Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper was ejected in the third inning against Pittsburgh following a furious outburst toward third base umpire Ángel Hernández on a checked strike three

First it was Andrei Kanchelskis, then David Beckham and then Cristiano Ronaldo. For the best part of two decades, Manchester United were alright on the right. For periods in that time, the player on the flank – in two cases, in the iconic No 7 shirt – was arguably the best in the team; possibly, in a couple of seasons, the best in the world. Now two of the five most expensive signings in United’s history joined as right wingers. Both are unavailable. There are different reasons why Antony and Jadon Sancho are absent but if, after having spent almost £160m on the pair, the right wing should be one of the strongest departments of the United team, it was shaping up as a problem position even when manager Erik ten Hag could pick from both. Antony is currently taking a leave of absence after allegations of assault from three women; if, as he insists, he is innocent, he needs to clear his name while, if guilty – and so far police in both England and Brazil are investigating but no charges have been brought – his disappearance could, and many would say should, become a permanent affair. Sancho was omitted from the squad for the defeat to Arsenal because of his performances in training, Ten Hag said. The England international responded with a pinned tweet saying he had been made a “scapegoat”; United were willing to sell him for a suitably sizeable fee to Al-Ettifaq but only received a loan offer. For now, Sancho has been given a personal training programme as United decide which disciplinary action he should face. If, with Antony out of the picture, there is added scope to reintegrate Sancho, Ten Hag seems to deem his public criticism too great a transgression to ignore. So far, though, United have derived too little benefit from either. Antony has one goal in his last 26 league games. In all competitions, he has eight in 48 United appearances and just three assists: a habit of cutting infield to shoot suggests he is scarcely likely to get too many more. The footballing verdict may be that he is one-footed, one-dimensional and at times, one-paced as well. Sancho’s statistics are barely more impressive, with 12 goals and six assists in 82 games. If each forms a contrast with a more productive past – Beckham got 20 assists in one Champions League-winning season, 1998-99, and Ronaldo 42 goals in another, 2007-08 – there is a difference with Sancho’s own history, with his 17-goal, 16-assist Bundesliga campaign with Borussia Dortmund in 2019-20. There is the sense each has been miscast: Antony as a United player, with Ten Hag’s fondness for his former Ajax player prompting them to pay an exorbitant £86m, and Sancho as a right winger, when he looks better equipped to operate from the left and where, rather than using raw pace to sprint into space, he is better at close-combination play. If the evidence is that Ten Hag does not believe Sancho is quick enough to be his type of winger, a recurring theme at Old Trafford is an imbalance, with a host of attackers preferring to play from the left than the right: in recent years, they include Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Alexis Sanchez, Jesse Lingard, Paul Pogba, Daniel James and Ronaldo. One exception, even if his long-term future seemed destined to be as United’s centre-forward, was Mason Greenwood, who brought more goals from the right than either Sancho or Antony. If United were far too slow to realise the 21-year-old could not resume his career at the club, belatedly aborting plans for his comeback, it could mean they have lost three options for the right flank in a matter of weeks. Which leaves Ten Hag with a problem as Brighton and Bayern Munich beckon. Of the youthful understudies, Amad Diallo (two Premier League starts in his career) is injured while Facundo Pellestri (none) is fit. Rashford or Martial could be moved into what is only the third-best position for each. United rebuffed suggestions they could sign the free agent Anwar El Ghazi; that they were mooted indicated how plans have gone awry. So an internal answer is required. Christian Eriksen had a profitable time for Tottenham when deployed off the right, though often as more of a No 10. If he was younger then and plays deeper and more centrally now, it may offer a hint to the best potential stand-in. Ten Hag showed an occasional willingness to use Bruno Fernandes from the right last season, often with a licence to come infield. Amid the question of how to accommodate the captain and Mason Mount, and whether the deadline-day signing Sofyan Amrabat should give the midfield more ballast by partnering Casemiro at the base, a way to do it would be to field one of the attack-minded players, whether the Englishman or the Portuguese, as a nominal right winger. Mount is not fit yet, but Eriksen could play centrally and Fernandes on the right in the meantime. As Fernandes looked more creative than Antony on the right last season, it may add to a regular theme at Old Trafford: if something needs doing, ask Bruno to do it. The reality that it is less than ideal to shift United’s premier No 10 is augmented by the fact United’s best attacking right-back, Diogo Dalot, who could have overlapped before if the supposed winger was in midfield, is actually playing left-back now because of injuries there. There may be compromises across the team. But then United have been making do on the right flank for various points in the 14 years since Ronaldo first left. There have been periods of excellence – Antonio Valencia won player of the year in 2011-12, Juan Mata excelled in 2014-15, albeit when the costlier Angel Di Maria was dropped, Greenwood delivered goals for a while – but if Sancho was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s preferred solution and Antony was Ten Hag’s expensive answer, now United find themselves with a familiar dilemma: who is the right man for the right? Read More Erik ten Hag consulted as Antony put on ‘period of absence’ from Man Utd amid abuse allegations Man Utd punish Jadon Sancho over Erik ten Hag comments What next for Jadon Sancho after his public fall-out at Manchester United? Man Utd punish Jadon Sancho over Erik ten Hag comments Harry Maguire says he can deal with pressure after ‘banter’ from Scotland fans Manchester United announce new shirt sponsor for 2024/25 season

