Manchester United paid tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton with a 2-1 Premier League victory at Sheffield United.
United are mourning one of their greatest ever players following Charlton’s death aged 86 on Saturday morning and goals from Scott McTominay and Diogo Dalot ensured they remembered him with victory.
But Erik ten Hag’s side could not be much further away from the one that Charlton famously led to European Cup glory in 1968 as they were lacklustre against a team who have picked up just one point this season.
Defender Dalot was the unlikely hero as he saved their blushes with a 20-yard curler 13 minutes from time after Oli McBurnie’s first-half penalty had cancelled out McTominay’s opener.
It was not a vintage performance, certainly not one fitting of Charlton, but United did at least register back-to-back league victories for the first time this season and Ten Hag will hope this can be a springboard.
The Blades may feel they deserved something out of the game, especially on the back of a lively first-half performance, but they slipped to an eighth defeat from nine games and a long winter looks on the cards.
United captain Bruno Fernandes laid a wreath on the centre circle before kick-off and there was a minute’s applause for the World Cup winner, while the away end gave a rousing rendition of ‘There’s only one Bobby Charlton’.
As emotional as it was for United, they still had a job to do and they had to weather an early storm from the hosts.
The Blades started well and should have led inside the opening three minutes as Gus Hamer’s shot deflected into the path of McBurnie, but with time and space 14 yards out he shot straight at Andre Onana, who gratefully clung on.
The visitors were up against it and Ten Hag used an injury break to gather his players and bark instructions.
It did not immediately make much difference as Onana, much maligned for handling errors this season, produced a strong arm to keep out Cameron Archer’s 20-yard drive.
For all their bluster, the Blades had come away from a strong opening 25 minutes without reward and they were punished as the visitors went ahead against the run of the play in the 28th minute.
McTominay, who rescued his side with two injury-time goals against Brentford before the international break, received the ball from Fernandes and his scuffed effort found its way into the bottom corner.
Things quickly turned sour for for McTominay, though, as just five minutes later he gave away a penalty when he handled James McAtee’s cross.
The incident survived a VAR check and McBurnie stepped up and stroked the spot-kick home for his first goal of the season.
McBurnie almost turned provider in the 41st minute when he slipped in Archer, but Onana bravely stopped with his face.
For all the home pressure, it was Ten Hag’s men who nearly took a lead into the half-time break as they had two late chances.
First Fernandes clipped the crossbar with a dipping free-kick before Rasmus Hojlund was denied by a fine save from Wes Foderingham, who rushed out and deflected the ball wide.
The Blades were on the front foot after the restart and Onana made another impressive stop, palming away Rhian Brewster’s effort after being wrong-footed.
United finally upped their game and created a raft of chances to go back in front.
Foderingham saved from Hojlund when the Dane should have scored, Marcus Rashford rolled wide at the far post and Sofyan Amrabat thundered a fierce 20-yard effort against the crossbar.
The breakthrough eventually came in the 77th minute when Dalot was afforded too much time on the edge of the area and he curled a shot into the top corner, though Foderingham got a hand to it and should have kept it out.
That proved enough as United remembered Charlton with victory which will not live long in the memory.
'One game at a time', says calm Slot after Leverkusen thrashing
Arne Slot insisted he will continue to look at "one game at a time" after leading Liverpool to a 4-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Luis Diaz's second-half hat-trick along with Cody Gakpo's 63rd-minute strike spoiled Xabi Alonso's Anfield return, moving the Reds top of the 36-team standings.
Liverpool have now won all four of their Champions League games under Slot. It’s only the second time that they have won all four opening games in a single season.
The Reds are now top of both the Premier League and Champions League, though Slot was keen to focus on the next task, which comes in the shape of Aston Villa on Saturday.
"I don't know if it was that much to do with intensity, but we took more risk," Slot said.
"They overloaded the midfield a lot, and we adjusted at half-time and took the risk to play one v one all over. We had better chances in the first half and they weren't a goal threat.
"As much as this time, how good they are in Europe, sometimes a strong target man is better than someone a bit faster.
"Curtis Jones did an incredible pass, and then you have someone with the pace of Lucho to finish it off. The pass was as good as the goal, in my opinion.
"You don't look ahead as a manager in the next three months. You're always one game at a time. We've got Aston Villa on Saturday, another tough game."
