In-form Rasmus Hojlund’s early brace proved enough for Manchester United to edge past battling Luton after their electric start threatened to turn into a chastening Kenilworth Road collapse.

Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils have enjoyed an unbeaten start to 2024 and are hoping for a brighter future under Sir Jim Ratcliffe as the Ineos chairman prepares to officially become minority owner next week.

United racked up a fifth straight win in all competitions on Sunday but made hard work of their 2-1 victory against Luton after Hojlund had struck twice in the opening seven minutes.

The opener came just 37 seconds after kick-off and saw the 21-year-old replace Newcastle midfielder Joe Willock as the youngest player to score in six straight Premier League matches.

United had never gone ahead away in the Premier League quicker than that, nor had they moved 2-0 up on the road as early as they did when Hojlund then chested in Alejandro Garnacho’s volley.

But Luton have made life hard for the biggest clubs at Kenilworth Road and this was no different, with Carlton Morris pulling one back in the 14th minute.

Rob Edwards’ side were reinvigorated by that goal and constantly unsettled United, who were fortunate not to see Casemiro sent off for two bookings before his half-time substitution.

A breathless second period followed but somehow there was no more goals, with Ross Barkley seeing a stoppage-time header hit the bar for the hosts.

Formula One has called for Christian Horner’s Red Bull future to be “clarified at the earliest opportunity”.

Horner’s role as Red Bull team principal remains in the balance following a claim of “inappropriate behaviour” by a female colleague.

Speaking at Red Bull Racing’s car launch in Milton Keynes last Thursday, the 50-year old continued to emphatically deny the allegations made against him, and insisted he would be in Bahrain for the opening race of the season on March 2.

An F1 spokesperson said on Sunday evening: “We have noted that Red Bull has instigated an independent investigation into internal allegations at Red Bull Racing.

“We hope that the matter will be clarified at the earliest opportunity, after a fair and thorough process, and we will not comment further at this time.”

Horner said he was unable to provide a timeline as to when the investigation by the racing team’s parent company, Red Bull GmBH, will be completed.

Testing for the new campaign gets under way in Bahrain on Wednesday.

Last season, Red Bull won all but one of the 22 races, with Max Verstappen taking his third world championship in as many years.

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder revealed Mason Holgate apologised to his team-mates after his red card in the 5-0 home defeat to Brighton.

Holgate was sent off in the 13th minute for a reckless thigh-high challenge on Kaoru Mitoma, with the VAR advising referee Stuart Attwell to upgrade an initial yellow card to red.

The Blades were put to the sword in the remaining 77 minutes as goals from Facundo Buonanotte and Danny Welbeck, Simon Adingra’s double and a Jack Robinson own goal gave the Seagulls their second victory at Bramall Lane in three weeks after a 5-2 fourth-round FA Cup romp last month.

Things might have been different had Holgate, who looks set to be fined by the club, kept his cool and Wilder says the defender knows he “got it wrong”.

“He has apologised to the boys, he understands it and he is an experienced pro,” Wilder, whose side conceded five goals at home for the third successive game, said.

“He has got it wrong, I want us to be competitive, I want us to win tackles, we can’t have a passive game.

“It is a competitive game, it is a not a non-contact game but we have to get that right, Mason has to get that right. It is huge setback for us in the approach to the overall game.

“I am torn, I am a competitor and I understand that it was a very, very strong challenge and the game has moved on.

“Some people won’t want the game to move and on and expect physical contact, excessive force or whatever you call it.

“Winning the ball and challenging in that way is deemed not acceptable. We have got no excuses, or nowhere to hide, the referee gave it a yellow card straight away but obviously when he went to the monitor and saw it slowed down and has somebody in his ear saying it’s a red card.

“Better managers than me, quite a lot of them around at the moment I should imagine – bigger, better clubs than Sheffield United would have found it difficult to go down to 10 because of they way they play.

“The game was decided on that, I could say 100 per cent we would not have gone done 5-0.”

The Seagulls made hay at Bramall Lane for the second time in three weeks and took advantage of Holgate’s indiscipline.

They kept the pressure on Manchester United in sixth place but boss Roberto De Zerbi would have preferred to have played 11 versus 11.