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Pep Guardiola accepts Manchester City must adapt to the artificial surface they face in Switzerland this week – but claims “common sense” dictates grass is better. The holders will play on unfamiliar terrain in their latest Champions League outing on Wednesday when they take on Young Boys on their synthetic pitch at the Wankdorf Stadium. Guardiola insists there are no complaints on his part, and he has changed his team’s routine to ensure they are prepared. Normally City do not take up the option available to them of training at the stadium when they play away games in Europe, instead preferring to work in Manchester before travelling. However, on this occasion City flew to Bern on Tuesday morning and had a run out on the pitch in the evening. Yet the City manager could not hide the feeling that he would prefer to be playing on a natural surface. Speaking at a press conference, the Spaniard said: “It is what it is. If UEFA allows games to be played here it’s because it’s in good conditions. “That’s one of the reasons we never train away but this is an exception. This is why we travel in the morning for the players to feel how the ball runs, how to move left, right, backwards, forwards. That’s why. “We’ll try it and the players will know it immediately.” Asked if he was concerned about injuries, Guardiola said: “I don’t know – hopefully not, for both sides, but I don’t know. “We are not used to it. Any team that plays here is not used to it. It suits the Swiss league and, in the Champions League, the teams that come here have to adapt. “We will not be the first in this situation. We have to use it as a benefit but the grass is better.” Asked why, Guardiola said: “Because 99.9 per cent of the teams who play in a high level play on grass, otherwise UEFA and FIFA would decide to play on artificial pitches. It’s common sense, I would say.” City go into their third match in Group G looking to maintain their 100 per cent record after victories over Red Star Belgrade and RB Leipzig. Victory in their back-to-back games against Young Boys, who travel to the Etihad Stadium next month, could see City qualify for the knockout stages with two matches to spare. City have no fresh injury concerns, with long-term casualty Kevin De Bruyne their only notable absentee. Guardiola also played down concerns about the form of Jack Grealish, who is taking time to get back to his best after a month out with a dead leg. The City boss said: “I don’t have one doubt about Jack and his quality and what he has done for us since he arrived, especially last season. I’m calm and confident. He is an incredibly important player for us.” Read More Manchester United remember Sir Bobby Charlton ahead of Champions League clash Sean Longstaff pinching himself after change in fortunes at Newcastle World Rugby to launch new international competition from 2026 Simona Halep files appeal with CAS against four-year doping ban Just Stop Oil protesters sentenced for aggravated trespass over Lord’s stunt It helps a lot – Dejan Kulusevski says Spurs must make absence from Europe count

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