Gary Neville described the attitude of Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes as "devastating" to the Manchester United cause as he attacked the "whingebags" in the Red Devils' ranks.
Former United captain Neville was smarting about the performance from Ralf Rangnick's team in the 1-1 draw at Newcastle United, where it took a second-half equaliser from Edinson Cavani to salvage a point.
Analysing the game for Sky Sports, Neville first took aim at half-time and saw little evidence of significant improvement after the break, describing the central defensive partnership of Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane as "absolutely atrocious".
"They're whingeing at each other. They're a bunch of whingebags," said Neville as he assessed United at the break. "I'm not going to go into the names, but honestly, they're whingeing at each other, their arms are up in the air, they're complaining about everything.
"They got the last manager the sack and Ralf Rangnick's not going to get the sack – he's only had two or three weeks with them – but they'll get a lot of managers the sack, that lot, if they carry on like that, because that is a really, really poor performance."
Neville stepped up his criticism after the full-time whistle. When asked if he was particularly concerned by whingeing from Ronaldo and Fernandes, Neville said: "Yeah, it's annoyed me for about two months.
"Your best players in your team, it's devastating when those players are giving that look and body language towards the other ones. They have to help them and be the father and the grandparent in the team.
"I made massive mistakes as a young player at Manchester United but had good senior players who would have a go at me, but they would also put their arm around me and help me and I don't get the feeling that's happening.
"I think there's something wrong in there. Bruno's whingeing all the time.You've got to be there when your team-mates need you in the most difficult moments."
Neville turned his focus to Ronaldo, who had a poor game at Newcastle and was witnessed dashing down the tunnel at full-time, without going over to thank travelling United supporters.
The Portuguese could easily have been sent off for a wild challenge on Ryan Fraser in the second half, as his frustration began to show.
Ronaldo and Neville are former United team-mates, and Neville said: "I love that lad, he's the best player I've ever seen in my life almost, but don't run off at the end of the game. I'm not having that."
Neville added: "They're all at each other. They're not helping each other. The spirit of a dressing room is really important. I don't think they're all with each other at this moment in time. I think there's a bit of a leadership struggle going on."
For Newcastle's seventh-minute opening goal, Varane was dispossessed by Sean Longstaff before Maguire was skilfully sidestepped by scorer Allan Saint-Maximin.
"The two centre-backs for Manchester United tonight were absolutely atrocious, from the very first minute to the last. They were nervous, they looked like they weren't sure," Neville said. "Maguire's having a nightmare season."
It was chiefly Cavani who gave Neville any encouragement, with the veteran Uruguayan striker making his presence felt in Newcastle's penalty area, unlike so many team-mates.
"I always feel better when he's in the team," said Neville. "He looks like the badge doesn't sit too heavily on him.
"I don't think he wilts in the presence of Ronaldo or Fernandes. I think he stands up to them. I think he helps the other younger players on the pitch and I think he needs to be on the pitch because they need to get rid of that whingeing attitude."
The all-clear was given for day three of the Boxing Day Ashes Test to start on time after Australia and England players all tested negative for coronavirus.
There had been a scare ahead of the second day of the third Test in Melbourne when a member of the tourists' family group returned a positive COVID-19 result.
The England players and management were forced to remain at their hotel while they awaited their test results, before being given the green light to travel to the ground, with play starting half an hour later than scheduled.
Both sets of players took PCR tests after the second day of play and Cricket Australia on Tuesday confirmed all tested negative, meaning there were no delays for the third day.
The England team's support staff and the family members who tested positive on Monday – reportedly six people in total – are in isolation.
Australia were well on course to retain the urn after reducing Joe Root's side to 31-4 in their second innings after two days of play, with England trailing by 51 runs and 2-0 down in the series.
Ralf Rangnick told his Manchester United players their effort in the 1-1 draw at Newcastle United was not up to scratch.
The interim manager was rattled by a sloppy performance from the visitors to St James' Park, who fell behind to an early Allan Saint-Maximin strike and needed Edinson Cavani to come off the bench to salvage a point.
United have swiftly fallen back into their bad old ways since the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, sneaking a fortunate win in their last outing at Norwich City and being arguably fortunate to leave Tyneside with a point.
Former RB Leipzig boss Rangnick expected more from his players, and said of their performance: "I didn't like it at all.
"We were trying to get better in controlling games. Today we didn't control the game, apart from very few moments, at all."
Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: "In the end we got a point, that's the good thing, but the performance overall needs to get better."
Rangnick began his reign with a 1-0 home win over Crystal Palace that gave him cause for encouragement, but the performances against lowly Norwich and Newcastle have raised cause for concern.
"It's about physicality, it's about energy. We have to be ready and able to win those direct duels and this was not that often the case," he said.
"Even when we were in possession we had too many giveaways, including the goal that we conceded."
Pundit and United great Gary Neville questioned the communication between United's players, but Rangnick said: "Today it was not a question of body language, it was question of body physicality.
"If you want to be competitive here in this ground against Newcastle you have to play physical, and this was not the case in many parts of the game, and therefore we were struggling."
There may be attitude issues that need to be looked at, yet Rangnick said: "I don't think this was our biggest problem today. Our biggest problem was the mistakes we made, the unforced errors."
He spoke of "wrong decisions" and said it was necessary to bring on Cavani for the start of the second half as United "had to take more risks".
"We shouldn't look for excuses," said Rangnick, whose side had two games postponed recently due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
"We need to get more physical and more precise when we're in possession. Today I was not happy with our performance, no matter if we were in possession of the ball or when we had to press and counter press.
"It's about sprinting, it's about energy. The good thing today is we came back and got the equaliser."
The NHL has postponed another three games this week as cases of COVID-19 continues to hit the league.
Games between the Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday and a home-and-home set between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday and Friday will not be played.
That takes the number of games the NHL has now postponed up to 67 this season; a situation that led to the decision not to take part in the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
The league had planned to pause the season in February to allow players to take part in the Games, but that period will now be used to play some of the postponed games.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said last week: "We obviously will work very close with the (NHL) Players' Association. I do think we'll have to build in some off time during that three-week period for the players as they had anticipated previously.
"There are a lot of boxes to check there, but I expect that we'll be able to portion some portion of that break period to various clubs to get their players rested, and I hope to make full utilisation of the period so that we can make up the games that we've missed."
Newcastle United set a record no club would want when they conceded an 80th Premier League goal of the year in Monday night's clash with Manchester United.
The Magpies came into the game having leaked 79 goals in 41 games, matching the highest total shipped by a team in a calendar year during the Premier League era, which began with the 1992-93 season.
Newcastle were unlocked for a record-breaking 80th time when Edinson Cavani hit a 71st-minute equaliser for Ralf Rangnick's Red Devils at St James' Park.
Ipswich were the only previous side to concede 79 in a year, doing so in 1994. They went on to finish bottom of the 1994-95 top-flight table, famously losing 9-0 at Manchester United in March 1995, having failed to solve their defensive problems.
The last top-flight team in England to concede more over the course of a year were West Brom in 1985, with the Baggies leaking 87 goals in the old First Division.
Allan Saint-Maximin gave Newcastle a strong start to Monday's game when he drove into the visitors' penalty area and smashed a shot inside the right post to give Newcastle a seventh-minute lead.
But substitute Cavani denied relegation-threatened Newcastle three precious points, converting Diogo Dalot's cross at the second attempt.
Heading into the clash with the Red Devils, Newcastle had won just eight times this year, drawing 12 and losing 21, conceding four goals in a game on five occasions, including twice against Manchester City and once against United, losing 4-1 at Old Trafford in September.
They have been unable to make St James' Park anything close to a fortress, conceding 41 in 20 home fixtures and winning just four times before the arrival of Rangnick's team.
The goals conceded total was not the only Premier League record to be toppled when Cavani struck.
It was United's 113th Premier League goal against Newcastle, and that is the most that any team has scored against another in the competition, beating the record the Red Devils shared with Arsenal, who have scored 112 against Everton.
Barcelona defenders Dani Alves and Clement Lenglet have tested positive for COVID-19, the LaLiga giants have confirmed.
The Spanish top flight is in the midst of its winter break, yet training is continuing as normal.
