Juan Mata has challenged Manchester United to improve in the coming season after admitting they were not up to standard in 2018-19.

United finished sixth and failed to win a trophy for the second consecutive season, with Jose Mourinho sacked in December and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer unable to salvage success despite a strong start in the Old Trafford dugout.

The Red Devils failure to lift a first piece of silverware since the 2016 Europa League was made worse as they had to endure fierce rivals Manchester City completing a domestic treble and Liverpool winning the Champions League.

It means Mata, who signed a new two-year deal in June with the option to extend for a further year, is desperate to see some improvement in the coming months.

We know that last se…

Simon Kjaer and the medical team who acted rapidly to tend to Christian Eriksen following a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020 have been recognised with the 2021 UEFA President s Award.

Eriksen collapsed during Denmark s opener against Finland in June, with Kjaer the first on the scene to place his team-mate in the recovery position before leading his side to form a protective screen while the Inter man received treatment.

The 29-year-old was subsequently taken to hospital, where he was fitted with a pacemaker before returning home, though it remains unclear if he will ever play again, despite visiting Inter s training ground in August.

For Kjaer s exemplary leadership, the centre-back – along with eight medics – have been hailed as the true heroes of Euro 2020 and…

Pep Guardiola felt the manner of Manchester City s 1-0 win over Arsenal will help to rebuild confidence and reserved praise for his defensive unit.

Raheem Sterling scored the only goal after 23 minutes at the Etihad Stadium, converting on the rebound after Bernd Leno blocked Phil Foden s shot.

But City also broke the deadlock in their previous Premier League games against Leicester City and Leeds United, matches that ended in a 5-2 defeat and 1-1 draw respectively.

On Saturday, despite the absence of influential centre-back Aymeric Laporte, Guardiola s side dug in to earn their victory.

Ederson completed a brilliant trio of first-half saves before Arsenal could only manage a solitary shot on target during the second half, when a back three of Kyle Walker,…

Harry Kane made his debut for Bayern Munich in the German Super Cup, but missed out on his first trophy as Leipzig won 3-0 at the Allianz Arena.

The England captain stepped off the bench as a 63rd-minute replacement for Mathys Tel but made little impact, with DFB-Pokal holders Leipzig running out convincing winners thanks to Dani Olmo’s hat-trick.

Kane, who wore the number nine shirt after training with his new team-mates for the first time on Saturday morning, has yet to win any silverware in his 14-year senior playing career.

It s Kane time!

Tel

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— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN)

Kane, who has signed a deal until June 2027 after Tottenham agreed an £86.4million deal plus add-ons with the German champions, was …

France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris believes Richarlison has proven his qualities for Brazil, silencing his doubters with a double against Serbia.

Richarlison was the star of the show for Brazil in Doha on Thursday, as Tite s team started their World Cup campaign with a 2-0 victory at Lusail Stadium.

The Tottenham forward tucked in an opportunistic opener in the 62nd minute, before lashing an acrobatic attempt into the left-hand corner to seal the victory in style.

Brazil s win was marred by an ankle injury for Neymar, though Tite was confident the Paris Saint-Germain star would recover.

Asked about his Spurs team-mate, as well as Neymar s injury, while previewing France s Group D clash with Denmark, Lloris said: Neymar is an icon in global football, but I m no…

New Chelsea signing Eden Hazard wanted to wear the number 10 shirt at Stamford Bridge so he could emulate his role model Zinedine Zidane.

Zidane wore the number for club and country, and although the Belgian wanted to pay the biggest compliment to the World Cup winner, he had to accept the number 17 shirt, with Juan Mata holding on to the number 10.

Speaking to the media last year, Zidane who is now an advisor at Real Madrid said he would sign Hazard with (my) eyes closed .

The 21-year-old returned the compliment, and said Zidane was a hero of his.

I ve always liked the number 10, because it is was worn by Zidane. He was my role model, I ve always wanted to play like him, Hazard told Champions Matchday magazine.

When he started talking about me…

Ireland are set to deploy extra numbers in the midfield in a bid to halt heavyweights Germany in their World Cup qualifier on Friday.

Joachim Loew s side will enter the Aviva Stadium match as hot favourites, having made a successful start to their qualifying campaign with victories against the Faroe Islands and Austria in their opening two games.

They need just two more wins to earn direct qualification into Brazil 2014.

But Ireland assistant coach Marco Tardelli revealed the hosts planned to use a 4-3-3 formation to counter Germany s midfield potency.

James McCarthy, Keith Andrews and Keith Fahey are expected to be the men charged with executing the defensive assault.

I think we need to change something against Germany because the Germans are a…

Steve McClaren says the 2009/10 Eredivisie title-winning season in charge of FC Twente is the highlight of his career to date.

McClaren served as assistant manager to Alex Ferguson during Manchester United s famous treble-winning campaign in 1998/99, before leading Middlesbrough to the first and so far only major trophy in their history, the 2003/04 League Cup.

He later coached the England national team and Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, but still considers his first spell at Twente, which produced a first ever league championship for the club, his biggest achievement yet.

To manage Twente, that was the ultimate for me, 34 games and finish at the top, you beat the people like Ajax, PSV, Feyenoord, to do that for me was the best so far, he said.

McClaren is …

Melbourne Heart coach John Aloisi said he urged hero Golgol Mebrahtu to believe in himself before his star turn against Perth on Saturday.

Without a goal in his previous 26 A-League appearances, the Sudanese-born attacker made his Heart debut when introduced in the 78th minute at AAMI Park on Saturday with their clash against the Glory looking headed for a draw.

But Mebrahtu burst onto a Josip Tadic pass in the 89th minute before finishing past Danny Vukovic to give his side a 1-0 win.

Aloisi said Mebrahtu had the potential to be a fantastic player and his message to the former Gold Coast United man was a simple one.

Go score a goal, Aloisi said with a laugh when asked what his message to Mebrahtu was.

I just said to believe in yourself and go …

Roberto Mancini, the bookmakers favourite to replace Claudio Ranieri as Leicester City manager, says he is sorry for his friend after the Premier League champions decision to sack him.

Ranieri was dismissed on Thursday under a year after he led them to a first top-flight title in their history, having been billed as pre-season relegation candidates.

The 65-year-old had struggled to replicate those highs this season and was controversially sacked with Leicester sitting only one point above the relegation zone having suffered five straight league defeats.

Mancini who played for Leicester in 2001 has been installed as the early favourite to take the job, but his first thoughts were to pay tribute to Ranieri. 

I am sorry for my friend . He will remain in th…