Luis Enrique has warned Paris St Germain to prepare for a Newcastle onslaught as the sides go head-to-head in Champions League Group F on Tuesday night.
Enrique put the finishing touches to his plan to gain revenge for his side’s 4-1 defeat at St James’ Park in October at a rain-soaked Poissy on Monday morning having paid keen attention to the Magpies’ Premier League demolition of Chelsea.
Eddie Howe’s men were missing 13 senior players on Saturday but still surged to a 4-1 win with a display which impressed the PSG boss.
Enrique said: “If you saw the last match against Chelsea, physically it’s really incredible. Six players are putting on so much pressure, they can pressurise eight players at the same time.
“This intensity in their game and this pressure is something that we need to be prepared for.”
The reigning Ligue 1 champions were soundly beaten on Tyneside as goals from Miguel Almiron, Dan Burn, Sean Longstaff and Fabian Schar threw the group wide open.
However, Enrique’s men go into their penultimate fixture knowing a win could see them through to the knockout stage and while he is understandably wary of Newcastle, that is his focus.
He said: “The competition could be really short, it is a very complicated group and the ranking is really close, as you see.
“It’s true that now every game is decisive, it’s knockout style. Two teams could be qualified already tomorrow night depending on the results, so until the last day, we don’t know.
“I’m sure that my team is ready, though, ready to play, to be competitive on the pitch and that’s what we’ve been proving throughout the entire season.”
PSG have lost only once in all competitions since their horror show at St James’ – at AC Milan in their last European outing – and trounced Monaco 5-2 on Friday evening.
However, Portuguese midfielder Vitinha admits there is a score to settle against the English club.
Vitinha said: “We spoke after that match. We knew it was not a great result for us, of course. That was a very tough game and we know it’s another tough game tomorrow night awaiting us, but we still want to win.
“Maybe we have that little revenge feeling, but that stays inside us. Tomorrow is going to be a show and that we win, that’s the most important thing.
“We know it’s possible to qualify as fast as tomorrow, but we’re just trying to focus on this match and only on this match because the only way for us to qualify is to win, so that is what we are trying to focus on.
“We have to respect what the coach is asking of us and try to do everything to win this match and have a good standing in this group.”
Max Verstappen admitted he was left feeling emotional after bidding farewell to the Red Bull machine that carried him to the most dominant Formula One season ever seen.
Verstappen ended his crushing championship campaign with his 19th win of the year in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, becoming the first driver to lead 1,000 laps in a single season.
The all-conquering Dutchman has won 17 of the last 18 races – which included a record streak of 10 straight victories – and wrapped up his third successive world title with six rounds to spare.
He failed to win on just three occasions, out-scoring Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull by 290 points – the equivalent of nearly 12 Grand Prix victories.
“It has been an incredible season and I was emotional on the in-lap back to the pits because it was the last time I will sit in a car which has given me so much,” said the 26-year-old.
“It will be very hard to have another season like this and we know that. Of course, you always want to do better and we are working hard for next year to have a very competitive car.
“All the other teams out there want to try and beat us next year, but we are ready for the battle.”
Verstappen is under contract with Red Bull until 2028 and, without a major regulation change until 2026, he could be untouchable for the next two seasons.
His 54th career win at the Yas Marina Circuit moved him to a standalone third in the all-time list, with only Lewis Hamilton’s 103 wins and Michael Schumacher, on 91 now, ahead of him.
Red Bull only failed to complete a perfect season following one off-colour weekend in Singapore.
“To win 21 out of 22 races is insanity,” said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
“For Max to have led over 1000 laps out of 1300, to win 19 races and break so many records along the way, this car will go down in history for a considerable point of time as the most successful in Formula One.
“But nothing stands still in this sport and I am sure concepts will converge, and stable regulations will concertina the grid, so I don’t think we will ever be able to repeat the season we have just had.”
Following a mammoth nine-month campaign, Verstappen will open his bid for a fourth consecutive title in Bahrain in 96 days.
Barcelona manager Xavi insists he has full faith in his team and coaching staff as they look to produce “one of those magical nights” to secure a place in the Champions League knockout stages.
Porto head to the Estadi de Montjuic on Tuesday night level on points with Barca at the top of Group H.
