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Erik Ten Hag insists Manchester United are fighting together to try to turn their season around. The Red Devils have lost four of their first six matches, with Wednesday’s 4-3 defeat by Bayern Munich in the Champions League following a 3-1 reversal against Brighton, leaving Ten Hag embattled little over a month into the new campaign. The Dutchman said: “It’s my second year. I know it’s not always only going up, you will have your gaps and you get stronger from it as long as you stay together, and that’s what we’re doing. “The dressing room, staff, all the staff, coaches, medical, everyone is united and at United you fight.” Stories of disgruntlement in the dressing room have begun to appear while the attitude of players has also been question. Ten Hag tried to paint a positive picture, saying: “I don’t know if it’s a leak but I know opinion, I know my players. Everyone can make suggestions, we are OK with it.” There have also been suggestions of unhappiness at the influence of Ten Hag’s agent, Kees Vos, and his Sports Entertainment Group on transfer dealings. When one or two are not doing their job, it's like a pack of cards. Erik Ten Hag on United's defence “It can’t be because we make very good agreements about it from the start, how we cooperate in that manner,” said Ten Hag. “For player decisions, transfers, it’s always 50-50, we both have a veto – the club, represented by John Murtough, and me. So there can never be a distraction.” United’s poor form has made Saturday’s trip to Burnley a high-pressure occasion, and they will again be without Jadon Sancho, who remains absent from the squad. “It depends on him,” said Ten Hag. “For the rest, we are preparing for Burnley and that’s our focus. He will not be in the squad.” United have not been helped by a multitude of injuries but could have Raphael Varane, Mason Mount, Sofyan Amrabat and Harry Maguire back for the clash at Turf Moor. Central to United’s problems has been a lack of defensive solidity, with 14 goals conceded in their last five games. Goalkeeper Andre Onana held his hands up after making a mistake for Bayern’s first goal but Ten Hag believes the problems are collective. “It’s about team and, as a team, we don’t have the results in this moment so then also individuals don’t bring the performance you expect, not only one player, there are more, including the manager,” he said. “I always tell my players we attack with 11 and we defend with 11. When one or two are not doing their job, it’s like a pack of cards, so that is not only one or two players.” Burnley picked up their first point on their return to the Premier League against Nottingham Forest last time out and Ten Hag is a fan of their style of play under Vincent Kompany. He said: “As always, it’s about how we play against Burnley. There’s no easy games, definitely not against Burnley. “We know how intense they play football, we know their approach. I like the approach from them, the adventure, high intensity and dynamic in their game, so we have to play our best.”

A 1-1 start for the Chiefs gives plenty of opportunity for fringe starters to prove they deserve the call-up to the starting 11 on either side of the ball.

Iran says it has received thousands of Achaemenid-era clay tablets from the United States in the fifth such instalment, following a drawn-out legal...

Russia says Ukraine carried out a missile strike on the main headquarters of its Black Sea Fleet, killing one service member

What made last Sunday’s pulsating Singapore Grand Prix so captivating was a genuine battle at the front: a battle for first, from lights out to the chequered flag. But it was only made possible by a clanger of a weekend from runaway constructors leaders Red Bull, whose perfect win-streak in 2023 came to an abrupt end amid the tight twists and turns of the city-state. Yet briskly onto Japan, a more conventional racetrack, would the status quo be restored? It certainly seems so. Judging by initial signs from Friday practice at Suzuka – a driver-favourite on the calendar due to its heart-shredding high-speed corners – it would be a major shock if Max Verstappen did not claim his 11th win in 12 races come Sunday. The flying Dutchman, closing in on the home-straight in his irrepressible march to a hat-trick of world titles, was fastest in both free practice sessions. And by some distance too. Six-tenths of a second in FP1, narrowed down to three-tenths by FP2. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris, in consistency unexpected from practice, were the next-best in both sessions. “It felt really good today,” said Verstappen, back to his customary satisfied self after the anomaly of Singapore. “From lap one, the car was really enjoyable to drive again. It seems we had a strong day on short runs and long runs. So far, we have a good start to the weekend. “It looks tight behind me between Ferrari and McLaren, they’re close. But we just focus on ourselves, try to optimise our performance and if we do that, then I’m confident we’ll fight for pole.” Last year’s frenetic Suzuka race in the rain, memorable for Pierre Gasly’s close shave with a repair vehicle, saw Verstappen crowned a two-time champion following a dramatic end with Leclerc handed an position-changing penalty. For so long, it seemed Suzuka would be the venue for his crowning glory again in 2023. But all Singapore did was delay the inevitable by a race: that moment is likely to come amid the sprint weekend in Qatar at the start of October. Norris, still chasing his first win after recording a ninth Formula 1 podium last week, struggled to hide his deflation at realising Christian Horner’s team were back in their usual flow. “I doubt it’s going to be pole [for us], Red Bull is normal Red Bull,” the Brit said. “The pace was there… but the car feels pretty all over the place. A handful. “I don’t think we’re far away. Challenging for pole is a big task and probably a bit too far – challenging Mercedes, Ferrari and Astons has to be our battle for tomorrow.” Mind you, Mercedes might count themselves fortunate to be included in that list, given their performance on Friday. Neither driver was in the top-10 in first practice, while Lewis Hamilton only managed a best-result of 14th in FP2. “It was a very challenging day for us out there,” said the seven-time world champion and five-time winner in Japan. “I had a lack of confidence in the car and that contributed to our struggles. It was difficult to find the right balance and we didn’t manage to get on top of it by the end of FP2. The tyres were overheating and that left us quite far off the top of the timing sheets. “We know we’ve got a lot of work to do tonight to pick up the performance. I do believe we can make improvements though. We have had similar Friday’s this season and come back stronger on Saturday. We will see tomorrow if we have done so again. We will be putting in the effort this evening to give us every chance of getting ourselves higher up the order.” Higher up the order is certainly obtainable. What is not, it seems, is a major weekend challenge to Verstappen. Last week was nothing but a blip. Stranger things have happened – and the last two pole positions have been claimed by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz – but even on race simulations on Friday, the Red Bull was about a second-a-lap quicker on average than anyone else. Following qualifying on Saturday – bright and early in the UK (7am BST) – the racing on Sunday looks once again likely to be behind the champion-in-waiting. Read More Lewis Hamilton says ‘something’s up’ at Red Bull – if Max Verstappen struggles in Japan ‘Buzzin corner’: Sebastian Vettel reunites with F1 grid for ‘bee hotels’ in Japan Lando Norris calls for ‘harsher penalties’ after Max Verstappen incident How to buy tickets for the 2024 British Grand Prix at Silverstone ‘Buzzin corner’: Sebastian Vettel reunites with F1 grid in Japan F1 Japanese Grand Prix LIVE: Practice updates and times at Suzuka

The 92-year-old businessman changed the face of news worldwide, but it all started at home.

By Manuel Ausloos and Louise Dalmasso PARIS (Reuters) -Workers at Apple stores in France began a nationwide strike over pay

Migrant apprehensions at the US-Mexico border have risen to near-record levels in September.

The U.S. Treasury Department and China’s Ministry of Finance have launched a pair of economic working groups in an effort to ease tensions and deepen ties between the nations

The United States enjoyed its best-ever start to a Solheim Cup by sweeping the favored European team in all of the foursomes matches in the opening session to take a 4-0 lead in Spain

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 22, 2023--

Conservative ministers have accused the Labour leader of wanting to reverse Brexit.