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• Manchester United sack struggling Ten Hag

  Manchester United have parted company with Erik ten Hag.

  United lost 2-1 to West Ham on Sunday, and that defeat at London Stadium has proved the final straw for the club's ownership.

  The Dutchman, who was only rewarded with a new contract in the summer following a win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final, had won just one of his last eight matches in charge.

  United confirmed in a statement on Monday that Ten Hag, who joined the club from Ajax in 2022, had left his role.

  "We are grateful to Erik for everything he has done during his time with us and wish him well for the future," the statement read.

  United announced that Ruud van Nistelrooy, who joined Ten Hag's coaching staff this past summer, will take charge as interim head coach during the club's search for a permanent replacement.

  The Red Devils sit 14th in the Premier League, having won three and lost four of their opening nine games. They have also drawn all three of their Europa League matches.

  Ten Hag can point to his side missing chances this season – in fact, United have the biggest negative differential between expected goals and goals scored in the Premier League this season (eight goals scored from 14.6 xG).

  However, defensively they have been poor for large swathes of Ten Hag's tenure. Indeed, since his first Premier League match in charge in August 2022, United have registered an xG against (xGA) of 136.

  While they have only conceded 112 goals, their xGA is the fifth-worst of any ever-present Premier League side in that time.

  Ten Hag departs having led United to two trophies – the EFL Cup in 2022-23 and last season's FA Cup.

• LAFC edge out Vancouver as Orlando take the advantage against Charlotte

  Denis Bouanga and Cristian Olivera were on target as Los Angeles FC edged out the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 on Sunday.

  LAFC, the 2022 MLS Cup champions, will book their place in the next round should they win north of the border next week.

  Ryan Gauld netted in the 94th minute for the Whitecaps, but it was too little, too late for the Canadian side, who hammered the Portland Timbers in the wildcard round.

  LAFC have now won seven straight playoff games against Western Conference opponents, while Bouanga has netted eight goals in nine postseason appearances.

  Hugo Lloris, however, says LAFC must sharpen up.

  "The performance is not [good] enough, but we got the result so that's the most important thing," Lloris said.

  "We need to increase [our levels] if we want to have ambition. A win is a win, so that's positive, but there were things we need to fix if we are to improve."

  Elsewhere, Orlando City also made a winning start to their playoff campaign as they beat Charlotte FC 2-0.

  Facundo Torres put Orlando ahead in the 32nd minute at Inter&Co Stadium, with Martin Ojeda doubling the hosts' tally 14 minutes from time.

  A frustrating day for Dean Smith's Charlotte team was compounded when Pep Biel was sent off late on, though they will at least have home advantage when they look to turn the best-of-three series around next time out.

• Simeone shoulders responsibility for Atletico defeat

  Diego Simeone took full responsibility for Atletico Madrid's disappointing performance after their unbeaten LaLiga run ended with a 1-0 loss at Real Betis on Sunday.

  Atleti failed to recover from Jose Maria Gimenez's fourth-minute own goal and wasted the few chances they created in a game riddled with errors that the coach blamed on himself.

  Hosts Betis had 24 shots to Atleti's 10, albeit both teams only got three attempts on target.

  Simeone, though, accepted Atleti were not up to standard, as his team lost their 24th game in all competitions in 2024, which is their joint-worst total in a calendar year under the Argentine's tutelage.

  "I didn't prepare this match well. I am responsible for the plan not working," said Simeone, whose side lost 3-1 to Lille in the Champions League in midweek.

  "Starting with myself first, we have work to do and things to improve. I didn't imagine anything different. The new players need to keep adapting, and I need to get more out of their strengths.

  "Betis are a competitive team who have improved as they showed today, they outplayed us. We clearly couldn't play our game.

  "This happened to us against Lille last week, we fell behind in the game and that didn't allow us to level this game.

  "Ultimately, as a coach, I have to resolve these situations first and have a clear idea (of tactics) so that the players can perform in the way I like."

  Atleti's first defeat of the season leaves them fourth in the Spanish top flight on 20 points, two clear of Betis and ten behind leaders Barcelona.

  They face UE Vic in the Copa del Rey on Thursday before hosting Las Palmas in LaLiga three days later.