After missing the opportunity to book a safe passage into the last 16 when beaten 1-0 away to Shakhtar Donetsk before the international break, Xavi’s side returned to domestic action with a 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano – where Florian Lejeune’s late own goal rescued a point.
Following on from defeat in El Clasico, the pressure continues to mount on Xavi and his team, who now sit fourth in LaLiga.
Xavi, though, maintains there is no sense of a crisis in the camp.
“We have to keep working to get our game back, that is Barca,” Xavi said. “It is pressure, but for me nothing has changed. We have to plan games well to compete as best we can.
“I have blind faith in my team and my coaching staff. We are a unit and for that reason I think things will work out.”
Xavi told a press conference: “We are going into the game really motivated, in front of our own fans and let’s hope it is a magical night.
“It is an important test for us. We have to be self-critical and say lately we have not played how we have wanted to, but we are on the right path.
“It is a great opportunity for it to be a turning. We have to change our mentality and be a competitive beast. We have to go after the game from the off.”
Barcelona defender Joao Cancelo is confident the players have what it take to rally round and produce the required display against Porto, having battled to a 1-0 win when they met at the Estadio do Dragao in October.
“We know how important this game is for us, as a team and as a club,” Cancelo said. “We could have qualified against Shakhtar.
“It has been a difficult month. We have a very young team, but with a lot of quality.
“So let’s go out there and try to improve the situation.”
Barcelona will again check on goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who missed the draw against Rayo Vallecano with a back problem.
Porto come into Tuesday night’s game having beaten third tier Montalegre 4-0 in the Portuguese Cup last Friday night.
Veteran defender Pepe continues to be assessed with a thigh problem which ruled him out of Portugal’s squad for the final two Euro 2024 qualifiers and also the domestic cup fixture.
All of the major players have stood their ground as 23 remain in the hunt for a wide-open Coral Gold Cup at Newbury on Saturday following Monday’s confirmations.
The sponsors are unable to split matters at the top of the market, with Complete Unknown their 7-1 joint-favourite after Paul Nicholls’ seven-year-old finished second to Gerri Colombe at Aintree in the spring before getting the better of Might I on his return to action at Newton Abbot.
Joining him at the head of the betting is John McConnell’s Colin Parker Chase runner-up Mahler Mission, with Gavin Cromwell’s Stumptown also in the mix for Ireland judged on his previous raiding efforts last term. Francis Casey’s Max Flamingo is another poised to cross the Irish Sea.
“All the market principals remain in contention for Saturday’s Coral Gold Cup, and in what promises to be a classy and competitive renewal, we can’t split Complete Unknown for the champion trainer Paul Nicholls, and the Irish raider Mahler Mission, at the head of our betting,” said Coral’s David Stevens.
Others of real interest include Jonjo O’Neill’s Monbeg Genius, who disappointed at Ascot last month but saw the form of his Cheltenham Festival third in the Ultima receive another boost when Fastorslow claimed Punchestown’s John Durkan on Sunday.
David Pipe’s Remastered has unfinished business with this contest, falling when going well in 2021 before returning to finish a close-up second 12 months ago.
Lucinda Russell’s Ahoy Senor is set to shoulder top-weight dropping into handicap company after fluffing his lines at Wetherby on his return.
Dan Skelton’s Midnight River was well held in that Charlie Hall Chase and is one of two for the handler, along with Sail Away, attempting to give him back-to-back victories in a race won by Le Milos 12 months ago.
Also amongst the confirmations are Nicky Henderson’s Dusart, easy Chepstow winner Stolen Silver and 2021 Coral Gold Cup hero Cloudy Glen, representing the Betfair Chase-winning Venetia Williams operation.
Meanwhile, officials at the Berkshire track are continuing to monitor conditions ahead of a variable week, although clerk of the course George Hill is optimistic that despite a few potential challenges, there will be no major threat to the meeting.
Hill said: “We’re currently good to soft on the chase course and good to soft, soft in places, on the hurdles track. We had 4mm of rain overnight.
“The forecast is a bit variable between now and Saturday and there are lots of different outcomes which we will just continue to monitor and see how the latest models are looking like as we move through the next 24 hours.
