Erik ten Hag insisted he and Manchester United's hierarchy are "all on board together" following the Red Devils' goalless draw with Aston Villa.

United played out their fourth stalemate in five games across all competitions - losing the other against Tottenham last weekend - as the spoils were shared at Villa Park.

The Red Devils' tally of eight points, which keeps them 14th in the table, is their lowest after the first seven matches of a Premier League season, with their struggles increasing the pressure on Ten Hag.

However, as speculation surrounding his future continues to grow, the Dutchman remains calm on the matter, as he focused on the positive aspects of his side's performance.

When asked if he has spoken to United's board, he told Sky Sports: "We always speak, every week we speak. We are all on board together, on one page, we know what we are working through. It's a long-term process.

"I think it's the fourth clean sheet this season. You saw we had a very good organisation and togetherness. There was good character and good spirit as a team; determined, resilient.

"We almost didn't concede a chance. At the end, they had a big chance [Diogo Dalot blocking Jaden Philogene's stoppage-time attempt], but I think it was almost the only chance.

"We have come through two very tough away games. This is a team, we showed the belief and faith we have."

However, only 19th-place Southampton (four) have scored fewer goals than United (five) so far, while only in 1972-73 (four) have they ever netted fewer in their first seven matches of a top-flight campaign.

Ten Hag acknowledged his players must show a greater cutting edge in attack.

"We have created loads of chances in our seven games, but we have to step up," he added. 

"We know, at this moment, we have a lack of goals. In that perspective, it's not a good start. That's an area we have to improve."

Meanwhile, Jonny Evans said he and his team-mates have been affected by the speculation surrounding Ten Hag, but praised the spirit demonstrated by the team.

"It does affect the players. It's on our minds, too," the defender told BBC Match of the Day.

"I think the more experience I've got in my career, I've made sure I do everything to be ready and give everything I can to the team.

"That was the important thing, to show the spirit in the team. Everyone competed as much as they could. That's a pleasing thing to see."

Aston Villa and Manchester United shared the spoils in an underwhelming 0-0 draw at Villa Park.

With both sides having been in European action in midweek, albeit to varying degrees of success, there was a lethargic feel to Sunday's clash.

Both sides went close early in the second half. Emiliano Martinez tipped over Marcus Rashford's fierce drive, while Youri Tieleman's long-range strike was pushed away by Andre Onana. 

Bruno Fernandes almost broke the deadlock in the 68th minute – the United skipper rattling the crossbar with a 25-yard free-kick.

Diogo Dalot made a vital intervention to block Jaden Philogene's stoppage-time effort, as neither team were able to find the breakthrough.

Unai Emery's side sit fifth on 14 points, while United are 14th on eight points, which is their lowest ever tally after seven matches of a Premier League campaign.

Data Debrief: Unwanted history for United

After their latest stalemate, United are now without a win in five matches across all competitions (drawn four), as the wait for a victory continues for the under-pressure Erik ten Hag.

As well as being their worst start to a Premier League season, eight points is their lowest tally at this stage of a league campaign since 1989-90 (seven) under Alex Ferguson, who watched on from the stands.

On a brighter note, they were able to hold out for a third successive away clean sheet in the Premier League for the first time since March 2021.

As for Villa, they extend their unbeaten streak to eight matches, but have now won just one of their last 26 top-flight matches against United on home soil.

Noni Madueke’s equaliser earned Chelsea a point as they came from behind in a 1-1 draw with 10-man Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge.

Despite a late push by the dominant hosts, Forest held firm to continue their fine start in the Premier League against another top-four opponent.

After a tepid first half, Chris Wood put the visitors ahead in the 49th minute after directing Nikola Milenkovic's header across goal into the bottom corner.

That lead did not last long as Madueke fired Chelsea level just eight minutes later after cutting in from the right of the box.

James Ward-Prowse received his marching orders for a second yellow card on 78 minutes, though neither side could find a winner in the fiery encounter despite a spate of late chances.

Chelsea, on 14 points, hold onto fourth place going into the international break, while Forest sit four points below them in ninth.

