Sheffield United assistant manager Stuart McCall said he was bored watching his side’s Carabao Cup defeat to League One Lincoln. The Premier League side suffered a 3-2 penalty shoot-out loss at Bramall Lane after a drab 90 minutes ended goalless. Defeat continued a poor start to the season for the Blades, who have lost their opening three Premier League games. They made nine changes for this match, but McCall said none of those players who came in pushed their case. “A poor flat performance has given us a poor result, there’s no getting away from it,” he said. “Credit to Lincoln, they made it difficult to play against, but we never moved the ball quick enough and got into areas we wanted to. “If I’m being honest, we were bored ourselves watching it, we needed more impetus. We didn’t do enough to win the game. It seemed quite flat. “We have to move on to a huge game on Saturday against Everton. “There’s no excuses, the side we put out there should perform better. Take nothing away from Lincoln but we were pretty dull. “We were desperate to win tonight and we put a team out that we believed we could do that. “We were just boring really, we had no thrust. That is not what we want to be at Bramall Lane. Hugely disappointing throughout the night from start to finish. We can’t afford many of them.” Lincoln were worthy of victory, which came after Lukas Jensen saved spot-kicks from Louis Marsh and Benie Traore to send his side through. Boss Mark Kennedy was in philosophical mood after a first victory at Bramall Lane in 40 years. “There’s only two things human beings fear when they’re born, that’s noise, and falling,” he said. “All the other fear some idiot puts in your head. There’s nothing to fear but fear itself. “So go and embrace the moment, go and enjoy the day. “And it’s nights like this that me personally and the players…live for. That’s what you get up for in the morning, win, lose or draw. “You want to get your head out there, stick your chest out and sometimes you win and the rewards are incredible, the highs are high, the lows are so low, but for me that’s what you get up for, that’s what I come to work for every day.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Burnley counting cost of Carabao Cup win over Nottingham Forest Brydon Carse targets red-ball cricket with England after impressing in T20 win Beto and Arnaut Danjuma spare Everton’s blushes in late cup win at Doncaster

The All England Club’s plan to build an 8,000-seat stadium and 38 other courts at Wimbledon to allow the Grand Slam to hold its qualifying tournament on site has won approval from a local planning council

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Unai Emery said he has plenty more to offer as Aston Villa boss after being nominated for the Premier League manager of the season award. Emery has overseen an impressive transformation at Villa Park since replacing Steven Gerrard in October last year, lifting them from fifth-bottom to the brink of European football next season. The 51-year-old Spaniard is on a six-man shortlist for the managerial award, alongside Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola, Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi, Newcastle’s Eddie Howe and Fulham boss Marco Silva. When asked about his nomination, Emery told a press conference: “We want to take some trophies or be respected for our work, but I’m trying to be focused every day on getting better and trying to improve. “Our way here has only just started and I’ve only been here for 10 per cent of the time I want to be here, trying to improve, trying to build a strong project and get our objectives. For now, I’m proud of everybody here.” Villa have won 14 and lost only six of his 26 top-flight games in charge and remain in contention for the final Europa League spot. Emery, a four-time Europa League winner as manager with Sevilla (three times) and Villarreal, and also a runner-up with Arsenal, is renowned for an intense approach to his work. He said: “I always try to enjoy my work, and I do enjoy it every day. I feel passion for my work. “When we are playing and facing big challenges every week, every month, every year, you have to be very focused and spend a lot of time on getting the best results possible. “When I can have two days off, I enjoy it and I’m trying to take my mind out of my work – not completely, but I enjoy doing different things. “When I am focused here, preparing the training sessions, preparing for matches, trying to complete our work, of course I am spending a lot of hours here.” Villa are level on points with seventh-placed Tottenham, who occupy the Europa Conference League berth, after last week’s 2-1 win against the Londoners and play at Champions League hopefuls Liverpool on Saturday. Emery said he was relishing the challenge at Anfield, adding: “They have very high-level players and a good bench to use in the second half, and they also have a very good coach in (Jurgen) Klopp. “The crowd there are supporting them a lot. That is what we are going to face. I want to play against them, preparing the match and taking our moments. “We want to be successful, more than them in 90 minutes. That is the difficulty we are going to face. We need to be clinical.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Luke Wood says playing for Lancashire ‘my pride and joy’ ahead of Blast opener Jordan Henderson knows Liverpool will miss James Milner and Roberto Firmino Barry Bannan dedicates Sheffield Wednesday’s stunning comeback to Darren Moore

