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• Ronaldo: 'You cannot rebuild Man United without knowledge'

  Cristiano Ronaldo believes Manchester United "cannot rebuild without knowledge" as he urged Erik ten Hag to take advice from assistant coach - and former Red Devils striker - Ruud van Nistelrooy.

  United opened the Premier League season with a 1-0 win over Fulham, but then suffered back-to-back defeats against Brighton and Hove Albion and Liverpool.

  It is the second time under Ten Hag the Red Devils have lost as many as two of their first three league games in a season (also 2022-23); as many times as in their previous 29 campaigns combined.

  United have also scored three goals fewer than their xG suggests they should have so far this term (two goals, 5.2 xG), the biggest such difference for any team in the Premier League.

  Ten Hag was recently joined in the dugout by compatriot Van Nistelrooy, who scored 150 in 219 appearances at Old Trafford between 2001 and 2006.

  And Ronaldo - the scorer of 145 in 346 games across his two spells - thinks the Red Devils will benefit from the wisdom of people with prior experience and knowledge of the club.

  "[As the] Man United manager; you cannot say that you're not going to fight to win the Premier League or Champions League," he told former team-mate Rio Ferdinand on FiveUK.

  "You've to say: 'maybe we've not got the potential, but we're going to try'. You have to try!

  "If Ten Hag listens to Ruud van Nistelrooy, maybe he can help. He knows the club and the club should listen to the guys who were there [like] Rio, Roy Keane, [Paul] Scholes, Gary Neville, Alex Ferguson. You cannot rebuild a club without knowledge."

  United return to action this weekend away at pointless Southampton, against whom they are unbeaten in their last 12 Premier League visits since a 1-0 defeat in August 2003.

  The Red Devils have also lost just one of their last 30 Premier League matches against promoted sides, winning 15 of their last 17 such games.

• 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.