MANCHESTER UNITED legend Patrice Evra has surprisingly blamed himself and Sir Alex Ferguson for the club’s disastrous decade.
Since the legendary boss retired, Man Utd have not won the Premier League title and their fifth permanent manager Erik ten Hag is in danger of losing job.
The Red Devils crashed out the Champions League group stages and finished eighth in the Premier League with a negative goal difference last term.
Evra departed Old Trafford in 2014 – a year after Sir Alex quit the club.
And the outspoken Frenchman bizarrely blamed himself and his former gaffer for the club’s recent downfall.
He told the BBC with a smile: “I blame myself, I blame Sir Alex Ferguson.”
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Evra continued: “It’s always tough to talk about United right now because back in the day we used to play for the fans, for the badge, for the history.
“When we left, we left too early and it’s difficult for the players because they don’t have any example.
“I’m not inside, I don’t know what the problem is. The manager Ten Hag is trying to do his best – it’s not good enough.
“But it’s not just about this season, it’s since we won the last league in 2013, the club has been in chaos.
“I’m a positive man, but it’s tough. Our rivals are getting better than us, play a better style of football. The future is not bright. It’s a tough moment.
“Liverpool waited 30 years to win the Premier League again, now it’s been 11 years [since United’s last title]. I don’t want to wait that long.
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“No matter what, I will be a United fan forever, but it’s quite tough to watch United play.”
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Ten Hag has often claimed success in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup means he should keep his job.
But Evra says two trophies is “not enough” for a club like United, explaining: “I’m a straightforward guy. Even if you put the chef as a manager, I will support any manager.
I’m not inside, I don’t know what the problem is. The manager Ten Hag is trying to do his best – it’s not good enough.
Patrice Evra
“Three years [Ten Hag has] been at the club and, yes, he’s won two trophies.
“When you’re the manager of United, what people expect from you is to win the league every year.
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“We need to stop talking about the past. This is not the United it used to be. We have to rebuild it.”
IT IS 22 years ago since one of the most under the radar but magical European nights occurred at Newcastle – and Steve Harper got an incredible memento.
Tino Asprilla’s incredible hat-trick in the 3-2 victory over Barcelona back in 1997 still takes some beating for those members of the Toon Army old enough to remember it.
However, another club famed for wearing black and white have also suffered disappointment under the lights at St. James’ – and it was packed with superstars.
Alessandro Del Piero, Lillian Thuram, Pavel Nedved, Edgar Davids and Gianluigi Buffon were all part of the Juventus side that suffered a 1-0 loss to Sir Bobby Robson’s Newcastle on this very day in 2002.
The Magpies had lost each of their opening group matches that year with a 2-0 reverse at Dynamo Kyiv, a 1-0 home setback to Feyenoord and a 2-0 defeat in Turin leaving them with a mountain to climb.
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The probability of them reaching the next round was slim – so much so that Sir Bobby opted to play back-up ‘keeper Harper in order to just give him experience.
But it turned into an evening that the Toon legend would never forget as Andy Griffin scored the only goal to secure the win.
It was a result that reignited their Champions League campaign, with following victories over Kyiv and in Feyenoord meaning they completed a remarkable turnaround to reach the next stage, where they would eventually be eliminated.
Newcastle’s former Geordie goalie coach Simon Smith, who has also worked under the likes of Ruud Gullit, Steve Bruce and Eddie Howe during his two spells at his boyhood club, still remembers the game as if it was just yesterday.
He told Sun Sport: “We thought that we were out. We hadn’t won one of our opening three games and then we had Juventus, who were packed with great players.
“But, lo and behold, we won 1-0. We then went on and beat Feyenoord to get through into the next stage.
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“There was no pressure at all. It really just felt like we hadn’t done very well and we were going out and Sir Bobby changed his team.
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“I know Harps played and I think Sir Bobby just wanted to give him some experience of playing in Europe, not thinking that we’d go any further. But he kept a clean sheet.”
And Smith’s work was only just beginning once the full-time whistle had gone.
He continued: “My main memory of that night is that Harps was desperate to swap shirts with Buffon.
“He gave me his shirt to go and swap and I had to go and stand outside of their changing room and ask their staff if Buffon would exchange his shirt after they had just lost.
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“To be fair to him, he came out and it was a real classic pink and black goalie shirt, and he swapped it for Harps’ blue Newcastle one. A quite remarkable night really.”
Smith enjoyed plenty of memorable moments sat in the dug-out at St. James’ – two of which came when the ground was being redeveloped into the huge arena it is now.
He said: “I’ve had two really magical experiences of the place that will always stand out. One was when they built the new stands with the top on.
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“We had an afternoon out, just before it was finished, and went right to the top and looked down and we all just thought ‘oh my, this is unbelievable’.
“Then they arranged for me to take Shay Given and Steve Harper to test out the floodlights when nobody else was there.
“We pitched up at St. James’ one night, just the three of us, to have a kickaround and they switched all of the lights on and it was all to make sure that the new lights would not be shining in the eyes of the goalies.
“So we did corners, free-kicks etc to make sure that the lights were on the right angle and it was totally unbelievable to be there, just the three of us with no crowd. That was very special.
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“The other special day was after Sir Bobby’s death and the tribute at the Leazes end with the scarves, flags – that was totally unbelievable.”
Last season’s Premiership was highly competitive between most sides, but Newcastle finished 27 points adrift at the bottom after losing all 18 games.
It was beginning to look like a similar scenario in the new campaign as they opened with four defeats, but victory moved them one point behind Exeter, albeit still in 10th place.
With the demise of London Irish, Worcester Warriors and Wasps still fresh in the memory, Diamond understands that the slimmed-down 10-team competition needs a competitive Newcastle outfit, as they prepare to face Gloucester on Saturday.
“I know we’re not going to win every game, but I need us to be competitive every game,” he said.
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“Sometimes that is more important than some wins. If we don’t win, we still pick up points and pick up respect.
“And opponents start to think, ‘Crikey, we’ve got to go to Newcastle and win’.
“Newcastle have gone up and down a couple of times, but they have never been looked at in the way it was starting to look.”
ABU DHABI – The UFC 308, which takes place at Etihad Arena on Yas Island with a main card that airs on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN+, goes down Saturday.
Before fight night arrives, though, the main card athletes, including headliners Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway, are scheduled to speak to reporters Wednesday at media day, and MMA Junkie will have a live stream beginning at 4 a.m. ET/1 a.m. PT.
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If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each media day.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
The 39-year-old superstar and his 20-year-old son played almost 2 1/2 minutes together late in the first half of Bronny’s NBA debut. They are also the first father and son to play in the NBA at the same time, let alone on the same team.
LeBron scored 16 points, while Anthony Davis had 36 points and 16 rebounds in a dominant performance for the Lakers. Rui Hachimura added 18 points.
JJ Redick won his head coaching debut for the Lakers, who hired the 15-year NBA veteran for his first coaching job at any level.
Anthony Edwards scored 27 points for the Timberwolves, who are coming off their best season in 20 years.
Dalton Knecht scored five points in the Lakers’ first-round pick’s debut.
Timberwolves: There will be growing pains in the post-Towns era. Davis ran rampant against Randle and Rudy Gobert, and nobody stepped up to score alongside Edwards.
Lakers: Their largely unchanged roster showed the benefits of continuity, playing disciplined ball on both ends and getting organized defense led by Davis.
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Davis was phenomenal down the stretch, either scoring or assisting on 13 of Los Angeles’ next 15 points after he returned to the game with 7:09 left. LeBron’s 3-pointer put it away.
LeBron officially joined Vince Carter as the only players in NBA history to play in 22 seasons. James is sixth in career games played with 1,493 — not counting his NBA-record 287 playoff games.
A counter-attacking India kept alive the hopes of a miracle turnaround through free-flowing fifties from the troika of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Sarfaraz Khan, reaching 231 for three in their second innings on the third day of the first Test against New Zealand at Bengaluru on Friday.
Kohli (70), who completed 9,000 Test runs during the course of his knock, got out to Glenn Phillips off the last ball of the day, edging him to Tom Blundell, leaving Sarfaraz (70) at the crease at the close. The deficit at the end of an overcast day was a less intimidating 125.
Kohli and Sarfaraz added 136 runs for the third wicket after skipper Rohit did the early running with a fluent 52.
This was after New Zealand posted a total of 402 all out to gain a massive lead of 356 runs thanks to Rachin Ravindra (134) and Tim Southee (63), who added precious 134 runs for a flowing eighth wicket stand.
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The largest deficit India has overturned to win a Test in their cricketing history is 274 during the iconic Kolkata Test against Australia in 2001.
Such an epic is still some distance away, but hopes will be flickering after the day’s effort with the bat.
Amid the more coruscating fifties by Rohit and Sarfaraz, Kohli’s effort still stood out for its personal and situational significance.
It was his first Test half-century of 2024, and he could not have timed his 31st in the longest format better — literally and figuratively.
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Seldom a shot describes the touch of Kohli better than the cover drive, and the moment he executed one off pacer William O’Rourke, the 35-year-old was in full flow. He took 15 balls to get off the mark.
Kohli brought up his fifty with a single off Matt Henry but at the other end, Sarfaraz resembled a race car on the tarmac.
The Mumbai man punished all bowlers with disdain and left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel was shunted off the park for two successive sixes.
Then there was a daring upper cut for maximum off O’Rourke and fortune also blessed him as a couple of edges fell inches short of Ajaz at gully and wide of third slip.
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Before Kohli and Sarfaraz ran roughsho, another old-young combination of Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal (35) gave India a solid start.
Jaiswal went through an early uncertain play-and-miss phase but he overcame that to play some sparkling shots.
Rohit had no such issues. The right-hander flicked and drove New Zealand pacers to reach a fifty off just 59 balls, and also thrilled the crowd with that patented swivel pull on one leg.
But his tenure in the middle ended in unfortunate circumstances. Rohit offered a forward defensive shot to Ajaz, but the ball trickled back onto his stumps after taking a deflection from his bat.
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A few minutes before that, Jaiswal’s decision to give a charge to Ajaz resulted in him getting stumped by Tom Blundell, after adding 72 for the opening wicket with Rohit.
The recovery was impressive but it could not overshadow what New Zealand accomplished earlier in the day.
Resuming the day at 180 for three, the Kiwis were halted to an extent by Ravindra Jadeja (3/72) and the other Indian bowlers who took some early wickets to reduce them to 233 for seven.
They lost Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Blundell and Henry in this period.
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Jasprit Bumrah snaffled Blundell while Mohammed Siraj had the number of Mitchell. Phillips and Henry perished to the crafty Jadeja.
The Blackcaps were ahead by 187 runs at that point and it was imperative for them to stretch the lead at least till the 250-mark to maintain their edge.
Ravindra and Southee exceeded the expectations during their partnership to take the lead past the 300-run mark.
Ravindra started cautiously but unfurled his full range once he and the pitch settled down past the first-hour mark.
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The 24-year-old, who has his family roots in Bengaluru, showed the correct method of playing Indian spinners, either staying on the front foot or making a shimmy down to nullify the turn.
A cleanly swept four off Ravichandran Ashwin carried him to his second Test hundred.
Southee, who hammered a couple of his trademark sixes, gave solid company to Ravindra and duly completed his seventh Test fifty immediately after the lunch.
And replaced him with Colombian kid striker Duran who was handed only his second start of the season – one month after his previous one in the Carabao Cup against Wycombe!
It was Emery’s reward for Duran’s stunning winner from the bench against Bayern Munich last time out in Europe.
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The burning question was could big Jhon do it from the start?
There was a return too for Villa skipper McGinn, who made his first start since he damaged his hamstring against Wolves last month.
However, it would have been interesting to discover the Scot’s thoughts about being welcomed by a huge Tifo of three snarling lions draped from the Holte End.
Any thoughts that Villa would be forced to break down a blanket Bologna defence were swiftly dispelled because the visitors were first to go for goal within two minutes.
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Skipper Sam Beukema caught out Ezri Konsa with a raking pass out of defence to release winger Dan Ndoye.
The Swiss international pulled the ball back to Kacper Urbanski but the Pole sliced his shot weakly wide from the edge of the box.
Vincenzo Italiano’s men have only managed one point from their opening two games and probably felt they needed to leave here with three points to avoid becoming also-rans.
And no-one at Villa Park was complaining as the play raged from end to end like a basketball match.
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Villa forced a string of early corners and free-kicks as Youri Tielemans pinned Bologna back around their own penalty area.
Pau Torres was crowded out at the near post and Skorupski frantically fisted clear under pressure from Duran.
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But Bologna were menacing on the break and Martinez beat out a fierce effort from Dallinga after more brilliant build up work from Ndoye.
He then had to get down low to smother a shot on the run from Riccardo Orsolini, who was then snuffed out at the backpost by Ian Maatsen.
The Italian winger was then booked for a foul on Maatsen as this pair fought and scratched for every inch of turf.
McGinn tested Skorupski with a low shot which the Pole in goal, palmed away at full stretch before Dallinga snatched at a chance, firing straight at Martinez.
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It was high-octane stuff and Villa ended the first half by carving out two great chances for Morgan Rogers.
However his first effort flew a fraction wide from 20 yards, before Skorupski defied him with an outstrtched right boot, when the Villa man might have been better off dinking the keeper.
Emery sent on Barkley for Amadou Onana at the break while Orsolini made way for Jens Odgaard for Bologna.
But the pace increased if anything!
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Lykogiannis was booked for leaving one on Leon Bailey before Konsa nodded a Maatsen cross down for Bailey who swept his shot agonisingly wide.
But Bologna hit back and Stefan Posch added even more spice with a sizzler which flew just wide.
Tensions were running high and Remo Freuler was booked for a foul on Konsa, which sent Bologna berserk as they claimed Konsa had fouled Giovanni Fabbian seconds earlier.
Even Emery was getting heated as he fell out with Vincenzo Italiano before making up with a sporting handshake.
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But Italiano was cursing the Spaniard again seconds later as Villa hit his side with a quickfire double.
From the resultant free-kick McGinn swept in a curling delivery, Barkley and Duran failed to connect and the ball curled beyond Skorupski and in at the far post.
Cue a Holte End frenzy as McGinn was swamped by his celebrating team-mates.
VAR checked for a potential handball against Barkley but nothing amiss was found.
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Villa sniffed blood and killed Bologna off nine minutes later.
Rogers delivered a delicious cross and Duran thrust out a leg to beat his Columbian international teammate Jhon Lucumi to divert the ball beyond Skorupski.
It was the 20-year-old’s final touch of the game before he was replaced by Watkins in a triple substitution.
For reasons best known to him he threw his toys out of the pram, punching his seat after he was replaced.
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But Villa will live with the tantrums because the kid is a star!
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