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Northern Ireland had a stoppage-time equaliser ruled out by VAR as a battling display went unrewarded in a 1-0 Euro 2024 qualifying loss to Denmark. Jonas Wind’s goal early in the second half made the difference in Copenhagen as debutant Callum Marshall saw a dream goal ruled out for offside after a review which took almost five minutes. The West Ham youngster flicked the ball in after Jonny Evans headed on a free-kick, but there was despair when referee Daniel Stefanski eventually signalled for offside after his colleague Tomasz Kwiatkowski took an age to review the footage. Michael O’Neill’s men defended doggedly away to the top seeds in Group H, but a mistake just two minutes after the break proved decisive as Denmark bounced back from March’s shock defeat to Kazakhstan and put the pressure on Northern Ireland to deliver when the Kazakhs visit Windsor Park on Monday. Wind pounced when Ciaron Brown got it all wrong trying to deal with Joakim Maehle’s short cross in from the left, slamming the ball home from close range. But O’Neill will take encouragement from how a youthful line-up dealt with the hardest fixture in Group H. Before kick-off came news that Craig Cathcart had suffered a back injury, taking the number of first-team regulars missing to 10, a figure threatening to derail this qualifying campaign even before the halfway stage. Trai Hume made his first start at left wing-back, with Evans between Brown and Paddy McNair at the back. Also making his first start was Isaac Price, one of three teenagers in the side along with Conor Bradley and Shea Charles. O’Neill was well aware of what he was asking of such inexperienced players in the raucous atmosphere of the Parken Stadium, and watched on as they soaked up huge amounts of pressure before the break as Denmark grew frustrated. Andreas Skov Olsen’s early cross was slightly behind Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who twisted acrobatically to make contact but could not find the target. Christian Eriksen sent a free-kick from long range wide, while the clearest chance came to Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen just before the half hour as space opened up in front of him, but his powerful shot was straight at Bailey Peacock-Farrell. Shayne Lavery, selected ahead of Dion Charles in attack, worked tirelessly to offer an outlet as he and the slender figure of Price, asked to play in an advanced role, faced up to Denmark’s imposing back three of Simon Kjaer, Andreas Christensen and Andersen. It was Lavery who had Northern Ireland’s only first-half opportunity when Price laid the ball off on the edge of the area. Lavery looked up to see three defenders closing in, but got off a deflected strike which Kasper Schmeichel was able to gather. But after all that hard work in the first half, Denmark needed only two minutes of the second to find the breakthrough thanks to a mistake at the back. Northern Ireland did not recover their shape after Bradley lost the ball, and when Brown stumbled to the floor, Wind accepted the gift. A set-piece offered Northern Ireland an opportunity but Price and Lavery got their wires crossed trying to play it short and Denmark broke, with Peacock-Farrell saving smartly from the in-demand Rasmus Hojlund, scorer of five goals in the first two qualifiers. Quick distribution from Peacock-Farrell set Price free down the right as the hour mark approached, but with no support the teenager had to test Schmeichel from a tight angle, forcing a corner. It looked as though there was a late twist when Marshall, on for Ali McCann with five minutes left, turned the ball home from close range, but VAR would kill the celebrations. Just three games into the qualifying campaign, it feels as though Northern Ireland must now deliver a result at home on Monday to keep themselves in the mix. Read More Trent Alexander-Arnold experiment means England may have found their ‘quarterback’ John Greig thanks Rangers after becoming CBE Wales suffer humiliating defeat to damage Euro 2024 qualification hopes Trent Alexander-Arnold experiment means England may have found their ‘quarterback’ John Greig thanks Rangers after becoming CBE Wales suffer humiliating defeat to damage Euro 2024 qualification hopes

