Scott McTominay says Manchester United are focused on consistency rather than their current place in the pecking order after Erik ten Hag’s under-fire side moved within three points of Manchester City.

This has been a challenging, and at times chastening, second season in the hotseat for the Dutchman, who won the Carabao Cup and finished third in the Premier League during a promising first campaign.

United also lost the FA Cup final to a City side that went on to match their neighbours’ historic 1999 treble triumph by lifting the Champions League trophy after beating Inter Milan.

Last season’s dominance and October’s 3-0 Old Trafford loss to Pep Guardiola’s men highlighted the gap in quality, yet the stumbling Red Devils are now within touching distance of their rivals.

 

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City fell to a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa as United bounced back from the lifeless loss to Newcastle by beating Chelsea 2-1 thanks to McTominay’s brace, moving them within three points of their fourth-placed neighbours.

 

When that was pointed out to the matchwinner, along with the bunched-up standings, McTominay said: “We barely pay attention to that in terms of we just concentrate on how we’re playing and if the style of football that we’re playing is how the manager wants.

“In games like tonight it was and against Newcastle it wasn’t, so we have to find that balance between us where we try and do that every single week.

“I felt like that was a game where we had to come out and show to the fans that we have full focus on this game, we want to play well and give a reaction.

“It has to be like that every week, though, which is something that (when) I was in the dressing room… there was players speaking about it.

“(It) can’t just be one game where we need to show a reaction. It has to come out and show that every week.”

McTominay said he was grateful to the United fans for “sticking with us throughout anything that goes on at this football club” after another difficult few days.

Reports over some player unhappiness with Ten Hag emerged after the 1-0 defeat to Newcastle, which the Scotland international knows saw them fall well short of what is required.

“We know the fans are extremely demanding and so are we as players, so that’s what we expect,” the six-goal midfielder told MUTV.

“Going back to the game against Newcastle, we know that was nowhere near good enough and that’s still stinging us.

“We can’t have them anomalies where we go somewhere and we don’t play as well as what we can, and maybe not show as much fight as what we could as well.

“But tonight is a building block and something that we can take step by step without getting too carried away.”

 

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United now refocus on Saturday’s home match against Bournemouth, with stuttering Chelsea heading to Everton the following day.

 

Mauricio Pochettino’s men were second best for large parts at Old Trafford but could have scored more than Cole Palmer’s intelligent equaliser.

Chelsea captain Reece James, who came off the bench at half-time, said: “We go out there wanting to win but it’s still a young squad and we are learning game by game.

“At the moment it’s quite tough, but we know we have the capabilities to win every game.

“We need to go back to the drawing board and review the game, and then prepare for Everton. We need to prepare right and start climbing the table.”

Steve Cooper dismissed fears about losing his job as pressure mounts on the Nottingham Forest boss.

Forest were hammered 5-0 at Fulham on Wednesday – a fourth straight Premier League defeat – which left them six points above the drop zone.

The former Swansea manager accepts his position will be under scrutiny – with former Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui thought to be a serious contender if he leaves – but ahead of Saturday’s trip to Molineux Cooper insisted he cannot consider the sack.

He said: “I don’t think like that. That is not a good way to think, it is like saying to a player ‘you have to play well or you will not play again’ – it is not a thought process I believe in using.

“We are disappointed with results and last night’s performance. More than ever you have to show belief and character and what you stand for.

“There are going to be questions and stories, I respect that as it is the life of a football manager.

“At the same time you have to stay honed in on your day’s work and if I let anything else creep in I am not giving 100 per cent to the job and that is what I want to do.”

Cooper, who took Forest back to the Premier League for the first time in 23 years in 2022, said after the hammering at Craven Cottage that he did not deserve the backing from the fans he received as he left the pitch.

He he also refused to blame his players for their showing on Wednesday after doubles from Alex Iwobi, Raul Jimenez and a Tom Cairney strike sunk the visitors.

Cooper told a press conference: “I would never split myself from the players. We are a collective, it’s not about me getting let down, it’s the supporters who were let down by all of us – and that starts with me.”

Burnley’s survival hopes have suffered a significant blow with winger Luca Koleosho facing several months out with a knee injury.

The 19-year-old summer signing from Espanyol has been one of Burnley’s brightest lights so far this term and scored his first goal for the club in Saturday’s 5-0 win over Sheffield United.

But the Italy under-21 international was hurt in the first half of Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat at Wolves and, after initially trying to carry on, was forced off with 36 minutes gone.

“It’s bad news for us,” manager Vincent Kompany said. “He’s going to be out for a while apparently…I’d like to think he’ll still play this season but it might be towards the end of the season.”

Kompany would not disclose the precise nature of Koleosho’s injury but the loss of the pacy and incisive young forward is a major setback for a team who, Saturday’s big win aside, have struggled to score goals all season.

“We’ll do everything we can to make sure that he’ll get back healthy and ready to go again,” Kompany added. “I think now the key concern for us is to make sure he doesn’t sustain any long-term damage because he’s still young, we’ll do everything right by him…

“Past the fact that it’s a blow for a young player, I still think it’s for someone else now to step up and wear the shirt in a way that Luca has done.

“In these moments if you keep your head calm you can really get better, get stronger from these moments. I’ve no doubt he’ll come back stronger but for us short-term wise it’s an undeniable blow.”

But when asked if Koleosho’s injury could force Burnley into the January transfer market, Kompany said it was unlikely a club that signed 15 players in the summer would be busy next month.

“The squad is still fairly large and we don’t have unlimited resources,” Kompany said. “If we can find a way to improve the squad drastically we’ll do that but if it’s just to add numbers that’s not what we’re out for…

“I don’t see how we could drastically go out there and drastically spend our way into staying in this division. It would have to be one or two really smart deals if we can find them.

“You’re not necessarily in the strongest position when you’re at the bottom of the league to make a case to a player to commit his future to you, but there might be an opportunity.

“The key thing for us is also making sure the players we have now and the clear improvements you see, that they keep that progress level up.

“The likes of Zeki (Amdouni) or Sander Berge, these guys, their performance has improved that much from two months ago and they’ve got that much left to go, that could be the key factor for us in turning performances into results.”

Chiedozie Ogbene has not just adapted to the pace of the Premier League – he is setting it.

The Luton winger is the fastest player in the top-flight this season having studied Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt to perfect his style.

He clocked 36.93kph – 23mph – against Fulham in September and sits ahead of Wolves’ Pedro Neto and Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai.

On Sunday he faces last season’s top speedster Kyle Walker, who hit 37.31kph, as Luton host Manchester City, although Ogbene’s rise has not always been rapid.

“I kid you not, when I was younger I wouldn’t win all the races, there were kids a lot faster than me,” the Ireland international tells the PA news agency.

“Maybe I was the fastest in the school but I wasn’t the fastest in County Cork. Not being the fastest led me to think, why? What are the fastest doing?

“I used running to work on technique when I went back to Gaelic football or soccer but as I got older I developed a more powerful hunger for running.

“I’d go to training to learn the mechanics but (athletics) competition wasn’t something for me, unlike my brothers. I don’t actually know what my official 100 metre time was.

“I was more light on my feet because I weighed less and was naturally skinny. It’s when I got older, when I moved to Brentford, I started putting more muscle on and became quicker, more powerful.

“I really like track and field and every now and then I like to put on the old Olympics, the 4x100m relays. I can’t count how many times I’ve watched the London 2012 relay final.

“Bolt is obviously someone I loved, the way he runs, his mechanics, but obviously I’m not six foot five so I don’t try to hyperextend the way he can. I just love the way he is. He’s like a piston.

“Sprinters advise to run at 90 to 95 per cent, they don’t try to run at 100 per cent. If you get to 100 per cent you stress yourself.

“The 90 per cent rule it’s called. At 90 per cent you’re telling your brain, ‘I’m relaxed, I’m only looking for 90’ and you end up running quicker because your brain is not chasing a goal.”

Pace runs in the family as brother Kaodi, a pharmaceutical engineer, has a 100m personal best of 10.8 seconds while other brother Uche, a nurse, is also a sprinter.

The boys and sisters Nneoma and Chibuzo grew up in Cork after dad Emmanuel chose Ireland over Florida, when he and wife Christina took the family over when Ogbene was eight in 2005, for a job as a nurse.

His parents had been working in Kuwait but Ogbene was soon playing Gaelic football for Nemo Rangers, before playing for Cork and Limerick and eventually moving to Brentford in 2018.

 

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“Dad liked it in Ireland. It was a peaceful country,” he adds. “He wanted a good education system for us, which Ireland was very good for, and he liked his job in Ireland. America would have been a big journey.”

It means the 26-year-old is the first Nigerian-born player to feature for Ireland, making his debut against Hungary in 2021.

“Nigeria was if, buts and maybes. It was difficult because my parents are proud Nigerians and I wanted to make them proud but they are as proud of me playing for Ireland,” says Ogbene, now with four goals in 19 games.

“I went through the system in Ireland, it is my adopted home, and the opportunity was massive.

“If you want me, I want to be with you. If you give me an opportunity I will never say no. I was also given the opportunity to come to the Premier League and I didn’t want to turn it down.”

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Ogbene had options in the summer with most of the Championship chasing his signature but opted to sign for the Hatters after four years with Rotherham.