“We played very well, especially in the first half, it was very difficult to find the right moment to shoot, to score,” the Italian said.

“The first half was a very good performance, I am sorry for the red card, sincerely, because I would like to play the game 11 v 11 and it is not always an advantage to play with one player more.

“Especially if the characteristic of the opponent is like Sheffield United because you can find it more difficult to score.

“The second part of the first half they defended the last 25 metres with nine players behind the ball.”

England’s prospects of reclaiming the Calcutta Cup from Scotland have been dealt a blow after scrum-half Alex Mitchell was ruled out of the Murrayfield showdown with a knee problem.

The Rugby Football Union confirmed that Mitchell will miss the pivotal Guinness Six Nations round three game because of an injury that requires further investigation before a date for his return can be set.

Harry Randall has been named as the replacement in Steve Borthwick’s 36-man training squad with Danny Care and Ben Spencer competing to fill the void in the number nine jersey in Edinburgh.

Craig Kieswetter is excited for one last crack at the Cheltenham Festival with Echoes In Rain, who will head to Prestbury Park for her racecourse swansong next month bidding to bring the curtain down on her career with a fairytale success.

Former England cricket star Kieswetter is a key figure in his family’s Barnane Stud alongside brother Ross and stud manager Patrick Wynn-Jones, with Echoes In Rain proving to be the star performer of their jumps string over the years.

Trained by Willie Mullins, she has won nine of her 30 career starts across both codes, with her finest hours coming at the Punchestown Festival where she won Grade Ones both as a novice in 2021 and then two years later against her fellow mares.

However, she has found success at the Cheltenham Festival harder to come by and will be given one final chance to conquer the Cotswolds before moving on to be a part of Barnane’s broodmare band.

“She’s going to head to Cheltenham and it will probably be her final hurrah before we take her back to Barnane Stud to start her career as a broodmare,” said Kieswetter.

“She’s a real fighter and every time we ask a question of her, she goes for it. For a mare who tries her hardest every single time, she’s had to come up against the likes of Honeysuckle and State Man all the way through her career.

“We’ve had some fantastic fun with her. I was there when she got pipped on the line in the Irish Cesarewitch, Rachael (Blackmore) jumped off and was devastated, but she has given us some fantastic times.

“We are looking forward to one final outing with her and then she can start her new career.”

Last year Echoes In Rain had to settle for a minor role as regular adversary Honeysuckle bowed out in style in the Mares’ Hurdle and Kieswetter feels that race is the most likely for Echoes In Rain’s final appearance, rather than stepping up to face the might of Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle.

He continued: “We’ll have a discussion with Willie and his team and see which direction they want to go. I’m suspecting it will probably be the Mares’ Hurdle, but you never know.

“Willie won all the Grade Ones at Leopardstown and is operating at a ridiculous strike-rate and is the best, we are more than happy to just follow the advice of where he wants to go.”

Owner Kenny Alexander is set to unleash a two-pronged assault on the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle, with both Gala Marceau and Telmesomethinggirl attempting to add to Honeysuckle’s two famous victories in the Cheltenham Festival contest.

Trained by Willie Mullins, Gala Marceau has just stablemates Lossiemouth and Ashroe Diamond ahead of her in the ante-post betting for the Grade One event and was runner-up in the Triumph Hurdle at Prestbury Park 12 months ago.

She finished third when making her seasonal return at Doncaster recently, but tasted top level success over two and a half miles in Auteuil’s Prix Alain du Breil last May and connections feel a return to further can see her improve on her Town Moor reappearance.

“We were very happy with her and Danny (Mullins, jockey) said she took a bit of a blow after the last,” said Alexander’s racing manager Peter Molony.

“He thought he would definitely have been second and closer to the winner without that and he wasn’t overly hard on her to try to get second as the big day is in a few weeks time.

“The step up in trip is going to help her, she stayed the extra distance well last year in Auteuil and we really think that will play to her strengths.”

Telmesomethinggirl may be as big as 25-1 in the betting, but Molony has been encouraged by reports from trainer Henry de Bromhead since she finished second at Naas last month.

The nine-year-old is already a Cheltenham Festival winner having been part of De Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore’s respective six-timers at the showpiece meeting in 2021, winning the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle.

