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Nice remains the only unbeaten team in the French league

Erik ten Hag admitted Manchester United’s first-half performance in their 2-1 win at Sheffield United was not a fitting way to remember Sir Bobby Charlton. United are mourning one of their greatest ever players following Charlton’s death aged 86 on Saturday morning and goals from Scott McTominay and Diogo Dalot ensured they remembered him with victory. But Ten Hag’s side could not be much further away from the one that Charlton famously led to European Cup glory in 1968 as they were lacklustre against a team who have picked up just one point this season. Defender Dalot was the unlikely hero as he saved their blushes with a 20-yard curler 13 minutes from time after Oli McBurnie’s first-half penalty had cancelled out McTominay’s opener. Ten Hag said: “We are happy we did that, we have to pay attention and do it in a good way and first half I think it wasn’t the standard for Sir Bobby Charlton and the second half was a bit better. “But of course the news arrived and we are very sad and our thoughts are with his family and especially his wife Lady Norma, his children and his grandchildren. “I heard some players got some inspiration from it and they wanted a win to mark it. It was an extra motivation, absolutely. “But the first half was not a good game. We can talk long or we can talk short, it was a poor game from our side and you see it often after internationals, especially us with so many changes, the routines are not there. In the first half we allowed them to make it their game. “We were too direct, no good organisation, second half we made some changes and you saw we got better, we were more composed and kept the ball. “We controlled the game and created the chances and then finally we deserved the win and it was a beautiful goal.” Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom began his playing career at Old Trafford as a teenager and remembers Charlton fondly. “He was there the day I signed as a 14-year-old,” he said. “He is a man that represented everything that United wanted to be, certainly in terms of developing youth players and getting youth players into the first team. “It is not only Manchester United that will miss him, English football and I think he was a football icon across the world as well, so there will be a lot of people remembering him, stories they have heard, games they have seen.” The Blades may feel they deserved something out of the game, especially on the back of a lively first-half performance, but they slipped to an eighth defeat from nine games and a long winter looks on the cards. But Heckingbottom took the positives. “In most games we have shown more than enough that we can compete,” he added. “Lots of things that please me in that. “We have suffered horrendously with injuries in the last 10 days, captain, vice-captain and a couple of other players. We are not going to sulk about it, it is an opportunity for others. “We looked more of a threat tonight. There are lots of things tonight that we have to build on. It was close. What we had today was more of an all-round threat.”

Lionel Messi is in the starting lineup for Inter Miami in its MLS season finale against FC Charlotte

Playing ugly almost worked for England as it came close to reaching the Rugby World Cup final on the back of a hard-nosed approach and clinical kicking

Diogo Dalot has made sure Manchester United could pay tribute to Bobby Charlton with a win

South Africa has pulled off a great escape to beat England 16-15 at the death and keep its title defense at the Rugby World Cup alive

Houston Astros pitcher Bryan Abreu was suspended for two games and fined by Major League Baseball, which said he intentionally threw at Adolis García of the Texas Rangers during Game 5 of the AL Championship Series

The San Francisco 49ers are coming off their first loss of the season with a visit to the Minnesota Vikings up next

PARIS, France (Reuters) -Nice moved provisionally top of Ligue 1 on Saturday courtesy of a late header by Evann Guessand

Islam Makhachev stunned Alexander Volkanovski with a first-round knockout on Saturday, retaining the lightweight title in their rematch at UFC 294. In February, Makhachev outpointed Volkanovski – who holds the featherweight belt – in the latter’s native Australia, in a competitive clash that left many fans desiring a rematch. Few expected it to come at UFC 294, but 11 days before the event, Makhachev’s original challenger Charles Oliveira suffered a severe cut over his eye. And with that, the door opened for Volkanovski. The 35-year-old relished the chance to avenge his narrow loss to Makhachev, but there was to be no revenge for him – only a repeat as the Russian triumphed again, and in finer fashion this time. Midway through the first round of the main event, southpaw Makhachev skimmed his left shin off Volkanovski’s head, wobbling and dropping the featherweight king. Makhachev, 31, followed up with a fierce flurry of hammer fists to the grounded Aussie, whose brow split open amid the onslaught. Referee Marc Goddard stepped in, confirming an emphatic victory and title defence for Makhachev. Re-live updates and results from the UFC 294 main card and prelims, below. Read More Islam Makhachev stuns Alexander Volkanovski with head-kick KO in first round at UFC 294 UFC rankings: The Independent’s pound-for-pound fighters list Alexander Volkanovski’s gamble shows the best and worst of the UFC

Islam Makhachev (26-1-0) used a devastating kick with his left leg to Alexander Volkanovski’s right temple, then quickly pounced and used nine hammering blows with his left hand before referee Marc Goddard stopped the fight at the 3:06 mark of the first round

Islam Makhachev stunned Alexander Volkanovski with a first-round knockout on Saturday, retaining the lightweight title in their rematch at UFC 294. In February, Makhachev outpointed Volkanovski – who holds the featherweight belt – in the latter’s native Australia, in a competitive clash that left many fans desiring a rematch. Few expected it to come at UFC 294, but 11 days before the event, Makhachev’s original challenger Charles Oliveira suffered a severe cut over his eye. And with that, the door opened for Volkanovski. The 35-year-old relished the chance to avenge his narrow loss to Makhachev, but there was to be no revenge for him – only a repeat as the Russian triumphed again, and in finer fashion this time. Midway through the first round of the main event, southpaw Makhachev skimmed his left shin off Volkanovski’s head, wobbling and dropping the featherweight king. Makhachev, 31, followed up with a fierce flurry of hammer fists to the grounded Aussie, whose brow split open amid the onslaught. Referee Marc Goddard stepped in, confirming an emphatic victory and title defence for Makhachev, the mentee and childhood friend of UFC lightweight great Khabib Nurmagomedov. The result extended Makhachev’s win streak to 13 fights, dating back to 2015, when he suffered the sole loss of his professional career. Meanwhile, Volkanovski was beaten for the third time as a pro, though he remains undefeated at his preferred weight of 145lbs. “Alexander The Great” rebounded from his first loss to Makhachev by stopping Yair Rodriguez in July, retaining the featherweight title against the then-interim champion. He will look to respond to his latest defeat when he takes on his next title challenger – likely Ilia Topuria in January. Meanwhile, Makhachev could be set for a rematch with Oliveira, whom he was originally due to face at UFC 294 and whom he submitted in October 2022 to win the lightweight belt. The 155lbs title was vacant at the time of that bout, which took place in Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena like UFC 294, after Oliveira was stripped of the belt for missing weight in May 2022. Meanwhile, Volkanovski’s featherweight title reign dates back to 2019, when he took the belt from Max Holloway. The Australian has since outpointed Holloway a further two times, while also winning his other three title defences – against Brian Ortega on points, and against Chan Sung Jung and Rodriguez via TKO. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More UFC schedule 2023: Every major fight happening this year UFC rankings: The Independent’s pound-for-pound fighters list When will Conor McGregor return to the UFC? UFC 294 LIVE: Volkanovski vs Makhachev fight updates and results tonight Islam Makhachev demands two words from Alexander Volkanovski ahead of UFC 294 Volkanovski vs Makhachev gamble shows the best and worst of the UFC