As he rose high, demonstrating the aerial power that has made him the most prolific centre-back in English national team history, Harry Maguire’s thunderous header capped a mini personal renaissance that lifted Manchester United off the floor of their Champions League group. There have been times in the last two years when Maguire has felt luckless, but this time fortune favoured him: a status as the match-winner may have been snatched from his grasp when Scott McTominay conceded an injury-time penalty. Yet Andre Onana’s 97th-minute save preserved it. And so the Stretford End ended up singing Maguire’s name. There were twin redemption songs, of the man United signed in the summer and the one they could have sold to West Ham. “Amazing,” Maguire said; he had been a stranger to adulation at Old Trafford. Last-choice centre-back last season, he may now have a run in the team for Erik ten Hag, the manager who stripped him of the captaincy. As Maguire pointed out recently, the numbers support his case. The win percentage he branded “ridiculously high” now stands at 94.1 in his last 17 starts for United: 16 of them have brought victories. There are caveats and the one exception was a traumatic night for him in Seville as United crashed out of the Europa League. They lost on his first three starts for Ten Hag, too. Since then, his status as a back-up has meant he has been spared the tougher tests: he has faced Real Betis, Sevilla, West Ham and Aston Villa, but this season others started against Arsenal and Tottenham, Brighton and Bayern Munich. Arguably, he has not faced an elite team in Ten Hag’s reign. Which, as the Manchester derby beckons on Sunday, may mean Maguire should savour his statistics while he still can. But a personal renaissance has revolved around meaningful contributions, not simply facts and figures. There was the headed assist for McTominay’s 97th-minute winner against Brentford, the man-of-the-match display on his return to Sheffield United and now a Champions League winner against FC Copenhagen. A common denominator may be that each qualifies as relatively limited opposition: United have scarcely dominated against any of them. But if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer miscast Maguire as talisman and captain of United, a willing soul and honest trier has prospered in three successive starts. A run in the side was facilitated first by the absence of Lisandro Martinez, Ten Hag’s chosen upgrade on Maguire, and then all of United’s left-backs, meaning Victor Lindelof was redeployed on the flank. Yet Lindelof began on the bench against Copenhagen, Maguire in the role Ten Hag has long been reluctant to grant him: as a left-sided centre-back. The Dutchman has an innate preference for left-footers there. But he also wants centre-backs who operate higher up the pitch. Maguire was not a natural fit: belatedly, though, he is becoming Ten Hag’s type of defender. “I think so,” he said. “He's playing much more proactive in possession, stepping in, passing vertical, defending also on the front foot, also stepping in, defending forward, very confident in the duels. I think he's dominating in the right moment, putting the question, dominating his opponents. You see he gets rewarded - it's a very good skill from him, his heading, and a very good finish." It was a reward for more than just set-piece expertise. It was Maguire’s prize for obstinacy, for staying when there were reasons to go: that United were reluctant to pay him off may have influenced his decision but he maintained he could win his place back. Ten Hag, too, never forced him out, stripping him of the armband but insisting he remained a valuable squad player. The manager’s position has been nuanced, the defender’s defiant. “This is maybe the most scrutinised club in the world and when you are not quite on your game it gets picked up, it gets analysed,” Maguire reflected. He had a shocking 2021-22 campaign, a bad start to last season. Neither escaped scrutiny. Since then, however, he reflected: “And I am really proud and pleased over the way I have acted over the last six to 12 months.” For now, he has confounded expectations. Stiffer examinations may await, starting with Erling Haaland on Sunday. If he is still in the side, the last five weeks of the year bring Galatasaray, Newcastle, Chelsea, Bayern, Liverpool, West Ham and Villa. They will be the tests if he ranks as a top-class centre-back. For now, though, Maguire is the emblem of this United, labouring to victory with goals from some of their lesser lights. Their last five strikes have come from either McTominay, Diogo Dalot or Maguire. And for the man who has been mocked and maligned, dropped and abused, it was a rare high of late for Maguire. And, whatever his win percentage, there have not been many occasions in the last two years when he was celebrated like this. Read More ‘It was meant to be’: Man Utd dedicate dramatic victory to Sir Bobby Charlton Manchester United vs FC Copenhagen LIVE: Latest Champions League updates Man Utd duo’s heroics offer fitting tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton

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Take back the fedora.

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