Ruud van Nistelrooy revealed he has not spoken to incoming Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim after leading the Red Devils to a point against Chelsea on Sunday. 

Van Nistelrooy, taking interim charge of his first Premier League game, saw Bruno Fernandes open the scoring from the spot in the 70th minute after Robert Sanchez's clumsy challenge on Rasmus Hojlund. 

But Moises Caicedo's strike four minutes later sealed a share of the spoils at Old Trafford, though the performance left plenty for Amorim to ponder upon his arrival in Manchester.

Van Nistelrooy will oversee United's next two games against PAOK in the Europa League and Leicester City before Amorim takes the reins on November 11. 

The Dutchman joined previous manager Erik ten Hag's coaching staff in July, but it remains to be seen whether he will remain at Old Trafford once Amorim arrives. 

"Over the coming days we will be in communication, and I am waiting for that," Van Nistelrooy said.

"What is more important is that we are in training tomorrow and prepare for the game on Thursday. I haven’t spoken to him [Amorim] yet, but it will happen.

“You saw today that we competed well against a very good side. This is the way forward for this group of players."

The result, however, moved United on to 12 points, but marked their worst return after 10 games of a league campaign since 1986-87 (eight).

Meanwhile, the Red Devils' total of nine goals is their fewest at this stage of a league campaign since 1973-74 (also nine), though Van Nistelrooy was happy with the display. 

“I am disappointed we didn’t win, we had the better of the chances in the game. But overall the performance was fantastic. They left their all out there on the pitch," he added. 

“It was a great moment, the goal, when Old Trafford explodes. Bruno Fernandes did well taking it and the emotion came out.

"This week has been special, I have enjoyed every second of it. I am here to help and will get behind the new manager and make sure the club grows.

“We are behind the new manager, everyone at the new club is focusing on the two games that are very important, but then we will work hard to make this club better every day."

Fernandes echoed the thoughts of his manager, but said the result was one that frustrated his team-mates at full-time. 

“We did fight, we could have won the game. Chelsea also played a good game, it was good from both teams but not the result we wanted," Fernandes said. 

"I always look at the goalkeeper before facing them. He [Robert Sanchez] saved a penalty from me last season, but I was successful.

"Every week here is challenging, if we win or lose."

Fernandes has now scored 32 of his 36 penalties for United (89%), with his three penalty goals against Chelsea being his joint-most against any opponent (also three v Aston Villa).

Enzo Maresca believes it was "quite clear for all of us" that Lisandro Martinez should have been sent off for his "dangerous" challenge on Cole Palmer during Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Manchester United.

The spoils were shared at Old Trafford, where a superb Moises Caicedo volley cancelled out Bruno Fernandes' earlier penalty.

However, Maresca felt United should have been reduced to 10 men following Martinez's late tackle on Palmer, with referee Robert Jones showing the defender a yellow card following a VAR review.

"I think it is quite clear for all of us, but the referee took a different decision," he said. "When you don’t go for the ball and just the man, it is a red. There is no intention to take the ball and it is dangerous."

Nevertheless, the Italian was pleased with the way his players dealt with facing United, who were overseen by interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy in their first league game since Erik ten Hag's dismissal.

"We are happy because we knew how difficult it would be," Maresca added. "The [United] players want to prove they're good enough. A new manager with different ideas, so we had to prepare a different way.

"Overall, United were similar [to under Ten Hag], we expected them to be a bit more aggressive. For a large part of the game, we were in control, there was a desire to win the game, and we lost our balance in the last 10 minutes or so.

"When you go down in this stadium, it's very difficult to come back, but we did that. Then, we tried to win it."

"We knew if we waited for a long time [to equalise], it was going to be complicated," Caicedo told BBC Sport. "I'm so happy to equalise.

"We deserved to win. We knew it would be a tough game, but we were prepared for it. I'm so happy for the team. It was a great fight."

Manchester City moved three points clear at the Women's Super League summit following a 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace.

Jess Park, Jill Roord and Khadija Shaw were all on target as Gareth Taylor's side extended their unbeaten start to the season, moving onto 16 points after their opening six games.

City quickly established authority in their 200th WSL match, and took the lead five minutes before half-time through Park's long-range strike.

The visitors doubled their advantage within five minutes of the restart, as Roord pounced on a loose ball and calmly slotted home.

Katie Stengel struck the post for the hosts before City put the contest to bed 17 minutes from time, with Shaw heading home Park's cross for her fourth goal of the season.

Taylor's side are three points clear of Brighton and Hove Albion, who leapfrogged Chelsea to second place after Nikita Parris scored the only goal as they edged out Leicester City.

West Ham remain rooted to the foot of the WSL table after Camila Saez's bizarre late own-goal condemned them to a 2-1 defeat against Tottenham.

Riko Ueki's opener was cancelled out by Beth England early in the second half, before Saez unwittingly lobbed her own goalkeeper from 18 yards to hand Spurs the points in stoppage time.

The winless Hammers remain on two points with an inferior goal difference keeping them below Aston Villa, who are also still seeking their first win of the campaign after losing 2-1 to Liverpool.

Taylor Hinds' first-half brace did the damage for the Reds at Villa Park, where Gabi Nunes' strike soon after the restart proved a mere consolation for the hosts.

Phillipe Clement said Rangers' performance against Motherwell must serve as a reference for the rest of their season after they teed up a Scottish League Cup final clash with Celtic.

Rangers fought back for a 2-1 victory on Sunday, with Cyriel Dessers and Nedim Bajrami on target one day after Celtic trounced Aberdeen 6-0 in the first semi-final.

Dessers converted Connor Barron's cross to level things up in the 49th minute, then Bajrami saw his strike deflect home nine minutes from time to ease the pressure on Clement.

The Gers have endured a difficult Premiership season to date and trail rivals Celtic, who they will face in the League Cup final on December 15, by nine points in the table.

Clement, however, believes they can achieve big things if they replicate the performance they produced at Hampden Park on a regular basis.

"We can go where we want to be, which is the final," he told Premier Sports.

"We had that amazing feeling together with the fans last season and we can battle for that again. 

"This needs to be also a reference game for this squad, for this new squad.

"To do what we've been doing a lot last season, to dig in and in every situation to keep our belief, to keep on going, to keep on fighting and to break the wall if we go behind... 

"This can be a massive game at the end of the season to have this one as a reference. I want to see, every three days, this mentality."

Moises Caicedo denied Ruud van Nistelrooy a first Premier League win as Manchester United’s interim head coach as the midfielder's goal earned Chelsea a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.

Following a first half that lacked quality, the Theatre of Dreams burst into life when Robert Sanchez hauled down Rasmus Hojlund inside the penalty area 20 minutes from time.

Bruno Fernandes, so often United’s main man under former boss Erik ten Hag, stepped up and sent the Chelsea goalkeeper the wrong way to put the hosts on course for a much-needed win.

But the Red Devils’ joy was short-lived thanks to a bolt from Chelsea blue, courtesy of the right foot of Caicedo, who sent a first-time volley into the bottom-left corner.

The draw saw Chelsea edge past Arsenal and into the top four, while United moved up one place in the table, going 13th. 

Data Debrief: Ruud awakening

While Ruben Amorim's impending arrival at Old Trafford brought positivity back to Old Trafford, Van Nistelrooy was unable to stop United's faltering start to the season. 

With just 12 points won, this is the Red Devils' worst return after 10 games of a league campaign since 1986-87 (eight).

Meanwhile, their total of nine goals is their fewest at this stage of a league campaign since 1973-74 (also nine).

But their latest result was perhaps a result waiting to happen. Eight of the last 13 meetings between United and Chelsea in the Premier League have ended level, while this is the fixture with the most total draws in the competition’s history (27).

Barcelona moved nine points clear at the LaLiga summit following a 3-1 victory over Espanyol in the Catalan derby.

Dani Olmo scored twice while Raphinha was also on target as Hansi Flick's side stretched their advantage over second-place Real Madrid, whose scheduled showdown with Valencia this weekend was postponed.

