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Erik Ten Hag insisted Manchester United were still “on the up” despite being comprehensively outplayed by rivals Manchester City in Sunday’s derby. Erling Haaland struck twice – the first from the penalty spot – and Phil Foden added another as treble winners City eased to a 3-0 win in a one-sided Premier League encounter at Old Trafford. The result underlined City’s superiority over their neighbours – the gap between the sides now being nine points after 10 games – and emphatically ended any suggestion United might have turned a corner after winning their previous three matches. Manager Ten Hag nevertheless put a on brave face on what proved a chastening afternoon for the club’s fans. The Dutchman said: “The three games before we won and the spirit is very good. The fighting spirit is very good. “I think we are on the way up. The start was difficult, but now we are on a way up. “We have to be patient, but I’m happy some of our injuries are coming back and then our side will be stronger.” When you see first half, it's toe-to-toe. Just the penalty changes the game Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag Ten Hag felt United were competitive in the first half, which they ended trailing only 1-0 after Haaland’s 26th-minute penalty. He said: “When you see first half, it’s toe-to-toe. Just the penalty changes the game. “But even then we could have got back in the game, for instance with that shot of Scott McTominay just before half-time. “So, I think from chances it was very toe-to-toe.” Ten Hag did admit, however, the second half was “absolutely not” close. He said: “We were losing and I decided to bring more offensive power in and we made a mistake that was not according to the game plan.” Ten Hag repeatedly said he had “no comment” to make on the penalty decision, which was awarded for a foul by Rasmus Hojlund on Rodri following a VAR review. Opposite number Pep Guardiola claimed his side’s victory had not been as straightforward as it looked. City strongly asserted their authority in the second period as an unmarked Haaland headed his second and teed up Foden for the visitors’ third 10 minutes from time. Guardiola said: “It looks easy but it’s not, really it’s not. “We have a lot of respect for United, for what they do, but we were at our best, especially in the second half. “The second goal helped us a lot. We were saying at half-time they will be more aggressive and they were, but we made two incredible two build-ups. “Bernardo (Silva) and Jack (Grealish) made a good action and Erling scored the second goal. That was the key point of the game.” Guardiola admitted he did not anticipate his side dominating the local scene as much as they have when he arrived in Manchester in 2016. He said: “I know what we have done. I don’t know what United have done because I’m not here, but I didn’t expect it when I arrived here with Jose Mourinho, with (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic, with the top, top players of (Romelu) Lukaku and the squad.”

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Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp said preparation for Sunday’s 3-0 home win against Nottingham Forest had been “the most difficult I’ve ever had in my life”. Reds forward Luis Diaz did not feature in the Premier League clash at Anfield after reports that his parents had been kidnapped in Colombia and Klopp said the player had returned home to be with family members. Liverpool confirmed an “ongoing situation involving the family of Luis Diaz” earlier on Sunday and Colombia’s president said Diaz’s mother “has been rescued” but his father remains missing. Klopp said: “The game preparation was the most difficult I’ve ever had in my life. I didn’t expect that, I wasn’t prepared for it. “I don’t want to make the game bigger than it was, but definitely, we tried to help Luis with the fight we put in because obviously we want to help and we cannot really help. “So the only thing we can do is fight for him and that’s what the boys did.” Liverpool secured their fifth straight home Premier League win to move three points behind leaders Tottenham. But Klopp said: “How can you make a football game really important on a day like this? It’s really difficult. I’ve never struggled with that in my life. “We heard late last night about it. We spoke to Luis, he wanted to go home…Then we got the news with his mum, which is fantastic, and since then nothing really. “We are obviously the first people to get involved and we try to have knowledge of everything as much as we can, but we don’t want to disturb in any way the important people there, we just want to support, that’s it.” Liverpool said in a statement that they were supporting the player. It read: “Liverpool Football Club can confirm it is aware of an ongoing situation involving the family of Luis Diaz in Colombia. “It is our fervent hope that the matter is resolved safely and at the earliest possible opportunity. In the meantime, the player’s welfare will continue to be our immediate priority.” Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro said on X, formerly known as Twitter: “In an operation in Barrancas, Luis Diaz’s mother has been rescued, we continue the search for the father.” The country’s football federation said in a statement that the kidnapping was regrettable and urged authorities to rescue Diaz’s father. “The Colombian Football Federation rejects the security situation that the parents of our player Luis Díaz are going through,” they said. “From the FCF we express our solidarity with him and his entire family and we call for the relevant authorities to act as quickly as possible to resolve the situation.” Liverpool signed Diaz from Porto in January 2022 in an initial £37.5million deal that included a potential extra £12.5million in add-ons. The 26-year-old winger has made 11 appearances this season and scored three goals. Diaz was an unused substitute for Thursday’s 5-1 Europa League win against Toulouse after starting the Premier League victory over Everton last weekend. He was not in the 18-strong squad that Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp named for Forest’s Premier League visit to Anfield. Read More Unai Emery confident Aston Villa can challenge for top-four spot Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi staying positive after ‘frustrating’ Fulham draw Sir Bobby Charlton tributes – in pictures Old Trafford pays tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton ahead of Manchester derby ‘That one was for Bill’ – Everton dedicate victory at West Ham to Bill Kenwright Sorry England slump to 100-run defeat against India to add to World Cup woes

