Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag revealed Jadon Sancho was dropped for the trip to Arsenal due to poor training performance.

The England winger did not travel to north London for the match, where United conceded two late goals to fall to a 3-1 loss at the Emirates Stadium.

Sancho, 23, had previously come off the bench in the first three Premier League games of the new season.

But Ten Hag accused the forward of not reaching the “level” required to be part of his matchday squad against the Gunners.

“Jadon, on his performances in training we did not select him,” the Dutchman said after the defeat.

“You have to reach a level every day at Manchester United and we can make choices in the front line. So for this game he was not selected.”

Sancho has struggled for consistent form since moving to Old Trafford for Borussia Dortmund for £73million in 2021.

He has scored nine league goals and provided just six assists in his 58 appearances for the Red Devils and will now have to prove himself to Ten Hag to get back in his thinking for the visit of high-flying Brighton after the international break.

Erik ten Hag was left bemoaning several decisions he felt went against his Manchester United side as they sank to a dramatic late defeat at Arsenal.

Stoppage-time strikes from Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus secured a 3-1 win for the hosts, who had equalised through Martin Odegaard just 110 seconds after Marcus Rashford had opened the scoring for United.

The late double would have been even more galling for the away side as substitute Alejandro Garnacho thought he had won it with his own strike, only to see it ruled out by a close offside VAR call.

That was just one of the close decisions ten Hag believes fell in Arsenal’s favour as the Red Devils slipped to a second defeat of the season in north London.

The Dutchman also felt Kai Havertz should have been booked for diving after seeing a penalty award overturned by VAR and that Rice’s goal came about only because Jonny Evans had been fouled – while he called for debutant Rasmus Hojlund to have been given a spot-kick of his own.

“The performance was right but the result was not on our side and definitely many decisions were against us,” he said.

“Let’s start at the penalty given but rejected. Everyone can see it’s a simulation but he did not get booked for it.

“Then the foul on Hojlund in the penalty area and I don’t think it was even noticed by the VAR. Then the disallowed goal from Garnacho.

“I think they looked from the wrong angle and it’s onside. Then the final goal. How can they allow that? It’s a clear and obvious foul on Jonny Evans otherwise he would have blocked the shot from Declan Rice. So it’s a lot.”

Despite the defeat ten Hag felt his team – without a number of injured first-team players and having also lost centre-back pairing Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof to injury and illness, respectively, during the game – put in a strong showing.

“I also have a good feeling because our performance was very good,” he added.

“I won’t say it was perfect because there is definitely room for improvement. But if we see our compactness, pressing, moving with the ball and making the counters, very calm, we never gave Arsenal an opportunity to press us.

“The next stage is we could have done that better and the movement we could have done in the right moments. There were a lot of positives in this game but there is still a lot to do.”

Arsenal have now won three of their opening four games as Rice once again shone following his £105million summer move from West Ham.

He topped off a fine display with the important second goal as manager Mikel Arteta hailed the influence of the England midfielder.

“I think, a tremendous performance,” he said.

“When you look at how a holding midfielder needs to dominate his area, how he needs to break up play, how he glided the team together when they were stretched a bit.

“Then he produced a magic moment to win us the game, so, (I’m) really happy with him.

“He’s a great kid. I think he’s got a good mixture between being extremely demanding with everybody and himself, having a bit of banter and being around the staff and the boys in a really humble way. So I think he’s fitting in brilliantly.”

Lautaro Martinez scored a second-half brace as Inter Milan moved top of Serie A after easing to a 4-0 victory over Fiorentina to extend their 100 per cent start to the season at San Siro.

The hosts began to press from the off and Denzel Dumfries half-tested returning Fiorentina goalkeeper Oliver Christensen – who missed Thursday’s Europa Conference League qualifying play-off with Rapid Vienna – with an easy shot.

Marcus Thuram headed Dumfries’ cross straight at Christensen after 11 minutes as Inter looked for an opener.

Eight minutes later, the home side came close with their first real chance of note as Thuram continued to cause Fiorentina problems but he fired over the crossbar after a nice run.