He has featured in every Premier League game for Rob Edwards this term, scoring in the 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest, and after just 15 top-flight appearances, has rivals running scared.

“International football has helped me massively because it would have been a such a big jump,” he said, with Luton two points above the drop zone after Tuesday’s heartbreaking late 4-3 defeat to Arsenal.

“When I came to the Premier League, I told myself: ‘I’ve competed well against some of the top full backs in international football, I have to be confident’.

“Being quick is a good trait to have because defenders tend to respect you a bit more, they’re scared you’re going to go in behind.

“Can I go faster? I hope I will.”

Erik ten Hag dismissed any talk of Manchester United’s season being in crisis as he stressed “we are going in the right direction” following the 2-1 win over Chelsea.

United went into the contest at Old Trafford on the back of Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Newcastle, their 10th defeat in all competitions this term.

After Bruno Fernandes saw an early penalty saved by Robert Sanchez, a Scott McTominay brace, either side of Cole Palmer’s equaliser, secured United a victory that took them up to sixth in the Premier League table, three points behind fourth-placed defending champions Manchester City.

When asked at his post-match press conference what that said to him about a season that has felt like it has been in crisis, United boss Ten Hag said: “Crisis? Not for us.

“We keep calm, look at the process where we know where we have to build. We are going in the right direction.

“We don’t get distracted (by) criticism around us, but we are very critical on ourselves. We are not quickly satisfied and happy, we always want to do better. We have to improve a lot if we want to be successful – but this team is capable of being successful.”

There had been some reports ahead of the game that Ten Hag had lost the confidence of some of his players.

That led to United banning four media outlets for Tuesday’s pre-match press conference, with the club saying the action was taken for not “contacting us first to give us the opportunity to comment, challenge or contextualise.”

Ten Hag added: “Last week we played three games (a 3-0 win at Everton, 3-3 draw at Galatasaray and the Newcastle match). Two times we played good, and then one bad performance.

“But you see this team is in a good direction. I know sometimes you have a bad performance, but then still, you can get a result. That is the next step we have to make.

“But you see how we play, the style, so dominating the opponent, in and out of possession. That is the way I want to play. I was very pleased, it was very enjoyable how the team played.”

Unai Emery insisted it was too soon to call his Aston Villa side Premier League title contenders after a 1-0 win over Manchester City lifted them above the defending champions and into third place.

Leon Bailey’s deflected strike in the 74th minute proved to be the winner as Villa equalled a club record with a 14th consecutive home victory.

Pep Guardiola said Villa could “definitely” be among those still in the fight come the end of the season but Emery insisted they still have much work to do to catch up with the likes of City, Arsenal and Liverpool.

“We are not contenders,” he said.

“There are seven teams who are contenders more than us. Now we are on game 15. We are going to play game 16 on Saturday against Arsenal and we are going to focus on it. We are happy to be third but to keep it is going to be very, very difficult.

“While we are there we are going to try to keep it. If we keep progressing during the season, playing matches and winning like we are doing maybe we can be a contender but I think we need more time.

“We can believe but we are not contenders. There are another seven teams and that didn’t change. It is game 15. Maybe by game 30 or 32, but not yet.”

The win gave Emery his first over Guardiola as a rival coach at the 14th attempt, 15 years to the day since they first came up against one another.

“Always I like to prepare matches against the best teams, the best players and the best coaches,” Emery said.

“When you are playing in a high level the opponents are of a high level. But beating him for me is not something special. It is really a process I am doing as a coach.”

Defeat left City winless in their last four league matches, down in fourth place and six points off the pace of leaders Arsenal.

Guardiola said the credit belonged to Villa on the night but admitted he had much to think about to get their title defence back on track.

“The better team won,” Guardiola said.

“Aston Villa was better than us. We struggled. It was really difficult. They are well organised, fast and physical players, they are able to control many aspects. That is the reason why they are up there. They played good football and we could not do it.

“It is my duty, it is my job to find a way to come back. Many years now we are together we found a way, we are able to find a way to win games, to find a way to do it.

“Now that we are struggling we have to change the dynamic, win as soon as possible, Luton, Crystal Palace, to change our mind and continue to win there.”

The absence of the suspended Rodri was again telling. This was the fourth match of the season the Spain midfielder has missed through a ban – and City have lost all four.

While there are other key players out – Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku and of course Kevin De Bruyne – City’s reliance on their midfield holder is obvious.

“Without Rodri we could not win against Liverpool and Spurs, of course Rodri is so important but when Rodri is not there we have to find a way to do it,” Guardiola said.

“Today is simple, the better team won, you have to accept it. In football it happens. I said (to the players), ‘I know you tried, I know you want it, you have proven it to me many many times’.

“Now the results are not good, that’s why I have to see the games, reflect, and see how we try to do it.”

