Erik ten Hag promised he was a “fighter” after Manchester United slumped to a 3-0 Carabao Cup home defeat to Newcastle to pile more pressure on him.

Defeat in the rematch of last season’s final – which United won to highlight a promising first season in charge for the Dutchman – meant United have lost eight of their opening 15 fixtures in all competitions this term, their worst start since the 1962-63 campaign.

Goals from Miguel Almiron, Lewis Hall and Joe Willock ensured a second consecutive 3-0 home defeat for United, comfortably beaten by rivals Manchester City on Sunday, and they were booed off at both half-time and full-time as Ten Hag was left facing some serious questions.

“I am a fighter and I know it is not always going up,” he said.

“We have a lot of setbacks this season so far, but also you have to deal with it and that is never an excuse.

“I have said that before I know when there are setbacks the routines are not the same, but even then you have to get results in. Obviously, Sunday and tonight were far from that so we have to do things right and at a certain level, at the minimum level to win games.”

Questions of Ten Hag were already being asked after Sunday’s derby defeat left United 11 points from the top of the Premier League table after 10 games.

The former Ajax boss said he accepted that, but insisted he had no doubts about his own abilities.

“I understand it when the results are not there,” he said.

“It is also a logical process that they are questioning that. But I am confident I can do it. At all my clubs I have done it and also last year here I did it as well, but at this moment we are in a bad place.

“I take responsibility for it. I see it as a challenge. I am a fighter and I am in that fight and I have to make sure that I share the responsibility with my players and that we stick together and fight together, and get better results.”

Both sides made several changes from the weekend, but even with Newcastle’s resources stretched by injuries they looked by far the sharper of the two sides, winning the midfield battles and finding space going forward, often far too easily down United’s right-hand side in the first half.

“It is below the standards everyone expect from Manchester United,” Ten Hag said.

“It is not good enough by far. We have to put it right. I take responsibility for it. It is my team and they are not performing. I have to share it with my players, but I am responsible.”

Defeat was not the only blow for United with Casemiro, back after a three-game absence, withdrawn at half-time with an unspecified injury which Ten Hag said would rule the Brazilian out of Saturday’s trip to Fulham.

While United assessed the damage, Newcastle enjoyed lengthy celebrations with their loud travelling support after their first Old Trafford victory since December 2013.

“It was a massive performance from the players and I can’t credit them enough,” said Eddie Howe.

“Some great stories, only (an injury to) Matt Targett the negative, but even more credit to the players and some giant performances.

“I personally have always found it a difficult ground and Newcastle the same so another thing to be really proud of the commitment showed by everyone. I thought we showed some great goals, the quality was a real highlight.

“We are determined to try and do well in every game. We picked a team we felt could win and now we will do the same for Arsenal (on Saturday).”

Manchester United’s woes continued as their defence of the Carabao Cup ended with a 3-0 loss to Newcastle at Old Trafford.

The fourth-round rematch between last season’s finalists saw Newcastle strike twice in the first half through Miguel Almiron and Lewis Hall.

Joe Willock then added a third just past the hour mark as Erik ten Hag’s side slumped to an eighth defeat in all competitions this season, and second 3-0 reverse at home in four days following Sunday’s loss to Manchester City.

Arsenal were also eliminated, going down 3-1 at West Ham as Declan Rice returned to the London Stadium.

An early Ben White own-goal put the Hammers in front and finishes from Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen followed after the break before Martin Odegaard scored a consolation goal for the Gunners in stoppage time.

Liverpool advanced to the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win at Bournemouth sealed by substitute Darwin Nunez’s stunning strike.

The Uruguayan fired in what proved the winner in the 70th minute, six minutes after Justin Kluivert’s first Bournemouth goal had cancelled out Cody Gakpo’s first-half opener.

Chelsea beat Blackburn 2-0 at Stamford Bridge courtesy of goals in either half from Benoit Badiashile and Raheem Sterling.

Everton boss Sean Dyche saw his side beat his old club Burnley 3-0 at Goodison Park, with ex-Claret James Tarkowski, Amadou Onana and Ashley Young getting on the scoresheet.

Fulham won 3-1 at Championship high-fliers Ipswich. Harry Wilson, Muniz and Tom Cairney put the Cottagers three goals up before Elkan Baggott reduced the deficit late on.

Miguel Almiron, Lewis Hall and Joe Willock fired Newcastle to a famous first Old Trafford victory in a decade as Carabao Cup holders Manchester United suffered a second 3-0 home humiliation in four days.

