Everton submitted their appeal on Friday against a 10-point deduction handed down by the Premier League for breaches...

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has defended under-fire Andre Onana and insisted the Cameroon international is among the best goalkeepers in the Premier League. Onana has repeatedly been in the spotlight since United spent £47million on the 27-year-old this summer to replace David De Gea, and although it had been felt his form was improving in recent weeks, Wednesday’s 3-3 draw against Galatasaray was a clear setback as he was at fault for two goals. Onana also made a mistake for a goal in United’s Champions League defeat against Bayern Munich, but while he has struggled in Europe, Ten Hag pointed to the statistics that say Onana is second in saves made, save percentage and goals prevented in the Premier League. “If you analyse it well then you see he is the second best goalkeeper in the Premier League based on stats, so his expected defending goals is the second best in the Premier League,” Ten Hag said. “He’s doing well. Also he knows that in the Champions League he makes some mistakes but all over you see the first five months he is doing particularly well.” Onana will face another major test on Saturday evening when United travel to Newcastle, who are on a five-game winning streak at St James’ Park. But Ten Hag does not expect Onana to suffer any hangover from Wednesday night. “You have seen how he is reacting on a bad performance like in Munich,” Ten Hag said. “At Burnley (three days later) he was outstanding. He is a strong character, he is a personality and he will deal with it.” United said on Friday that left-back Tyrell Malacia, yet to feature this season after knee surgery, is on course to return early next year after requiring a second operation. Mason Mount was also back in training on Friday but there is no timeframe yet for the midfielder’s return. Mount’s absence has helped open the door for 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo, who excelled in last weekend’s 3-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park and was impressive again in Istanbul. “He showed on Sunday (at Everton) he was ready,” Ten Hag said. “It looks like he always has time. He's doing well. Also he knows that in the Champions League he makes some mistakes but all over you see the first five months he is doing particularly well Erik ten Hag on Andre Onana “He is scanning, he is running free, he is scanning to see the options and make the right decisions. He can delay, can speed up, he makes the right decisions.” Saturday’s trip to the north east is a third straight away game for United, and another intimidating atmosphere after they faced an angry Goodison Park and the bear pit that is Galatasaray’s Rams Park. “I really respect them,” Ten Hag said of Newcastle. “It’s a difficult team to play but it’s a good challenge and I like to play against it. “We have to rise to the occasion, be our best against them because the way they play is very organised.” United go into the game on the back of five wins in their last six Premier League games, having put a rocky run of domestic form behind them to close in on the top four. It stands in contrast to their European form, but Ten Hag believes performances have been good across the board. “On Wednesday, we played very good, also in Copenhagen,” he said. “Even in Bayern Munich we played very good. But we have to do some things better. “Eliminate individual errors, defensive transition, but we can sort this out and I would be more concerned if we didn’t play well.” Read More Cameron Norrie links up with coach Stephen Huss in bid to rediscover form Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp: Playing at Anfield is a ‘nightmare’ for opponents Top seeds England could face Scotland and Wales as teams await Euro 2024 draw Pakistan appoint Salman Butt to first official role since spot-fixing conviction Newcastle boss Eddie Howe believes more VAR ‘would ruin the game’ Min Woo Lee continues fine form in hunt for home double

Everton has filed an appeal in a bid to overturn the Premier League’s decision to deduct 10 points from the club for breaching the competition’s financial rules

Nick Kyrgios has revealed his gratitude to Andy Murray for spotting signs of self-harming as the Australian tennis star said he had an "addiction of pain" during...

Rafael Nadal says he will return to playing at the Brisbane International in Australia in January