The summer signing from Borussia Monchengladbach did finally break the deadlock with his first goal for Inter midway through the first half.

Federico Dimarco whipped in a well-timed cross to pick out Thuram, whose powerful header from the centre of the box beat Christensen.

The hosts came close to doubling their lead on the half-hour mark and Thuram was again well placed to claim his brace but he could not turn Alessandro Bastoni’s cross home as he fired over.

The Viola were pushing hard for an equaliser as the half started to draw to a close but were yet to really test Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

While – at the other end – a brilliant Inter free-kick from Turkey midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu was well kept out by the diving Christensen and Thuram fired another wasted chance over on the stroke of half-time.

Fiorentina looked like they might try their luck early in the second half but were easily thwarted by the Nerazzurri, who proved too strong for their opponents and found their rhythm soon afterwards.

The hosts doubled their lead – following a chance where Dumfries struck the post – after 53 minutes as Martinez went on a run from outside the box and slotted home Thuram’s cross with a great strike straight down the middle.

Inter were given the chance to extend their lead further before the half-hour mark as they were awarded a penalty for a foul by Christensen on Thuram.

Calhanoglu made no mistake to score his first goal of the season as he sent his powerful spot-kick to the keeper’s bottom-left, leaving Christensen diving down to his right.

Inter continued to dominate and put the result beyond doubt with 17 minutes remaining as Martinez tapped the ball home after beating his opponent to substitute Juan Cuadrado’s inch-perfect cross into the box.

Fiorentina could find no reply as the hosts kept their clean-sheet record intact for the season while moving above rivals AC Milan at the top of the table.

Jos Buttler credited New Zealand for outplaying England after they kept the four-match T20 series alive with an emphatic 74-run victory at Edgbaston.

England could have clinched the series with victory following fine wins in Durham and Manchester, but the Black Caps posted an imposing 202 for five after Finn Allen crunched 83 and Glenn Phillips blitzed 69 off 34 balls.

It left the T20 world champions requiring their third highest chase to secure a first series success since they pipped Pakistan to the world title last November, but they made a dismal start to their reply.

Openers Will Jacks and Jonny Bairstow were out cheaply while Dawid Malan produced a painful innings of two from 11 balls as England slumped to 30 for three before they were skittled for 128 despite Buttler’s 40 at a strike rate of 190.47.

“Credit to New Zealand, they really outplayed us,” Buttler reflected ahead of Tuesday’s finale in Nottingham.

“A good toss to win and we probably let them get a few too many. Credit to them, I thought that partnership with Finn Allen and Glenn Phillips, we just couldn’t break that and they took the game away from us a bit.

“Chasing that kind of score, we needed a fast start and a really good powerplay, but New Zealand bowled well and we didn’t get anything going, any partnerships so it looks a big defeat in the end.”

On a dry and turning wicket, England’s spinners struggled and Moeen Ali, who later hit 26, was surprisingly not given the ball, which Buttler later confirmed was a tactical decision.

Adil Rashid had bowled economically to concede 23 from his first three overs, but Allen sent him out of the attack with a bang after three successive sixes in the 15th over while Liam Livingstone faced similar punishment to register one for 55.

Gus Atkinson was a rare positive for the hosts after he claimed two for 31 in his second international appearance having been a shock selection in England’s preliminary World Cup squad last month.

Buttler told Sky Sports: “Delighted for Gus and great for him to get more exposure under his belt, more games of international cricket.

“He looks very comfortable at the minute, he has settled in really well with the group and his performances have been brilliant.”

England’s batters had less to shout about with Malan following up his four-ball duck at Old Trafford with an equally disappointing innings, while star of the summer Harry Brook contributed just eight and Livingstone’s lean spell with the bat continued with two.

Assistant coach Marcus Trescothick admitted a chase of 203 was too tall an order, especially after they were 30 for two at the end of the powerplay.

“They both played well, there is no doubt about that and they did something we didn’t, which was a partnership,” Trescothick said of Allen and Phillips, who put on 88 for the third wicket.