Wednesday’s fourth-round clash was a repeat of the final eight months ago at Wembley, where Erik ten Hag crowned a promising first season in the hotseat by ending the club’s six-year wait for silverware.

But things have gone awry since then and pressure will intensify on the Dutchman and his team after Newcastle inflicted the Red Devils’ eighth defeat in 15 matches to progress to the quarter-finals.

The fallout to this tie is sure to be dominated by Ten Hag’s United after seeing Sunday’s derby humbling against Manchester City compounded, but this was Newcastle’s night.

The Magpies had only won one of their previous 41 away matches against the Red Devils in all competitions, and few will forget their first Old Trafford triumph since December 2013.

Erik ten Hag is convinced “it is only a matter of time” until Manchester United show their “true selves” after a poor start to the campaign was compounded in the Manchester derby.

Sunday’s 3-0 home humbling at the hands of neighbours Manchester City provided the exclamation mark on a difficult start to the Dutchman’s second season in the hotseat.

United were outclassed and outthought for the most part at Old Trafford, where Ten Hag’s men will attempt to bounce back in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup fourth-round clash against Newcastle.

“At Manchester United, every game involves high stakes,” the Red Devils boss said ahead of the repeat of last season’s Carabao Cup final.

“Every single day, there is pressure on everybody involved with this club, but those demands and standards are a challenge which we must always meet head-on.

“While this has not been the start to the season that we had all hoped for, I am certain that we have the talent and attitude as a collective to move in the right direction.

“I believe that it is only a matter of time before we are showing our true selves. It will come, I am certain.”

Ten Hag’s comments came in his manager’s notes for Wednesday’s edition of the matchday programme, United Review.

Emotions will have been raw when producing the column in the aftermath of the City defeat but the Red Devils boss is only focused on improved performances and results.

“There is no point in feeling sorry for ourselves at this moment in time,” Ten Hag said.

“Nobody at this club enjoys defeat, particularly in a Manchester derby like last Sunday, but everything we have achieved together so far has been built on looking forward, which means we have to move on quickly from what happens, whether it is positive or negative.

“We have never spent too long enjoying our victories, so we will not spend too much time thinking about our losses. We must always look forward, together.

“I continue to believe in these players and am confident we will improve after a difficult start to the season.

“On Sunday, in the first half particularly, we showed good defensive discipline and we created opportunities to counter-attack, but we were unable to capitalise on those chances at decisive times in the game.

“Important moments went against us and we were once again reminded that any mistake is punished at the highest level.

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“Before the derby, we won three games in a row and demonstrated our character on each occasion, so we have developed in recent weeks.

“We are also gradually getting some players back from injury, which gives us more options and allows us to select players in their natural positions.”

Injuries have been a key mitigating factor in United’s shaky start, with Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Amad Diallo ruled out of the Manchester derby.

Four of those played key roles in February’s Carabao Cup triumph against Newcastle – a day that has so far proven the high point of Ten Hag’s reign, rather than the catalyst for further success.

“As we welcome Eddie Howe and Newcastle United to Old Trafford, our focus moves back to the Carabao Cup and a reminder of how well we did to win this competition last season,” Ten Hag said

“Our game management throughout that cup run, especially in the final against Newcastle, showed our ability to rise to big occasions – and tonight is definitely another big occasion for us.

“We always want to do as well as we possibly can in every competition we enter.

“We know how good it feels to lift this trophy and, as holders, we want to get back to Wembley Stadium again this season and defend the Carabao Cup.”

Erik Ten Hag insisted Manchester United were still “on the up” despite being comprehensively outplayed by rivals Manchester City in Sunday’s derby.

Erling Haaland struck twice – the first from the penalty spot – and Phil Foden added another as treble winners City eased to a 3-0 win in a one-sided Premier League encounter at Old Trafford.

The result underlined City’s superiority over their neighbours – the gap between the sides now being nine points after 10 games – and emphatically ended any suggestion United might have turned a corner after winning their previous three matches.

Manager Ten Hag nevertheless put a on brave face on what proved a chastening afternoon for the club’s fans.

The Dutchman said: “The three games before we won and the spirit is very good. The fighting spirit is very good.

“I think we are on the way up. The start was difficult, but now we are on a way up.

“We have to be patient, but I’m happy some of our injuries are coming back and then our side will be stronger.”

Ten Hag felt United were competitive in the first half, which they ended trailing only 1-0 after Haaland’s 26th-minute penalty.

He said: “When you see first half, it’s toe-to-toe. Just the penalty changes the game.

