Manchester United head coach Erik Ten Hag has said "it wasn't the defending" that led to his side's opening-day defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion at Old Trafford.
The Seagulls found themselves 2-0 up at half-time after Pascal Gross scored a first-half brace to put his team two goals to good at the interval.
Ten Hag had opted to leave Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench due to a lack of fitness, but brought him on in the second period to positive effect and an Alexis Mac Allister own goal set up a tense finish.
Brighton held on though for their first ever away win at Old Trafford, condemning Ten Hag to defeat in his first competitive game in charge of the Red Devils.
However, the former Ajax man refused to blame his backline for the defeat, telling reporters: "It wasn't the defending. We defend as a team and we made passing mistakes that were unnecessary in the midfield, then they took over.
"We have to be better at organisation because we have made appointments and they have to do the job which we talked about, which they have been appointed to do. That is not what we did and then we got punished.
"The same with the second goal, it was totally unnecessary from a ball that was loose in the corner on the other side. It is not good that you then go on and concede a goal."
Ten Hag also spoke on the improvement in United's performance after Ronaldo entered the fray, while conceding that he still has a way to go until he is at his best.
"It was clear to see that in the second half we were better in the midfield, with Christian Eriksen back down and Cristiano Ronaldo further up," Ten Hag added.
"Then we create and [Marcus] Rashford had two really good chances and it's a pity we didn't score to make it 2-2.
"It takes time. We cannot force it and one week in training, a little bit more now, he has to do more to get fit and this game will help him. The 35 to 40 minutes he had now and now we have one week and he will be better next week."
Wilfred Ndidi and Jamie Vardy goals secure vital Leicester win over West Brom
Leicester returned to the top of the Championship with a 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion and two more victories from their remaining three games would secure promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
Enzo Maresca’s side could go up on Tuesday if they beat Southampton at the King Power Stadium.
Jamie Vardy’s 15th league goal of the season effectively sealed the victory and made up for him missing a penalty in the first half.
Leicester took the lead through Wilfred Ndidi in the 22nd minute after Albion had dominated the early stages and missed a string of chances to take the lead.
West Brom manager Carlos Corberan will wonder how his side managed to squander so many oppportunities to score, and their second successive defeat means their play-off place is by no means certain.
They did eventually find the net through their captain, Jed Wallace, with 14 minutes left, but could not force an equaliser.
Leicester’s win owes much to central midfielder Hamza Choudhury who made three goal-line clearances – two of them coming within seconds of one another.
But with both teams recording a combined total of almost 30 shots, the game was partly a tale of the opportunities that were squandered.
West Brom could have had the match won inside the first 20 minutes. With Maresca’s team playing out from the back, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall passed the ball straight to Okay Yukuslu, but he put his hurried shot over the bar.
Mikey Johnston was then involved on three occasions, seeing an effort cleared off the line after 14 minutes. He then had a shot saved by Leicester keeper Mads Hermansen before putting another chance over the bar.
Leicester made Albion pay for their wastefulness in front of goal by taking the lead. Stephy Mavididi pulled the ball back for defender Wout Faes who crossed for Vardy. His header was kept out by Albion goalkeeper Alex Palmer but Ndidi converted the rebound from close range.
Maresca’s side looked set to take a two-goal advantage into the break. Vardy ran on to a long ball from Hermansen a minute before half-time and was pushed over by West Brom defender Conor Townsend in the 18 yard box. Vardy had scored four penalties from four this season, but he hit the post from his fifth spot kick of the campaign.
Choudhury then cleared off the line twice in the space of a few seconds after 51 minutes. First, he blocked a shot from Yann M’Vila and then denied Grady Diangana. The drama continued as, from the resulting corner, Kyle Bartley headed against the bar with Diangana unable to get the vital touch from close range.
Again, Albion were punished for missing their chances as Vardy increased Leicester’s lead after 65 minutes. Choudhury found Abdul Fatawu on the right and his cross was met by Vardy who headed in from close range.
West Brom finally found the net when defender Cedric Kipre’s inch-perfect pass found Wallace who slid the ball past Hermansen.
Chelsea stun Barcelona to take first-leg lead back to Stamford Bridge
Erin Cuthbert gave Chelsea a priceless first-leg lead in their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona after inflicting a first home defeat for five years on the holders.
Cuthbert’s 40th-minute strike was enough to secure a 1-0 win at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys – Barca’s first defeat of the season – on an afternoon when the Blues produced a superb defensive display to deny the free-scoring defending champions a single shot on target.
Things might have been different, however, had referee Stephanie Frappart not been advised to review her decision to award the hosts a second-half penalty for handball to leave Emma Hayes and her players with something to defend at Stamford Bridge next Saturday.
Jess Carter and Kadeisha Buchanan had to be resilient at the heart of the Blues defence early on, although it took a well-timed intervention by Ingrid Engen to prevent Johanna Rytting Kaneryd from making the most of Cuthbert’s 10th-minute ball over the top.
Carter had to be in the right place at the right time to block Salma Paralluelo’s 16th-minute shot after a pacy break by Aitana Bonmati and Buchanan was equally alert to deny the same player after she had burst clear six minutes later.
The visitors were growing into the game with Mayra Ramirez making in-roads down the left and they got their reward five minutes before the break when Sjoeke Nusken held the ball up and then squared for Cuthbert, whose shot looped up off Engel and over keeper Catalina Coll.
But they looked to be in trouble seconds later when the referee awarded a penalty against Buchanan after she had blocked Patri Guijarro’s goal-bound effort with her arm, only for a lengthy VAR review, which showed that Paralluelo had been offside in the build-up, to come to their rescue.
Paralluelo volleyed horribly wide after being picked out at the far post by Caroline Graham Hansen and substitute Alexia Putellas missed the target with salvation beckoning with the final kick of the game.
Altrincham secure home play-off tie with win over relegated Oxford City
Altrincham booked a home tie in the play-offs as they beat Oxford City 1-0 on the final day.
With City long since relegated, Alty knew it was the perfect chance to set up their post-season and they did so thanks to Regan Linney’s first-half goal.
Elliot Newby had already gone close when the opener came, with Newby tripped in the box allowing Linney to convert three minutes before half-time.
Chris Conn-Clarke almost added a second after the break but Altrincham had done enough.
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