Barca broke the deadlock after just 12 minutes. Olmo latched onto Lamine Yamal's brilliant throughball with the outside of his boot, before beating Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia with a well-taken first-time finish.

The hosts doubled their lead 11 minutes later with Marc Casado finding Raphinha, who bravely lifted over the advancing Garcia.

It was 3-0 just after the half-hour mark, as Olmo received Alejandro Balde's pass before drilling home from the edge of the penalty area.

Espanyol, who saw two goals disallowed following VAR reviews, pulled one back when Javi Puado turned home Carlos Romero's cross in the 63rd minute.

However, it proved a consolation for the visitors, who suffered their sixth defeat in seven league games. 

Data Debrief: Free-scoring Barca maintain derby dominance

Now unbeaten in 27 LaLiga derbies against Espanyol, Barcelona have now scored 40 goals this season; their second-highest tally after the first 12 games of a LaLiga season (42 in 1950-51).

Following Olmo's brace, which took his tally for the campaign to five, the Blaugrana are the only team with four different players to have scored at least five goals in Europe's top five leagues this term.

In setting up Raphinha's goal, Casado is the first Barca player from Spain to provide an assist in three successive games in all competitions since at least the 2014-15 season.

Melvine Malard came off the bench to score a late equaliser as Manchester United drew 1-1 with Arsenal in the Women’s Super League, preserving the hosts’ unbeaten start to 2024-25.

The France international cancelled out a strike from Alessia Russo as the former United striker found form against her old club, keeping the sides fourth and fifth in the table respectively.

Russo had failed to find the net through Arsenal’s first five games of the campaign but looked sharp from the off at Leigh Sports Village. 

Moments after Lia Walti had struck the post, Russo fired home a 63rd-minute opener against the club she represented from 2020 to 2023, scoring 22 league goals.

However, that goal was not enough to give Renee Slegers’ side victory, as Malard’s header bobbled past goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar with eight minutes to play.

Though United remain one of three sides yet to lose in the WSL this campaign, the result leaves them five points adrift of leaders Manchester City, with the Gunners one point further back.

Data Debrief: Chance missed for Gunners

While Marc Skinner will take the plaudits after introducing Malard to change the momentum of the game, Arsenal’s interim boss Slegers was left to rue her team’s lack of ruthlessness.

Arsenal fired off 19 shots to United’s six, yet only hit the target on one more occasion than their hosts (four to three), only just edging the expected goals (xG) battle 1.62 to 1.18.

The Gunners have now dropped four points from winning positions in the WSL this term, with only Aston Villa (eight) and Liverpool (seven) giving up more.

Ange Postecoglou saluted an "outstanding effort" by Tottenham after they came from behind to beat Aston Villa 4-1.

Spurs scored four second-half goals as they got back to winning ways in the Premier League, following last weekend's 1-0 defeat at lowly Crystal Palace.

Postecoglou's side notched up an impressive 2-1 victory over Manchester City in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, but fell behind against Villa to Morgan Rogers' first-half effort.

Nevertheless, the hosts responded well after the break. Dominic Solanke scored twice, while Brennan Johnson and James Maddison were also on target in what was eventually a commanding victory.

And Postecoglou by the positive manner in which his players have responded to their setback at Selhurst Park.

"Seven days is a long time in football," he said. "Seven days ago, I was a grumpy old so and so. We have to stay true to the course we're on. We made sure not to feel sorry for ourselves and get back to the team we want to be.

"The first half was a bit of an arm wrestle. [Villa] have a consistent level of performance. We have other gears in us, which we showed in the second half. After the performance in midweek, I thought it was an outstanding effort.

"I felt the momentum was going our way, we knew we would finish strong and if we upped it a couple of gears like we can, we knew we would be hard to stop."

The head coach also paid tribute to Solanke, who became the first Spurs player to score at least four goals in his first eight Premier League appearances for the club since Rafael van der Vaart in 2010-11.