“But even then we could have got back in the game, for instance with that shot of Scott McTominay just before half-time.

“So, I think from chances it was very toe-to-toe.”

Ten Hag did admit, however, the second half was “absolutely not” close.

He said: “We were losing and I decided to bring more offensive power in and we made a mistake that was not according to the game plan.”

Ten Hag repeatedly said he had “no comment” to make on the penalty decision, which was awarded for a foul by Rasmus Hojlund on Rodri following a VAR review.

Opposite number Pep Guardiola claimed his side’s victory had not been as straightforward as it looked.

City strongly asserted their authority in the second period as an unmarked Haaland headed his second and teed up Foden for the visitors’ third 10 minutes from time.

Guardiola said: “It looks easy but it’s not, really it’s not.

“We have a lot of respect for United, for what they do, but we were at our best, especially in the second half.

“The second goal helped us a lot. We were saying at half-time they will be more aggressive and they were, but we made two incredible two build-ups.

“Bernardo (Silva) and Jack (Grealish) made a good action and Erling scored the second goal. That was the key point of the game.”

Guardiola admitted he did not anticipate his side dominating the local scene as much as they have when he arrived in Manchester in 2016.

He said: “I know what we have done. I don’t know what United have done because I’m not here, but I didn’t expect it when I arrived here with Jose Mourinho, with (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic, with the top, top players of (Romelu) Lukaku and the squad.”

Erik ten Hag praised goalkeeper Andre Onana for putting a difficult start to life at Manchester United behind him and saving the day in a narrow Champions League escape against Copenhagen.

Having kicked off Group A with defeats to Bayern Munich and Galatasaray, the Red Devils could ill-afford any slip-up against the Danish champions in Tuesday’s Old Trafford encounter.

Onana was guilty of poor performances in both of those Champions League losses but helped make amends in a brilliant conclusion to an emotional first home game since the death of Sir Bobby Charlton.

The United keeper saved Jordan Larsson’s stoppage-time penalty with what proved to be the last touch of the match, ensuring Harry Maguire’s second-half header sealed a crucial 1-0 win.

“He showed personality and he knows that before was not the levels what his skills are,” manager Ten Hag said of the summer signing from Inter Milan. “He didn’t match his skills and he could do better.

“I think Saturday (against Sheffield United) was a very good performance and today as well.

“Also, don’t forget that brilliant save just after half-time in the counter-attack.

“But, of course, that is one of his skills, he is a very good penalty saver.”

Onana’s save sparked wild celebrations at a rocking Old Trafford, where he was mobbed by team-mates before United’s substitutes poured onto the pitch.

“You see there is a very good spirit in the dressing room,” said Ten Hag, who claimed not to have seen Alejandro Garnacho scuffing the penalty spot.

“They are together, they fight together and they celebrate together.

“If we have setbacks, they support each other. I think that spirit is always needed to be a successful team.”

United have won three straight matches in all competitions despite some unconvincing performances and improvements are needed against reigning Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday.

“First half no good, difficult,” Ten Hag said. “They were well organised, Copenhagen.

“It was difficult to create chances. We didn’t get the right build-up, so we didn’t get the tempo in the game.

“The second half I think was better. In the first half, we got some press on but not in many occasions or in a long period.

“In the second half, both things were better and the build-up was better

“The construction was better, more switches and also we created more chances. I think finally the win was justified but it was a narrow escape.”

This was certainly a let-off for a United side who had the frequently-criticised Maguire to thank as well as Onana.

The defender’s future appeared elsewhere having been stripped of the captaincy during a summer of speculation, but he has now made three straight starts and scored the key goal on Tuesday.

“He is playing much more proactive in possession, stepping in, passing vertical,” the Dutchman said. “Defending also on the front foot, also stepping in, defending forward.

“Very confident in the duels. I think he is dominating, in the right moment putting in the aggression and dominating his opponents.

“Then you see you also get rewarded, of course it’s a very good skill from him his heading, but I have to say great pass from Christian (Eriksen) as well but a very good finish.”

These sides now return to domestic matters before resuming battle in Denmark in the reverse fixture on November 8.

Copenhagen head coach Jacob Neestrup said: “We all know that we played a match where we allowed ourselves to get at least one point.

“We had a big chance to score in the closing seconds, so that hurts. It really hurts.

“I don’t believe in bad luck in football. Football is decided by important saves or goals, and in terms of that, we have been unable to tip it in our favour in the first three matches, which have led to one point. Those are the hard facts.”

Sir Bobby Charlton was remembered by the club he loved as Manchester United paid an emotional tribute to him at their first home match since the World Cup winner died.

