Related items

• Ten Hag deserves more time after FA Cup win, says Man Utd great Yorke

  Erik ten Hag should be given another season by the new regime at Manchester United after masterminding their FA Cup triumph, says former Red Devils striker Dwight Yorke.

  Ten Hag's future was subject to speculation throughout a largely dismal season for United, who recorded their lowest ever Premier League finish of eighth. 

  They also exited the Champions League in the group stage, losing 19 matches and conceding 85 goals across all competitions.

  However, they finished an underwhelming campaign on a high note on Saturday, with Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo scoring in a shock 2-1 FA Cup final victory over Manchester City.

  Yorke says Ten Hag deserves credit for the way he set United up at Wembley Stadium, as the Red Devils edged City for expected goals (1.59 xG to 1.35), shots on target (five to four) and big chances (two to one) despite only having 26.4 per cent of the possession.

  "I think everybody thought this United team was never going to get the result. And for us, who have been in football for such a long time, the unthinkable can happen occasionally," Yorke told Stats Perform.

  "I have to say, Ten Hag deserves a lot of credit. There's a lot of noise coming out from the United end about whether he was going to be the manager. 

  "After the end of this game, whether he won or lost, he had the players focused. I think this could arguably be United's best performance this season. I really do. 

  "There were a lot of negatives coming out of the camp, but I truly think they were far superior tactically. The way we set up and made life very difficult for them [City]. 

  "They were in City's face, not allowing them too much space to dominate the game. I thought they were superb. The manager deserves a lot of credit and the players deserve a lot of credit for showing up on a day when no one gave them a chance to win the game."

  The likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel and Kieran McKenna have all been linked with United as the Jim Ratcliffe regime weighs up whether to stick with Ten Hag for 2024-25.

  But Yorke feels the Dutchman has now done enough to remain at the helm, adding: "I've been a critic of Ten Hag, I have to say that. I've gone on record and said he needed to win this game to have any chance of continuing to be manager. 

  "To win two competitions in two years, then that's quite the turnaround. I think he deserves another year, I really do. 

  "Whether he's the man taking us forward in terms of his style, that's another question, but he certainly deserves another year in my opinion."

• Courtois omitted from Belgium squad for Euro 2024 as Witsel returns

  Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has been omitted from Belgium's 25-man squad for Euro 2024.

  Courtois suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury shortly before the start of the season in August, only returning to action against Cadiz earlier this month.

  He is seen as the favourite to start between the sticks when Los Blancos face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final on Saturday, despite Andriy Lunin impressing as Carlo Ancelotti's side overcame Manchester City and Bayern Munch in the last two rounds.

  Courtois became embroiled in a public spat with Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco last June, walking out on the squad when he was not named captain in the wake of Eden Hazard's retirement.

  That incident meant he was always unlikely to feature at this year's tournament in Germany, and his absence has now been confirmed with Koen Casteels, Thomas Kaminski and Matz Sels the three shot-stoppers named in Tedesco's 25-man party.

  There is, however, a recall for Axel Witsel, who announced his international retirement last May but has now reversed that decision.

  Belgium begin their Group E campaign against Slovakia in Frankfurt on June 17, before taking on Romania five days later and Ukraine on June 26. 

  Full 25-man squad: Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg), Thomas Kaminski (Luton Town), Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest), Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Maxim De Cuyper (Club Brugge), Zeno Debast (Anderlecht), Wout Faes (Leicester City), Thomas Meunier (Trabzonspor), Jan Vertonghen (Anderlecht), Arthur Theate (Stade Rennais), Axel Witsel (Atletico Madrid), Yannick Carrasco (Al Shabab), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Orel Mangala (Lyon), Amadou Onana (Everton), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Arthur Vermeeren (Atletico Madrid), Aster Vranckx (Wolfsburg), Johan Bakayoko (PSV), Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), Romelu Lukaku (Roma), Dodi Lukebakio (Sevilla), Lois Openda (RB Leipzig), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal).

• Medvedev battles into French Open second round after Koepfer triumph

  Daniil Medvedev staved off a Dominik Koepfer fightback to record a battling victory in the French Open first round on Monday.

  The world number five raced out the blocks on Court Simonne-Mathieu and eventually triumphed 6-3 6-4 5-7 6-3 in Paris.

  Medvedev, a five-time major runner-up and 2021 US Open champion, broke Koepfer's first service game in the French capital with that a seeming sign of things to come.

  Though the 28-year-old dropped his serve in the first set, Medvedev had little trouble in responding with the score finely poised at 3-2 to claim first blood at Roland-Garros.

  The fifth seed has only ever gone as far as the quarter-finals, three years ago, at the French Open but showed his clinical best to snatch the second set after holding all six service games for a narrow triumph.

  World number 65 Koepfer battled back in the third but the resilient Medvedev responded by breaking his German opponent early in the fourth set, finally securing victory in just over three hours.

  Data Debrief: Medvedev gets better of Koepfer again

  Medvedev has won all four of his meetings with Koepfer, with his most recent such victory seeing him reach the second round at Roland-Garros for the third time in eight attempts.

  Since the start of the 2021 season, Medvedev is 27-1 against players ranked outside the top 50 at major events, with his only loss in that run coming against Seyboth Wild in the French Open first round last year.

  Koepfer, meanwhile, extends to 1-17 against top-10 players in his career, earning his only such victory against over Gael Monfils – then ranked ninth in the world – at the 2020 ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome.