Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag admits his side are not playing the style of football he’d like, and has attributed their struggles to the extraordinary amount of injuries to players in key positions.
The mood at Old Trafford was lifted by a successful first season for Ten Hag, which saw the Red Devils end a six-year trophy drought by winning the Carabao Cup. They also reached the FA Cup final, losing narrowly to neighbourhood rivals Manchester City, and qualified for the Champions League thanks to a third-place Premier League finish.
But United haven’t been able to kick on this season, despite spending a decent chunk of money on new signings, and Ten Hag’s position as manager has repeatedly been called into question.
There is hope that INEOS’ investment into the club will improve United’s off the field activity, though it’s not yet clear whether Ten Hag will be the manager backed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe to take the club forward.
Judging by Ten Hag’s latest comments, in an interview with Sky Sports, he appears confident that he’ll be in charge next year, and calmly explained why he thinks United’s struggles can be attributed to factors out of his control.
“Frustration [at the style of play not working] is not the right word because I’m a realistic man,” he said. “Last year when I came in, you make your adjustments but at the end of the day, it’s about winning games. From last year, we found a way to make a very successful team.
“This year, we wanted to make the next step. We bought in a goalkeeper who can play out from the back, a dynamic midfielder in Mason Mount – who has been injured all season – and a goalscorer in Hojlund who is young and needed the time.
“On one hand, we were quite confident we made the right choices and we can make the next step. But all the injuries are coming and we made so many changes in some positions like the back four.
“We’ve now played 47 games and we had 30 combinations in the back four. They weren’t from choices you make, they were forced choices because the players were injured… anyone with even a little bit of knowledge about football, they will know it will have a huge impact.
“Then Casemiro was injured for a long period. We had so many issues in the team that you can’t always play the way you want to play.
“But the fans want to see a successful team, a team that’s winning. What we always try to do, and it’s a compliment to the team, in every game, they went for it and they had a spirit.
“We make the adjustments a little bit in our way of play because when you don’t have a left-footed centre back or on the left side in the full-back position, you have to make adjustments you want to play, so we did.
“We are not where we want to be with the way we want to play, but the headlines are still there because we want to be proactive, be dynamic and we want to play with a high line. That’s what we always aim for.”
United will not feature in next season’s Champions League, with a fifth-place finish the best they can now achieve, but will again appear in the FA Cup final against Manchester City after narrowly seeing off Championship side Coventry City in a thrilling semi-final penalty shootout.
Hirving “Chucky” Lozano is in 'advanced talks' with MLS’ newest expansion club, San Diego FC, The Athletic report.
San Diego FC joins MLS for the 2025 season, and it seems Lozano could be the marquee signing that helps to usher in a new era. Lozano rejoined PSV last summer after four years at Napoli, and, barring a massive collapse and a series of unlikely events, the Eredivisie giants will lift the league title for the first time since 2017/18. Ironically, PSV last won the league in Lozano’s first stint with the club.
Aged 28, Lozano is the perfect talismanic signing for the expansion club, and he could end up being one of MLS’ most exciting signings ever alongside the likes of Carlos Vela, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and, of course, Lionel Messi.
1. Immediate Impact in MLS
BREAKING: San Diego FC are in advanced talks to sign Mexico star Chucky Lozano from PSV, per sources.
Deal not done yet. Would be around $12m fee.
Lozano, 28, is about to win the league title with PSV. Starred with them and Napoli in Europe. https://t.co/W7lptiiRfb
San Diego FC will slot into the Western Conference alongside the likes of LAFC, Seattle Sounders, LA Galaxy and more. There will be immediate comparisons made to St. Louis City S.C. who won the Western Conference in its first season as an expansion club, plus broke the record for most wins by an expansion club.
Lozano would give San Diego a credible attacking threat up top thanks to his searing pace and goal-scoring ability.
2. Following in Carlos Vela’s Footsteps
Lozano would be 29 if and when he joins San Diego, just a couple months older than when Carlos Vela first signed for LAFC. Vela set MLS ablaze for LAFC scoring 78 goals in 152 appearances and lifted the MLS Cup in 2022. Both attacking-minded wingers, Vela and Lozano have eerily similar statistics for the Mexican national team. Vela, despite being retired from international soccer, scored 19 goals in 72 appearances. Lozano is currently on 18 and 70 respectively. Plus, Lozano hopes to play a big part in Mexico’s Copa America campaign this summer.
From 2012-2018, Vela scored 54 goals in 184 appearances for Real Sociedad before moving to LAFC. In Lozano’s first stint at PSV and time at Napoli (2017-2023), Lozano had 57 goals in 180 appearances. Eerily similar.
Lozano could capture the same amount of attention if he hits the ground running for San Diego playing in the same state, and there will likely be comparisons made among the two if the move comes to fruition.
3. International Pedigree
Lozano first garnered international attention and praise during the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He scored the lone goal assisted by Javier “Chicarito” Hernandez against defending champions Germany in a 1-0 group stage win. He returned the favor to Chicarito assisting the striker in a 2-1 win over South Korea. Lozano started every game of that World Cup for Mexico.
His World Cup performance, alongside his first stint at PSV, earned him a move to Napoli making him the most expensive signing in the club’s history at the time. While he didn’t have the same goal-scoring numbers in Italy, he helped to the club’s first Serie A title in 32 years.
Lozano returned to PSV last September and became the first PSV player since Mark van Bommel in 2005 to score a hat-trick against rival Ajax in a 5-2 win. Lozano also featured in PSV’s Champions League run before going out to Borussia Dortmund in the Round of 16.
While the rest of the roster is still being built, Lozano brings immediate credibility to a team that looks to have success in its debut season.
Last week: Jake Knapp won the Mexico Open at Vidanta.
Notes: The tournament again leads off the Florida swing under a new name. Cognizant takes over as title sponsor of what previously was the Honda Classic. ... Rory McIlroy is playing to beef up his pre-Masters schedule. He last played the tournament in 2018. ... Six of the seven winners on the PGA Tour this year were outside the top 50 in the world ranking. The exception was Wyndham Clark, No. 10 when he won at Pebble Beach. ... This is the last tournament for the leading top 10 in the FedEx Cup and the leading five players in “swing category” to earn a spot in Bay Hill next week. ... Since turning pro after winning The American Express, U.S. Amateur champion Nick Dunlap finished in last place at Pebble Beach and missed the cut at Riviera. He is in the field this week. ... NCAA champion Fred Biondi, who turned pro last year, received a sponsor exemption. ... The field features five of the top 25 in the world ranking.
Last week: Patty Tavatanakit won the Honda LPGA Thailand.
Notes: This is the second of three straight weeks in Asia. The HSBC Women’s World Championship dates to 2008 and typically gets a strong field. ... Jin Young Ko is going for her third straight title in Singapore. ... Lorena Ochoa set the course record of 268 in 2008, the inaugural year of the tournament. ... The field features eight of the top 10 in the women’s world ranking, missing only Nelly Korda and Charley Hull. ... Atthaya Thitikul, No. 11 in the world, has an injured left thumb and does not plan to return until the end of March. ... Former U.S. Women’s Open champion In Gee Chun is playing on a sponsor’s invitation. ... Minjee Lee is in the field, playing for the first time this year on the LPGA Tour. ... Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis has named Paula Creamer, Angela Stanford, Brittany Lincicome and Morgan Pressel as assistants for this year’s matches in Virginia.
Last tournament: Dustin Johnson won LIV Golf Las Vegas.
Notes: Brooks Koepka is going for his third straight LIV victory in Saudi Arabia. The tournament was played in the fall the last two seasons. ... Anthony Kim is expected to make his LIV debut as an individual. Kim has not competed anywhere since May 2012 at the Wells Fargo Championship. He is now 38. ... Dustin Johnson’s victory in Las Vegas makes him the first player to win in each of the three seasons of LIV Golf. Among those with a chance to match him this week are Koepka and Cameron Smith. ... Johnson, Graeme McDowell, Harold Varner III and Abraham Ancer have all won in Saudi Arabia outside the LIV Golf League. ... Jon Rahm’s new team is leading the standings after two events. ... Joaquin Niemann was the only LIV Golf player who received a special invitation to the Masters based on his European tour performances in the offseason. ... Patrick Reed is no longer among the top 100 in the world.
Last week: Darius van Driel won the Magical Kenya Open.
Notes: The tournament is co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour of South Africa. ... This is the second of three straight tournaments on the African continent. ... The field features only four players from the top 100 in the world. The highest-ranked player is Rikuya Hoshino, who is at No. 81. ... South Africa only has five players in the top 100 in the world. Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who plays the PGA Tour, is the top-ranked South African at No. 59. ... Only two players from Nos. 126-200 in the FedEx Cup last year are in the field, Matthias Schwab and Jonas Blixt. Dylan Frittelli was in that category until winning earlier this year to get full European tour membership. ... Keita Nakajima, a former world No. 1 amateur, is in the field. He is eligible from winning the Japan Golf Tour money title last year. ... The tournament only became part of the European tour schedule last year.
Asian Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia: New Zealand Open, Millbrook GC (Coronet and Remarkables), Arrowtown, New Zealand. Defending champion: Brendan Jones. Online: https://asiantour.com/ and https://pga.org.au/.
Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo couldn't hide their admiration for the ability of Toni Kroos after his defence splitting pass helped Real Madrid open the scoring against Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal clash.
The German's slide rule through ball took advantage of poor decision making from Bayern defender Kim Min-jae, allowing Vinicius to zip in behind and slide home the opening goal of an exhilarating contest at the Allianz Arena.
It was a moment of real quality from 34-year-old Kroos, who was once again tasked with pulling the strings in Madrid's midfield despite his advancing years.
Kroos' high performance level inevitably raised the question of whether or not Madrid will look to extend his contract beyond this summer, and it certainly appears that a longer stay would be welcomed by Vinicius and Rodrygo judging by their post-match comments.
"Toni always makes things easy," Vinicius told Movistar. "He gifted me a goal. We practice a lot together in training. I know Toni very well, and he knows me. I'm very happy to have scored two goals. Now we need a magic night at home."
In reply, Kroos told Real Madrid's official website of his two-goal teammate: “Players like him always give you the possibility to make passes. He's not only quick, he's also clever and knows how and when to move. He's done well and it's his quality to get into space. “It's difficult to stop him there.”
Kroos also drew praise from Rodrygo, who drew the foul that saw Vinicius level the tie at 2-2 from the penalty spot, as he remarked: "What a pass! Incredible, Age doesn't matter. [Kroos] has always got that skill, that class that I love to see."
14-time Champions League winners Madrid would now appear to have the upper hand heading into next week's second leg clash at the Santiago Bernabeu. But Carlo Ancelotti's side will know not to look past the Bavarian giants, who last lifted the trophy in 2020, especially as they fought back from being 1-0 down to take a 2-1 lead through Leroy Sane and Harry Kane.
"It's going to be a really special game," Kroos added of the upcoming Bernabeu duel. "It's going to be the most important match of the season."