Roy Hodgson pleaded for Crystal Palace supporters to stay onside after a 2-0 defeat at home to Bournemouth ended in a chorus of boos and an object being launched by a disgruntled fan in the boss’ direction.

Headers in each half from Marcos Senesi and Kieffer Moore extended the Cherries’ unbeaten Premier League run to four matches, while Palace remain in search of just their second home victory this season after a promising start to the campaign.

Palace, who dropped to 14th place with the loss, were hoping to pick up points ahead of a difficult run of fixtures, beginning with Liverpool on Saturday followed by a trip to Manchester City before meetings with Brighton and Chelsea.

Hodgson said he was unaware of being targeted by the projectile until after the fact, joking: “So you mean to say there was a fan out there who doesn’t like me? That will definitely stop me sleeping.”

The boyhood Palace fan also addressed earlier comments made to broadcaster Amazon Prime Video, in which he had suggested Eagles supporters might be “spoiled” by positive results in recent years.

He explained: “The fact is if I said that in the spur of the moment, to some extent there’s truth in it, yes.

“I mean we’ve punched above our weight for a number of years now. We’ve kept this team in the league for a number of years, but the fact is we are still in a situation where every game for us has got to be a fight. Every game for us has got to be street fighting.

“We need the fans of Crystal Palace as we know them, because without them it will become really, really hard for us, because the players need them, so I suppose my point, if I’m making a point at all, is don’t desert us because it’s a bad moment.

“We’re as sad as you are. We aren’t giving you what you want. If I say you’ve been spoiled, well, that’s pretty harsh. I mean, what is spoiled?

“But for me you have to remember that my relationship with the club is basically a fourth division club, a third division club, a Championship club. The first division of the football league when I was growing up was beyond my wildest dreams.

“Now it’s not. Now I think we are a bona-fide Premier League team. I think we’ve earned that right.”

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi labelled teenager Jack Hinshelwood “Pascal Gross’ son” following his match-winning display in a 2-1 Premier League success over Brentford.

England Under-19 international Hinshelwood marked his first senior appearance at the Amex Stadium by heading the second-half winner, just seconds after making a crucial goal-line clearance to deny Yoane Wissa.

De Zerbi praised the maturity of the 18-year-old full-back as he likened him to stand-in Albion skipper Gross, who assisted the decisive goal, having cancelled out Bryan Mbeumo’s penalty.

“He played another great game,” the Italian coach said of Hinshelwood.

“He deserves to play now because he plays like an older player.

“Yesterday I said Jack is Pascal Gross’ son because he is very young but he plays like an older player.

“He has personality, he is very smart on the pitch, he can play full-back, midfielder in every position.”

Victory for eighth-placed Brighton was just their second in nine top-flight fixtures.

Sussex-born Hinshelwood, whose father Adam played 100 league games for Albion between 2002 and 2009, was making only his fifth top-flight appearance and first on home soil.

The academy graduate claimed his maiden first-team goal in the 52nd minute by powering home Gross’ looping cross from the left, having raced forward in the aftermath of preventing Wissa restoring the visitors’ lead.

He received a standing ovation when he was replaced 17 minutes from time before returning to the field at full-time to soak in the acclaim.

“It is an unbelievable feeling, it was my first game playing here at the Amex in front of all these fans,” Hinshelwood, who joined the club aged seven, told Amazon Prime.

“And it was a brilliant feeling to get a standing ovation when I came off. I am just delighted to get the win.

“The fans, players and manager have all shown great belief in me and I am just trying to repay them.”

Brentford goalscorer Mbeumo was forced off shortly before the break with a nasty-looking ankle issue, while his replacement Wissa was perhaps fortunate to escape a red card for raising his hand into the face of Billy Gilmour.

Bees boss Thomas Frank is awaiting an update on the severity of Mbeumo’s issue and played down the Wissa incident.

“He rolled his ankle, we will assess him tomorrow and then we will see the status of it,” the Dane said of his leading scorer.

Asked about Wissa, he replied: “I saw a player who holds the ball (Gilmour) and I saw a player who wanted to start quick and then I saw two players get a yellow card each.

“I know everyone will speak about red card or no red card – I think it was absolutely handled right by the ref.”

Under-pressure Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper is not thinking about losing his job despite a 5-0 defeat at Fulham.

Alex Iwobi and Raul Jimenez bagged braces and Tom Cairney also scored to heap more misery on Cooper, who has seen his team lose their last four Premier League matches.

Cooper said: “It was a painful night and a scoreline we deserve.

“We didn’t show enough desire and will make up for it. We pulled out of tackles and lost races. If you show the lack of desire you run the risk of getting what we got tonight.

“I’m grateful (for the fan support). I have to take responsibility for it and it’s on me. I have to take ownership for that but it’s embarrassing and they don’t deserve it.

