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When Manchester City won the Premier League, Erik ten Hag was not one of the first on the phone to Pep Guardiola. Perhaps that is unsurprising: he is, after all, manager of their rivals. But he is also an old ally, a man who worked with Guardiola at Bayern Munich, one who, just before he took the job at Manchester United, the Catalan had said could succeed him at the Etihad Stadium. They are part of a mutual admiration society. “The way in winning the title is a demonstration of football, everyone likes the way they play: so attractive, so brilliant,” Ten Hag said. “But their season is still not finished as our season is still not finished.” If Guardiola is denied a historic treble, it may be by a man he took under his wing. The man who liked Guardiola’s football so much that he took a backward step to team up with him, leaving a manager’s job at Go Ahead Eagles, who he had led to promotion, to take charge of Bayern’s second team in the German fourth division in 2013, has progressed rapidly. If Ten Hag was playing the long game, looking to further his education, now they meet as peers; at the Etihad Stadium and then Old Trafford this season, at Wembley in the FA Cup final on Saturday. Guardiola has the more storied CV, but Ten Hag is in charge of the bigger club. If, for much of this season, Guardiola could look up the league table and see one of his proteges, Mikel Arteta, above him, now he may be denied the FA Cup by another from his footballing family tree. And yet the sense is that Ten Hag is looking to topple Guardiola, not emulate him. They can come from the same school of thought, but they have attended different classes. Ten Hag is the former Ajax manager and yet Guardiola is more of the Ajax purist. Guardiola is the Johan Cruyff disciple, the man whose thinking was shaped by the man indelibly associated with Dutch football. He was the slow, inelegant reserve-team player parachuted into Barcelona’s Dream Team, who then became a European Cup winner as a player; in 2008, Cruyff advocated giving the untried Guardiola the manager’s job. A spectacular success only enhanced his own legacy. “Without him, I wouldn’t be here,” Guardiola reflected in 2016. Guardiola was exposed to Cruyff’s thinking at a formative age. There is a clip of a 13-year-old Ten Hag asking Cruyff a question on Dutch television, but he is not from Amsterdam or an Ajax product. He grew up near the German border, had three spells as a player and one as a coach at Twente in Enschede. He was 43 when he linked up with Guardiola, 47 when he got the Ajax job. He was, according to his assistant Steve McClaren, known as “mini Pep” at Bayern, when they coached on adjacent training pitches. Yet Ten Hag’s United are not a mirror of Guardiola’s City. There are similarities, but marked differences, too. Arteta’s Arsenal have more common denominators with City. United have topped the Premier League’s passing charts under a former Ajax manager, but he was Louis van Gaal and it was in 2014-15. In 2022-23, as City predictably had the most possession, United trailed in sixth, with 53.7 per cent to the champions’ 65.2. Their pass completion rate was only the seventh best, behind even Tottenham. Meanwhile, as City, partly by having the greatest share of the ball, won the fewest tackles, United won the eighth most. They were eighth for blocks, too. City were 20th. United were less slaves to possession, more reliant on winning duels. They played more long passes and scored the most goals from counter-attacks. United have not been slaves to possession. A difference can be seen in their respective wingers: Guardiola will often pick the pair who give him most control whereas Ten Hag tends to prefer a dribbler, in Antony, and a scorer and sprinter, in Marcus Rashford. United are willing to risk losing the ball more to try and make something happen. The passing statistics of Bruno Fernandes (77.7 per cent completion rate) and Casemiro (78.5) are examples; only Erling Haaland of the City regulars finds a teammate on a lower share of occasions. If United’s style of play in part shows Ten Hag’s pragmatic streak, he has shown a willingness to keep David de Gea, no Ederson with the ball at his feet; Guardiola would surely have ditched a goalkeeper who cannot double up as the 11th outfield player. But they share a fondness for left-footed centre-backs that is a recurring theme among those with Ajax influences. Perhaps Ten Hag’s flagship signing was Lisandro Martinez; he has shown a reluctance to use the right-footed Harry Maguire in his old role as a left-sided centre-back. In converting left-back Luke Shaw to use him in the middle, he has echoed one of Guardiola’s early surprises, when Aleksandar Kolarov assumed similar duties. So far, though, he has eschewed inverted full-backs or hybrid roles like John Stones’, two of Guardiola’s idiosyncratic ploys; in Martinez, Shaw and Varane, however, he simply has defenders who can double up as progressive passers. Ten Hag’s United debut came with a tactic that seemed to come straight from the Guardiola handbook, with Christian Eriksen selected as a false nine. It did not work, though he had greater success at Ajax when selecting Dusan Tadic instead of a striker. His use of Fernandes in a variety of positions has shown a total football ethos; as Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan can testify, Guardiola’s midfielders can find themselves given a number of different slots in the side, too. Ten Hag has differed from Guardiola in derbies; a strategy of man-marking in midfield backfired when they went 6-1 down at the Etihad, eventually losing 6-3; with Fred excelling against De Bruyne and Fernandes playing off the right, it worked better in victory at Old Trafford. Perhaps, with his fondness for quick attacks, Ten Hag is trying to tap into United’s traditions, to borrow from Sir Alex Ferguson as much as from Guardiola; his relentless emphasis on a winning mentality echoes the Scot’s attitude. Certainly, his style of football is designed to bring the best from some of those he inherited, such as Rashford and Fernandes, rather than being dogmatically ideological. But were Cruyff still around, the chances are he would have seen his stamp on one of the sides at Wembley: that managed by his pupil, Guardiola, rather than that under a successor at Ajax and a compatriot, Ten Hag. Read More How Yaya Toure changed everything for Man City — and delivered Man Utd a ‘slap in the face’ The year that sportswashing won: A season that changed football forever 5 key talking points as rivals Man City and Man Utd clash in FA Cup final How managers Pep Guardiola and Erik ten Hag fare ahead of FA Cup final Pep Guardiola takes top honours at LMA Awards Injury concerns for Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish ahead of FA Cup final

UEFA is awaiting the match official’s reports before deciding whether to take action against Jose Mourinho for his rant at referee Anthony Taylor after Roma’s Europa League final defeat, the PA news agency understands. Roma boss Mourinho was critical of Taylor in his post-match press conference after his side’s penalty shoot-out defeat to Sevilla in Budapest on Wednesday night. And in video footage which later emerged on social media, the former Chelsea and Manchester United manager is seen gesticulating at Taylor and officials in the stadium car park and heard saying “disgrace”. Taylor booked Mourinho during the game, which finished 1-1 after extra time before Sevilla sealed their seventh Europa League triumph by winning 4-1 in a penalty shoot-out. Tempers simmered on and off the pitch in a disappointing final, with 13 players shown yellow cards, seven of them to Roma players, while fourth official Michael Oliver had his work cut out to keep control of both dug-outs. The game was littered with delays, with a total of 25 minutes’ stoppage time added to the 120 minutes of playing time. Mourinho lost for the first time in his sixth major European final, while Sevilla extended their record number of tournament wins following previous successes in 2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2020. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Players could harm themselves if not given enough support during times of crisis, according to former Huddersfield youngster Tareiq Holmes-Dennis. The defender was forced to retire in 2020, aged just 24, after a serious knee injury. Holmes-Dennis needed counselling when his career was cut short and while he feels concern for player welfare has improved, claims there needs to be a prolonged push to aid those in need. Former Manchester City youngster Jeremy Wisten took his own life in 2020 after being released following a battle with a knee injury and Holmes-Dennis worries about the mental health of others. “When you see young boys that have taken their life because they can’t cope – coping with the stresses of being released – it should never get there,” he told the PA news agency. “You don’t want it to become a norm. There are so many people going through situations where they are mentally struggling. “It is starting to be highlighted a bit more. Some clubs in particular are putting time and effort into giving the resources to players and, ultimately, it’s players who make the club perform. When you see young boys that have taken their life because they can't cope - coping with the stresses of being released - it should never get there Tareiq Holmes-Dennis “Their welfare should be at the forefront but it’s relatively new, mental health and player welfare and making sure players are in a good physical and mental space. “There is a magnifying glass on that now which is good because it is easy to look from the outside and say ‘you’re paid to do X, Y, Z’. There’s a lot more that goes into that and there’s a lot of repercussions for players off the pitch if their mental health isn’t in the right place. “It’s clear an effort is being made to understand what players go through and what can be done to best aid them.” The 27-year-old, now working at agency Wasserman, suffered a serious knee injury on his Portsmouth debut in 2017 while on loan at Fratton Park from Huddersfield. He slipped on the artificial surface around the pitch and, after three years of injury battles and aborted comebacks, was forced to retire prematurely. Other players have returned from a similar injury, including Jack Whatmough and Jack Robinson, who played with Holmes-Dennis at Pompey. However, being forced to quit left the former England Under-18 international feeling bereft. “I saw a counsellor to get over it. I learned speaking about it was the biggest thing. I didn’t want to hold it in,” said Holmes-Dennis, who was part of the Huddersfield squad promoted