Neither player will attend Barca's training ground on Tuesday, though, and will undertake a period of self-isolation at home, Barca confirmed in a statement.
Alves re-joined Barca on a free transfer last month following his departure from Sao Paulo in September over a contractual dispute.
The 38-year-old, who played 391 times for Barca in his first trophy-laden spell at Camp Nou, cannot be officially registered for the Catalan giants until the January transfer window opens.
Lenglet, meanwhile, has made 13 appearances across all competitions for the club this season.
Meanwhile, Ferran Torres' expected £55million move from Manchester City to Barca was reportedly held up by bureaucratic wrangling on Monday.
The Spain international underwent a medical on Monday ahead of his anticipated unveiling at midday on Tuesday.
The contracts between the two clubs have not been finalised, though, and the announcement of his signing is now not expected until late on Tuesday at the earliest.
Edinson Cavani rescued Manchester United as his second-half strike secured a 1-1 Premier League draw at relegation-threatened Newcastle United and spared Ralf Rangnick a first defeat.
The Red Devils were labelled "a bunch of whingebags" by Sky pundit Gary Neville at half-time, and after beginning the Rangnick era with 1-0 wins over Crystal Palace and Norwich City, this was a sharp reality check.
Saint-Maximin's seventh-minute strike was a gem and the French forward missed a sitter at the start of the second half.
Visitors United, who lost their discipline at times and could easily have had Cristiano Ronaldo sent off, were thankful they had Cavani in the right place in the 71st minute, tucking home at the second attempt to earn a point.
The lively Saint-Maximin gave Newcastle a great start, sidestepping Harry Maguire before planting a powerful shot into the right corner. The fit-again Raphael Varane had been too easily dispossessed by a hungry Sean Longstaff in the build-up.
An air-shot volley from Ronaldo was met with derisive jeers from home supporters, before Newcastle thought they had another goal when Callum Wilson tucked in after more good work from Saint-Maximin, but the striker was clearly offside. Newcastle then lost Wilson to a calf injury moments before half-time.
Fred and Mason Greenwood were replaced by Jadon Sancho and Cavani for the second half, but Newcastle should have been 2-0 ahead almost instantly, with Saint-Maximin thwarted by David de Gea from close range after Emil Krafth's cross from the right found him just four yards out.
Marcus Rashford's strike from 25 yards was pushed over by Martin Dubravka, and Cavani scuffed a shot wide, before Ronaldo was perhaps fortunate to be only booked for a rash swipe at Ryan Fraser.
Fraser and Saint-Maximin were denied by De Gea as Newcastle got a second wind, but they gave Cavani another sniff of goal and paid for it. Diogo Dalot's cross from the right found Cavani by the penalty spot, and after his first shot was blocked, the Uruguayan jabbed a second attempt into the bottom-right corner.
Saint-Maximin limped off late on, but there was almost a late moment to savour for Newcastle as Jacob Murphy smashed a fine strike against the right post from a tight angle on the left late on, before Miguel Almiron was denied by a spectacular De Gea save.
There is a "good chance" Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant will leave the NBA's coronavirus protocols this week, according to head coach Steve Nash.
The 11-time All-Star entered the health and safety protocols on December 18, but he could be out and ready to face the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.
Kyrie Irving, who went into protocols on the same day as Durant, is further away from a return to action.
"I think there's a good chance Kevin will be [fit for Thursday]," Nash told reporters.
"With Kyrie, I'm not so sure but it's coming. He's already been in protocols since December 18; he's got to be getting close."
Brooklyn earlier stated that Irving will re-join the NBA championship-chasing franchise for road games outside of New York and Toronto.
Irving is yet to play for the Eastern Conference-leading Nets this season due to his refusal to be vaccinated against coronavirus, which has prevented him from practising or playing with the team – New York has a mandate in place that states players must have had a COVID-19 jab.
At the start of the season, the Nets announced they would not accept Irving playing on a part-time basis and thus overlooked him for selection until he is vaccinated.
But due to injuries and a COVID-19 outbreak, Brooklyn have opted to bring Irving back.
Victor Lindelof has become the latest Manchester United player to be sidelined by a case of COVID-19, forcing him out of Monday's game at Newcastle United.