“It wasn’t an easy pitch but if you had people get in and used to the pace of it, then it was a little easier.

“Chasing 200 you have always got to get off to a decent start. You need to get 55 or 60 in the powerplay and we lost a couple of early wickets and didn’t get going, so it put us on the back foot.

“You are always trying to play catch up at that point.”

New Zealand opener Allen was pleased to make a significant contribution after a string of starts during the last month in England where he featured for Southern Brave in The Hundred.

“It has been a frustrating last six weeks because I feel like I’ve got a lot of starts and not kicked on, so to stick one out and bat deep was quite nice for a change,” Allen added.

“Pre-game we talked about how it was important we focused on our individual roles and we pretty much nailed that as a team. Our bowlers came out and hit their areas from the start, so it was a pretty well-rounded team performance.”

Wolves have alleged one of their players was subjected to discriminatory abuse during their Premier League game at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

The club reported the matter to the officials and stadium authorities at Selhurst Park and a supporter was subsequently ejected from the ground. Police have also been informed.

The player affected has not been named.

A statement from Wolves read: “We are very disappointed to report that one of our players was the target of discriminatory abuse by an opposing fan during today’s game with Crystal Palace.

“We reported the incident quickly to Crystal Palace, Premier League match centre and the matchday officials.

“Crystal Palace security moved swiftly to remove the supporter in question and notified police at Selhurst Park.

“We are offering our full support to the player involved and have provided a formal statement to the Metropolitan Police.

“Racism or discrimination in any form is completely unacceptable and should never be left unchallenged.”

The PA news agency has contacted the Metropolitan Police.

Tributes have poured in for one of rugby’s cross-code greats following the death of David Watkins at the age of 81.

Blaina-born Watkins, known affectionately as “Dai”, played rugby union for Newport and was part of the team which famously beat the touring All Blacks in 1963.

He also won 21 caps for Wales and captained the British Lions before making a shock switch to rugby league with Salford in 1967 having resisted interest from St Helens as an 18-year-old.

A statement from Salford read: “Salford Red Devils are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of club icon, David Watkins, one of the very greatest to represent our club, and to ever play our game.

“All our thoughts go out to David’s family and friends at this truly difficult time.”

The Rugby Football League described Watkins as “one of the best cross-code converts from Wales”.

A statement from the Wales Rugby Football League read: “Everyone at Wales Rugby League was sad to hear about the passing of David Watkins MBE, one of our greatest ever players. He was aged 81.

“Dai, as he was affectionately known as, is recognised as one of the greatest Welshmen to have ever pulled on a rugby shirt.”

Watkins played a key role in Salford’s golden era, making more than 400 appearances and scoring almost 3,000 points as they were crowned champions twice in three seasons during the 1970s.

He kicked a world record 221 goals during the 1972-73 season and his feat of scoring in 92 consecutive matches for the club remains unbeaten.

His club form once again earned him recognition at international level with both Wales and Great Britain, who he represented on the Lions tour to Australia in 1974.

Watkins, who coached Britain at the 1977 World Cup final and later took charge of Wales, also had brief spells with Swinton and Cardiff Blue Dragons.

He moved into media work following his retirement in 1982, and was awarded an MBE for his services to rugby league four years later.

Watkins was elevated to the Wales Rugby League hall of fame in 2018 and admitted to the RFL’s equivalent during last year’s World Cup.

Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus fired Arsenal to a stunning 3-1 stoppage-time victory against Manchester United as a thrill-a-minute clash came to an unforgettable conclusion.

Last year’s Premier League runners-up hosted the side that finished third on Sunday afternoon as these teams looked to kick on from more unconvincing starts than their respective points tallies suggested.

Marcus Rashford brilliantly put Erik ten Hag’s United ahead in the first half at the Emirates Stadium, only for Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard to impressively level 110 seconds later.

The match looked set to end in an absorbing draw after a penalty for a foul on Kai Havertz was overturned following a pitchside review, before the VAR ruled out substitute Alejandro Garnacho’s late winner for narrowly straying offside.