to the Premier League in 2017. “I also didn’t want to be annoying people but I know my family loved me and understood what I was going through was difficult because they’d seen my journey. “It was just a dark, dark time. Losing that routine, losing that drive to wake up and do something. You’re used to preparing in a certain way, being an elite athlete and living the elite lifestyle to then feeling irrelevant.” Holmes-Dennis’ situation is not unique and left a promising young player facing up to the reality of having his career and life torn away. After starting his career at Charlton, joining Huddersfield in 2016, Holmes-Dennis made 107 senior appearances – including 30 for Bristol Rovers – before the injury he suffered against Rochdale on August 5, 2017. To aid players like him, the Professional Footballers’ Association has joined with a law firm, Stewarts, to offer current and former players a legal dispute management service. The PFA already offers club workshops, a 24/7 helpline, a national network of 250 counsellors and residential support via the Sporting Chance Clinic. Also available to members is a wellbeing network and, in 2021-22, 600 accessed the service, resulting in more than 7,000 therapy sessions. In the last 10 months, the PFA has also appointed former Arsenal executive James King as its general counsel. Sports disputes lawyer at Stewarts, Barrington Atkins, added: “We know player wellbeing is very much at the heart of what the PFA does, and we aim to help players tackle any issues before they start to impact their wellbeing.” Players will be provided with advice on problems relating to injuries, employment, divorce and family issues, tax disputes and media-related issues – a service which Holmes-Dennis feels is much needed. “It’s massive because it’s a stress you wouldn’t want to take on your own,” he said. “You might not understand how to navigate the situation. “As long as there’s an awareness and the culture is shifting to actually caring about players – physically and mentally – and not just for tonight’s game or tomorrow’s game, then there’s progress. “Players want to play but whether they are capable, able or physically and mentally ready to do so is another thing.” Bristol Rovers declined to comment when contacted by the PA news agency. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lauren James commits her future to Chelsea until 2027 Daniel Vettori: England’s winning habit more impressive than style of cricket Football rumours: Magpies hope new deal prevents Bruno Guimaraes flying the nest

Chelsea striker Lauren James has signed a new contract which will keep her at the club until the summer of 2027, the Blues have announced. The 21-year-old, who was named in Sarina Wiegman’s England squad for this summer’s World Cup finals on Wednesday, was part of Emma Hayes’ side as they completed a second consecutive Women’s Super League and FA Cup double during the season which has just ended. James told the club’s official website: “It’s an amazing feeling to extend my stay at the club I love and where I feel most at home. I’m looking forward to the future and I want to reach my full potential. “I want to be the best version of me as a player and as a person, helping to inspire the next generation. It definitely feels like home and it’s always been the place I’ve wanted to be.” Schooled in Chelsea’s academy, James made her senior debut for Arsenal as a 16-year-old and signed her first professional deal with Manchester United before returning to the Blues on a four-year contract in July 2021. General manager Paul Green said: “We’re delighted that Lauren has signed an extended deal. She has built on last season and taken another step forward in her development. “She is one of the best young players in the world, who is blue through and through. We look forward to seeing her continue to progress and we believe she will go on to achieve big things at the club.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Conor Coady has left Everton and returned to Wolves following his loan spell, with the Toffees having passed up an option to sign the defender on a permanent basis. The Goodison Park club have also announced that former Wolves defender Ruben Vinagre will return to Sporting Lisbon after an injury-impacted loan spell on Merseyside. Coady made 25 appearances for Everton this season, including a start in Sunday’s vital 1-0 win over Bournemouth which secured safety, and scored two goals. Coady, capped 10 times by England, joined the Toffees last August in a deal which included an option to buy, but that option has now expired. Vinagre made only four appearances in all competitions. Everton director of football Kevin Thelwell said: “We want to sincerely thank Conor and Ruben for their impeccable professionalism and valuable contributions both on and off the pitch during their time with the club. “We wish both players the best in their futures.