"The amount of work the guy did for us over the week - goals are great, but his capacity to do everything he can for the team in every area - I can't speak highly enough of him," Postecoglou added.

"We stuck with it," Solanke told Sky Sports. "A few times this season, we've gone a goal down. Against Palace, we didn't react in the right way, but today we did.

"We always believe we can score many goals. It all came together today in the second half. We had to adapt to the way they were playing. At half-time, we had time to regroup and discuss what we had to do.

"We've had some great games, but haven't managed to do it the whole season, but we think we're capable of it."

Atletico Madrid returned to winning ways in LaLiga as Giuliano Simeone and Alexander Sorloth earned them a 2-0 triumph over Las Palmas on Sunday. 

Atletico's sixth win of the season moved them up to third in LaLiga after 12 games, while Las Palmas remain inside the bottom three in the Spanish top-flight. 

Diego Simeone's side started strongly at the Metropolitano Stadium, with Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez going closest to netting the first goal. 

But their dominant opening was rewarded in the 37th minute when Simeone was sent through by Nahuel Molina, with the Argentine slotting past Jasper Cillessen for his first LaLiga goal. 

The hosts threatened to extend their advantage before the break, but Samuel Lino and Pablo Barrios saw their efforts unable to trouble Cillessen.

Simeone's side continued to dominate proceedings, finally getting the goal their display merited seven minutes from time, with Sorloth beating the offside trap before curling the ball home to seal the victory.

Data Debrief: Like father, like son

Simeone followed in his father's footsteps against with his goal against Las Palmas, netting his first strike for Atletico in his eighth LaLiga match, almost 20 years after his father and manager, Diego, scored his last goal for the club against Real Madrid. 

But Sorloth also impressed. Since his arrival in LaLiga in the 2021-22 season, only Karim Benzema (46), Vinicius Junior (47) and Robert Lewandowski (56) have scored more goals than the Norwegian (43, level with Iago Aspas). 

Atletico have now won nine of their last 11 matches against Las Palmas in LaLiga (L1), keeping a clean sheet in nine of those games. 

Atletico Madrid returned to winning ways in LaLiga as Giuliano Simeone and Alexander Sorloth earned them a 2-0 triumph over Las Palmas on Sunday. 

Atletico's sixth win of the season moved them up to third in LaLiga after 12 games, while Las Palmas remain inside the bottom three in the Spanish top-flight. 

Diego Simeone's side started strongly at the Metropolitano Stadium, with Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez going closest to netting the first goal. 

But their dominant opening was rewarded in the 37th minute when Simeone was sent through by Nahuel Molina, with the Argentine slotting past Jasper Cillessen for his first LaLiga goal. 

The hosts threatened to extend their advantage before the break, but Samuel Lino and Pablo Barrios saw their efforts unable to trouble Cillessen.

Simeone's side continued to dominate proceedings, finally getting the goal their display merited seven minutes from time, with Sorloth beating the offside trap before curling the ball home to seal the victory.

Data Debrief: Like father, like son

Simeone followed in his father's footsteps against Las Palmas, netting his first goal for Atletico in his eighth LaLiga match, almost 20 years after his father and manager, Diego, scored his maiden goal for the club in his ninth game in the competition against Real Madrid. 

But Sorloth also impressed. Since his arrival in LaLiga in the 2021-22 season, only Karim Benzema (46), Vinicius Junior (47) and Robert Lewandowski (56) have scored more goals than the Norwegian (43, level with Iago Aspas). 

Atletico have now won nine of their last 11 matches against Las Palmas in LaLiga (L1), keeping a clean sheet in nine of those games. 

Ademola Lookman scored a first-half brace as Atalanta stunned Serie A leaders Napoli with a 3-0 away win on Sunday, moving up to second in the table.

Lookman – who this week finished 14th in the voting for the Ballon d’Or – opened the scoring after 10 minutes with a volley from close range after being teed up by Charles De Ketelaere.

He then doubled La Dea’s lead after the half-hour mark with a long-range strike from another De Ketelaere pass, after Scott McTominay had rattled the post for Napoli.

