-of-form Kohli has made just 13 runs across his last four IPL innings.

Indian medium-pacer T Natarajan weighed in with 3-10, as only two batsmen reached double figures for Bangalore, with Glenn Maxwell making 12 and Suyash Prabhudessai top-scoring with 15.

The innings was all done in 16.1 overs, and Sunrisers charged to their target at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, with Abhishek Sharma rattling along to 47 from 28 balls, playing the dominant role as captain Kane Williamson watched admiringly from the other end.

Sharma fell when he looked to hit a match-winning six, caught inside the ropes by Rawat off Harshal Patel, but new batsman Rahul Tripathi blasted a maximum to make sure as Sunrisers reached 72-1 in just eight overs. Sunrisers climb above Bangalore thanks to this victory, jumping to second with five wins from their seven games.

Duck despair strikes again for Kohli

Kohli has been dismissed from the first ball he has faced in each of his last two IPL innings. He went this way against Lucknow Super Giants on April 19, and this is the first instance of him recording a golden duck in consecutive games in the competition.

Bangalore mark anniversary in grim style

Saturday marked five years exactly since Bangalore were dismissed for their lowest score in IPL history, when they were demolished for just 49 when chasing 132 for victory against Kolkata Knight Riders. Kohli made a first-ball duck that day, too.

Pep Guardiola described Gabriel Jesus as "fantastic" after the striker hit four goals in Manchester City's 5-1 rout of Watford.

Jesus scored his first Premier League hat-trick on his 155th appearance in the competition. It made him the fifth Brazilian hat-trick scorer in the competition, after Afonso Alves, Robinho, Roberto Firmino and Lucas Moura, but the first of those to score four times in a single match.

The 25-year-old also assisted Rodri for a brilliant 25-yard strike in the first half, meaning he recorded five goal involvements as City kept the Premier League title race in their own hands.

City moved four points clear of title rivals Liverpool with the resounding victory, ahead of Jurgen Klopp's team hosting Merseyside rivals Everton on Sunday.

Guardiola, who has won all of his 11 managerial clashes with Watford by a combined score of 47-5, said City could still improve upon their five-star display, but he was full of praise for his versatile Brazilian forward.

"We didn't defend well, we were not aggressive enough," Guardiola told Sky Sports. "But the players up front, not just Gabriel for his incredible four goals, all of them were brilliant.

"If there's one person who deserves the best in life for him, his family and his friends, it's Gabriel.

"All of us at the club, when he has one of these situations, we're happy for him because he's so generous. It doesn't matter what position he's going to play, we know how he fights for his mates. He's fantastic."

City also became the first English side in history to record 15 consecutive competitive wins over a single opponent by hammering the Hornets, but Guardiola insisted the victory didn't alter the Premier League title race.

"Nothing changes," he said. "When we won against Brighton we were two points behind [before the game], now we're four in front. Brighton was a 'final'. We had another 'final' today and we won it. Now we have an opportunity to play a 'final' against Leeds [next Saturday].

"Nothing changes. We have to win all five [remaining] games to be champions."

Jesus, meanwhile, was beaming after his four-goal haul, praising his team-mates' creativity after moving from three goals for the Premier League season to seven in under an hour at the Etihad Stadium.

"Today was my day," the striker told Sky Sports. "We played very good today, we created a lot of chances, that's what we need to do.

"We made passes and passes to create chances and try to score, and today we were very good on the finishing. I'm very happy with the three points. The team played so well, and we deserved it.

"It was my first hat-trick in the Premier League. I've tried. Sometimes I've scored two then I've hit a post, the defender has blocked [my shot], or the keeper has saved, but today was my day!"

Jesus is just the second City player to be directly involved in five goals in a single Premier League game (four goals, one assist), after Sergio Aguero scored five against Newcastle United in October 2015.

Saturday's City hero also became the third player to score four goals in a Premier League match for the club, after Edin Dzeko and Aguero, with the latter doing so on three occasions.

Aleix Espargaro conceded he was fearful heading into the final session of Saturday's qualifying ahead of the Portuguese Grand Prix.