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Conor Coady will leave Everton after the club decided not to take up their option to sign him permanently for £4.5 million. The England international returns to Wolves, who loaned their captain out last summer after he lost his place following former manager Bruno Lage’s decision to switch to a back four. Coady made 25 appearances for Everton, scoring two goals, and excelled in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Bournemouth, when they avoided relegation. But he had not started any of the previous 13 matches when Sean Dyche dropped him to prefer first Michael Keane and then Yerry Mina. Dyche chose not to buy Coady whereas the expectation was that if former manager Frank Lampard had stayed in charge, a long-term move would have been triggered. Coady faces an uncertain future at Wolves, with Julen Lopetegui replacing Lage while he was out on loan, but the Spaniard has also preferred to play with just two centre-backs. Left-back Ruben Vinagre also returns to his parent club, Sporting Lisbon, after an injury-hit year on loan at Goodison Park. Read More How Manchester United reached the FA Cup final for a 21st time Liverpool and Juventus remember Heysel – Monday’s sporting social Time for yet another Everton reset – but this time with a dose of boring reality

Jose Mourinho confronted English referee Anthony Taylor in the car park and called him a “f***ing disgrace” after Roma’s Europa League final defeat to Sevilla. Mourinho’s Roma side were beaten on penalties in Budapest in an ill-tempered match as Sevilla won the Europa League for the seventh time. The manager was furious with Premier League official Taylor during the final at the Puskas Arena, with the referee showing a total of 13 yellow cards across the match. Mourinho approached Taylor in the car park of the Puskas Arena as the referee and his officiating team were leaving the stadium. The former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham boss could be heard shouting, “F***ing disgrace man, it’s a f***ing disgrace” in English. Mourinho then switched to swearing in Italian and made his way back to the Roma team bus, before approaching the referee again to say, “Congratulations, you f***ing disgrace”. Mourinho was booked during the Europa League final while seven of his Roma players were also shown yellow cards. Sevilla picked up six bookings during the final. The 60-year-old continued to fume during his post-match press conference, where he accused Taylor of “bulls***” decisions and said Sevilla player Erik Lamela should have been sent off. “Next year we won’t be playing the Champions League and that’s a good thing because we’re not made for it,” Mourinho said. “And let’s hope that Taylor, only officiates games in the Champions League and does the same bull**** there that he did tonight, and not in the Europa League. “It was an intense, vibrant game with a referee who seemed Spanish. It was yellow, yellow, yellow all the time. “Today in all the dubious episodes, the yellow cards, the referee blew the whistle in favour of Sevilla. “I am surprised because he is an international referee who has a great reputation.” After giving his silver medal to a fan in the crowd, Mourinho thanked his players despite losing in penalties to Sevilla in the Europa League final in Budapest. Mourinho was set to become the most decorated European manager in history with six trophies and after a Paulo Dybala goal put them in front it was looking likely. Roma went on to concede an own goal and lost 4-1 in penalties when Roger Ibanez and Gianluca Mancini missed from the spot. Mourinho told ITV Italy after the game: "I’ve won five finals and I lost this one, but I’m coming back home proud again. The boys gave everything. "We felt pressure against a team that has more talent than us. We lost a game but not dignity. "I’ve never gone home prouder than today, even when I won. We had also worked hard on penalties but... we missed two - but all together, not only the penalty takers." Includes reporting from PA Read More Gonzalo Montiel the penalty hero again as Sevilla win seventh Europa League title Jose Mourinho: I’ve never gone home prouder than today, even when I won Sevilla win seventh Europa League title Sevilla vs Roma LIVE: Europa League final result and reaction

What the papers say The in-demand Bruno Guimaraes looks set to stay at Newcastle after the club reportedly offered him £200,000 a week to stay at the club in an effort to see off advances from Liverpool, Real Madrid and Barcelona, the Sun said. If the 25-year-old midfielder agrees to the terms it would make him the highest paid player at the club. The Daily Mail said Portuguese forward Joao Felix has been offered to Newcastle on a loan deal after Chelsea opted not to sign the forward on a permanent transfer from Atletico Madrid. Harry Kane has expressed his desire to stay in England and move to Manchester United this summer rather than a move overseas, with the Sun claiming he is willing to see out his contract and leave Tottenham as a free agent next year if his transfer is blocked. Tottenham are reportedly increasing their interest in Celtic’s Australian manager Ange Postecoglou, according to the Daily Mail. The Telegraph says Sam Allardyce’s short stint at Leeds is set to come to an end on Thursday as the veteran manager is set to meet with the club’s senior figures. Social media round-up Players to watch Benjamin Pavard: The 27-year-old French defender does not want to renew his contract at Bayern Munich in 2024 with Manchester United, Inter Milan and Barcelona all interested in his signature, according to French outlet L’Equipe. Kalidou Koulibaly: Chelsea are reportedly looking to sell the Senegalese defender over the summer, the Evening Standard said. Chelsea signed him from Serie A team Napoli last year for around £33million. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live On this day in 2019: Liverpool beat Tottenham to clinch Champions League Jose Mourinho: I’ve never gone home prouder than today, even when I won James Vince becomes Blast’s leading run-scorer but Will Jacks spoils his night

