Ten Hag slams ‘fairy tales and lies’ as Man Utd boss comes out fighting

Ten Hag slams ‘fairy tales and lies’ as Man Utd boss comes out fighting
Erik ten Hag defiantly slammed “fairy tales and lies” about his Manchester United future as the under-fire boss insisted he is not in danger of the sack. (Reuters/File)
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Updated 18 October 2024
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Ten Hag slams ‘fairy tales and lies’ as Man Utd boss comes out fighting

Ten Hag slams ‘fairy tales and lies’ as Man Utd boss comes out fighting
  • Ten Hag is widely believed to be in a fight to save his job after presiding over United’s worst start to a top-flight season since 1989-90
  • United are languishing in 14th place in the Premier League ahead of Saturday’s visit from Brentford

LONDON: Erik ten Hag defiantly slammed “fairy tales and lies” about his Manchester United future as the under-fire boss insisted he is not in danger of the sack.

Ten Hag is widely believed to be in a fight to save his job after presiding over United’s worst start to a top-flight season since 1989-90.

United are languishing in 14th place in the Premier League ahead of Saturday’s visit from Brentford, whose manager Thomas Frank has been linked with replacing the Dutchman at Old Trafford.

Without a victory in their last five games in all competitions, Ten Hag’s side have won just twice in seven league matches this term.

Another flop against Brentford will pile further pressure on Ten Hag ahead of a tricky week featuring away games at Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce in the Europa League and West Ham in the Premier League.

But the former Ajax boss is convinced he retains the support of United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe and his coterie of advisers.

“Noise is only coming from some of you in the media, creating stories and fairy tales, and bringing lies,” Ten Hag told reporters on Friday.

“I told this before the break. Several journalists probably didn’t believe me because I see the reports.

“But internal in the club it’s quiet. Of course, we are discussing, that we are unhappy with the position where we are and how we have to turn the corner, what has to happen, so what should be strategy to turn this corner.

“But ultimately we are quiet, we are composed, we stay where we are, we stick to the plan, and we are very convinced we will make it a success.”

United finished a dismal eighth in the Premier League last season, their lowest final position since 1990, triggering a Ratcliffe-led internal review into Ten Hag’s position.

But the 54-year-old eventually signed a new contract in a move seen as a show of faith during the close season.

Ten Hag won the League Cup in his first season to end United’s six-year trophy drought, then lifted the FA Cup last term in a shock final triumph against Manchester City that is credited with saving his job.

However, the embattled Ten Hag is once again engaged in a struggle to stave off the axe.

United’s inconsistent form during his reign shows no signs of improving and he acknowledged the climb back to respectability would not be easy.

“We have to climb a mountain. That is top football and sometimes you have to face challenges. I am sure we will make a success, as we did the last two seasons,” he said.

“Underneath I see good things and good stats that confirm we are in a good direction. But of course the ranking is not lying. We are where we are and that is not good enough.”

Former Manchester United assistant coach Benni McCarthy added to the scrutiny on Ten Hag recently when he said the players’ training ground performances are not replicated during matches.

Ten Hag conceded United have lacked a cutting edge during a run featuring just five goals in seven league games.

“The players did well. We won last season. Sometimes in general the players do perform well. But we have to start scoring,” he said.

“In that part we have to improve entering the final third and into the box. Now we have to take the most important step.”


Japan outclass Pakistan 3-0 to win Men’s U18 Asia Cup 2025 title

Japan outclass Pakistan 3-0 to win Men’s U18 Asia Cup 2025 title
Updated 19 sec ago
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Japan outclass Pakistan 3-0 to win Men’s U18 Asia Cup 2025 title

Japan outclass Pakistan 3-0 to win Men’s U18 Asia Cup 2025 title
  • Japan’s Yuma Fujiwara scored goals in the 22nd and 38th minutes of game
  • Skipper Tatsuaki Yasui scored the final goal to end Pakistan winning streak

ISLAMABAD: Japan defeated Pakistan 3-0 to win the Men’s U18 Asia Cup 2025 final at the National Hockey Training Center in Dazhou, China on Sunday.

Despite both teams attacking each other, the opening quarter of the match ended without a goal. Japan’s Yuma Fujiwara scored the first goal in the seventh minute of the second quarter.

Fujiwara found the net once again in the third quarter, followed by Tatsuaki Yasui extending Japan’s lead to 3-0 on a penalty corner in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

“Japan are crowned champions after a commanding 3–0 victory over Pakistan in the final,” the Asian Hockey Federation commented on X.