United’s wholehearted celebrations were cut short and there was still time for more drama in a jaw-dropping ending.

A deep corner found Rice to slam home his first Arsenal goal off the heel of Jonny Evans in the sixth minute of stoppage time, before substitute Jesus coolly added gloss for Mikel Arteta’s men.

Lewis Hamilton apologised to Oscar Piastri after he admitted he was “totally at fault” for his collision with the McLaren rookie in Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix.

Hamilton was hit with a five-second penalty for the coming together at the Variante della Roggia as the two drivers duelled for eighth on lap 41 of 51 in Monza.

Hamilton improved to sixth and was able to pull out a seven-second margin on Williams’ Alex Albon to ensure the sanction had no impact on his result.

However, Piastri, 22, suffered front-wing damage and was forced to stop for repairs, dropping him out of the points. “He just turned across me under braking,” said Piastri on the radio.

Hamilton, who was also hit with two penalty points on his driver’s licence, doubling his total to four, went over to Piastri to concede his error at the chequered flag.

“It was totally my fault,” said Hamilton, 38. “It actually wasn’t intentional. I went and apologised to him straight afterwards.

“I got up alongside him and just misjudged the gap I had to the right and clipped him. It could happen at any time.

“I knew shortly afterwards it must have been my fault and I wanted to make sure he knew it wasn’t intentional. That’s what gentleman do.”

Hamilton’s Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had no complaints with the stewards’ verdict and praised his superstar driver for taking accountability.

“That was Lewis’ mistake,” said Wolff. “I think a five-second penalty for that is what the menu says. These things happen, you know. It’s hard racing and we’ve seen a few of these. It’s justifiable.

“Lewis is very sportsmanlike on these things. And he is the only one that I see out there admitting things that he did wrong.

“We just had a chat and he said ‘I didn’t see him on the right and that is on me.’ And I think that kind of sportsmanship is what you need to admire with him. Pretty much everyone else is complaining and moaning to try to avoid getting a penalty.”

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell brushed off the significance of joining Celtic at the top of the cinch Premiership but hailed his players for “pushing the boundaries” with a 1-0 win at Tynecastle with 10 men.

Callum Slattery’s well-worked first-half goal and a resolute defensive display – especially after Paul McGinn’s 69th-minute red card – sealed victory against a Hearts side who only forced one save.

Motherwell are second on goal difference behind Celtic but Kettlewell is not getting carried away with the table after four matches.

“I don’t mean to be all doom and gloom but it means nothing at this point,” he said.

“I did speak to the players about pushing boundaries as much as we can and I think, as a short-term goal, coming to Tynecastle and getting a clean sheet and winning is pushing the boundaries for a club like Motherwell.

“Their resources and everything that they have is astronomical compared to ourselves but that doesn’t mean that we can’t come here, push boundaries and win games of football – and acquit ourselves in the way that we did.

“We’re not going to look at the league table or speak about it as a group.

“For supporters and people outside our club it’s a big story and it’s something to talk about. But for us, very simply we feel as if we have hit an unbelievable stretch of form.

“That’s now 10 Premiership games without defeat and we have not lost an away game since I took charge.”

Kettlewell added: “It was a brilliant performance. In the first half we were very good. We did a lot of things well in possession and out of possession.

“Fundamentally when you come here you want to turn the crowd, you want to try and ensure the opposition have to change their shape and their personnel. They did all of those things so we felt that first marker was there for us.

“In the second half you know you are going to have to suffer at times. At times you won’t have the ball but when we were reduced to 10 men that had to bring out a different side in us.

“We were laughing with the players because we work on attack versus defence and you saw how comfortable they were with it.

“It looked like they enjoyed it and there was a unity in everything they did. I think for Liam Kelly to face only one shot on target all game, that’s pretty incredible. But it also shows the work done in front of him.”

Hearts technical director Steven Naismith admitted his team’s performance was “poor” as they suffered a fourth consecutive defeat.