Liverpool claimed their sixth European Cup after a 2-0 victory over Tottenham in the Champions League final in Madrid, on this day in 2019. Jurgen Klopp’s men returned to the big stage 12 months after they had lost 3-1 to Real Madrid in the 2018 final in Kiev, determined to go one better. They did so still reflecting on a remarkable Premier League season during which they had finished on 97 points, yet still narrowly missed out on the title to Manchester City. The intervening three weeks had given them time to reflect upon on a near miss, but also to prepare for their showdown with Spurs after both had negotiated a path to Madrid in thrilling fashion. Liverpool had looked to be heading out of the competition after the first leg of their semi-final when they went down 3-0 in Barcelona, but two goals each from Divock Origi and Georginio Wijnaldum on a memorable night at Anfield rekindled their hopes. Mauricio Pochettino’s side too needed something special to make it to the final when, with just 35 minutes of their last-four tie against Ajax remaining, they trailed 3-0 on aggregate in Amsterdam only for Lucas Moura to plunder a hat-trick which took them through on away goals. The scene was set for a classic in Spain, although while the opening was explosive, the game failed to live up to expectations. The die was cast within 22 seconds of kick-off when Moussa Sissoko was adjudged to have handled Sadio Mane’s cross and referee Damir Skomina pointed to the spot. Mohamed Salah dispatched the resulting penalty past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and although Klopp’s first trophy as Reds boss was not secured until substitute Origi struck three minutes from time, Spurs never really looked like getting back into the game. The German, who had lost his previous six cup finals, said: “I only want to enjoy that we won it. All the rest is not important. “I feel mostly relieved, to be honest. Relieved for my family because they are pretty close to me, as you can imagine. “Six times we always flew on holiday with a silver medal. That doesn’t feel too cool.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Jose Mourinho: I’ve never gone home prouder than today, even when I won James Vince becomes Blast’s leading run-scorer but Will Jacks spoils his night French Open day four: Cameron Norrie plays the role of villain again

The LSU Tigers football team will be able to combat the heat in the 2023 season with specially designed helmets.The LSU Tigers had quite the season in the very first year with head coach Brian Kelly at the helm. After a tough loss to Florida State to start the year, the Tigers won nine of their ...

College football games are four quarters full of action and excitement, but how long is a standard game and does it differ from the NFL?The college football season is right around the corner. From August through January, fans throughout the country tune in on Saturdays to root for their favorite...

After giving his silver medal to a fan in the crowd, AC Roma boss Jose Mourinho thanked his players despite losing in penalties to Sevilla in the UEFA Europa League final in Budapest. Mourinho was set to become the most decorated European manager in history with six trophies and after a Paulo Dybala goal put them in front it was looking likely. Roma went on to concede an own goal and lost 4-1 in penalties when Roger Ibanez and Gianluca Mancini missed from the spot. Mourinho told ITV Italy after the game: “I’ve won five finals and I lost this one, but I’m coming back home proud again. The boys gave everything. “We felt pressure against a team that has more talent than us. We lost a game but not dignity. “I’ve never gone home prouder than today, even when I won. We had also worked hard on penalties but… we missed two – but all together, not only the penalty takers.” Mourinho said while his players are sad, his side deserve to go home with their heads held high. “We are all attached to the shirt, to our nature. We take things seriously and humbly, we work a lot,” Mourinho said. “Everyone reacts in a different way: one cries, the other doesn’t. “Congratulations to Sevilla, but also congratulations to my players. The boys must go home peacefully, with pride for having done what they have done. These are my boys from Budapest.” Footage after the game showed Mourinho handing his medal to a child in the stands. Meanwhile, Sevilla forward Erik Lamela told BT Sport it was a really tough game as Sevilla won their seventh Europa League title. “This is amazing, I can’t ask for more, this feeling is unbelievable,” he said. “Really tough game, not an easy game to play, we were not feeling in our best way because they defended well and it was difficult to find the spaces and create situations but this team fought it out and tonight we’re going to enjoy it.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live James Vince becomes Blast’s leading run-scorer but Will Jacks spoils his night French Open day four: Cameron Norrie plays the role of villain again Novak Djokovic driven by ‘drama’ as Kosovo message fall-out continues