Manchester United may soon lose patience with manager Erik ten Hag after another humbling by Liverpool, Red Devils' great Gary Neville said on Sunday.
Former defender Neville believes the Dutchman may only have until Christmas at Old Trafford to turn around what has been another disappointing start to the Premier League season.
United were crushed 3-0 at home to Liverpool as Mohamed Salah scored one and assisted both goals of Luis Diaz's first-half brace on the red side of Manchester.
Ten Hag is the only United manager to lose three Premier League home games by three or more goals in the space of a year, also suffering 3-0 defeats to Manchester City in October and Bournemouth in December last year.
"It's going to be a challenging week or so for Ten Hag just to get around the fact that there will be some pressure building," Neville said on Sky Sports.
"But I think he will get until Christmas. There's no doubt about that. There's no doubt that INEOS and Dan Ashworth the chief executive, who has got a sense of calm about him – the [former Manchester] City chief executive [Omar Berrada] and Dave Brailsford and those people, are not just going to do something stupid.
"Within three or four months, they have made the decision to keep him. They will get four or five months. What they can't be is mid-table come Christmas, but he is going to get a few months, there's no doubt about that."
Fellow pundit Jamie Carragher rebuffed, responding "I would be surprised if he is still in charge at the end of the season", and if results continue this way, United's hand may be forced with Ten Hag.
The former Ajax boss is also the only United manager to lose two of the three opening matches in a Premier League season on two separate occasions.
"It was a sobering day for Erik ten Hag, his players and for the new ownership sat in the stand en masse, looking at it and thinking whether they're on the right path," Neville continued.
"He's been influenced to change his team and his staff in the summer as he's brought two new coaches in. That isn't always ideal as there is new messaging coming in. There's a lot of change at the club so there was going to be a bit of pain along the way in interfering with the Glazer ownership.
"We're seeing that today and it's not going to change quickly. It's a sobering day but one that requires some calm."
Casemiro was removed at half-time, having played a woeful pass in the build-up to Diaz's opener amid a torrid first half.
Despite his early exit, the Brazil midfielder lost possession 14 times, with Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui only doing so more often for United (16 each) and both playing the full game.
"Manchester United fans don't often boo," Neville added on the jeers for Ten Hag, Casemiro and under-fire Marcus Rashford. "They don't often boo the manager, they don't often boo substitutions, they don't often boo players individually. And there's been a couple of times today [where they have].
"They will boo, generally, a performance at half-time when the players are going off if they're losing 2-0. But ordinarily, they don't take out individuals and a couple of times today they have. Casemiro in the first half and then obviously referring to Rashford with that boo."
Kompany grateful for Bayern experience after Muller's record-breaking heroics
Vincent Kompany lauded the influence of Thomas Muller after the Bayern Munich forward capped his record-breaking outing with a goal against Freiburg.
Muller made his 710th appearance across all competitions for Bayern, coming off the bench to overtake the record for the most outings for the club, set by goalkeeper Sepp Maier, who retired in 1979.
The Germany veteran marked the milestone in style, scoring to seal a 2-0 victory for Bayern after Harry Kane was also on target with a penalty on Sunday.
Muller made his Bayern debut back in 2008 when Kompany appeared in his final club appearance in Germany, before the Belgian boss left Hamburg to join Manchester City.
Their careers have now met once again, with Kompany moving to the touchline, and the Bayern head coach is delighted to have reunited with Muller in a bizarre twist of fate.
"Outstanding. I witnessed his first game. I was there with Hamburg on this pitch. 710 games later, it's unbelievable," Kompany said.
"He gave 100% in 710 games, but not only in the games, but also in training. That's what makes Thomas so special.
"There are a few more games that he can still play and we are definitely pleased that he's got a few more in his locker and the fact that he can keep going like this, it's so important for us."
Muller has now found the net in a joint-record 16 successive German top-flight seasons, matching Holger Fach, Mats Hummels, Bernd Nickel, Olaf Thon and Michael Zorc.