Naismith added: “It’s been very similar to every game we have played after a European tie. A very slow start, lethargic, safe, which then turns into nerves, turns into giving away cheap chances.

“I don’t think we deserved to win the game, we didn’t create enough, especially when they went down to 10 men.

“It was more of hope than real desire to get the goal to get back in the game that would put them under real pressure, which we failed to do.”

Naismith refused to use the exertions of Thursday’s European tie against PAOK as an excuse.

“If you’re at a club where the demand is you play in Europe season in, season out, then you need to understand you need to dig deep when you’re not feeling at your best,” he said.

“You need to have that mentality that says ‘no matter what, we’re going to win this game if it might not go straight to plan’.

“We need to have enough to cause other teams problems and I don’t think we have done that in these games after the European games.”

Hibernian caretaker manager David Gray credited his side for the hard work that led to them beating Aberdeen to earn a first cinch Premiership victory of the season.

There has not been too much for Hibs supporters to smile about in recent times, but they now go into the international break with a much-needed 2-0 win under their belts thanks to goals from second-half substitutes Adam Le Fondre and Christian Doidge.

Victory also saw Hibs climb off the foot of the table, moving above St Johnstone and Aberdeen, who who are both still searching for their first league wins of the campaign.

Gray, who has taken the reins following the sacking of Lee Johnson and saw his side exit the Europa Conference League at the hands of Aston Villa on Thursday, said: “The opportunity and incentive today was to go ahead of Aberdeen in the league.

“Our schedule has been gruelling with around 12 games in six weeks, but that’s reward for the success we had last year. This is the most important thing and I’m delighted we came away with the win today.

“We’ve been conceding too many goals of late, but David Marshall makes a very important save at 0-0. We’ve needed to be harder to beat and the players have bought into that.”

Aberdeen boss Barry Robson conceded his side looked tired after their own European exploits and is looking forward to the international break as a chance to help his heavily revamped squad get to know each other.

He said: “I think you were looking at two tired teams today. We tried to freshen things up today and put lots of fresh legs on, but the heat and effort we’ve put in caught up with us.

“Hibs were the same and I think they managed it a little bit better than us. I thought we looked a tired team and there were players we wanted to take off but weren’t able to.

“It was a difficult day for us, but we’re honest enough to know that we need to be better.

“It’s a good time to get all the new players together and let them get to know each other. We will get better game-by-game, and we’ll have the opportunity to work with the players who aren’t away on international duty.”

New Zealand hit back at Edgbaston to inflict a heavy 74-run defeat on England in the third T20 and keep alive the four-match series ahead of Tuesday’s finale at Trent Bridge.

Jos Buttler’s world champions could have clinched the series with victory in Birmingham following fine wins in Durham and Manchester, but the Black Caps were able to post an imposing 202 for five after deciding to bat first.

Finn Allen smashed three consecutive sixes off Adil Rashid on his way to 83 and Glenn Phillips contributed a rapid 69 before Ish Sodhi starred with the ball, finishing with three for 33.

Sodhi claimed the key scalps of Jonny Bairstow and Harry Brook cheaply and when Mitchell Santner ended Buttler’s blistering innings of 40 off 21 balls, the hosts’ race was run despite the best efforts of Moeen Ali, who was England’s second top scorer with 26 in a below-par batting display.

England were eventually dismissed for 128 to disappoint a typically boisterous sun-soaked Edgbaston crowd and Buttler’s men now head to Nottingham with a narrow 2-1 lead aiming to secure a first T20 series success since they were crowned world champions last November.

After New Zealand decided to bat first, Allen set out his stall with two classy drives for four from Luke Wood’s first over.

The breakthrough arrived soon after though, when Allen pushed for three and opening partner Devon Conway was run-out by Buttler for nine after Moeen’s strong throw from the deep.

Black Caps number three Tim Seifert struggled and was stumped by Buttler from a turning Liam Livingstone delivery for 19, but Allen remained unflustered.

Rashid and Livingstone were hit for maximums to help Allen bring up his fifty from 35 balls.