Everton have appealed against the club’s 10-point deduction in the Premier League. An independent commission imposed a 10-point deduction on Everton with immediate effect after breaching the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules. The club were sanctioned on November 17 for a breach of the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules and have 14 days to lodge an appeal. The club confirmed they were “shocked and disappointed” by the ruling, which left them in the relegation zone, having previously sat 14th in the table and eight points above the bottom three. A statement from the club read: “Everton Football Club has today lodged with the Chair of the Premier League’s Judicial Panel its appeal of the decision by a Premier League Commission to impose a 10-point deduction on the Club. An Appeal Board will now be appointed to hear the case.” The decision has been criticised by many, including mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, who hit out at the Premier League by claims that it is guilty of “regulatory malpractice” and “abuse of process”. The league responded by insisting that it “entirely refuted his allegations.” Burnham, an Everton season-ticket holder, wrote an open letter to Premier League chair Alison Brittain in which he said there had not been a fair process when enforcing the deduction. Everton were deemed to have breached Profit and Sustainability Rules by an independent commission, which determined they had losses of £124.5m over three years – £19.5m over the permitted threshold. But Burnham, a former Secretary of State for Health, was critical of the Premier League for adopting a sanctions policy in August, after Everton had been charged and before their case was heard. “The fact that the Premier League sought to introduce a new sanctions policy in the middle of this process amounts, in my view, to an abuse of process,” he wrote.

Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal, absent from the courts for almost a year with a hip injury, announced Friday that he would return to competition in Brisbane next month...

England, Scotland and Wales could be paired together in Saturday’s Euro 2024 finals draw. The Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg will host the draw ceremony, which gets under way at 5pm UK time. Gareth Southgate’s England, runners-up at Euro 2020, will be one of the favourites to win the tournament, with in-form Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham set to be the shining light in a strong line-up. Their performances in qualifying, where they topped Group C ahead of reigning European champions Italy, have earned them a place among the top seeds for the draw in what could be Southgate’s final bow as England boss. His contract will be up next December and his future beyond that is uncertain. Scotland are in Pot Three, while Wales are one of the 12 play-off hopefuls occupying three spots in Pot Four. Rob Page’s side still have two big hurdles to overcome in order to join England and Scotland at the finals. They must first beat Finland on March 21 then also see off Poland or Estonia on March 26 to book their passage to Germany. Page said at the time of the play-off draw on November 23: “The form we’re in at the minute and with the ‘Red Wall’ at home, we’ll take anyone on in Cardiff. “It’s a great opportunity for us: we’re two wins at home away from another qualification to a major tournament. We’re hoping now for two big efforts.” The placing of England, Scotland and Wales in different pots keeps open the possibility of them all being drawn together. England faced Scotland in the group stage of Euro 2020 and Wales at the same stage at last year’s World Cup in Qatar. England and Wales also met at the group stage in Euro 2016. From an England perspective, a ‘Group of Death’ would arguably include Denmark, the highest-ranked side in Pot Two, and the Netherlands or Croatia from Pot Three. A rematch with Italy would round out a tough-looking pool for Southgate’s men, with the Azzurri alongside Wales in Pot Four. Southgate, speaking after England’s final qualifier away to North Macedonia, said: “There looks like being really strong teams in Pot Two and Pot Three looks like it could be very strong. “In the Euros we had Croatia in with us, who proved to be one of the best teams in the world over the last few years, and we managed to navigate that, so we’ve just got to be ready for whatever comes our way.” Scotland were extremely impressive in qualification, finishing runners-up to Spain in Group A and booking their place in Germany with two matches to spare. “It’s always nice to qualify for a major tournament,” Clarke said after last month’s final qualifier at home to Norway. “Obviously the last one was Covid-restricted so we missed that connection and that feel with the fans. “It’s great for everyone in the country that we have something to look forward to next summer.” Pot One also contains last year’s World Cup finalists France, a Portugal team who won all 10 of their qualifying matches and a vulnerable-looking host nation Germany, who sacked their coach Hansi Flick in September following a 4-1 friendly defeat to Japan. Read More Pakistan appoint Salman Butt to first official role since spot-fixing conviction Newcastle boss Eddie Howe believes more VAR ‘would ruin the game’ Min Woo Lee continues fine form in hunt for home double On this day in 2021: Johanna Konta retires from tennis Unai Emery eager to top group after Aston Villa reach ECL knockout stages You’ve got to dream big: Lewis Dunk eyes Europa League glory with Brighton

Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam claimed 4-40 to put Bangladesh within three wickets of a famous win over New Zealand in the first...

Joao Felix responds to Antoine Griezmann's criticism of his attitude during his time at Atletico Madrid.

First look at Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa, Bronny James has been cleared to play basketball, the Pistons went 0-16 in November and more in the Roundup.

If the Chicago Bears are still not sold on quarterback Justin Fields, here are five NFL teams who could be considered to be a "quarterback away" from being a real contender in the sport. Who all could trade for him?