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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said there was still room for improvement after his side cruised to a 3-0 home Premier League win against Nottingham Forest. Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez scored within the space of four minutes before the interval to put Liverpool in control and Mohamed Salah struck his eighth league goal of the season in the second half. Klopp’s side made it five wins from as many league games at Anfield this season – their eighth in a row in all competitions – and sit three points behind leaders Tottenham. Klopp said: “If you’re chasing a game it’s obviously a completely different task, but if you are in complete control you should stay in control. “The last five minutes I think before half-time, all of a sudden we were a bit too deep and they just could chip the balls there and these are moments we have to improve, clearly. “In creative situations you can always improve because the boys have a lot of potential and we have to use it fully.” Once Liverpool broke the deadlock there was no way back for injury-hit Forest, but Klopp still remains wary of his side’s ability to protect a lead in front of their own fans. “You might remember three or four years ago, all of a sudden we became slightly more dominant and were leading at home and always came under pressure,” he said. “Like one-nil up meant nothing. Everybody thought ‘Oh my god, 1-0, 10 minutes to go!’ Maybe they saw the equaliser coming and that’s the situation you have to grow into and the boys showed wonderful signs in all aspects. “That’s now something we have to learn again because the key positions are obviously occupied by different players than that time, up front, midfield, last line. “So that’s the space for improvement. Creating without losing the compactness is pretty much the idea.” Forest’s winless league run was extended to six league games and head coach Steve Cooper admitted it had been a torrid 90 minutes. He said: “For sure it is a tough afternoon. Coming into the game, you know you have to play really well and commit to a plan in order to get some success in the game. “We were forced into some player selection, formation and plans through the unfortunate situation with attacking players. We had to go with a couple of players out of position.” Cooper was without a recognised central striker after Chris Wood (hamstring) was a late withdrawal, with Taiwo Awoniyi returning to the bench after a groin injury. “We only had one player who could play as a number nine in Anthony (Elanga),” Cooper added. “It’s a position which is a little bit foreign to him anyway and two days ago we didn’t think he would be available because of illness.”

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Aston Villa boss Unai Emery believes his side can be top-four contenders this season if they continue their remarkable progression. Villa have improved exponentially under the Spaniard’s regime and posted a 12th successive Premier League home win after they beat Luton 3-1 at Villa Park. Goals from John McGinn and Moussa Diaby gave them the upper hand before Luton captain Tom Lockyer put through his own net. An Emiliano Martinez own goal got Luton on the scoresheet in the final 10 minutes, but it was Villa’s afternoon. They have lost twice this season – to Newcastle and Liverpool – and Emery wants his side to keep improving. “You have to be very demanding and focus each on match,” he said of his side’s chances. “We are winning matches because we are being very focused, we are being very demanding in our defensive structure, we are trying to build a team with high commitment. “We are between another seven teams, they show their power consistently. But if we are working like that and doing this process, being demanding, being strong, of course we can progress and still keep the moment we have now in the table. “I want to face each match being focused, preparing properly and being demanding. “We have played Liverpool and Newcastle and they were better than us. When we lost against Liverpool and Newcastle, I told the players I want to reduce the distance they showed when they come here.” They have not lost on home soil since they lost 4-2 to Arsenal on February 18, but Emery thinks there is more to come. “There is still a lot of work to do and still a lot of things we can improve. “Tactically, try to be more consistent for 90 minutes. I am very happy but I think there are things that can improve,” he added. Luton boss Rob Edwards knows that his side’s season will not be judged on games like this. “Let’s be honest, today was a difficult afternoon for us. There is a gulf between the two teams, at the moment Aston Villa are an exceptional team, in a great moment, confident, brilliant manager and very good players. At 3-0 down with 30 minutes to go I’m on the touchline thinking, ‘This is difficult’. “I’m really pleased with how the players stayed in it, stayed committed, that was important. It’s important the fans can see we never ever give in and stick at it. “It was a difficult afternoon but proud of how we stuck to the task. “Today wasn’t going to define us, we know that, we are in a different battle to Aston Villa at the moment, there is a difference in the teams, but we have to learn from it. “I want to make us better and me better.”

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Former Manchester United team-mates, City opponents and fans paid tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton ahead of the Manchester derby at Old Trafford on Sunday. Charlton, who died at the age of 86 earlier this month, was a key member of England’s victorious 1966 World Cup team and enjoyed great success with United, who became the first English side to win the European Cup in 1968. Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the images from the latest tributes to a much-loved figure in world football.