Substitute Mateo Retegui added the third in stoppage time, sweeping home from Raoul Bellanova’s cross as Gian Piero Gasperini’s men extended their winning run to five league games.

Atalanta, provisionally second on 22 points, have cut the gap to their opponents at the summit to three points. 

They are one point above third-placed Inter – who have a game in hand – and Juventus in fourth.

Data Debrief: Lookman deals Conte reality check

Napoli entered Sunday’s game with the only 100% home record in Serie A this season, having won five of five on their own turf under new boss Conte.

However, they were given a harsh reality check by a potential Scudetto rival as the former Chelsea and Tottenham coach lost a home Serie A match by a three-goal margin for the first time since 2009, when he oversaw Atalanta’s 5-2 defeat to Juventus.

Lookman was the architect, and he has now been involved in more goals across all competitions in 2024 than any other Serie A player (28 – 17 goals, 11 assists).

 

Lionel Messi endured an outing to forget as Inter Miami suffered a dramatic 2-1 defeat at Atlanta United, sending their MLS Cup Playoff tie to a deciding third game.

Having recorded a 2-1 victory at home in Game 1, the Supporters’ Shield winners had a chance to book their place in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Saturday.

However, they were punished for a lacklustre performance at Mercedez-Benz Stadium, only recording two shots on target throughout the match.

The Herons did take a 40th-minute lead when David Martinez scored a bizarre opener, dinking his shot into an empty net following a slip from Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

However, Derrick Williams headed a 58th-minute equaliser and Atlanta struck the decisive blow four minutes into stoppage time, Xande Silva coming off the bench to fire home from the edge of the box and prevent a penalty shoot-out.

The teams will now reconvene for a third game next week, with Messi and Miami requiring a home win to keep their campaign alive.

New York City also forced a decider in their series against FC Cincinnati, clinching a 3-1 home victory with goals from Alonso Martinez, Thiago Martins and Santiago Rodriguez.

Martinez put them ahead with a cool finish midway through the first half, with Martins adding a deserved second just before the interval, taking advantage of some poor defending to score with a free header at the far post.

Cincinnati were given hope of a comeback when Luca Orellano curled a wonderful strike into the top-left corner, but Rodriguez converted a stoppage-time penalty to ensure NYCFC kept the tie alive.

In the last of Saturday’s games, Minnesota United recorded a second penalty shoot-out win over Real Salt Lake in the space of four days to advance to the Western Conference semifinals.

Joseph Rosales’ placed effort gave Minnesota a second-half lead just four minutes after Brayan Vera’s deflected strike was disallowed for an offside in the build-up at the other end. 

Emeka Eneli prodded home 15 minutes from time to take the game to spot-kicks, but Real Salt Lake came up short from 12 yards once again, failing to score with three straight kicks in a 3-1 loss.

Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair repelled efforts from Diogo Goncalves and Diego Luna either side of Matt Crooks blazing over the top, allowing Jeong Sang-bin to score the decisive kick for the Loons, who will face the LA Galaxy in the next round.

 

Borussia Dortmund's 2-1 comeback win over RB Leipzig to snap a three-game losing run was a reward for their hard work, coach Nuri Sahin said.

Dortmund, who face Sturm Graz in the Champions League next week, were without nine injured players but dug deep to score twice after visitors Leipzig took the lead.

They came into Saturday's Bundesliga match against second-placed Leipzig having lost three straight games across all competitions, and fell behind to Benjamin Sesko's thumping strike.

But goals from Maximilian Beier and Serhou Guirassy completed the turnaround and saw Sahin continue his strong home form, having won each of his first five league matches in charge at Signal Iduna Park.

"An important win, and in my opinion a deserved win," Sahin told reporters. 

"We started well and the goal did not knock us down. We were rewarded with a goal before half-time and then again after the break. Sometimes you suffer, but with suffering you learn. We are now on a better track and won't veer away."