The jewel in the crown for club and country, the news of the England great’s death on Saturday reverberated around the world and devastated all connected to Old Trafford.

Charlton survived the trauma of the 1958 Munich Air Disaster and went on to lift the European Cup a decade later, scoring 249 goals over 758 appearances for United during 17 years at the club as a player.

There were expressions of remembrance during Saturday’s win at Sheffield United but the Champions League game against Copenhagen provided the chance for the entire club to pay a fitting tribute as they returned home.

“There’s only one Bobby Charlton” echoed around Old Trafford long before kick-off on Tuesday, with the teams emerging to the traditional continental competition fanfare before the stadium announcer paid his respects.

Then, with teams lined-up around the centre circle, the crowd fell silent as a piper emerged from the tunnel playing “We’ll never die”.

United boss Erik ten Hag, former team-mate Alex Stepney and youth-team captain Dan Gore followed, going on to lay a wreath at the halfway line before before a minute’s silence was held.

As the hosts paid tribute to Charlton, Copenhagen’s fans had unveiled a banner that read: “Passion is what separates the good from the great. Rest in peace Sir Bobby Charlton.”

Charlton’s seat in the directors’ box – which is situated in heart of the stand that has carried his name since 2016 – was empty aside from a wreath placed there in his honour.

Players and staff all wore black armbands on an evening that saw the matchday programme feature the “ultimate ambassador for Manchester United” on its cover.

Outside the ground, the bundles of flowers, scarves, shirts and messages at the ‘United Trinity’ statue continue to grow by the hour.

Charlton, Denis Law and George Best are immortalised in front of the East Stand, which was decorated to read ‘Sir Bobby Charlton. Forever Loved’ between pictures of him in his playing days and latter years.

United players past and present have signed the book of condolence and paid their respects at the statue since his death, including 1968 European Cup team-mate Stepney.

“You can see that (impact) now and what I’ve got behind me,” the former goalkeeper told the PA news agency in front of the statue.

“It’s just incredible. There’s three of them and we had this when George sadly passed and Bobby’s deservedly getting exactly the same moment.”

Stepney looked understandably emotional as he spoke about Charlton, both the player and the man, shortly before he headed inside Old Trafford.

“It’s been unbelievable, really,” the former goalkeeper said. “When I got the phone call on Saturday morning, you start thinking about the great man.

“How he performed day in, day out, training, on the pitch.

“He was very honest, great family man. That was an obvious thing about him. Humble.

“When they opened the stand here for him, the South Stand, he had tears in his eyes.

“I said to him ‘are you OK?’ and he said ‘I don’t deserve it’. I said ‘well, you deserve everything you get from every supporter, everybody throughout the world’. He deserves all of this.”

Erik ten Hag believes Sir Bobby Charlton will always remain an inspiration to Manchester United as they prepare for their first home game since the World Cup-winner died on Saturday.

Tributes to Charlton, who was 86, will take place before Tuesday’s Champions League fixture against Copenhagen, in the form of a minute’s silence, a wreath being placed on Charlton’s seat in the directors’ box and players and club staff wearing black armbands.

Charlton will also be remembered in the official programme for both the Copenhagen match and Sunday’s derby against Manchester City. There will be a minute’s applause prior to the City match as well as expressions of remembrance via flags and banners in the stadium.

Fans have already been flocking to Old Trafford to leave flowers, scarves and messages around the statue of Charlton, Denis Law and George Best – the ‘United Trinity’ – which is located outside the ground.

And when asked if Charlton would be an inspiration for his side not only on Tuesday but beyond, Ten Hag pointed to the statue.

“He is in front of Old Trafford,” Ten Hag said. “With Denis Law and George Best. He is always with us. They are always a huge inspiration for us, every day, and in every game.”

Ten Hag cited Charlton as an inspiration for his players in Saturday’s 2-1 win away to Sheffield United, secured by Diogo Dalot’s winner, but a match at Old Trafford will be an opportunity for the entire club to pay tribute on and off the pitch.

Ten Hag wants to mark the occasion with a victory, something United badly need in the Champions League after opening their Group A campaign with defeats against Bayern Munich and Galatasaray, while they have stuttered in the Premier League too.

“First we want to win as a tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton, but also you want always to do that in a certain way and that is what we are aiming for,” Ten Hag added. “It is not always possible in football, sometimes you don’t play that well but you have to find a way to win.

“I was happy on Saturday that we could show tribute with a win but also with the way we scored that second goal.”