“It’s a bit early to tell (if the meeting would be in danger) really, to be honest. There is wintery showers in there and frost risks – multiple things, really.
“It’s too early to say, but we’re still in November and there will be mild, wet nights and mild enough afternoons. So, we will just keep an eye on the forecast and react accordingly.”
Rovman Powell, Alzarri Joseph and Jason Holder are among several West Indies players released by their respective Indian Premier League franchises as the player retention window for the league closed on Monday.
Powell was released by the Delhi Capitals, while Joseph and Odean Smith were the players released by the Gujarat Titans. Holder and Obed McCoy were let go by the Rajasthan Royals, who have retained Shimron Hetmyer on their roster for the 2024 season.
Meanwhile, the Kolkata Knight Riders released Johnson Charles while retaining the services of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine for the coming season.
Akeal Hosein was released by the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Jofra Archer will also be looking for a new franchise after being let go by the Mumbai Indians who have also traded Romario Shepherd to Mumbai Indians while the Lucknow Super Giants have retained Nicholas Pooran and Kyle Mayers.
Connections were thrilled to see Doddiethegreat channel his namesake’s fighting spirit when successfully overcoming a long lay-off at Ascot.
Trained by Nicky Henderson, the seven-year-old is named after the former Scotland rugby union great Doddie Weir, who died in November 2022 following a battle with motor neurone disease.
Owned by Kenny Alexander, of Honeysuckle fame, the gelding won his first three outings with the minimum of fuss and has always been held in high regard.
However, he suffered a tendon injury following a successful hurdling debut at Kempton in 2021 which kept him off the track for over two years.
Making his return after 746 days on the sidelines, he proved the engine remained in-tact with a brilliant comeback win.
And with all the prize-money accrued by Doddiethegreat going to the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation – a charity set up by Weir to raise funds to aid research into MND – connections were delighted to add just over £15,000 to the pot.
“It was fantastic and an amazing training performance,” said Peter Molony, Alexander’s racing manager.
“Nicky Henderson is the master of bringing one back from injury and he’s an exciting horse. Nicky has been very bullish about him all along but just wanted to give him all the time he could.
“It’s a dream and Friday was the first time we had been able to pick up some decent prize-money for the foundation, which was great.
“He’s a horse that has faced a little bit of adversity, similar to Doddie himself, so it was all a bit poignant, I suppose. It was great and a dream.”
In the immediate aftermath of his Ascot triumph, the Scottish Champion Hurdle was mentioned as a target for later in the season, and although keen not to rush matters and consider all possible options, Molony admits the race at Ayrshire-born Alexander’s home track in the spring would be given consideration.
He added: “It’s an option, although he might need a bit further than two miles, ideally. With his past injury, we wouldn’t be running him on fast ground.
“It’s definitely an option and Kenny would love a runner that day, and it is a race he would love to win. So, if it suits on the day, then that will be the race he goes for, but it will be all about the horse.
“With him and his injury history, it will be one day at a time and see how we get on.”
Molony went on: “We’ll probably go to a handicap now and up in trip a little bit. We haven’t picked out a specific target and Nicky is keen to give him a bit of time again after Ascot because we don’t want to be affected by a bounce factor or anything like that.
“We’ll be going the handicap route anyway, I would have thought, and see how he gets on there.”
Brighton broke a Premier League record with Saturday’s 3-2 win at Nottingham Forest, their 17th consecutive game in which both teams have scored.
Here, the PA news agency looks at Roberto De Zerbi’s free-flowing side.
Goals galore
After beating Arsenal 3-0 in May, the Seagulls’ final four games of last season began the ongoing sequence.
They lost 4-1 to Newcastle, beat Southampton 3-1, drew 1-1 with champions Manchester City and closed out the season with a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa.
They opened the new campaign with 4-1 wins over Luton and Wolves before their next four games all finished 3-1 – defeat to West Ham followed by wins over Newcastle, Manchester United and Bournemouth.
Even during the six-match winless run that followed, they scored in each – losing 6-1 to Villa and 2-1 at City and drawing 2-2 with Liverpool and 1-1 against Fulham, Everton and Sheffield United.
That matched Everton’s previous record of 16 successive games between September 2012 and January 2013, and Evan Ferguson’s 26th-minute equaliser against Forest broke the record before Joao Pedro’s double secured three points.