“Yeah, course I do (feel like the right man to turn it around) but I probably think about that the least but I feel about what is right about the football club.

“Technically we let ourselves down with the giveaways when there’s no pressure on the ball.

“It’s not something I’m thinking about (losing his job) and what’s right for the football club is right for me. I haven’t spoken to (the owner) since the game.”

Former Wolves striker Jimenez is playing with confidence again, taking his goal tally to three in four games.

Fulham boss Marco Silva said: “It was nice to see Raul score goals in the last few games. The players are more confident and Raul after he scored his goal at Villa went to Anfield and put a very good performance in.

“He’s much more confident now and looks fresh. He was fantastic tonight but he was at Anfield as well. He was able to win the duels and showed unbelievable commitment.

“I knew these things would come. It is a consequence of his hard work and it’s really nice to see.

“The goal at Villa was a relief for him and from that moment we’ve seen a much more fresh player with more confidence because of the quality he has.”

Prior to his strike at Villa Park last month, the Mexican had not scored since March 2022.

Silva added: “It’s really important (Jimenez’s mentality). It’s important in life and for any player.

“He kept the same intensity in all the training sessions and in terms of commitment he was always there and of course all the belief from the staff and his team-mates were a big help for him.

“I have had some conversations with him and he never shows that he feels under pressure and I know how he was feeling in those moments (when he had not scored).

“When it looks dark it will not always be like that when you work hard and the good times will come again.”

Jurgen Klopp accused Amazon Prime Video presenter Marcus Buckland of being “ignorant” after he made a joke about Liverpool’s next game being on Saturday lunchtime.

Klopp saw his side win 2-0 at bottom club Sheffield United thanks to goals from Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai at Bramall Lane.

They return to action in less than 72 hours against Crystal Palace for a 12.30pm kick-off, which is one of the German’s biggest bugbears when his side have played on the prior Wednesday night.

In a pitchside interview after the game Buckland joked that the Palace game was being played in Klopp’s “favourite kick-off time” but the Liverpool boss did not take it well.

Interrupting, Klopp said: “That’s really brave to make a joke about that.

“We go home, I don’t know exactly what time we will get home, we will arrive, maybe 1am-2am tonight and then play again. We have two sessions.

“It is fine to recover and then we go again. Crystal Palace play tonight as well so it is really fine.

“I realise you don’t understand it as well and you work in football so why should I explain it again. If you make a joke out of that you are ignorant.”

When Buckland said he was not meaning to be disrespectful, Klopp added: “You were already.

“All good, you can say what you want, I cannot say what I want because that would be really different.”

The victory at Bramall Lane, which was their eighth game unbeaten, saw them close the gap to leaders Arsenal to just two points, with Manchester City losing at Aston Villa.

City are a further four points behind, but Klopp says it would be “the biggest joke in the history of football” to write Pep Guardiola’s team off.

“If someone writes City off that would be the biggest joke in the history of football, that makes no sense,” he said. “Arsenal are fighting, the next game starts from 0-0.

“I have no clue where it (the title) is going to end up.

“It is so difficult and intense with all the games coming up. Ask me again in April.”

Klopp also confirmed that defender Joel Matip has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament after suffering an injury in Sunday’s win over Fulham.

He said: “It’s an ACL, ruptured, so that’s what I unfortunately expected from, that’s what it looked like. Very unfortunate, but that’s it.”

Liverpool’s victory ensured Chris Wilder’s Bramall Lane homecoming was ruined in his first match back following Tuesday’s sacking of Paul Heckingbottom.

Wilder, who guided the club from League One to ninth in the Premier League in his first spell, was sacked in March 2021 and inherits a side seemingly on a fast-track back to the Championship.

The 56-year-old was given a hero’s welcome ahead of kick-off.

“It will stay with me forever that, I thank everyone from the bottom of my heart,” he said.

“It has been a long time away. Some part of the support might have thought it was a mistake coming back but I have got to earn that trust back.

“What Prince Abdullah did a couple of days ago, saying I was the best man for the job, I really appreciate that. I do believe I am the best man for the job but I have to go and prove it. I still think there is still plenty of life in me yet.

“I enjoyed watching a Sheffield United performance tonight. The reception they gave me was incredible.”

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has doffed his cap to the intuitiveness of West Ham vice-chair Karren Brady after she predicted in May he would take the Premier League by storm.

Spurs host West Ham on Thursday aiming to end a four-match winless run, but they still sit fifth in the table after an excellent start to the campaign.

Postecoglou has been without a host of players during the past month but earned plaudits for an unwavering commitment to his attacking philosophy, which resulted in Tottenham fighting back to earn a 3-3 draw at Manchester City last weekend.