The Swedish centre-back did not make the trip to St James' Park after testing positive for the coronavirus.
Interim manager Ralf Rangnick revealed the news shortly before kick-off when he named Raphael Varane to take over from Lindelof alongside captain Harry Maguire.
The situation affecting Lindelof is the latest COVID-19 blow to hit United, whose games against Brentford and Brighton and Hove Albion had to be postponed due to an outbreak in Rangnick's squad.
After closing their Carrington training base briefly, it has reopened and United were able to prepare for the trip to Newcastle in near-normal conditions.
Rangnick told Sky Sports: "We resumed for training last Tuesday and, on Thursday, we had almost the whole team apart from Paul Pogba.
"Unfortunately, Victor Lindelof tested positive yesterday so he cannot play, but the good thing is we have Raphael Varane available again and that's why he's in the starting line-up.
"I would say since last Tuesday, and even more so since last Thursday, we had two or three training sessions on a very high, good level before we had to close down Carrington, as you know, for four days because, before that, we had only eight outfield players. In the last three or four days, we had some good training sessions."
Lindelof experienced breathing difficulties in United's 1-0 win at Norwich City on December 11 and was substituted in the second half as a consequence.
Former Real Madrid defender Varane came in for his first appearance since starting the Champions League game against Atalanta on November 2, a game in which he sustained a hamstring injury.
Robert Lewandowski says he is paying no attention to speculation over his future as he eyes more glory for Bayern Munich.
The Poland striker, who has scored 30 goals in 25 appearances in all competitions this season, is contracted to the Bundesliga champions until June 2023
Appearing at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai on Monday, Lewandowski stated that he will not be distracted by "rumours" that he could look to leave Bayern.
"In my football life, I have always done what I have chosen," the 33-year-old said. "I can play for many more years.
"I haven't thought about the future in a few years. Maybe I can do it but now everything is going well, I'm focused on the season, on the next games, on what I want this season.
"Every year there are rumours, for me it's nothing new. I'm focused on the field, on training. It's difficult, if you hear all these voices.
"The important thing is to be happy where you are."
Lewandowski recently scored his 43rd league goal of 2021, beating the record set by the legendary Gerd Muller for most goals in the German top flight in a calendar year (42 goals in 1972).
However, the former Borussia Dortmund man was pipped to the main award in Dubai, just as he was when finishing runner-up to Lionel Messi in the voting for the Ballon d'Or last month.
The Globe Soccer men's player of the year award for 2021 instead went to Messi's Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Kylian Mbappe.
Lewandowski did win the fans' player of the year award, as well as the Maradona award for the best goalscorer.
Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski have expressed concerns about the lack of rest players will get if plans for a biennial World Cup come to fruition.
FIFA's proposal to host the tournament every two years instead of four has largely been met with scepticism.
Both Paris Saint-Germain forward Mbappe and Bayern Munich striker Lewandowski are not in favour of the change, with the former suggesting that the quality of the spectacle would suffer if the health of players is not taken into account.
"We like to play but it's too much," Mbappe said in Dubai, where he was named men's player of the year at the Globe Soccer Awards. "If people want to see quality, we have to take a break.
"Playing the World Cup every two years would make this competition 'normal' and that shouldn't be the case. The World Cup, the Nations League... we love to play but it's too much.
"If people want to see quality, I think we have to take a break."
Lewandowski echoed the France international's sentiments, stating that the schedule is already congested even without the added burden of an increased number of World Cups.
"We have a lot of games in the year, very dense weeks," Lewandowski said at the same event. "If you want to give the fans something different, you need a break.
"We have to look into the future, if we want to play a World Cup every two years, the level will drop. It's impossible for the body and the mind to perform at the same level."
Lewis Hamilton is relaxing at the ski slopes and doing "fine" after losing out to Max Verstappen in the battle for the Formula One title, his brother Nicolas has said.
Seven-time champion Hamilton was denied a record-breaking eighth title when he was beaten in a controversial finish to the second-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 12.
Mercedes were furious with how race rules were applied in a safety-car situation and challenged the result, believing Hamilton was unfairly denied victory in the race and the championship when Dutchman Verstappen passed him on the last lap.