A crash-laden Q1 at Portimao saw Remy Gardner and Francesco Bagnaia, who has finished on the podium in his last two races at the Algarve International Circuit, crash, with the latter failing to set a time.

Johann Zarco produced a stunning lap to come out on top in Q2 to take pole and spare Ducati's blushes, finishing ahead of Joan Mir and Espargaro, who across four races this season has collected 50 points, more than in two of his previous five whole seasons with Aprilia (44 points in 2018 and 42 in 2020).

Reigning champion Fabio Quartararo – the winner at Portimao last year – also struggled in the wet, though the Yamaha driver overcame a tricky moment to clinch fifth on the grid, while Marc Marquez, chasing his 100th MotoGP podium this weekend, was left to rue a yellow flag, having initially set the fastest lap.

After negotiating the difficult conditions, a relieved Espargaro was thrilled with his efforts.

He said: "I hate to say it – I was scared! Today I was scared, the wet patches were very slippery.

"When you are sitting in the garage and see many crashes, and all the crashes have been huge. You have to be very focused but you cannot be.

"I tried to feel perfectly the whole track to see where I could push in the last five minutes. I am very happy, this is like a victory because I hate these conditions, so I'm super happy."

Having recorded a time of 1:42.003, Zarco, too, acknowledged the state of the track made assessing where and when to push hard difficult.

"Pretty, pretty happy. I did not expect it to be so good. It was so tricky," the Frenchman said.

"I was pretty happy to go straight through Q2. I couldn't analyse the Q1 well. The best strategy was to stay on track, do the full 15 minutes with the same tyre to get confidence with the track, it worked pretty well for me."

Mir, meanwhile, revelled in taking a place on the front row for just the second time in his MotoGP career.

"In normal conditions we always struggle to make one lap but in tough conditions we can give a little but more," the Suzuki Ecstar rider said.  

"My feeling is improving. We are following good steps, we are improving and it looks like when we make a good step [forward], we don't go back. So it's important. Let's see if we can go faster tomorrow, but it will be a hard race."

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was overjoyed to see how much Granit Xhaka's relationship with the fans has improved after his starring role in Saturday's defeat of Manchester United.

Xhaka got Arsenal's third goal at Emirates Stadium, drilling in from long range to put the game beyond the Red Devils.

United had previously threatened to wipe out Arsenal's lead, which had been 2-0 in the first half before Cristiano Ronaldo's well-taken goal.

But Xhaka's strike dulled United's momentum, and the Switzerland international enjoyed a rapturous ovation when he was withdrawn towards the end of the Gunners' 3-1 win.

It marked a significant change in fortunes for Xhaka from when he routinely seemed to be at odds with the fans, revealing recently in an article for the Players' Tribune that he nearly left the club over "pure hate" from supporters, claiming his bags were packed in December 2019.

"I was dreaming of that [ovation] because he deserves it," Arteta told reporters after Saturday's win.

"If any fan would individually spend five or 10 minutes with Granit, or even two minutes, because that's all you need, they would understand the person that he is, the professional that he is and how much he cares about the club. But the history was there.

"I think he made, I would say a risky move, when he opened up and expressed completely his feelings, but as well he's done that because he's prepared.

"He feels that environment is going to protect him. He feels loved at the club and the response I think it was great.

"Thank you to the fans for showing that appreciation to him because I know how much that means to him."

There has been a massive overhaul of players at Arsenal over the past few years, reflected by the fact Arteta has consistently named the youngest starting XI on average this season.

Xhaka, 29, is something of an outlier in terms of age and experience, and it was put to Arteta that the midfielder's longevity was somewhat surprising given his past issues.

"We need some balance in everything that we do, especially with the characters and the personalities that are in that team," Arteta said of Xhaka's continued association with Arsenal.

"With the youth academy players that we are bringing in, with the signings that we made, with the quality that we had on and off the field, Granit in my opinion was going to have a key role and he was going to have a key leadership role to achieve what we wanted."