Thirteen games is also the longest such run from the start of a season, comfortably beating the record of nine by Middlesbrough in 2000-01 and Leicester on their way to the 2015-16 title.
Roberto’s revolution
Since De Zerbi succeeded Graham Potter last season, Brighton rank fourth in Premier League goals scored with 89.
They have found the back of the net in 29 successive games since losing 1-0 to Fulham in February and 41 out of 45 since the Italian started as he meant to go on with a 3-3 draw against Liverpool.
Only Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United have longer scoring runs in the Premier League era. The latter pair each have a longest run of 36 so should Brighton score in their next seven games up to January 2 against West Ham, only Arsenal would rank ahead of them with a record of 55.
With 71 conceded under De Zerbi, Albion rank joint fourth-highest in that time behind Bournemouth (80), Tottenham (73) and Forest (72). They are alongside Wolves, who have played two games fewer, and Everton.
Unsurprisingly, Brighton’s games are the highest-scoring in the Premier League since De Zerbi took over – 160 total goals is 10 clear of nearest challengers Spurs. His side rank seventh in points and sixth in goal difference.
Sharing the goals around
Brighton’s top-scorer under De Zerbi is Ferguson with just 12 goals.
That 13.5 per cent share is the lowest of any Premier League club’s top scorer in that time and demonstrates Brighton’s tendency to share the goals around.
They are one of only five teams with three players in double figures in the time since De Zerbi’s arrival, with Kaoru Mitoma and Solly March on 10 apiece.
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland has 39 league goals in that time, backed up by 12 from Phil Foden and 11 for Julian Alvarez. Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (27) is joined by Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota, also on 12 and 11 respectively.
Newcastle have Callum Wilson on 23, Alexander Isak 15 and Miguel Almiron 12 while for Arsenal, Bukayo Saka has 17, Martin Odegaard 15 and Gabriel Martinelli 13.
Ten Seagulls have scored this season, with only Arsenal, Newcastle (13 each) and Manchester United (11) having more different scorers.
It could be a big day for Nicky Henderson at Newcastle on Saturday, with his two most high-profile horses, Constitution Hill and Shishkin, entered on the card.
Constitution Hill will face a maximum of five rivals when he makes his seasonal return to action in the BetMGM Fighting Fifth Hurdle while Shishkin, who blotted his copybook by refusing to race at Ascot on Saturday, has been given an entry in the BetMGM Rehearsal Chase.
Not surprisingly, there are not many connections with a smart two-mile hurdler on their hands keen to take on Constitution Hill.
Since his racecourse debut in December 2021, the closest any horse has managed to get to Constitution Hill is three lengths, on his most recent outing at Aintree, where he beat multiple Grade One winner Sharjah.
That followed a nine-lengths stroll in the Champion Hurdle over State Man, another Willie Mullins inmate with a list of successes at the highest level to his name.
There had earlier been wide-margin wins over his stablemate Epatante in both the Christmas Hurdle and this corresponding race last year – and she herself was a previous winner of the Champion Hurdle.
So far, he has not looked like being beaten and he will be a very short price at the weekend to maintain his unblemished record.
There is a previous winner of the Fighting Fifth among his likely opponents in the shape of Hughie Morrison’s veteran Not So Sleepy.
He dead-heated with Epatante in 2021 and was last seen running a good race to be seventh in the Cesarewitch.
There are two classy mares among his potential opponents, both having won the Dawn Run Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
Harry Fry’s Love Envoi took the spoils in 2022 and was narrowly beaten by Honeysuckle back at Cheltenham in March, while Jamie Snowden’s You Wear It Well followed in her hoofprints last season.
You Wear It Well reappeared with a good win at Wetherby and is clearly on the up.
Sandy Thomson’s Benson and Iain Jardine’s Voix Du Reve are the only other possibles.
Shishkin is one of 17 entries in the Rehearsal Chase over almost three miles, a contest won 12 months ago by Venetia Williams’ L’Homme Presse.
When asked on Sunday if the race was an option for Shishkin, Henderson replied: “That is under consideration, as you can imagine. We’re going there anyway (with Constitution Hill).”
The trainer deems the Peterborough Chase on December 10 too close to his King George target on Boxing Day.