Although they ground out the victory, United were again far from their best in Saturday’s win over the Blades, with social media full of grumbling from fans amid a pedestrian start to the campaign.

But Ten Hag said he continues to feel the firm backing of the supporters inside Old Trafford, and expects a special atmosphere on Tuesday night.

“It’s always special every night at Old Trafford, the fans are always so behind us,” the Dutchman said.

“I remember the last game, the home game against Brentford, even when the game is not going in our direction they stayed behind us in difficult moments and moments of adversity around Manchester United the fans are still with us and we are with the fans, we are fighting together.

“Definitely tomorrow after the passing away of Sir Bobby Charlton, their hero, their legend, their giant, I’m sure there will be an even more emotional evening tomorrow.”

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag says Harry Maguire is “playing like we want him to” after a man-of-the-match performance in the 2-1 win at Sheffield United.

Maguire started his second successive Premier League game and stood out against his former club at Bramall Lane as the Red Devils marked the death of Sir Bobby Charlton with three points.

The England centre-half’s career at Old Trafford appeared to be over after he was stripped of the captaincy and allowed to explore the possibility of signing for West Ham in the summer, but he was always committed to regaining Ten Hag’s favour.

He looks to be doing that now, with the Dutchman impressed by his Bramall Lane performance.

“I have to say Harry is playing like we want him to play,” he said.

“Very proactive out of possession, dominating his opponent, stepping in when necessary, reading the game, good covering but also in possession very proactive, stepping in, delivering good passes, switching, yes, I am happy with his performance.”

The Red Devils hardly put in a fitting performance to remember Charlton by but they got the job done against a team who are yet to win this season.

They went ahead against the run of play when Scott McTominay scored his third goal in two games but Oli McBurnie’s penalty quickly levelled for the Blades before the break.

Ten Hag’s men improved after the interval and won it in the 77th minute through Diogo Dalot’s curling effort.

A long season is on the cards for the Blades, who have taken just one point from their opening nine games of the season.

They have been hit hard by injuries, losing captain John Egan and vice-captain Chris Basham to serious knocks, and they suffered more bad news on that front.

Anel Ahmedhodzic missed out with a hamstring injury, while McBurnie limped off with a groin problem.

On Ahmedhodzic, boss Paul Heckingbottom said: “It’s his hamstring. He jumped for a header in training and hurt his hamstring. He’s had a scan. It will be weeks.”

“Oli’s groin started impacting him. It was sore at half-time and we tried taping it up but you could see it was impacting him running.

“We had to bring him off because he was hindered by that but also to protect him as well.”

Erik ten Hag admitted Manchester United’s first-half performance in their 2-1 win at Sheffield United was not a fitting way to remember Sir Bobby Charlton.

United are mourning one of their greatest ever players following Charlton’s death aged 86 on Saturday morning and goals from Scott McTominay and Diogo Dalot ensured they remembered him with victory.

But Ten Hag’s side could not be much further away from the one that Charlton famously led to European Cup glory in 1968 as they were lacklustre against a team who have picked up just one point this season.

Defender Dalot was the unlikely hero as he saved their blushes with a 20-yard curler 13 minutes from time after Oli McBurnie’s first-half penalty had cancelled out McTominay’s opener.

Ten Hag said: “We are happy we did that, we have to pay attention and do it in a good way and first half I think it wasn’t the standard for Sir Bobby Charlton and the second half was a bit better.

“But of course the news arrived and we are very sad and our thoughts are with his family and especially his wife Lady Norma, his children and his grandchildren.

“I heard some players got some inspiration from it and they wanted a win to mark it. It was an extra motivation, absolutely.

“But the first half was not a good game. We can talk long or we can talk short, it was a poor game from our side and you see it often after internationals, especially us with so many changes, the routines are not there. In the first half we allowed them to make it their game.

“We were too direct, no good organisation, second half we made some changes and you saw we got better, we were more composed and kept the ball.

“We controlled the game and created the chances and then finally we deserved the win and it was a beautiful goal.”

Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom began his playing career at Old Trafford as a teenager and remembers Charlton fondly.

“He was there the day I signed as a 14-year-old,” he said. “He is a man that represented everything that United wanted to be, certainly in terms of developing youth players and getting youth players into the first team.

“It is not only Manchester United that will miss him, English football and I think he was a football icon across the world as well, so there will be a lot of people remembering him, stories they have heard, games they have seen.”

The Blades may feel they deserved something out of the game, especially on the back of a lively first-half performance, but they slipped to an eighth defeat from nine games and a long winter looks on the cards.

But Heckingbottom took the positives.

“In most games we have shown more than enough that we can compete,” he added. “Lots of things that please me in that.

“We have suffered horrendously with injuries in the last 10 days, captain, vice-captain and a couple of other players. We are not going to sulk about it, it is an opportunity for others.

“We looked more of a threat tonight. There are lots of things tonight that we have to build on. It was close. What we had today was more of an all-round threat.”

Manchester United paid tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton with a 2-1 Premier League victory at Sheffield United.

United are mourning one of their greatest ever players following Charlton’s death aged 86 on Saturday morning and goals from Scott McTominay and Diogo Dalot ensured they remembered him with victory.

But Erik ten Hag’s side could not be much further away from the one that Charlton famously led to European Cup glory in 1968 as they were lacklustre against a team who have picked up just one point this season.

Defender Dalot was the unlikely hero as he saved their blushes with a 20-yard curler 13 minutes from time after Oli McBurnie’s first-half penalty had cancelled out McTominay’s opener.

It was not a vintage performance, certainly not one fitting of Charlton, but United did at least register back-to-back league victories for the first time this season and Ten Hag will hope this can be a springboard.

The Blades may feel they deserved something out of the game, especially on the back of a lively first-half performance, but they slipped to an eighth defeat from nine games and a long winter looks on the cards.

United captain Bruno Fernandes laid a wreath on the centre circle before kick-off and there was a minute’s applause for the World Cup winner, while the away end gave a rousing rendition of ‘There’s only one Bobby Charlton’.

As emotional as it was for United, they still had a job to do and they had to weather an early storm from the hosts.

The Blades started well and should have led inside the opening three minutes as Gus Hamer’s shot deflected into the path of McBurnie, but with time and space 14 yards out he shot straight at Andre Onana, who gratefully clung on.

The visitors were up against it and Ten Hag used an injury break to gather his players and bark instructions.

It did not immediately make much difference as Onana, much maligned for handling errors this season, produced a strong arm to keep out Cameron Archer’s 20-yard drive.

For all their bluster, the Blades had come away from a strong opening 25 minutes without reward and they were punished as the visitors went ahead against the run of the play in the 28th minute.

McTominay, who rescued his side with two injury-time goals against Brentford before the international break, received the ball from Fernandes and his scuffed effort found its way into the bottom corner.

Things quickly turned sour for for McTominay, though, as just five minutes later he gave away a penalty when he handled James McAtee’s cross.

The incident survived a VAR check and McBurnie stepped up and stroked the spot-kick home for his first goal of the season.

McBurnie almost turned provider in the 41st minute when he slipped in Archer, but Onana bravely stopped with his face.

For all the home pressure, it was Ten Hag’s men who nearly took a lead into the half-time break as they had two late chances.

First Fernandes clipped the crossbar with a dipping free-kick before Rasmus Hojlund was denied by a fine save from Wes Foderingham, who rushed out and deflected the ball wide.

The Blades were on the front foot after the restart and Onana made another impressive stop, palming away Rhian Brewster’s effort after being wrong-footed.

United finally upped their game and created a raft of chances to go back in front.

Foderingham saved from Hojlund when the Dane should have scored, Marcus Rashford rolled wide at the far post and Sofyan Amrabat thundered a fierce 20-yard effort against the crossbar.

The breakthrough eventually came in the 77th minute when Dalot was afforded too much time on the edge of the area and he curled a shot into the top corner, though Foderingham got a hand to it and should have kept it out.

That proved enough as United remembered Charlton with victory which will not live long in the memory.

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag said Victor Lindelof had been “exhausted” but was ready to play in Saturday’s match at Sheffield United after his distressing experience in Belgium earlier in the week.

Lindelof captained the Sweden side whose Euro 2024 qualifier against Belgium in Brussels on Monday was abandoned at half-time after two Swedish fans were shot dead before the game and another injured three miles from the King Baudouin Stadium.

Ten Hag told a press conference on Friday: “A terrible situation, and I feel really sad for the victims, for all the relatives, family, friends of the victims in Brussels. It’s a crazy world.

“Of course Victor, they had a problem, it’s a bad experience. As captain of the Swedish team, he had to stay in front and give statements. But he dealt well with it.

“Of course he’s exhausted after this experience because also he didn’t sleep overnight. He returned, and yesterday he was back in training. He dealt with the situation.

“Our thoughts once again were with Victor, with the victims and the victims’ relatives. Victor has energy and is ready to play this game.”