Rashid had managed to tie up an end and only went for 23 from his first three overs, but Allen sent him out of the attack with a bang after three successive sixes in the 15th over.

The first maximum was hit high over deep extra cover and Allen showed his range with another through cow corner before a stand and deliver shot down the ground moved him up to 77.

A second T20 century appeared in sight but Allen’s fine innings ended when he lost his off stump to Wood’s inswinging yorker to walk off for an excellent 83 off 53 balls.

Phillips had provided able support to Allen in a crucial 88-run partnership and upped the ante following the opener’s departure with Livingstone’s last over smashed for 22 to give the all-rounder expensive figures of one for 55.

Livingstone was pulled for back-to-back maximums by Phillips before the last ball of the 18th over was driven for another six, but Atkinson concluded the fun of the tourists’ number four.

The Surrey quick produced an excellent 77mph slower ball to bowl Phillips for 69 before he accounted for Daryl Mitchell caught behind to end with respectable figures of two for 31.

New Zealand still managed 202 for five, which left England needing their third highest T20 chase but they made a horrendous start.

Kyle Jamieson sent Will Jacks back for 11 and Dawid Malan produced a painful innings at three, scoring two runs before he hit Tim Southee to Conway at deep cover.

Malan’s dismissal after a scratchy 11-ball knock brought the in-form Brook to the crease but while his innings was eventful, it was also short-lived.

Brook, still reeling from being left out of England’s preliminary World Cup squad, got off the mark with a four but was dismissed in Sodhi’s second over.

He survived being given out lbw after a review showed he got glove on the delivery but Sodhi’s next ball was hit straight up in the air and Mitchell took the catch.

Sodhi had already dismissed Bairstow for 12 and England’s hopes of victory were pinned on captain Buttler.

Buttler, after he survived a tight lbw call, got off the mark with a six down the ground against Sodhi and hit another maximum off Santner after replays showed Allen grounded his foot over the boundary rope having initially caught the shot before attempting to throw it back to team-mate Mitchell.

Santner had the last laugh though when Buttler pulled him straight up in the air and the Black Caps spinner took the caught and bowled chance to end the England skipper’s counter-attack.

Moeen remained and hoicked Matt Henry over deep midwicket for six to bring up England’s hundred but he was one of two scalps in Jamieson’s third over as the hosts were convincingly beaten.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff called Max Verstappen’s drive into the Formula One record books at Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix “completely irrelevant”.

Verstappen went behind enemy lines in Ferrari’s backyard to fight his way past Carlos Sainz’s scarlet car and become the first driver in the sport’s 73-year history to win 10 consecutive races.

The Dutchman, now a victor at 12 of the 14 rounds so far, bettered the record he had shared with Sebastian Vettel. Verstappen has not lost a race since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on April 30, 126 days ago.

Sergio Perez finished runner-up as Red Bull – who remain unbeaten this season – claimed a one-two finish, with pole-sitter Sainz third ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished fifth and sixth for Mercedes.

Hamilton’s Mercedes machinery carried him to six world championships in seven seasons, but the British driver was never able to win more than five successive races. The best Michael Schumacher, so dominant in his Ferrari at the turn of the century, could manage was seven.

Yet, despite Verstappen’s historic streak, Wolff found it difficult to express praise for Red Bull’s star man.

“For me, these kinds of records are completely irrelevant,” he said. “They were irrelevant in our good days in Mercedes.

“I don’t know how many races we won in a row. I didn’t even know that there was a count of how many wins in a row, so if you are asking me to comment on the achievement it is difficult, because it never played a role in my own life until I heard about it yesterday.

“The result itself shows a great driver in a great car, who are competing on an extremely high level.”

Wolff’s lacklustre appraisal came after Hamilton devalued the strength of Verstappen’s team-mates in an interview on Italian television on Thursday. Verstappen responded in the Dutch media by suggesting Hamilton was “jealous” of his current success.

Hamilton was then asked about Verstappen’s record-breaking run after Sunday’s 51-lap race.