Shishkin is rated 173 so would be giving lumps of weight away to his rivals should he run, with the next highest rated being Jamie Snowden’s Datsalrightgino on 148.
Giannis Antetokounmpo admitted the Milwaukee Bucks made life tough for themselves as he helped to seal a stirring 108-102 comeback victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Bucks rallied from a 26-point deficit to win the first meeting between the teams since the Blazers traded franchise icon Damian Lillard to Milwaukee in September.
It was largest comeback in the NBA so far this season.
Lillard, who spent his first 11 seasons with Portland and is the Trail Blazers' all-time scoring leader, had 17 of his 31 points in the second half to aid the comeback, while Giannis came through with a tie-breaking basket with time winding down.
Antetokounmpo finished with 33 points, 16 rebounds and six assists in the Bucks' seventh win in eight games, which improved them to 12-5 on the season.
The rebuilding Blazers led 81-55 three minutes into the third quarter, but Milwaukee responded with a 17-2 run and continued to cut into the deficit until Lillard's 3-pointer with 2:53 remaining created a 97-97 tie.
Sunday's game remained deadlocked until Antetokounmpo tipped in teammate Bobby Portis' putback attempt to put the Bucks up by a 104-102 score. Lillard then sealed the win by making four free throws in the closing seconds.
"Sometimes we just make it tough on ourselves," Antetokounmpo said after the game, per ESPN.
"Don't get me wrong, I think Portland is a very good team – young team, play hard, but we just make it tough.
"We can't start the game like that. We should not be down 26 and then try to come and win the game. That takes a toll on your body.
"But at the end of the day, I'm happy we were able to win."
Lillard and Antetokounmpo have scored 30 points each in the last two Bucks games.
"As the season moves forward, we're going to figure out ways to play with one another," added Giannis.
"Be more effective, be more efficient with one another, know one another's spots. We are getting to that point. We are really getting to that point.
"At the end of the day, Dame has to be Dame. I have to be me.
"As the games go on, we're going to keep on figuring ourselves out. The moment we are clicking on a higher level, it's going to become even more scary as we move forward."
Facing former team Portland (4-12) was an unusual experience for Lillard.
"Once I walked in, I saw a lot of familiar faces, I thought about going in the visitors' locker room for a second, but I was like, man, this a little bit different," he said to Bally Sports Wisconsin.
"When we got on the court, I saw everybody and it's a weird feeling. But once we started playing, I got over it quick."
Bucks coach Adrian Griffin was thrilled with Antetokounmpo, with a big Tuesday night In-Season Tournament game at the Miami Heat up next.
"He is one of the greatest players to play this game, and he showed it," said Griffin.
"We were kind of dead in the water, searching, trying to find some momentum, and it was a gritty win."
Jerami Grant had 22 points in Portland's ninth loss in 10 games, while Malcolm Brogdon recorded 18 points and 12 assists.
Harry Fry is keen to bolster Gidleigh Park’s experience following his impressive hurdling debut at Exeter.
The five-year-old was an emphatic winner of a Chepstow bumper on his rules introduction back in March, pulling six-lengths clear of Ben Pauling’s The Jukebox Man, who has since franked the form in good style on two separate occasions.
Making his first start over hurdles, Gidleigh Park confirmed the promise of that Chepstow romp with an equally taking display, jumping well and only needing to be pushed out by jockey Johnny Burke for a commanding seven-and-a-half-length triumph.
Although immediately cut by the bookmakers for Graded novice events at the Cheltenham Festival, his handler is in no rush to move into deeper waters and for now plans to seek out another novice event under a penalty.
“We were very happy and he seemed to confirm the promise of his racecourse debut last spring,” said Fry.
“It’s onwards and upwards as they say and we will look forward to getting him out in a month or so under a penalty and if that goes according to plan then we can start thinking about raising his sights.
“I think it’s about experience at the moment more than anything and I think we need to get another run in, in an ordinary novice, before we start thinking about going up in grade.”
Max Verstappen completed the most dominant season in Formula One history with victory in Abu Dhabi.
After a 19th win in 22 races, the PA news agency looks at how the triple world champion compares to the sport’s all-time stars.