Data Debrief: Forest flying on their travels

Only Frank Clark (59) has picked up more away points as manager of Nottingham Forest in the Premier League than Nuno Espírito Santo. Forest’s draw today takes Nuno’s away points total with Forest to 19, one more than Brian Clough managed in the competition for the club.

Of Wood’s last 14 goals for Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, 10 have been scored away from home (71.4%). This comes after all of his first five goals for the club in the competition were scored at home.

Thiago Motta was left frustrated with Juventus' inability to make their dominance count after Razvan Marin's late equaliser snatched a 1-1 draw for Serie A strugglers Cagliari.

Dusan Vlahovic's early penalty gave Juve the lead but Marin's 88th-minute spot-kick cost the hosts two important points that would have moved them to within one of leaders Napoli.

Marin's late salvaging act was the first goal Juventus have conceded this season in the league, though their inability to build on the early strike was what head coach Motta bemoaned after Sunday's draw.

"Already in the first half, after the goal, we were content to control the game. It's no good," Motta told DAZN.

"We have to keep attacking. In the second half, we created chances but we didn't exploit them. There was always the feeling that Cagliari could come back into the game.

"In Serie A, all games are complicated, regardless of who we face and whether we play at home or away. Today we left room for Cagliari to get back into the game."

Vlahovic may have converted the penalty but was also guilty of missing an excellent chance to extend Juve's lead when he fired wide on the rebound from close range.

Motta's side accumulated a tally of 2.57 expected goals (xG) overall, compared to Cagliari's 1.12, suggesting three points should have ended in the hands of the profligate Juve.

The Italian head coach refused to point the finger at Vlahovic, though insisted improvements are needed.

"You can't say anything, it's a match situation. It happens and will happen," Motta said. "But there are other things that we can certainly do better in order to compete, to be able to continue to grow."

Francisco Conceicao made his first start of the season against Cagliari, but the Portugal winger was sent off late in the game when he received a second booking for simulation in the penalty area.

"I haven't seen the images, if it's simulation, it's the correct decision. It's something we've been talking about for a long time, simulations are not good for the game," Motta added in his press conference.

"I trust the referee, but now a precedent opens up and it must always be like this. It must always be done, not every now and then."

Cristhian Stuani scored a 99th-minute penalty to snatch a 2-1 victory for Girona against Athletic Bilbao after Paulo Gazzaniga had saved multiple spot-kicks at the other end.

Alex Berenguer won the first penalty in the 26th minute after being fouled by Arnau Martinez, but the goalkeeper denied him when he stepped up.

Athletic were punished shortly after as Yaser Asprilla sent a dangerous left-footed cross past Alex Padilla into the bottom-left corner.

Oihan Sancet scored the equaliser just two minutes later, but the visitors' poor luck from 12 yards continued after the break.

Inaki Williams' effort was also stopped but had to be retaken as Gazzaniga's feet were off the line. However, the goalkeeper kept his nerve, as he denied Ander Herrera, who stepped up to take the second attempt.

Deep in stoppage time, Aitor Paredes brought down Ladislav Krejci in the box and received two bookings in less than a minute, one for the foul and the second for dissent.

Stuani duly converted the resulting spot-kick to seal all three points for Girona and end a four-match winless run in LaLiga. 

Data Debrief: Athletic pay the penalty for spot-kick woe

Athletic will be scratching their heads as to how they came away from this game with nothing, given the attacking threat they showed throughout.

They accumulated 2.59 expected goals (xG) from their 13 shots, albeit those two spot-kicks played a huge part in that total, but come away with an unwanted record as they missed two penalties in a single LaLiga game for the first time this century.

That was largely down to Gazzaniga's heroics, though, as he showed his prowess with three saves, even if one of those will not officially count. 

Stuani proved the hero in the end though, scoring his sixth goal against Athletic in LaLiga to get Michel's side up and running again before the international break.

Dani Carvajal has signed a contract extension with Real Madrid until June 2026.