Back in May, Brady used her column for the Sun to tip the then Celtic boss to flourish in England if given the chance.

Asked if he had seen Brady’s “love letter”, Postecoglou said: “Ha ha, no. I don’t know Karren, I’ve never met her and I don’t think I’ve ever come across her, but in many respects, wouldn’t that make her fairly ahead of the game?

“I reckon she’s a pretty smart operator! I’m not sure about the love letter stuff, mate.

“I guess me moving to Celtic kind of brought me closer to this part of the world.

“I was aware, particularly Celtic-Rangers, everyone down here watches it and it gets into people’s consciousness. I guess if Karren knows, then all credit to her.”

Tottenham head into Thursday’s London derby having ended a three-match losing streak.

Dejan Kulusevski 90th-minute effort at the Etihad Stadium earned a draw for Postecoglou’s injury-hit team, who were predicted by some pundits to lose heavily at the Etihad if he continued to adopt his bold tactics.

“With a game like that, when you come out of it, what you want is to give the players something,” Postecoglou said.

“Show them something to say, ‘look, you did it. It’s not just words, this is not just an idea, you did it’. And it may have only been for small parts of the game, but if you can do it for small parts, then the challenge is can we extend that to bigger areas?

“Whereas if you never even try it, you never know. So, if I changed my approach for the Man City game, that’s where I would have lost. I wouldn’t have had any opportunity to give that feedback to the players.

“So, from that perspective, we got a lot of good information out of that game. Good and bad, like areas where we really struggled.

 

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“Like I explained it to the other coaches, when you’re panning for gold, there’s a lot of dirt there, but you’re just looking for that little speck.

“And we’ve got quite a few specks of gold that I can show the players after the game that say, you know, if we keep digging here, this will get some nuggets eventually.”

Tottenham will have Cristian Romero back for the visit of West Ham and Richarlison returned after minor surgery on his groin to make a cameo in Manchester in a welcome boost after their list of absentees had entered double figures.

It has forced Postecoglou to use the majority of his squad, but one player without an appearance this season is former captain Hugo Lloris, who had been expected to depart the club this summer.

Postecoglou has kept Lloris part of the first-team fold, but it is widely accepted he will depart in 2024, either during the January transfer window or once his contract expires next summer.

Postecoglou added: “Whilst Hugo hasn’t been playing, he hasn’t changed his demeanour in any way. He is very professional and great for the other keepers to have him there with his experience.

“January? It’s a decision for Hugo and the club. I don’t have that power and don’t want that power (to release him).

“Hugo is a member of this squad and how he trains every day is important to me. If he wasn’t then I’d be dealing with it but I haven’t had to. He has been absolutely first-class and as a manager, I don’t take that for granted.”

Scott McTominay’s brace sealed a much-needed victory for Manchester United and their under-fire manager Erik ten Hag against Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea.

Wednesday’s Old Trafford encounter pitted together a pair of Premier League giants going through growing pains as they seek to become contenders again.

United were under extra pressure heading into the match following reports of player unhappiness with Ten Hag, whose side reacted with a spirited 2-1 victory.

McTominay was the hero as the Dutchman’s side deservedly overcame the Blues, whose manager Pochettino was considered his main rival for the United post when he was appointed.

The homegrown midfielder’s first goal came midway through a first half that began with Robert Sanchez saving a Bruno Fernandes penalty and ended with a fine leveller from former Manchester City midfielder Cole Palmer.

McTominay put the hosts back ahead with a powerful header and Chelsea substitute Armando Broja saw a late header hit the post as United bounced back from Saturday’s lifeless loss at Newcastle.

Ten Hag made four alterations from St James’ Park – with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial among those dropping to the bench – and was rewarded with a strong start.

Chelsea goalkeeper Sanchez did well to stop Rasmus Hojlund’s low early effort and produced another big save in the ninth minute.

Antony was caught by Enzo Fernandez when prodding the ball on, leading VAR David Coote to advise Chris Kavanagh to check the pitchside monitor.

The referee pointed to the spot after reviewing the incident, only for Fernandes to follow a stuttering run-up with a poor strike that Sanchez met with a strong hand down to his right.

Soon after Sofyan Amrabat was breathing a sigh of relief after Mykhailo Mudryk hit the foot of the post after his lax pass was cut out as play began to swing from end to end.

United’s defence was looking susceptible, but they were better than Chelsea in possession.

Sanchez denied Alejandro Garnacho and Antony before a close-range attempt from the latter was blocked, with the opening goal of this helter-skelter encounter arriving in the 19th minute.

Garnacho cut back for Harry Maguire to get away a shot that Marc Cucurella blocked, with McTominay controlling the loose ball and fizzing through skipper Levi Colwill’s legs and past Sanchez.