United head into the match at Bramall Lane amid considerable talk about their ownership situation, with Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim last weekend understood to have ended his attempt to buy the club, while INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe is reportedly looking to purchase a 25 per cent stake.

When asked about that situation, Ten Hag said he was “not involved in this”, adding: “Others in the club are dealing with this.

“I am focusing on my team, on the coming block (of games), and I am focusing on the most important priority, the next game – it’s all about that.”

In their last outing before the international break, United – currently 10th in the Premier League table – appeared set for a seventh defeat of the season in all competitions, and third in eight days, before a stoppage-time double from Scott McTominay secured them a 2-1 home win over Brentford.

The visitors had taken the lead in the first half through Mathias Jensen in what was another questionable moment for Andre Onana, the goalkeeper signed from Inter Milan in the summer.

While Ten Hag says Onana has to “step up”, he has reiterated his belief that the Cameroon international will come good and pointed to the example of some of United’s past goalkeepers.

“He knows, we know, he will do much better and as every player who’s coming into the Premier League, you need an integration period, but he has to step up,” Ten Hag said.

“Also, big United keepers like Peter Schmeichel, David De Gea, also they started not too good, and I think for Andre it is good to know a little bit from the history.

“But we live now, we live in the future, and he has to make his future by giving better performances – and he will do, I’m sure.

“He already showed that so many times in big clubs like Barcelona, when he was young, Ajax, Inter Milan, he was in the semi-finals and final of the Champions League. He’s a great player, and I’m sure he will give us performances and I’m sure we will have a lot of joy with him.”

United have Raphael Varane and Sergio Reguilon available for the clash with the bottom-of-the-table Blades after injury lay-offs, and Sofyan Amrabat, despite him not being involved for Morocco during the international break.

Jonny Evans, who sustained a knock while playing for Northern Ireland, also appears to be in contention – but Casemiro has been ruled out by an injury sustained on Brazil duty that Ten Hag has said is “not too bad”.

Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Lisandro Martinez and Aaron Wan-Bissaka remain sidelined while Jadon Sancho has been training away from the first team, with the club having said that is “pending resolution of a squad discipline issue”.

Asked if there was any change to Sancho’s situation, Ten Hag said: “Everything has been said about it.”

Harry Maguire admits he cannot keep just playing once a month for Manchester United but remains confident of winning back his place and helping Erik ten Hag’s team climb the table.

It has been a bumpy ride since the 30-year-old starred in England’s run to the Euro 2020 final, with the defender falling down the pecking order at Old Trafford and then losing the captaincy.

A widely-discussed summer move to West Ham did not materialise and settled Maguire remained at a club where he is trying to get his career back on track with next summer’s Euros looming large.

Gareth Southgate has been a staunch supporter of the centre-back throughout his ups and downs but admitted to concerns over his level of involvement, which the ex-United skipper is determined to improve.

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“I have belief in my ability and what I have done in my career as every player should,” Maguire said.

“Every player who is on the bench should believe they should be starting, otherwise they wouldn’t be playing at a high level. I am no different.

“Listen, it’s been tough. I want to play games. I want to feel important to the club and I want to feel important to the rest of the team.

“At the moment I haven’t been playing anywhere near as much as I’d like. It’s the bottom line of it.

“I’ve just got to make sure I am ready to take the opportunities when they come along.”

Asked when gametime becomes an issue and, given Euro 2024 is coming up, whether that could be sooner rather than later, said: “Yeah, of course.

“I mean, I’m not going to sit here all my life and play once every month and if it carries on then I’m sure myself and the club will sit down and have a chat about things.

“But, honestly, at the moment I’m fully focused on two games for England, two big games.

“Then I’m fully focused on fighting and trying to get back my place at Manchester United and helping the team climb up the league to where we should be.”

England face Australia in a Wembley friendly on Friday before attention turns to the crunch Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy.

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Maguire has kept his England place despite his struggles to break his way into Ten Hag’s line-up, making his first Premier League start of the campaign in Saturday’s 2-1 comeback win against Brentford.

“It’s not my decision whether I start the next game or not,” said the defender, who provided the assist for Scott McTominay’s winner. “I’m unsure on that. I’m sure in a couple of weeks I’ll go back and find out.

“Listen, if you look back on my last 15 to 20 starts for club and country, I would be happy to sit here and say ‘I’m really happy with my performances’.

“My record under this manager speaks for itself. I haven’t started as many games as I’d like, but my win percentage when I’ve played is ridiculously high.

“And of course there’s times when I can do more and times when I can improve and help the team, but, yeah, I’m just wanting to help the team.