Sahin had been under mounting pressure following a loss in the Champions League to Real Madrid after leading 2-0, and defeats by Augsburg in the Bundesliga last week and Tuesday's DFB-Cup exit to Wolfsburg.

"On Tuesday I also saw a team that gave everything but were not rewarded in the end. Today we were," Sahin said.

"The boys applied what we planned. The belief in this team is the same even if we had lost seven in a row."

Michel believes Girona's LaLiga match against Leganes should not have been played following flash floods that have devastated parts of eastern Spain.

Girona won a thrilling contest 4-3 on Saturday.

However, the match came after several days of flooding that has left over 200 people dead, with dozens unaccounted for.

Barcelona boss Hansi Flick and Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone earlier criticised the decision to hold most of the LaLiga matches this weekend, a sentiment echoed by Michel.

"We shouldn't celebrate anything since this match shouldn't have been played," the Girona boss said.

"Taking three points after the physical and mental toll of playing in different competitions and travelling, the team gives everything, and that's very positive."

Girona's Miguel Gutierrez, who opened the scoring, marked the goal by holding up a shirt that read: 'This is for you, Henry. Go Valencia'.

"The first shirt I lifted was for my friend Enrique, whose mother is missing. She was swept away by the current, and they’re still trying to find her," he said.

The 23-year-old said the past few days had been emotional.

"I believe the match takes a backseat. Aside from Madrid, the city I've spent the most time in where I have the most friends and connections is Valencia," Gutierrez said.

"I can assure you that I’ve seen videos and been on video calls with friends and it’s a complete disaster, an absolute nightmare." 

Focusing on the match, Michel acknowledged the defensive performance was not good enough from his team, who conceded only eight shots, though five of those were on target, with Leganes scoring three goals from an expected goals (xG) of just 0.4.

"We competed well; the first half was very good, but we conceded two goals from situations we could have defended better," he said.

"Even though I wanted to make changes to bring in the young players at 4-2, the 4-3 score complicated things. It was a tough situation for them. As coaches, we want to control the game more, but it turned out this way."

Wolves head coach Gary O’Neil was unfazed by supporter criticism after his team saw their winless start to the season continue with Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace.

Marc Guehi netted a late equaliser as Palace took a point at Molineux, where Wolves had previously been on course for victory after fighting back from 1-0 down to lead 2-1.

O’Neil’s side have now earned just three points from 10 matches, failing to win any of their first 10 games to start a league campaign for just the third time after 1926-27 (10 games) and 1983-84 (14).  

O’Neil responded to Trevoh Chalobah putting Palace ahead on the hour mark with a triple substitution, introducing Mario Lemina, Goncalo Guedes and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.

Though the former duo impressed after coming on, supporters loudly booed O’Neil’s decision to replace midfielder Tommy Doyle, as speculation regarding his future continues to mount.

Asked about supporter discontent after the game, O’Neil said: “I’m fine, it’s my job. The three substitutes made a big difference, I thought we were excellent from then.

“They can voice their opinions, of course, it’s my job. Mario made us an awful lot better, he snuffed out so many balls and turned them into attacking situations for us.

“We need to be better, of course. A lot of it ends up being my responsibility, which I’m happy to take. Criticism around subs, goals can land on my doorstep, that’s what I’m here for.”

O’Neil then added: “I’m disappointed because it was a really brave fightback to spin the game from 1-0 down to 2-1 up, it took a lot of effort.

“Disappointed because having worked so hard to get in front, once we got in front I thought we had a good chance of seeing it out.

“I thought we’d have to defend a couple of moments but not be under any sort of siege, so we’re disappointed we came up short with one.”

Palace have now won more points from their last two matches (four) than they did through their first eight of 2024-25 (three), but boss Oliver Glasner was frustrated that they failed to put Wolves away when 1-0 up.

“It was our third game in six days with a very tight squad. The only thing we can blame ourselves is for not deciding the game when we could’ve done,” he said.

“We had the momentum with the crowd booing, this is what we could and should have done better. All of a sudden Wolves went 2-1 up and then it was back to the players who reacted, they came back again and what makes me proud is we went for the win.”

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