Paul Scholes claimed Manchester United's dressing room is "an absolute mess" as the Red Devils' poor form continued with a 3-1 loss at Arsenal on Saturday.

United's hopes of finishing in the top four of the Premier League were all but ended at Emirates Stadium as they fell to a third defeat in four top-flight outings.

Cristiano Ronaldo's 100th goal in the competition was not enough as Nuno Tavares' opener, a Bukayo Saka penalty and Granit Xhaka's 25-yard drive earned victory for Arsenal.

The Red Devils, who saw Bruno Fernandes miss a penalty, have now lost four straight away league games for the first time since a run of six between December 1980 and 1981.

Reflecting on United's latest setback, club legend Scholes claimed his former side are in disarray behind the scenes as he opened up on a recent chat with Red Devils star Jesse Lingard.

"It is an absolute mess," Scholes told DAZN. "It is a disaster of a dressing room.

"I had a quick chat with Jesse the other day, and I'm sure he won't mind me saying that the dressing room is just a disaster."

United are six points adrift of the top four, having played one more game, and interim manager Ralf Rangnick has conceded that Champions League qualification hopes are over.

Asked about Scholes' comments, Rangnick – who will be replaced by Erik ten Hag at the end of the season – insisted there is no major issue with the dressing room.

"Obviously after games like today or the games at Liverpool or Everton, there is massive disappointment in the locker room for sure. This is normal," Rangnick said.

"But it would be rather a problem if that was different, so this is for me normal. I think the whole group, they get on reasonable with each other.

"I'm not daring to say they get on well with each other, but I don't see that there is an issue with regard to the atmosphere in the locker room."

United have conceded 51 league goals this season, making it only the second time they have shipped 50 or more in a single Premier League campaign (54 in 2018-19).

Next up for Rangnick's side is a home match against Chelsea on Thursday, followed by the visit of Brentford four days later.

Ferrari's tyre strategy could be key to preventing Max Verstappen from cutting into Charles Leclerc's championship lead after Red Bull's reigning world champion triumphed in the sprint at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Having been passed by Leclerc at the start, pole-sitter Verstappen ensured he will start Sunday's 63-lap race first on the grid after overtaking Leclerc on the penultimate lap of the 21-lap sprint.

Leclerc and the raucous home Ferrari fans were denied a victory to cheer as his right front tyre grained in the closing laps, Verstappen taking advantage by sweeping around the outside into Tamburello.

It meant Verstappen collected eight points while Leclerc took seven to extend his championship lead to 40 points, with Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz his closest challenger after finishing fourth behind Red Bull's Sergio Perez in third.

Ferrari, like most of the grid, were on the soft tyres for the sprint, but Leclerc is unsure what compound they will initially select on Sunday after his fast start resulted in that critical degradation.

He told Sky Sports: "I pushed hard at the beginning to try not to be too vulnerable with Max having the DRS behind and I felt like I paid the price of doing that at the end of the race.

"It felt also like they had maybe something more today and he kept it until the end of the race and overtook me when it mattered.

"We'll work on ourselves for tomorrow and try to maximise our package and hopefully the same start as today without the degradation that we had at the end.

"I think with today's data it will help us make the right decision for tomorrow, but whether we will go for the hard compound or not I'm not sure yet."

Only three drivers went with the medium compound for the sprint, including the Haas drivers of Kevin Magnussen (eighth) and Mick Schumacher (10th), both of whom had impressive pace in the final laps.

And Verstappen conceded he may not enjoy the same fortune on Sunday with the harder compounds set to play a more prominent role.

"The start was very bad. I don't know exactly what happened or why it was so bad, just too much wheelspin," he said at the post-race presentation.

"After that we had to stay calm. It initially looked like Charles was having a bit more pace but I think he ran out of tyres and we could close the gap and go for the move into turn 2.

"I know tomorrow it might be again a bit different, but for sure today it worked out for us to be on this compound, so I'm very happy to have a clean sprint race in the end.

"I'm happy about today, but I know it might be different tomorrow with those other tyre compounds coming into play."

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