His 150th Bundesliga goal on Sunday, sweeping home from Serge Gnabry's cross, marked the perfect end to a special day for the 34-year-old.
As for Bayern overall, Kompany said his side's performance dipped after the break, but luckily he has players like Muller he can call upon when the need arises.
"Very positive first half, and then in the second half we were just one step later than Freiburg on second balls, and we lost a little bit of the momentum," he said.
"But then I have to say that we're very fortunate to have very good players that can come on and make the difference, and Thomas Muller came on, Kingsley Coman too, and the players from the bench were very important for us to win this game.
"Positives and things to learn and we also got to celebrate a fantastic moment for Thomas Muller and that was important as well for us today."
Real Madrid 2-0 Real Betis: Mbappe off the mark in LaLiga with double
Kylian Mbappe's second-half brace powered Real Madrid to a hard-fought 2-0 win over Real Betis in Sunday's LaLiga clash.
Madrid controlled possession but struggled against a well-organised Betis defence until they finally managed to break the deadlock in the 67th minute.
Mbappe struck his first goal in LaLiga with a close-range effort from a brilliant back-heel pass by midfielder Federico Valverde, and the forward would soon add to his account shortly after.
The France captain secured all three points eight minutes later from the penalty spot after Vinicius Junior was fouled inside the box by goalkeeper Rui Silva.
Madrid moved to second in the standings with eight points, four behind leaders Barcelona, while Betis are 17th on two.
Data Debrief: Mbappe's wait proves worthwhile
The expectations remain high on Mbappe following his headline move from Paris Saint-Germain to the Spanish capital this season, with the France forward failing to score in his first three league games.
Heading into this fixture, Mbappe had attempted the most shots this season (17) across Europe's top five leagues, and had the worst difference between expected goals (1.8 xG) and goals scored (none).
Yet the World Cup-winning forward quietened his doubters here, firing nine shots across a one-man attempt to break down Betis.
That paid dividends, however, with his two clinical finishes securing a much-needed victory, and moving Madrid to 26 home games in LaLiga unbeaten (W22 D4), their best run in 11 years (34 between January 2012 and September 2013).
Away from Mbappe, at the back, Madrid have also not conceded in their last five LaLiga games at home for the first time in the competition since October 1996.
Mbappe, coupled with Carlo Ancelotti's well-drilled defence, could be the difference for back-to-back LaLiga crowns by the end of the campaign.
Juventus 0-0 Roma: Motta's men frustrated in dull goalless draw
Juventus dropped their first points of the season under new head coach Thiago Motta as they were held to a 0-0 draw against Roma at the Allianz Stadium.
In an encounter devoid of clear-cut chances, Daniele De Rossi's side defended astutely to claim their second point of the campaign after their defeat to Empoli last week.
Dusan Vlahovic was presented with the clearest sight of goal, but the Serbian striker saw his effort thwarted by the palms of Mile Svilar.
The fixture in Turin saw just one shot from either side on target, with Juventus' expected goals (xG) total of 0.47 only slightly bettering their opponents' 0.37.
Heading into the international break, Juventus sit second in the early-season standings behind Inter, meanwhile Roma move out of the bottom three and into 17th.
Data Debrief: Serie A giants fail to excite
Juventus' Vlahovic and Roma's Alexis Saelemaekers were the two credited with the encounters only efforts on target in a game that failed to live up to the billing.
But there were positives for Motta to take, with Juventus remaining unbeaten in their first three Serie A games of the season for the third year in a row, while also registering a fourth consecutive league clean sheet, as many as they had managed in their previous 16.
Roma have failed to win any of their first three Serie A games of the season for the second season in a row. Only once have the Giallorossi failed to win their first three games in two consecutive years (2010-11 and 2011-12).
They have also scored just one goal in their first three games of the season, their worst result since 1986-87.
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