The Scotland international should have had a second in the 32nd minute, with Sanchez denying his six-yard header from Fernandes’ fine cross before stopping his follow-up.

But it was not all one-way traffic. Andre Onana spread himself well to stop Nicolas Jackson on the break, before the United goalkeeper watched Mudryk guide a low shot narrowly wide.

The Ukraine international should have done better there but helped the Blues equalise in the 45th minute, albeit Palmer deserves the credit instead of the man with the assist.

Palmer stretched to reach the ball, drove across the edge of the box under pressure from Victor Lindelof and made space to send a smart, low shot trickling back across into the far corner.

It was a gut punch nearly followed up moments into the second half after Mudryk’s corner was flicked on, with Jackson beating Diogo Dalot to head just over.

Garnacho bent just off target as United returned to the attack, with Antony’s effort taking a deflection wide for a corner that saw appeals for handball fall on deaf ears. The incident was reviewed by the VAR.

The hosts were in the ascendancy and Garnacho hooked a cross to the far post, where McTominay beat his man to head past Sanchez.

Colwill laid on the deck claiming a push that was checked by VAR but the goal was given the green light upon review.

United pushed for a quickfire third and McTominay mishit when presented with the chance for a hat-trick after Antony cut out a Sanchez ball.

Substitute Reece James got back to block Garnacho’s attempt from Onana’s long ball forwards, with the Argentina international going agonisingly close from turning in replacement Sergio Reguilon’s pass.

Chelsea made the home side sweat in the closing stages. There was a collective intake of breath when James went close to finding Fernandez and another when Broja’s header came back off the far post.

Leon Bailey fired Aston Villa to a 1-0 win over Manchester City which equalled a club record with a 14th consecutive home victory and lifted them above the stuttering champions into third place in the Premier League.

Bailey’s 74th-minute strike came thanks to a deflection off Ruben Dias but few inside Villa Park cared amid jubilant celebrations.

Unai Emery’s first career win over Pep Guardiola in 14 attempts came in his 50th match in charge of Villa, a side he has transformed from relegation battlers to top-four contenders in the space of a year.

For City it was yet another sign of their over-reliance on the suspended Rodri. They are unbeaten in their last 43 matches in which the Spain midfielder has played, but their four defeats this season have all come when he has been serving a ban.

With Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku also missing through suspension and injury respectively, Guardiola was forced into a midfield that included two defenders, John Stones and Rico Lewis, with another, Manuel Akanji, pushing forward.

Villa knew they could get at such an imbalanced City side and did so from the start.

City’s lack of fluidity only encouraged a Villa side already high on confidence in front of their own fans and they were all over the champions in the first half, beating the high line with regularity as Ederson was forced into early saves to deny Bailey and Pau Torres.

At the other end, Erling Haaland was denied twice in quick succession by Emiliano Martinez in the 11th minute. Villa’s World Cup winner pushed his low shot to one side and then, when Bernardo Silva picked up the rebound to cross, recovered to palm his close-range header to safety.

But that was a rare foray forward for City, who struggled to get out of their own half as Villa repeatedly picked off the ball, having 13 shots at goal in the first half alone.

They thought they had their reward on the stroke of half time. After Ederson pushed Ollie Watkins’ shot to the side, Lucas Digne stretched to cross and Douglas Luiz headed in, but the flag went in with the ball narrowly out of play.

Stones dropped back into a more conventional position to start the second half and City began to pop the ball around with something approaching their usual confidence, but without getting a sight of goal.

Instead it was Villa who threatened just after the hour mark. Bailey pounced on a loose pass from Silva and played a sweeping ball to John McGinn, who cut inside but saw his shot bounce the wrong side of the post.

City were once again struggling to get out of their own half, and Guardiola responded by sending on midfield reinforcements in Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes for Lewis and Julian Alvarez, with Oscar Bobb replacing Foden soon after.

But Bobb had barely come on to the pitch when Villa took the lead. Bailey cut inside and left Josko Gvardiol behind far too easily, then checked his run on the edge of the box to hit a right-footed shot which deflected off Dias to beat Ederson.

Five minutes later, Luiz almost scored against his former club as Watkins’ shot was deflected up in the air and he pounced on the rebound to force a fine save from Ederson.

Luiz was denied again in the 86th minute when his curling shot bounced back off the post, but City had no response as their winless league run stretched to four, something which last happened in 2017.

For Villa it was a 23rd home win of the calendar year. They can match a top-flight club record that dates back to 1931 when Arsenal visit on Saturday.

Substitute Kieffer Moore’s second-half stoppage-time header sealed a 2-0 victory for surging Bournemouth over a frustrated Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

Marcos Senesi put the Cherries ahead in the 25th minute with a nodded effort of his own in a first half that saw Tyrick Mitchell forced off in another worrying scene for the injury-plagued hosts.

