LONDON: Manchester United have sacked their manager, Erik ten Hag, following a poor start to the season with the English Premier League giants languishing in 14th place after nine games.

The decision to sack the manager from the Netherlands comes after two and a half years in charge of The Red Devils and yesterday’s 1-2 defeat to West Ham saw them record just three wins.

“Erik ten Hag is leaving his role as first-team manager of Manchester United,” the club said in a statement.

“Ruud van Nistelrooy will run the team as interim head coach, assisted by the current coaching team, while a new permanent head coach will be appointed.”

The position of the 54-year-old Dutchman was the subject of speculation for much of last season as United recorded their worst finish in the Premier League after finishing eighth.

However, a surprise win in the FA Cup final over Manchester City and coupled with the fact the squad was dealing with a host of injury problems gave the Ten Hag a ‘lifeline’.

He signed a new contract to extend his stay until 2026 and gets the chance to revive the 20-time English league champions.

The early results of the season however hint that Ten Hag will not achieve that.

MADRID: Borussia Dortmund will need more than just a strong mentality to face Real Madrid in the Champions League action early this morning, said its coach, Nuri Sahin after last year’s two finalists met again this season.

Real Madrid lifted their 15th European trophy at Wembley after late goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Jr gave them a 2-0 win.

“Mentality alone is not enough to face Real Madrid, let alone play in this stadium against the champions of this competition,” said Sahin.

“We need everything. We need high quality and high confidence, a mentality other than what we say in German, the luck of the competition.”

Dortmund maintained their excellent record in the Champions League so far as they opened the campaign with a 3-0 win over Club Brugge before thrashing Celtic 7-1 at home.

They currently lead the competition with a record nine goal difference.

“We have to (continue playing) collectively to face Real Madrid,” said Sahin.

“They know our plans for this game. We want to be brave and continue the momentum in these two games.”

LIVERPOOL, England: Arne Slot’s comfortable start to life as Liverpool manager continued when his new team won 2-0 over Brentford in the English Premier League (EPL) action early this morning.

Liverpool dominated from the start, scoring a superb goal following a quick counter-attack when Luis Diaz fired into the corner for his first goal of the season after 13 minutes.

Brentford responded well, going close to scoring with two close-range headers in each half, but Mohamed Salah ended the visitors’ hopes of picking up a point from their trip to Anfield with a second 20 minutes from time.

Slot, the Dutch manager, is now 2-0 after two games as he takes on the difficult task of replacing Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss, with a testy trip to Manchester United to come.

“The time with Jurgen was amazing and the time with the new boss was fun and he has his own style to practice,” Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports.

“We worked hard on a few things and you can see a lot with or without the ball which gives the team confidence.

“We have to, I’m not saying forget about the Jurgen period, but it’s in the past and we’ve had a wonderful time and now it’s time for a new boss to spark new success.

“I think if we were calmer we might have had more space but it’s something we’re still working on. It’s a good time and hopefully we can improve and chase whatever trophies.”

Before yesterday, no Liverpool boss since Graeme Souness in 1991 had won their first two league games in charge.

Brentford, without star striker Ivan Toney in the squad again as speculation over his future mounts, were able to challenge but could not deal with the pressure before the break.

Liverpool stepped up their attack after the break and deserved a second goal, with Salah adding to his opening-day tally at Ipswich Town with another impressive goal to secure victory.

Salah is now fifth in Liverpool’s all-time leading scorers list at Anfield in all competitions with 118 goals, surpassing Robbie Fowler as he once again looks set to steer the Reds to success.

“We know Liverpool are a good team,” said Brentford boss Thomas Frank.

“For me Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool are three teams that are a little above each other, among the best teams in Europe.

“We expected more, we came here to try to win, but we couldn’t do it.”

The StreamEast news section of the website is interesting, particularly for those who want to read the latest updates while watching football online for free.

A quick scan of StreamEast news page shows that the website is regularly updated, just as you would expect from a well-oiled, organised business model.

If StreamEast continue to invest in their sports news section, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see the website grow even further and they could branch out into betting.

The StreamEast website has been a huge hit for football fans wanting to watch sport online for free over the years but many have tried to copy their business model.

Domain changes and tweaks to the appearance may be required in time, particularly after rival websites attempt to ‘cash in’ on theStreamEast brand. This was also the case with several other streaming sites, including Jokerlivestream.

Simply from searching the StreamEast website on Google, you can see several websites that have similar URL domains. In addition, some use variations of the original name in a bid to con users into visiting their website.

Our first piece of advice would be to always use official streaming platforms when watching football online. BT Sport, Sky Sports & Eurosport.TV are just a few examples of official sports streams websites that football fans can use.

LONDON: Mikel Arteta was satisfied with Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Lyon in the Emirates Cup which closed the Premier League club’s pre-season training.

The Gunners beat the French club thanks to goals from William Saliba and Gabriel in the final pre-season game, after the tour of the United States.

Arsenal will face Wolverhampton Wanderers in the opening action of the English Premier League, this Saturday.

Asked if the Gunners were ready to start the season on a high note, Arteta said: “It seems that way to me. The way we started the game was for sure. Just need to keep it up for 90 minutes.

“That is the target and goal we have to set. There are many positive aspects that can be taken from this match.”

The operator from Spain is also satisfied with his team’s preparations ahead of the new league season.

“I think overall it’s been a positive pre-season. It’s been a success, and then two very competitive games here (Emirates).

“The team was incredible, especially in the first half, we played at the highest level. We kept it up and then slipped a bit in the second half,” Arteta said.

MANCHESTER: Ruud van Nilsteroy now gets a second chance to help Manchester United win the Premier League again.

When he left the Old Trafford club with 150 goals in 219 appearances, Van Nilsteroy helped United win the 2002-03 Premier League, 2003-04 FA Cup and 2005-06 League Cup.

After 18 years, Van Nilsterooy returned to Old Trafford to help hone United’s existing attacking prowess as he once did for Alex Ferguson’s side.

The former PSV Eindhoven manager rejected offers to fill the same position at several clubs including Burnley.

He instead chose to return to United and redeem his reputation after parting ways in unpleasant ways.

“My wife suggested that I send Ferguson a message to see if he would like to talk, and he said: ‘Okay, call me on this date and time.’

“I then contacted him and apologized for what had happened,” said Van Nilsteroy.

In the League Cup final at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, Man United beat Wigan 4-0, but it led to a move for the Dutch striker.

Ferguson opted to pair Wayne Rooney and Louis Saha up front, and after the final substitute was introduced, Van Nilsterooy realized he would not be in action, and vented his anger at the United manager.

Ferguson was shocked by Van Nilsteroy’s actions and the striker was sold to Real Madrid at the end of the season for 10.2 million pounds.

LONDON: The English Football Association (FA) is reportedly exploring the option of appointing an interim manager to take over for Gareth Southgate in order to allow the governing body to continue to ‘woo’ Pep Guardiola as the next England manager.

Although it has not yet been confirmed, the international media understand that Guardiola is expected to end his glorious tenure at Manchester City at the end of next season after winning 15 major trophies including the club’s maiden title in the Champions League.

His name is on the list along with several other candidates to replace Southgate who resigned as England manager on Tuesday after almost eight years at the helm of the national team.

In an international media report, the FA is ready to wait for Guardiola and although they have no intention of delaying the permanent appointment, the manager from Spain ‘represents the most suitable candidate’ so they are willing to appoint an interim manager.

Southgate’s contract with England is due to expire in December and speculation is rife as to whether the Three Lions manager will remain in his role.

Southgate’s resignation as manager of the Three Lions was confirmed last Tuesday after losing 2-1 in the Euro 2024 final at the hands of Spain.

A number of managers have also been linked with Southgate’s job, including England women’s manager Sarina Wiegaman, Graham Potter, Eddie Howe and England under-21 manager Lee Carsley.

Previously, Guardiola had expressed his desire to step into international management.

“A national team, yes. The next step will be to the national team, if there is an opportunity. A national team is the next step,” said Guardiola in an interview in 2021.

“I want to train (the team) for the European Championship, the Copa America or the World Cup.”