Among the greats
Verstappen’s third world championship win put him in elite company as only the 11th driver with a hat-trick of titles to his name.
Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton share the record of seven crowns apiece, with Juan Manuel Fangio their nearest challenger on five.
Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel won four apiece, with Verstappen alongside Sir Jack Brabham, Sir Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet Sr and Ayrton Senna on three.
Only five drivers – Schumacher, Hamilton, Fangio, Vettel and now Verstappen – have won three in consecutive years. He has the chance next season to match all but Schumacher with a fourth straight title, the German having won five in succession from 2000 to 2004.
Verstappen has also moved third all-time in terms of race wins. His 53rd, at the season’s penultimate race in Las Vegas, drew him alongside Vettel for that position and in only 184 races compared to the German’s 299.
Abu Dhabi made it 54 out of 185 and means only Hamilton and Schumacher have won more races – Hamilton has 103 from 331 starts, despite now having gone two seasons without a win, while Schumacher finished with 91 in 306.
Record breaker
Verstappen set a notable record during the season with 10 consecutive race wins up to and including September’s Italian Grand Prix.
That beat Vettel’s run of nine in a row in 2013, also with Red Bull, while Verstappen’s Abu Dhabi win in 2022’s final race and Sergio Perez’s early-season contributions ensured the team won a record 15 in succession.
The Dutchman’s 19 wins broke his own single-season record of 15, set last year. Only 14 F1 seasons have even had 19 or more races in total.
While the length of the season and the modern scoring system are both significant factors, his points tally of 575 is a huge record – again, his own 454 last season was the previous best. Unsurprisingly that brought with it a record winning margin, both outright (290 points) and by percentage with more than double the points of second-placed team-mate Perez (285).
Verstappen also clinched the title with six grands prix remaining, equalling Schumacher’s record from 2002.
His 86.4 per cent win rate was another record, shattering the 75 per cent mark set back in 1952 – F1’s third ever season – when Alberto Ascari won six of the eight races contested.
He is the first driver to lead 1,000 or more laps in a season – smashing Vettel’s record of 739 in 2011 and equalling the combined total of McLaren’s dominant 1988 pairing of Senna and Prost.
Verstappen was the only driver to complete every lap of this season, adding two second places and fifth in Singapore to his 19 wins.
Bruno Fernandes believes Manchester United teenager Alejandro Garnacho has the potential to become “something special in the world of football”.
Acquired from Atletico Madrid in 2020, the 19-year-old forward starred in last year’s FA Youth Cup triumph and has gone on to establish himself as a first-team regular at Old Trafford.
Garnacho enjoyed the finest moment of his nascent career at Everton on Sunday, showing outstanding ingenuity and technique to thunder home an outrageous overhead kick just 133 seconds into a 3-0 win.
The Argentina international followed his jaw-dropping goal-of-the-season contender by replicating former United great Cristiano Ronaldo’s celebration after an effort his idol would have been more than proud of.
“It’s amazing – something out of this world, I think,” United captain Fernandes told the PA news agency.
“Probably he’s watching too much Cristiano clips! We all know that he’s a big fan. Still a long way for him to be like Cristiano but he’s getting his steps.
“He wants to be something special in the world of football and I think he has the capability to do that, but he has to do more than that goal!”
Garnacho was not the only impressive teenager at Goodison Park on Sunday, with fellow FA Youth Cup winner Kobbie Mainoo flourishing on his first Premier League start.
The 18-year-old midfielder recently recovered from the injury he sustained during United’s pre-season tour and produced a performance that belied his tender years.
“I talk always about Kobbie,” Fernandes said. “I think he’s a special player too.
“Obviously, people will not talk as much as they will about Garnacho because Garnacho scores goals, does assists and everything. But what he puts on the game, what he gives to the team, it’s known to anyone (in the squad).
“I think he has great players in front of him to learn (from) because he plays with one of the best in the world like Casemiro. Also Sofyan (Amrabat) who plays in that position that is really good and he’s getting everything from them.
“He wants to learn, is eager to learn and I think that’s probably the best capability he has because he wants to learn every time. He’s eager to listen to everyone to get better and better.”
United’s young stars stepped up in the absence of a swathe of injured players, with the likes of Garnacho and Mainoo helping to invigorate the experienced core.