“I had strong team-mates,” he replied. “Valtteri (Bottas) was quick a lot of times. I don’t care about statistics in general. Good for him.”

Since he claimed his maiden title at the controversial season-ending Abu Dhabi race in 2021 – denying Hamilton a record eighth championship – Verstappen has won 27 of the 36 races staged. In his last 25 appearances, Verstappen has failed to win just four times.

“What Max is doing is breaking records and driving at an unbelievable level,” said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

“I don’t think there is anybody in the world at the moment that can beat Max Verstappen in this car, that’s for sure.

“You have to recognise and applaud what Max is doing. It is very special to achieve what he has achieved and we shouldn’t detract from that in any way.

“In sport it is very rare that something like this happens and it is a golden moment for him and certainly a golden moment for the team.”

Verstappen was made to wait 14 laps and a handful of corners before he assumed the lead of Sunday’s race at the Variante della Roggia. From there, he never looked back to seal another crushing win and move 145 points clear in the standings.

There remains an outside chance he could be crowned champion of the world for a third time as early as the Japanese Grand Prix in three weeks with half-a-dozen rounds still remaining.

“I never would have believed that it was possible,” said Verstappen after his record triumph. “But we had to work for it today and that definitely made it a lot more fun.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insisted the club’s stance would not waver on Mohamed Salah, despite speculation of a potential world-record bid for the forward arriving this week.

The club rejected a £150million deal for the 31-year-old from Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad on Friday and said at the time, they considered the matter closed.

That has not prevented suggestions the Pro League champions are prepared to return with a bid of around £200m but Klopp said even though the Saudi transfer window remained open until Thursday, the position of owners Fenway Sports Group would not change.

“I didn’t realise a little bit of a distraction in the whole week, besides answering questions about it – not from people inside (the club) but people outside,” said Klopp after his side’s 3-0 victory over Aston Villa in which Salah scored the third after Dominik Szoboszlai’s first goal for the club was followed by Matty Cash putting through his own net.

“I have no clue, nobody came to me and told me something could happen or whatever. I’m pretty sure I would have got a call but I didn’t.

“And Mo didn’t look for a second like he thought about anything else other than about Aston Villa, being involved in all the goals.

“He has unbelievable numbers but it’s not a surprise that he has the numbers. And he had chances on top of that and (is) involved in creating and setting up and all these kind of things.

“He’s a world-class player, no doubt about that and I’m really pleased he is in my team.”

Szoboszlai said in a post-match television interview to that Salah wanted to stay.

“You know it is football, everyone is talking. We are really happy that he has stayed,” said the Hungary captain.

“We are of course speaking between each other but he wants to stay, he wants to be here and be with us. We are really happy – we need people in the team like him.”

Klopp was asked whether Salah had conveyed that message to him.

“No. He didn’t tell me, but he didn’t have to. He speaks with his training and performances and behaviour,” he added, after admitting the only downside to the afternoon was a hamstring injury to Trent Alexander-Arnold which was likely to rule him out of England duty in the coming international break.

“We had meetings this week and the meetings were not about what we did in the past, it was about what we will do in the future.

“Mo was with the players’ (leadership) committee and had his moments where he was talking and it was nothing like ‘By the way, this is only until next week’ or whatever.

“He is completely here and if Dom said that, fine. Mo doesn’t have to come into my office and tell me ‘By the way, boss… (I’m not going)’.

“For me it wasn’t a subject for one second, to be honest, besides the questions (from the media).”

Villa were never really in the game after Cash’s 22nd-minute own goal, and head coach Unai Emery admitted – after conceding three in the last half-hour at Newcastle on the opening weekend – he was conscious of getting torn apart at Anfield.

“It is difficult to win here and first half was the key. We had chances, we were not clinical and 2-0 was not really the result we deserved for the first half,” he said.

“Second half we stuck to our gameplan and they scored the third goal and it was match finished.

“We tried to be focused because here, like in Newcastle, we lost the last 30 minutes and we didn’t want it today. I can’t accept to let them have more goals.”