“A flawless campaign, built on discipline, skill, and teamwork, earns Japan the top spot on the podium.”

Pakistan had entered the final unbeaten, after defeating Malaysia 4-3 in the semifinals.

Prior to that, the Pakistani side beat hosts China 2-1, Bangladesh 6-3, Sri Lanka 9-0 and Hong Kong 8-0.


Britain’s Rowland takes Formula E title with two races to spare

Britain’s Rowland takes Formula E title with two races to spare
Updated 13 July 2025
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Britain’s Rowland takes Formula E title with two races to spare

Britain’s Rowland takes Formula E title with two races to spare
  • Rowland had needed to lead Pascal Wehrlein by 59 points after the second of two races in Berlin

BERLIN: Nissan’s Oliver Rowland won the Formula E title for the first time and with two races to spare on Sunday, the Briton becoming the all-electric series’ 10th different champion in the space of 11 seasons.

Rowland had needed to lead Pascal Wehrlein by 59 points after the second of two races in Berlin, the championship’s penultimate weekend, and he did it by finishing fourth with his Porsche rival only 16th despite starting on pole.

The Briton now has 184 points with Wehrlein on 125.

Sunday’s race at Berlin’s old Tempelhof airport was won by Jaguar’s Nick Cassidy, completing a weekend sweep after teammate Mitch Evans won on Saturday, with Andretti’s Jake Dennis second and Jean-Eric Vergne third for DS Penske.

The final two races of the season are in London on July 26-27.

It was the first time a Japanese manufacturer had won the championship. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Christian Radnedge)


Jannik Sinner faces Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon in a rematch of their epic French Open final

Jannik Sinner faces Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon in a rematch of their epic French Open final
Updated 13 July 2025
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Jannik Sinner faces Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon in a rematch of their epic French Open final

Jannik Sinner faces Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon in a rematch of their epic French Open final
  • Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are meeting to decide the Wimbledon championship just five weeks after they played each other in an epic French Open final
  • Alcaraz won in five sets spread over 5 hours, 29 minutes in Paris, coming back from a two-set deficit and saving three match points along the way

LONDON: Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are meeting to decide the Wimbledon championship just five weeks after they played each other in an epic French Open final.

Sunday’s matchup at Center Court between the No. 1-ranked Sinner and No. 2 Alcaraz marks the first time the same two men faced off in the title matches on the clay at Roland-Garros and the grass at the All England Club in the same year since Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal did it in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Alcaraz, a 22-year-old from Spain, defeated Sinner, a 22-year-old from Italy, in five sets spread over 5 hours, 29 minutes in Paris on June 8, coming back from a two-set deficit and saving three match points along the way.

That made Alcaraz 5-0 in Grand Slam finals, including victories in 2023 and 2024 at Wimbledon.

He also carries a career-best 24-match winning streak into Sunday and has beaten Sinner five times in a row.

Sinner owns three major trophies and will be playing in his fourth consecutive Slam final — but first at the All England Club.

He won the US Open last September and the Australian Open this January.

Sinner has been wearing tape and an arm sleeve to protect his right elbow since falling in the opening game of his fourth-round win on Monday. After eliminating 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, Sinner said he doesn’t think his elbow will be an issue on Sunday.

Play is scheduled to begin Sunday at 4 p.m. local time, which is 11 a.m. ET.

Sinner was listed Saturday as the slight money-line favorite at -110 by BetMGM Sportsbook, with Alcaraz at -105.


Trump the football fan: US president to attend FIFA club final

Trump the football fan: US president to attend FIFA club final
Updated 13 July 2025
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Trump the football fan: US president to attend FIFA club final

Trump the football fan: US president to attend FIFA club final
  • The US president is attending the final of the FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday

BEDMINSTER, United States: Donald Trump will on Sunday showcase his unexpected attachment to a sport in which “America First” remains a dream, for now.

The US president is attending the final of the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup in his latest use of the beautiful game as a soft power political weapon.

His appearance at the MetLife stadium in New Jersey, where Paris Saint-Germain face Chelsea, is very much a trial run for the World Cup final, which will take place in the same stadium next year.

Trump has made it clear he sees both tournaments, as well as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, as showpieces for what he calls the “Golden Age of America” during his second term.

The billionaire Republican’s close friendship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, a frequent visitor to the White House, is also a factor in his appearance.

Trump has kept the Club World Cup trophy next to his desk in the Oval Office since Infantino dropped by in March.

But Trump’s embrace of football, or soccer as he would say, is also personal.

The president’s 19-year-old son Barron is a fan, as Infantino pointed out in a press conference at FIFA’s new office in Trump Tower in New York on Saturday.