“I’m wanting to help the team get out of this position that we’re in at the moment and hopefully we can do that in the coming weeks.”

Maguire benefitted from a string of defensive absentees as he made just his ninth Premier League start since Ten Hag arrived.

The Dutchman has always spoken positively about the defender in public, saying in August that he “has the abilities to be a top-class centre-back” and must “fight for his place”.

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“I can only do what I’ve been doing in terms of when I’ve come into the team, bringing positive performances,” Maguire said.

“I’ve started two games this season and come on in a few off the bench, but, yeah, keep working hard in training.

“The manager can only watch training and make his decision from training and the games when I get the opportunity to play.

“I’ll keep working hard, I’ll keep pushing. I have great belief in myself.”

What the papers say

Jadon Sancho could leave Manchester United in January, the Daily Mail reports, with the Red Devils said to be willing to subsidise his wages to offload the 23-year-old forward. Sancho, who is reportedly paid £300,000 a week at United, remains out of the first-team picture at Old Trafford following his stand-off with boss Erik ten Hag.

The Times says Tottenham defender Eric Dier could move back to his former club Sporting Lisbon in January, or when his contract runs out next summer. The 29-year-old is yet to feature for Tottenham this season after playing 33 games for the club last term. The England international joined the club in 2014 from Portuguese outfit Sporting.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Vinicius Junior: The 23-year-old Real Madrid superstar is yet to sign a new contract with the club, with his current deal running out next summer, Spanish outlet Sport says.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka: Football Insider reports that Manchester United have commenced talks with their 25-year-old right-back to sort out a new contract.

Erik ten Hag says Manchester United’s stunning stoppage-time turnaround against Brentford has to be the “turning point” in their season.

The afterglow from a promising first season under the Dutchman has long since dimmed, with the mood threatening to darken further before the international break.

Mathias Jensen put Brentford on course for a famous Old Trafford win as United entered second-half stoppage time staring down the barrel of a fifth defeat in their opening eight league matches.

But super sub Scott McTominay had other ideas. Introduced in the 87th minute, he fired United level in the 93rd minute and four minutes later headed home to seal a scarcely believable 2-1 comeback win.

“This has to be a turning point but also it has to be a restart because we have to get into higher levels,” United boss Ten Hag said.

“But the spirit is good, the belief is good, the team is together.

“We have shown that, we have shown strong character and it can be the turning point in the season but it’s up to us.

“Those games give fuel to a dressing room. They know how far they have to go to get results.

“It can’t be easy going and in football, it’s eat or you get eaten.

“Too many times in the first half of the season we have got eaten by opponents who are more hungry, and this can’t be. It has to go away.

“Every player, every second he is on the pitch, he has to deliver that. That is the demand and the standard.

“When you do that, we have seen last season that you get a determined team.

“We were not always determined on every occasion in games and you get hammered for it and this has to change.”

McTominay was the fifth and final substitution made by Ten Hag as United desperately looked to avoid a third straight Old Trafford defeat in all competitions.

The homegrown midfielder was linked with a summer move but stayed and came up trumps on Saturday, when he admitted he could not quite hear Ten Hag’s instructions when bringing him on.

McTominay reckoned his manager “probably said something like ‘go on and score’,” but the grinning Dutchman said: “I said score two goals!

“It says a lot (about his mentality). He’s Man United in everything, in his heart. He’s playing for the badge, he gives his life.

“When you’re coming on and you give this to the team, that tells a lot. That also tells a lot about this dressing room, they are together.

“And also I felt the whole afternoon a strong togetherness with the fans because even when we are losing they kept standing behind us.

“They kept us going, the team kept going and finally we get rewarded.”

Brentford were just moments away from a famous first Old Trafford win since 1937, only to be denied their second victory of the season at the death.

Bees head coach Thomas Frank said: “When you’re leading 1-0 into three minutes injury time and then lose, I think that’s unfair.

“I think if you were winning there you would all say ‘well done, tough game for Brentford, deserved win’.

“When they equalised, probably you could say ‘OK, 1-1 is probably fair’.

“I think that we played close to a perfect first half, very aggressive in the high pressure, very brave on the ball, good on the counters, defended well.

“I think it was a well-deserved 1-0 lead that first half.

“Second half we get more under pressure. Of course, we’re playing against Man United at Old Trafford. They have to win.

“I know when it’s good for other managers. I’m happy for Erik but of course not happy for myself that we didn’t win, because I think he would probably have faced a pretty brutal room if he’d lost.”