Diaz's treble saw him become only the second Colombian player to score a hat-trick in the Champions League, after Faustino Asprilla for Newcastle against Barcelona in 1997.
And he insisted that things have started brightly for Slot at Anfield, but said his team-mates must continue to perform to have something to show for it at the end of the season.
"The most important thing is the three points in this edition of the Champions League so we can keep progressing in the competition," Diaz said.
"Things have gone so well with the new manager, it wasn't easy for him to come in and fill Jurgen Klopp's shoes.
"Hopefully, we'll have something to show for it at the end of the season.
"We have top-quality players all over the pitch and I really enjoyed playing in that position today. I'm just happy to be on the pitch.
"I need to go and find that ball now because I need to keep it somewhere special at home."
For Alonso and Leverkusen, meanwhile, it marked a first Champions League defeat since 2022, while also conceding four or more goals in an away match in the competition since 2013 against Manchester United.
"It's painful the result more than the performance, probably," Alonso told Amazon Prime.
"But this is the Champions League, this is the highest level, and today it wasn't enough for us."
"It's too early to tell, but I can see that Liverpool have a very good balance, a very complete team.
"They work with 11 players, and they have the power to hold a clean sheet, which is important in the Champions League.
"In the Premier League, let's see. It's early to tell but it's looking good."
Alonso, who won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, was serenaded by the home supporters at Anfield during the contest.
"I tried to separate the game and the pain from the result from the nice feelings to come back. I'm really happy and thankful for that reception," he added.
Bologna 0-1 Monaco: Kehrer maintains visitors' impressive Champions League start
Monaco defender Thilo Kehrer scored a late goal to earn a 1-0 Champions League victory for his side at Bologna on Tuesday.
Monaco captain Kehrer, left unmarked in front of goal four minutes from time, stretched out a leg to poke the ball home from a flicked-on corner to snatch the points.
The visitors maintained their unbeaten start to this season’s Champions League while also dealing Bologna their first-ever home defeat in European competition.
Both sides saw goals chalked off in the first half, Monaco's Wilfried Singo being penalised for a foul on Lukasz Skorupski before Santiago Castro saw a curling strike disallowed for a foul in the build-up.
The two Polish goakeepers, Monaco's Radoslaw Majecki and Bologna's Skorupski, both made several fine saves to keep the game goalless until Kehrer got the all-important touch on an inswinging corner late on.
The win puts Monaco in third place with 10 points, while Bologna are down in 30th spot with one point after four games.
Data Debrief: Long-awaited shutout for Monaco
Monaco have now won consecutive games in the Champions League for the first time since a run of three in 2017, also ending a 23-game run without a clean sheet in the competition.
Bologna, meanwhile, are the only side in this season's Champions League to play four matches and fail to score, despite registering 48 shots in total and an xG tally of 3.19.
Sheffield United go second after late turnaround, Plymouth continue good home form
Sheffield United staged a late turnaround to win 2-1 away to Bristol City and go second in the Championship, one point behind leaders Sunderland who play on Wednesday.
The game started slowly, with the hosts not opening the scoring until a 75th-minute Anis Mehmeti penalty after a foul on Sinclair Armstrong by goalkeeper Michael Cooper.
The Blades showed great character to haul themselves back into the game, with 18-year-old Ryan One scoring the equaliser in the 86th minute.
But things went up a notch in stoppage time when Robert Dickie was given a straight red card for a cynical foul on Callum O'Hare 35 yards out.
The drama wasn't finished yet and with seconds to go, Harrison Burrows smashed home a left-foot rocket to win the game for the Blades.
At the bottom of the table, Plymouth opened a four-point gap between themselves and the relegation zone with a 1-0 victory over bottom-of-the-table Portsmouth.
The victory means that Wayne Rooney's side have dropped just two points in their last five games at Home Park, having lost six on the bounce in all competitions away.
It is now four without a victory for Portsmouth, who have earned just nine points in their opening 14 matches back in the Championship.
Elsewhere, Middlesbrough responded to their 3-0 defeat at home to Coventry City last weekend by beating second-bottom Queens Park Rangers 4-1 on the road.
That was a first victory in three for Michael Carrick's side, who are one place below the play-off positions and trail only by goal difference.
QPR are four points behind fourth-bottom Preston North End, having failed to win any of their last 10 league games.
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