The crushing blow has led to speculation Hamilton could retire from motor racing, with the 36-year-old and his team left distraught by the outcome.
Former F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone last week cast doubt on whether Hamilton would return to the sport in 2022, when he is due to partner George Russell for Mercedes.
Since being denied another title, Hamilton has gone quiet on social media and stopped following the select few Instagram accounts that he previously watched.
But Nicolas Hamilton says his superstar brother is merely unwinding with family, saying on livestreaming service Twitch: "Lewis is fine. I think he's just having a bit of a social media break which I don't blame him for.
"Social media can be a very toxic place. But he's cool though. He's fine. Yeah, he's all right. He's watching the kids ski at the moment."
Hamilton also missed out in the F1 team principals' driver of the year vote, coming in second to champion Verstappen.
The result of a poll of team chiefs was revealed on the official F1 website on Monday, with Red Bull star Verstappen top of that particular podium too.
With principals appraising drivers based on the race system, where first place earns 25 points and 10th takes only one, Verstappen scored a total of 213 points, with Hamilton scoring 192 in second place.
Team principals' driver of the year result: 1. Max Verstappen 213, 2. Lewis Hamilton 192, 3. Lando Norris 110, 4. Carlos Sainz 85, 5. Charles Leclerc 70, 6. Fernando Alonso 69, 7. Pierre Gasly 64, 8. George Russell 44, 9. Valtteri Bottas 43, 10. Esteban Ocon 41.
Jayson Tatum has entered NBA health and safety protocols and will miss the Boston Celtics' game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.
Tatum joins eight fellow Celtics players on the list after 13 were sidelined due to COVID-19 protocols recently.
Players must wait 10 days or return two negative COVID-19 tests within 24 hours of each other before they are allowed to return to action.
Tatum contracted COVID-19 in January and was out of action for a short period before returning, when he explained he was suffering long-term effects of having the virus, requiring an inhaler for some time.
The forward leads the Celtics in scoring (25.6) and rebounds (8.6 – level with Robert Williams) per game and is also averaging 3.8 assists and 1.0 steals in a strong season for the 23-year-old.
His absence for the Timberwolves game was announced by the Celtics on their official Twitter page.
The Celtics are ninth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 16-17 and have lost six of their last nine games ahead of their clash with the Timberwolves, who are ninth themselves in the Western Conference.
Lyon were expelled from the Coupe de France on Monday, paying the price for crowd trouble that caused their last-64 tie at Paris FC to be abandoned.
Paris FC were also banished from the competition and served with a five-game stadium closure, while Lyon's supporters have been banned from travelling to all domestic away games for the rest of the season.
The December 17 tie between the sides was called off at half-time as fans clashed at the Charlety stadium. Supporters appeared to be fighting in the stands and several flares were thrown before a number of fans made their way onto the pitch.
Lyon declared they would look to identify the individuals responsible and serve them with lifetime stadium bans, and the French Football Federation (FFF) has now handed down severe punishments to both clubs. The winner of the game had been due to play Nice in the next round.
An FFF disciplinary commission met on Monday and decided both teams should be ruled to have lost the match, imposing the stadium ban and a fine of €10,000 on Paris FC.
The FFF stated that Lyon fans would be banned from attending away games until the end of the 2021-22 campaign, in "a sanction that applies to all competitions organised by the FFF and the LFP [Ligue de Football Professionnel] in which the first team is involved".
Lyon have also received a suspended ban from next year's Coupe de France, which could be imposed in the event of supporters causing trouble again. On top of that, the Ligue 1 club were fined €52,000 and ordered to meet the costs of repairing seats damaged by their supporters at Charlety.
It was the second time a recent game involving Lyon has had to be ended prematurely, with their Ligue 1 encounter at home to Marseille on November 21 also abandoned after a spectator threw a bottle that struck Dimitri Payet inside the opening five minutes. That led to Lyon being docked a point as punishment.
Lyon have been usurped by Paris Saint-Germain as France's leading team in the past decade. Beginning in 2001-02, Lyon won seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles. They finished fourth last season and sit 13th this term, in a congested mid-table.
Paris FC, a club living in PSG's shadows, are third in Ligue 2.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