The full-back could miss the rest of the 2024-25 season after sustaining a cruciate ligament injury in Saturday's 2-0 win over Villarreal.

Carvajal's contract was due to expire at the end of the campaign, but Madrid responded almost immediately by extending his stay with the club for at least a further year.

The 32-year-old, who has been with Los Blancos since the age of 10, has won six Champions League titles and four LaLiga crowns during his time at Santiago Bernabeu, while amassing 427 appearances.

Carlos Alcaraz held his nerve against a spirited Wu Yibing to progress to the fourth round of the Shanghai Masters.

Having already beaten another of the home favourites, Shang Juncheng, in his opener, the Spaniard had to dig deep but prevailed 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in one hour and 41 minutes on Sunday.

There was nothing to split the two in the opening set, though Wu caused some real problems with his power, and successfully defended two break points in the ninth game.

The tie-break was also tight, but Alcaraz found his edge at the right time, winning the last three points.

Buoyed by the home crowd, Wu started the second set strongly too, but Alcaraz absorbed the pressure well and got the only break of the match in a three-game winning run.

With his winning streak extended, Alcaraz will now face either Gael Monfils or Ugo Humbert in the next round.

Data Debrief: Alcaraz marches on

Alcaraz has put his shock US Open exit firmly behind him, with this his 11th win on the bounce since then. 

He coped well with the early pressure Wu threw at him, and put in another solid performance, hitting 11 aces and winning 71% of his points at the net (5/7).

Nicolas Kuhn's late winner helped Celtic maintain their perfect start to the Scottish Premiership season with a narrow 2-1 victory over Ross County.

Brendan Rodgers' side, who lost 7-1 to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League in midweek, struck twice in the final quarter of an hour at the Global Energy Stadium, where Ronan Hale's first-half penalty had given the hosts the lead.

Hale drilled home from 12 yards at the second attempt after his initial spot-kick was denied by Kasper Schmeichel, who was penalised for creeping off his line.

It was the first league goal Celtic had conceded this season, but the Hoops turned things around late on.

They equalised in the 76th minute when Callum McGregor's goalbound strike was turned in from close range by Alistair Johnston.

The full-back then turned provider two minutes from normal time as he found Kuhn, who stepped inside before slotting past Ross Laidlaw via a slight deflection.

Data Debrief: Celtc the late show experts

The Hoops have now scored five goals in the last 15 minutes of their seven matches this season, more than any other side in the Scottish Premiership.

But, once again, the hosts were left to wonder what might have been.

Indeed, they have now lost seven points from winning positions this term, the most of any side.

Meanwhile, they were beaten in the league after scoring the opening goal for the first time in 23 games, stretching back to their defeat by St. Johnstone in December 2022. 

Coco Gauff claimed the China Open title in emphatic fashion on Sunday, bringing up her second WTA Tour trophy of the season.

The world number six defeated US Open semi-finalist Karolina Muchova 6-1 6-3 in just 76 minutes to be crowned the youngest winner of the China Open in 14 years.

Gauff swiftly broke the Czech's serve to propel herself into a 2-0 lead before going on to dominate the first set, which lasted only half-an-hour.

Muchova looked to be surmounting a comeback in the second set, breaking immediately, but Gauff fought straight back, and the American broke Muchova once more to race to victory in Beijing.

It was an impressive win against an opponent who had defeated world number two Aryna Sabalenka and Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen en route to the final. Gauff played 24 winning shots but restricted the world number 49 to just 14.

It marked Gauff's second WTA 1000 title, making her the second-youngest player since the format was introduced to win her first two finals, only older than Bianca Andreescu.

Data Debrief: Gauff a proven winner

Gauff, who was playing her 101st WTA 1000 match, is now the first player to win each of her first seven WTA hard-court finals in the Open Era.

Her victory meant she became the second American player to win the women's singles title at the China Open after Serena Williams (in 2004 and 2013 since the inception of the tournament in 2004.

Gauff has now defeated Muchova in all three meetings in WTA events, previously beating her at the US Open and Cincinnati Open in 2023.