Asked if Trump liked the game, Infantino replied: “Well I think he does. In his first term as president of the United States there was a soccer goal in the garden of the White House.

“He then explained to me that his son loved football, and that he loved the game. And of course when you are a parent, you love what your children love, so I think that he loves it.”

As a student at the New York Military Academy, Trump himself also reportedly played the game for a season.

Trump’s apparent fondness for football may seem unusual for a country where, despite growing popularity, the sport still lags behind American football, basketball and baseball.

The former reality TV star has, however, always had an eye for popularity, power and influence. And football in its own way brings all three.

Trump pointed out when Infantino visited the White House in March that the United States won the right to host the 2026 World Cup in 2018, during his first term as president.

He said he was “so sad” because he assumed he would not be president when the tournament came around — but his 2020 election loss meant that he would after all.

The FIFA Club World Cup has meanwhile proved more successful than its critics predicted, with around 2.5 million people attending games across the country and some gripping games.

Infantino, who is no stranger to dealing with hard-nosed leaders around the world, thanked Trump for his support on Saturday.

He said Trump “embraced immediately the importance of the FIFA Club World Cup, and of course of the World Cup next year.”

Infantino also joked that Trump “certainly loves as well the trophy” — whose gold-plated curves match the gilded makeover that the president has given the Oval Office.

But in typical form Trump has also mixed political controversy with his football fandom.

Hosting Italian side Juventus in the Oval Office in June, he delivered a diatribe on transgender people in sports before asking the players: “Could a woman make your team, fellas?“

Most of the players looked bemused before Juventus general manager Damien Comolli replied: “We have a very good women’s team.”

“He’s being very diplomatic,” said Trump.

Trump’s hard-line immigration crackdown — part of his “America First” policy — has meanwhile sparked fears that football fans will be discouraged from coming to the United States.

In May, Vice President JD Vance said that 2026 World Cup fans were “welcome to come... but when the time is up they will have to go home.”


Messi at the double again to lift Miami to MLS win over Nashville

Messi at the double again to lift Miami to MLS win over Nashville
Updated 13 July 2025
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Messi at the double again to lift Miami to MLS win over Nashville

Messi at the double again to lift Miami to MLS win over Nashville
  • Lionel Messi continued his historic Major League Soccer scoring run Saturday, netting two goals for the fifth game in a row to lift Inter Miami to a 2-1 victory over Nashville

MIAMI: Lionel Messi continued his historic Major League Soccer scoring run Saturday, netting two goals for the fifth game in a row to lift Inter Miami to a 2-1 victory over Nashville.

Just days after he became the first player to score multiple goals in four straight MLS matches, Messi did it again as Miami continued their climb up the Eastern Conference standings after their league hiatus for the Club World Cup.

Messi, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a trademark left-foot free-kick, which found the only gap in Nashville’s defensive wall to go past goalkeeper Joe Willis.

Miami dominated in the first half but, just four minutes after half-time, Hany Mukhtar’s header pulled Nashville level.

Messi grabbed the winner in the 62nd minute when he capitalized on a bad mistake from Willis, who misjudged a pass to tee up the Argentine for the strike.

The two goals — on the heels of his two in a 2-1 win over New England on Wednesday — took Messi’s total to 16 in 16 appearances this season, tied with Nashville’s Sam Surridge, who was unable to add to his tally of 16 on Saturday.

“There are not many words. It’s incredible what he keeps doing, breaking records now every three days, not even every weekend,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said.

“He is the standard-bearer of our team that shows us the way to compete. He is the leader.

“It’s a blessing for me to accompany this stage of his career.”

Miami were playing their third match since returning to MLS action in the wake of a month-long Club World Cup campaign that ended when they were eliminated in the last 16 by Paris Saint-Germain.

With 38 points from 19 matches, they are in fifth place in the East, five points behind leaders Philadelphia with three games in hand.

Philadelphia went top with a 2-0 victory over New York Red Bulls, Indiana Vassilev and Bruno Damiani delivering the goals.

Cincinnati slipped to second in the East on 42 points after falling 4-2 to Columbus. Nashville and Columbus both have 41 points.

Miami’s jam-packed schedule continues Wednesday against Cincinnati, with the New York Red Bulls coming up next weekend.

Mascherano knows he will have to find time to give the 38-year-old Messi some rest.

“At some point we are going to have to find a space to give him some rest, we are going to talk about it day by day,” he said.

“He is feeling good and when we think it is time to give him some rest, we will do it.”