Asked what he thought of the young players coming through as one of the older players, 29-year-old Fernandes said with a laugh: “I’m not that old, eh?
“Obviously, we are really happy for them. We know that all the young players are eager to play and to get your position, so me as an older one I have to step up and do my job! If not, they’re going to take my space.”
Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial goals complemented Garnacho’s stunner in an eye-catching win that Erik ten Hag’s team need to build on against Galatasaray in the Champions League.
As for Everton, they travel to Nottingham Forest next weekend looking to bounce back from a heavy home loss after the shock of being deducted 10 points.
Toffees boss Sean Dyche said: “We have created a lot of chances this season but not always scored goals. We have to maintain our belief in what we are doing. We are doing that, I think we did through this game.”
Tottenham captain Son Heung-min admits recent defeats hurt but has urged the squad to keep playing the Ange Postecoglou way.
Aston Villa produced a comeback win in north London on Sunday to make it a November to forget for Spurs.
Premier League leaders at the start of the month, Tottenham have since suffered three consecutive losses and seen their list of absentees move into double figures.
Spurs went ahead against Villa, like they had in recent defeats to Chelsea and Wolves, but were wasteful in front of goal and also unable to keep up the relentless attacking style Postecoglou wants for the whole match.
“I think especially in this game, when you are 1-0 up, we have to control even more,” Son told SpursPlay.
“We have to respect the (opposition) and we made a couple of mistakes this season where we are going up 1-0 and started playing a little bit slowly.
“Then conceding goals, offsides, delays in the game, this is losing our game tempo a little bit and we are giving chances to Villa to come into the game.
“Before half-time when you concede a goal from a set-piece, I think we have to be more stronger.
“The players gave everything, especially in difficult circumstances. It is just tough to take.
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“It doesn’t matter how well you are playing, obviously in the end you are taking the results and we are talking about the results.
“Yeah, we created chances, good, very good. The way we are playing, I am very pleased and happy but it hurts when you lose a game, especially at home.
“We had such amazing support again and losing this game hurts.”
All the focus at Tottenham now turns to Sunday’s daunting trip to champions Manchester City and Rodrigo Bentancur is an early doubt after he sustained an ankle injury against Villa.
Bentancur made his first start since he suffered a serious knee injury in February and impressed before he was caught by a poor challenge from Matty Cash.
Spurs will have Yves Bissouma back from suspension and will check on Pape Sarr after he returned from Senegal national team duty with a knock, but Postecoglou knows he will be down to the bare bones for a while.
Tottenham boss Postecoglou said: “The reality of it is that we’re not going to get too many back.
“We’ll get Biss back but we might have lost Bentancur. We only had six or seven on the bench so everyone who is here at the moment is going to have to play a part.”
While Tottenham contemplate another defeat, Villa produced a clinical display to move up to fourth in the Premier League after goals by Pau Torres and Ollie Watkins, but Unai Emery played down the current table.
“Enjoy the position and of course the players are aware about where we are, but we will continue being demanding,” Emery said.
“In 38 matches, there are still a lot of things to happen.
“Now we have to rest and think about Thursday (against Legia Warsaw) and then Sunday against Bournemouth.”
What the papers say
Chelsea are set to make Victor Osimhen their prime target in the January transfer window. The 24-year-old Nigerian striker is keen to make the move from Napoli to Stamford Bridge, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq are chasing goalkeeper David De Gea, reports The Sun. The 33-year-old is a free agent since leaving Manchester United at the end of last season.
Saudi Arabia is also a potential destination for West Ham winger Said Benrahma. The Sun reports various clubs in the Saudi Pro League are eager to snap up the 28-year-old Algerian.
Boca Juniors full-back Valentin Barco is a target for Manchester City. The Sun reports the Premier League champions would loan the 19-year-old to Leicester.
Social media round-upPlayers to watch
Samuel Lino: Newcastle are monitoring the progress of the 23-year-old Brazilian winger from Atletico Madrid as the transfer window period approaches, reports Spanish sports publication Todo Fichajes.
Thomas Partey, Kalvin Phillips and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: Juventus are keen to sign a midfielder in January and have three Premier League names on their shortlist, claims French site Foot Mercato.
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