She was also in the process of running a huge race the following year in the Mares’ Hurdle before being brought down two out and having spent a year struggling over the larger obstacles, is back at the discipline in which she is most proficient.

“We were over the moon with her performance at Naas. The first day she ran (at Leopardstown) she was still rather gross and I think as she has got older, Henry has found it harder to get her fit,” added Molony.

“Last year was a complete waste of a year and she just didn’t take to the fences, that is a year that can be scratched.

“Henry and his team are very happy with her and I think if she is back to her best, she is going to give all the other ladies something to think about. She’s a very high-class mare in her own right at her best.

“Rachael came in and said it was a case of how far, not if (when she ran in the race previously) and if she gets back to that level she could take a lot of beating – she is certainly a wonderful each-way price.”

Laura Muir will snub home comforts to ensure she is in the right frame of mind to win gold at the World Indoor Championships.

The 30-year-old claimed the 3000m title at the UKA Indoor Championships on Sunday after running eight minutes 58.80 seconds to seal victory in Birmingham.

Muir is planning her assault on the 3000m at  the World Indoors in Glasgow next month, with the British squad announced on Monday.

The Scot, who is based in Glasgow, will race at her home track but intends to remain with the team rather than stay at home during the Championships.

Muir, who won 1500m and 3000m gold at the European Indoors in Glasgow in 2019, said: “I’m going to stay in the team hotel. I think it’d be hard to get myself in the mindset that I’m going to compete at a World Championships final.

“It’s better when it’s a straight final to not be coming from my sofa. So I’m going to go into the team hotel.

“I never really took it in because I didn’t know if I was definitely going quite yet.  I don’t want to do anything until I’m definitely going but it’s really nice.

“I’ve got a lot of fond memories from that track from competing there before. So I’m just going to go there and I’m going to enjoy it and that’s the most important thing for me.”

Katarina Johnson-Thompson threw 13.29m to come ninth in the shot put, won by Amelia Campbell, as she continues her Olympic preparations.

The world heptathlon champion is focusing on this summer’s Paris Games and will not be at the World Indoors.

She said: “I am gutted because I did European indoors in Glasgow in 2018 and I’ve got really good memories of it. The whole family came to watch me. It’s just a decision to throw everything into Paris.

“I’m feeling good. I’ve had a great time since Budapest, everything’s been going really well. So I feel good. I’m feeling in a strong position but I’m just taking it week by week.

“The plan was just some competition practice. Training has been going really well so I wanted to come out and see where I am under competition conditions.

“Of course these specialist athletes throw much further and it is tough not to have a reference to where you’re throwing – with the first line set at 16m – which is way further than I am throwing. But on the other hand I can gain some knowledge and learn from the specialists so it is always beneficial.

“I am confident now I have found a good training set-up so I am very happy with my training so far and I am enjoying my preparations going towards Paris this year. ”

Jemma Reekie won in the 800m as she looks for a maiden senior title in Glasgow next month.

Brighton strengthened their top-six Premier League hopes as they inflicted a second successive 5-0 home defeat on 10-man Sheffield United.

Goals from Facundo Buonanotte and Danny Welbeck, Simon Adingra’s double and a Jack Robinson own goal gave the Seagulls their second victory at Bramall Lane in three weeks after a 5-2 fourth-round FA Cup romp last month.

Their task was made easier by Mason Holgate’s 13th-minute red card for the Blades, who also lost 5-0 to Aston Villa a fortnight ago and have now conceded five goals in three successive home games including that cup loss to the Seagulls.

Roberto De Zerbi’s side kept the pressure on sixth-placed Manchester United by putting the 10 men to the sword and they look in good shape as their European campaign soon resumes.

After winning at Luton last weekend, United briefly raised hopes of launching a great escape but they are dented and, sitting seven points adrift of safety, a return to the Championship looks almost certain.

They battled hard for much of the game but three goals in the last 15 minutes put a damaging slant on the scoreline.

Just 22 days ago the Seagulls came to South Yorkshire and made hay in the FA Cup and they enjoyed themselves again.

It had been an open start until the game changed in the 13th minute when Holgate saw red for a wild thigh-high challenge on Kaoru Mitoma. Referee Stuart Atwell initially gave a yellow card but quickly upgraded when he was told to watch it again by VAR.

The Seagulls went ahead seven minutes later as Buonanotte turned in from close range after Blades goalkeeper Wes Foderingham was bullied on the goalline.

Gus Hamer almost brought the hosts immediately level as his jinking run which saw him beat three players ended with a deflected shot.

But that was as good as it got for the Blades as Brighton seized control with a second goal.

Mitoma forced Foderingham into a good save at the far post but Welbeck was on hand to slam home the rebound from eight yards.

It could have been three but Mitoma and Pascal Gross had shots blocked by Robinson in quick succession.

United thought they had got themselves back into the game on the stroke of half-time when Ben Osborn flicked in from close range.

Atwell immediately ruled it out for a foul but Blades hopes were raised when Atwell was advised by VAR to go to the monitor.

However, during replays it was ruled Osborn was actually in an offside decision and the goal did not stand.

The Blades were spirited in the second half but could not test Brighton, who eventually finished strongly with three goals in the final 15 minutes.

They had to wait until the 75th minute for their third when Blades defender Robinson diverted Mitoma’s cross into his own net.

And three minutes later Adingra swept home Gross’ centre to make it four before adding a second with an effort which deflected off Andre Brooks.

Tullyhill could be bound for Cheltenham after making light work of the Madigan Group Irish EBF Sheila Bourke Novice Hurdle at Punchestown.

The six-year-old finished second in the Champion Bumper at the Festival last season, a result that followed a prior bumper success and a point to point win.

He was beaten by a significant margin on his hurdling debut in November but his jumping was much improved on his next start when he took a Naas maiden by seven lengths in January.

He started as the 6-5 favourite under Paul Townend at Listed level at Punchestown and made all the of the running, cruising to a nine-length victory having barely seen another rival.

Following the run, Tullyhill is as low as 5-1 for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle with Paddy Power, but Mullins will consult with owners Cheveley Park Stud before deciding on a Cheltenham bid.

He said: “He has a fair engine and we just needed to give him confidence jumping. David Casey was deputised with that job and has done a right job.

“He’s entitled to go anywhere after a performance like that.

“I thought he’d be an out-an-out stayer but he has plenty of speed, a great cruising speed, and now his jumping is starting to match his cruising speed.

“He’s in the Supreme and I’ll have a word with connections and see what they would like to do.”

Ravichandran Ashwin’s decision to leave the India team mid-Test and tend to an urgent family matter was the “absolutely right thing to do”, according to captain Rohit Sharma.

Ashwin’s withdrawal from the third Test against England in Rajkot after the second day’s play was down to a family medical emergency and left India effectively down to 10 players.

While India could use a substitute fielder the playing conditions prohibited a replacement, but despite the absence of a spinner with 500 Test wickets, the hosts moved into the ascendancy on day three.

Ashwin returned on Sunday and took the wicket of Tom Hartley in England’s second innings as India sealed a 434-run win – their biggest margin of victory in terms of runs – to go 2-1 up in the series.

“When you lose your most experienced bowler, especially in the middle of a Test match it is not easy,” Rohit said. “But everything was aside, family comes first.

“When we heard the news, there was no second thought in our mind. (We felt) he should do what he feels is right and obviously he wanted to be with the family which is an absolutely right thing to do.

“Good on him to make a way and come here and be part of the team on this day.

“It shows the character and shows the kind of person he is – wanting to put everything ahead for the team. We were happy to have him back.”

England’s defeat was their heaviest since 1934 and they were on course for one of their lowest totals after capitulating to 50 for seven before the last three wickets added 72.

While England subsided to their seventh lowest score against India, Rohit’s side sealed a memorable victory, having handed debuts to middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan and wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel.

Both rookies made an impression as did 22-year-old opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who made his second successive double hundred in his seventh Test, and Kuldeep Yadav, who took four wickets in his 10th appearance in this format.

“It’s a big victory,” Rohit added.

“Obviously it’s a very good feeling to win a game like that and especially with such a young team as well.