Jefferson Lerma came closest for the Eagles when he hit the upright early in the second half, but his side remain in search of just their second Premier League victory at home.

Moore, who was introduced in the 88th minute, buried any hope of splitting the points in south London and ensured his side made it 13 points from their last six league games ahead of Saturday’s trip to Old Trafford.

Palace’s first chance came when Michael Olise floated in an early free-kick from near the left touchline, where Jordan Ayew was only able to head a weak effort into the arms of Bournemouth keeper Neto.

He came closer with his second attempt, a strike from inside the penalty area that Neto was able to palm over the crossbar, before the visitors got their first break of the period, with both Adam Smith and Antoine Semenyo calling Sam Johnstone into action.

Flurries of activity in favour of the hosts ended without anything to show and the pace had slowed by midway through the half, but the visitors were ahead after 25 minutes when Luis Sinisterra rose highest to meet Ryan Christie’s corner, flicking it on to Senesi to finish.

Ayew saw another effort saved while a well-timed sliding Illia Zabarnyi tackle denied Odsonne Edouard an angle on the rebound, and soon came another worrying scene for Roy Hodgson when Mitchell was forced off and replaced by Nathaniel Clyne.

Justin Kluivert fired an effort that Johnstone saved, and it was the Cherries who remained on the front foot until half-time, when boos rang out as Palace entered the tunnel.

The crowd was encouraged when Lerma rifled an effort off the right post to start the second half, a fleeting flash of excitement, but soon the hosts were back looking for a breakthrough that rarely looked close to coming as the hour mark approached.

Lerma tried again with a volley over the crossbar before Hodgson made a double change, bringing Naouirou Ahamada on for captain Joel Ward, who on Wednesday night surpassed Wilfried Zaha for the most Premier League appearances in Palace history, and Will Hughes for Jeffrey Schlupp.

But every time they looked to test the visitors the Cherries had an answer, and, though the crowd had slowly come back into the contest, the chorus of boos loudly reprieved when Moore nodded into the bottom right to ensure Bournemouth walked away winners.

England Under-19 international Jack Hinshelwood claimed his first Premier League goal to earn Brighton a 2-1 comeback win over Brentford at the Amex Stadium.

The 18-year-old full-back, making only his fifth top-flight appearance, headed home Pascal Gross’ cross early in the second half, having cleared Yoane Wissa’s effort off his own goal-line just a minute earlier.

Stand-in Albion skipper Gross levelled for the hosts in the opening period after they fell behind against the run of play to a Bryan Mbeumo penalty.

Bees forward Mbeumo was later forced off by a nasty-looking ankle injury on a disappointing evening for the visitors, while his replacement Wissa was perhaps fortunate to avoid a second-half red card for swinging a hand into the face of Billy Gilmour.

The match-winning contribution of Sussex-born Hinshelwood, whose father Adam played 100 league games for Brighton between 2002 and 2009, earned his side a first home victory since September 24 following three successive score draws.

Depleted Brighton were once again without a host of key players due to injuries and suspensions as they went in search of only a second win in their last nine top-flight outings.

The Seagulls shaded a forgettable opening period devoid of goalmouth action before Brentford capitalised on sloppy defending to snatch the lead in the 27th minute with their first attack.

Bees captain Vitaly Janelt was pulled down by Jan Paul van Hecke following an impressive burst into the box and Mbeumo coolly sent Jason Steele the wrong way to find the bottom left corner from 12 yards.

Brighton had scored and conceded in each of their previous 18 Premier League fixtures.

Roberto De Zerbi’s hosts swiftly resumed their intricate interplay and ensured that statistic would continue just four minutes later.

Gross, leading the team in place of the banned Lewis Dunk, thumped home the eye-catching equaliser, taking a touch on the edge of the Bees’ 18-yard box after collecting the ball from Kaoru Mitoma before rifling a left-footed drive into the bottom right corner.

Brentford then suffered a major setback when the hobbling Mbeumo was helped from the field by medical staff after going over on his right ankle.

Teenager Hinshelwood took centre stage after the restart with a couple of key contributions in the space of two minutes to decisively turn the game in Brighton’s favour.

The academy graduate, who joined the club at the age of seven, was alert to deny Wissa a certain goal before rising above Bees substitute Keane Lewis-Potter at the other end to nod in Gross’ scooped cross from the left.

Brentford rarely threatened to snatch a point and could have finished the game a man down after Wissa swung his right arm at Gilmour, which resulted in a booking from referee Peter Bankes.

Brighton had chances to make the result comfortable, with Simon Adingra twice going close, before Hinshelwood jubilantly celebrated a night to remember with the home fans.

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