Juventus were reduced to 10 and conceded for the first time this season in Serie A as a late Razvan Marin penalty snatched a 1-1 draw for Cagliari.

Dusan Vlahovic put Juve ahead with a penalty of his own in the 15th minute on Sunday.

Sebastiano Luperto, making his 150th appearance in Serie A, had been judged to have handled in the area after a VAR check.

Yet despite dominating the ball, with 73.7% possession, Juve were unable to find a decisive second goal, with Vlahovic guilty of squandering a fantastic chance in the 79th minute.

And they were made to pay when Marin converted from the spot after Douglas Luiz fouled Roberto Piccoli.

Juve's frustration was compounded when Francisco Conceicao picked up his second yellow card in the 89th minute, with the post then denying Adam Obert a last-gasp winner for Cagliari. 

Data Debrief: Juve's defence finally breached

Juve were rocked by a season-ending injury to defender Bremer this week, albeit they looked largely untroubled until the late penalty drama.

Marin's penalty was the first time Juve have conceded in Serie A in 755 minutes of action, since Ricardo Calafiori's goal for Bologna back on May 20.

Thiago Motta will lament some wasteful finishing, with Juve having 21 shots and tallying up 2.57 expected goals (xG) to Cagliari's 1.12.

Kawhi Leonard says he is feeling "good and getting stronger" as the Los Angeles Clippers small forward continues his recovery from a knee injury.

The two-time NBA champion missed the final eight games of the 2023-24 regular season after suffering inflammation in his right knee, as well as most of the Clippers' first-round series defeat to the Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs.

Leonard has since undergone surgery and heavily focused on strengthening his knee during the Clippers' training camp in Hawaii.

However, the 33-year-old knows he must not rush his return to competitive action, or playing in successive games.

"I feel good. [I have] just been taking my time, getting stronger and getting ready," he said during the Clippers' 91-90 pre-season defeat to the Golden State Warriors, in which he did not feature.

"We're just taking it slow, day by day, and just trying to get me back on the floor. Once those conversations come, we'll see what they're talking about [on the best approach for back-to-backs]."

Leonard played 68 regular-season games last term, his most in a single campaign since 2016-17.

And while he wants to feature as regularly as possible this season, he is focused on maintaining his fitness for the crunch stages of the campaign.

"This is what I work for," he added. "I strive to get a championship, and I'm not out there to try to [solely] play 82 games.

"I'm trying to win, even though [playing as much as I can] that's obligated for me. I try to. But it hasn't worked out [the last two post-seasons], so we'll see."

Mikel Arteta has hailed Bukayo Saka's maturity and labelled what the Arsenal winger is producing as "unbelievable".

Saka produced two assists and scored Arsenal's third goal in the Gunners' 3-1 comeback win over Southampton on Saturday.

The England international leads the way for chances created (27), big chances created (12), assists (seven) and expected assists (3.16) in the Premier League this season, while only Manchester City's Bernardo Silva (19) has crafted more opportunities from open play than Saka (17).

With Martin Odegaard out injured, Saka has also taken on the responsibility of captain, and Arteta is thrilled with what the 23-year-old is delivering.

"That's the maturity and that's the steps that players have to do. He has been long enough in the team now, he has the right to have that role," said the Arsenal manager, as quoted by Sky Sports.

"He believes in that, that he has the capacity to change games, to decide games, like many other players, and he wants to be at the top.

"I think it's another step ahead, and it's what he wants.

"Do it at home, do it away, do it in big games, in the not-so-big games, and when the team needs it, not when it's 3-0. That is what defines a top, top player.

"What he's doing at his age is unbelievable. We have many examples of that as well."

Saka's next goal in the Premier League will be his 50th for Arsenal.

Since his debut in late 2018, only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (50) has netted more goals in the competition for the Gunners than Saka (49).

Indeed, in that time, Saka leads Arsenal for chances created (320), big chances created (54) and assists (42), having played 177 times in the top flight, 35 times more than any other Gunners player.