“A lot of credit to these young boys who have come in and shown a lot of character. It looks like they belong here, and they actually want to stay here as well. It is quite satisfying when you win a Test match like that.”

Where It All Began got off the mark over fences in the QuinnBet Grand National Trial Handicap Chase at Punchestown.

Gordon Elliott’s eight-year-old had performed with credit in seven previous starts over fences but was yet to taste success in the discipline and was last seen winning in a maiden hurdle in January 2022.

Under Jack Kennedy, he stepped up to a staying trip of three miles and three furlongs for the first time at Punchestown and started as a 10-1 chance in a field of 15.

The gelding always looked comfortable but it was on the turn for home that the race became a test of stamina and it looked as though favourite We’llhavewan had the upper hand.

However, Where It All Began started to pick off his rivals, clearly relishing the extra distance as galloped home to take the Listed contest by an easy 16 lengths.

“He jumped great and never missed a beat the whole way,” Kennedy said.

“It probably looked turning in that I was going to finish third but stamina really kicked in when we straightened up. I’m delighted with him.

“He’s not reliant on heavy ground, just a test of stamina is what he wants.

“He’d been running well and threatened to do something like that.

As a result of the performance Paddy Power and Betfair slashed his price for the Grand National from 200-1 to 50-1, with weights for the Aintree contest revealed on Tuesday.

Philippe Clement spoke about James Tavernier helping him stop the “fire” when he took over at Rangers after the Light Blues went top of the cinch Premiership with a 3-0 win over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.

Ivorian midfielder Mohamed Diomande opened the scoring in the 37th minute and a late penalty double from skipper Tavernier, which took his Rangers tally to 120, moved Clement’s side two points clear of Celtic with 12 fixtures remaining.

Rangers were trailing their Old Firm rivals by seven points when Clement took over from Michael Beale last October and the Belgian’s first port of call was a chat with the 32-year-old, who arrived at Ibrox in 2015.

Clement, who described Tavernier’s goal tally for a full-back as “crazy”, said: “I am happy with Tav, he was the first player I talked with, that’s normal when you come into a building and you know the fire is going on.

“I wanted to see how to stop it as fast as possible so I wanted all the information, it’s normal to speak first with the captain.

“He was really open and honest about all things in the club, dressing room and himself also.

“He feels good also, there is a divided leadership with several players who take responsibility but they have a really good connection together.

“If you’re all alone you can be alone in the desert, now he has a few lieutenants around him that help also and are very influential. It’s important to have that.

“If I see how they are playing now compared to four months ago we cannot speak about a beginning because that was the beginning. There is a lot of room for progression.

“It’s clear they all are growing in these past couple of months without exception.”

St Johnstone were still in the game until the 79th minute when veteran defender Andy Considine fouled Rangers substitute Dujon Sterling inside the box and although referee Matt MacDermid did not point to the spot at first, when he was asked to view the pitchside monitor, he awarded the penalty and Tavernier gave keeper Dimitar Mitov no chance.

Then Rangers substitute Tom Lawrence’s shot struck the arm of Luke Robinson, who had spun in the air and had his back to goal inside the box.

After consulting his pitchside monitor again, MacDermid again pointed to the spot and this time Tavernier sent it high into the other corner.

St Johnstone manager Craig Levein’s first remark in the post-match press conference was “that’s VAR 8-0 up on us now” and on the second penalty decision, the former Scotland boss said: “It’s unbelievably unfair. When you spin your arm comes out.

“I don’t know how you are supposed to keep your arm in like that when you are spinning. The referee hasn’t seen it and it’s the people in the booth that call it.

“It’s these guys in the booth making calls that are baffling at times. We didn’t lose the game just because of VAR today, but it certainly made life much more comfortable for Rangers and took some of our energy away after they were awarded a couple of goals.

“I don’t know what the best (handball) rule is to have – but could we have one that applies to everybody? That would be nice.

“Supporters come along and pay their money. They have to sit for five minutes with a feeling of dread in their stomach but everybody knows what’s going to happen.

“The referee’s going to make whatever decisions has been made in the booth. The referees aren’t really refereeing the game anymore – maybe they should just get half their money.

“It’s quite depressing sitting here every week and talking about stuff that should be helping but isn’t.”