Jeremy Doku produced a stunning performance as champions Manchester City overcame the loss of Erling Haaland to thrash Bournemouth 6-1 on Saturday.

Doku was the architect of an emphatic success, scoring their opener and having a hand in four other goals as City overpowered the Cherries in a one-sided Premier League clash.”

Bernardo Silva twice benefited from Doku’s work with a brace while Phil Foden, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake also got on the scoresheet at the Etihad Stadium.

Luis Sinisterra grabbed a Bournemouth consolation but the only real concern for City was an injury to Haaland, who hit the woodwork early on before hobbling off at half-time.

City, who are already without Kevin De Bruyne for a prolonged period, will hope the problem does not prove serious with games against Chelsea and Liverpool in the coming weeks.

On this occasion, City did not really need the Norway international.

The feelgood factor Bournemouth generated by winning their first league game of the season last week quickly evaporated as City eased through the gears.

It may have taken them 30 minutes to register their opening goal but, such was their dominance, the result rarely seemed in doubt.

Silva sent a dipping effort narrowly over the bar and Rodri shot straight at Andrei Radu.

Haaland went closer when he headed against the post and was then denied by a Lloyd Kelly block before Silva curled just wide.

It was no surprise when the hosts finally took the lead, Doku picking up possession on the edge of the box and playing a one-two with Rodri before curling a shot around Radu.

The second quickly followed with Doku again involved. The Belgium forward combined with Kyle Walker on the right and bamboozled the defence before picking out Silva in front of goal.

Doku thought he put City 3-0 ahead soon after as his mesmeric spell continued. A neat touch opened up a shooting opportunity on the edge of the box and he lashed towards goal.

He ran off to celebrate as the ball found the bottom corner but he was forced to settle for a creator’s role again as replays showed a deflection off Akanji.

Haaland almost added a fourth after being played in by Julian Alvarez but Illya Zabarnyi slid in to block.

That proved his last significant involvement as he ended the first half with an apparent limp and manager Pep Guardiola removed him at the interval.

Dominic Solanke had the ball in the net for Bournemouth after the restart but Ryan Christie was ruled offside in the build-up.

Solanke was unperturbed and rattled the frame of the goal with another effort on the hour but that served only to fire City back up.

Yet again Doku proved the dangerman, cutting into the box on the left and teeing up Haaland’s replacement Foden in front of goal.

Sinisterra pulled one back 16 minutes from time after taking a touch from a sweeping Max Aarons pass and turning home.

Doku was not done, however, and released Silva with a sublime long ball, which the Portugal midfielder raced onto and coolly flicked in.

Ake completed the rout with a stopping header late on.

Burnley became the first club in top-flight history to lose their opening six home fixtures of a season as Crystal Palace deepened the gloom over Turf Moor in a 2-0 win for the Londoners.

Jeffrey Schlupp put Palace ahead in the 22nd minute and Tyrick Mitchell’s second Palace goal sealed it in stoppage time as Burnley suffered a club-record eighth consecutive top-flight home defeat, a run that dates back to the final two fixtures of the 2021-22 campaign in which they were relegated.

A similar fate will surely await if Vincent Kompany cannot come up with answers quickly as his side again could not find any cutting edge – now without a goal in six of their 11 Premier League games.

It was not for lack of trying – Burnley had 67 per cent possession and 16 shots to Palace’s four – but it was the visiting fans singing loudly at the final whistle as Palace recovered from back-to-back defeats to move into the top half of the table.

Turf Moor was an almost impenetrable fortress during last season’s promotion charge as Kompany’s side won 16 and lost only one of 23 home games and, even when suffering relegation in 2021-22, Burnley lost only eight home league games all season. So far this season there have been no home comforts at all.

Burnley started brightly, with Vitinho winning a corner inside the opening 20 seconds before Zeki Amdouni headed a Johann Berg Gudmundsson ball wide, then narrowly missed the head of Jay Rodriguez – making his first league start of the season – with a cross of his own.

The Clarets were playing some lovely flowing football but without the end product they so badly need and they were punished as one of the best halves of football Burnley have produced this season nevertheless ended with Kompany’s side trailing.

Palace had barely been seen as an attacking force – the most dangerous they had been was when Odsonne Edouard clattered into James Trafford as the Burnley goalkeeper tried to play the ball inside his own goal area, earning a yellow card.

But they got a huge helping hand when Jordan Beyer, back in the Burnley defence after a month out with injury, got himself into a tangle as he tried to play the ball back to Trafford, allowing Jordan Ayew to nick the ball away and play in a low cross for Schlupp to stab home.

It was only the second first-half goal Palace have scored all season, but the 12th conceded by Burnley, the most in the league.

Burnley tried to muster a response. Luca Koleosho controlled Charlie Taylor’s chipped pass with a lovely touch, but Andersen slid in just in time to prevent a shot, and in first-half stoppage-time Koleosho saw a shot palmed over as they tried to catch Sam Johnstone out with a quick free-kick.

Standing in the east Lancashire rain, Kompany tried to inject some energy into his players early in the second half.

Rodriguez headed a deep cross from Dara O’Shea wide but Palace were defending in numbers and leaving no path through.

Roy Hodgson sent on Eberechi Eze, making his return after five weeks out with a hamstring injury, but the hosts stayed on top and should have levelled moments later when Koleosho again burst down the left and pulled the ball back only for Gudmundsson to turn it wide.

Rodriguez had the ball in the net in the 64th minute but did not need the assistant’s flag to tell him he had been offside when Amdouni’s blocked shot fell for him.

Still Burnley kept pushing. Koleosho blazed over before Johnstone tipped over Brownhill’s dipping shot, then saving Rodriguez’s header from the resulting corner.

But it was Palace who had the final say. O’Shea failed to clear a long ball in the corner and Eze laid the ball off for Mitchell to rub salt in Burnley wounds.

Jarrod Bowen became the first player to net in his team's first six Premier League away games of the season with his goal against Brentford on Saturday.

With 26 minutes on the clock at the Gtech Community Stadium, Bowen poked home the rebound after Mohammed Kudus' shot hit the post to make it 2-1 to the Hammers, creating history in the process as he also became the first West Ham player to score in six in a row on the road in the competition.

The goal took him to seven on the season and separated him from the illustrious company of Thierry Henry and Mohamed Salah, who prior to this season were the only two players to net in their team's first five away games of the Premier League season.

Bowen has been a key player for West Ham since arriving from Hull City in January 2020 for an initial fee of £18 million, and his seven Premier League goals this campaign mean he has already beaten last term's disappointing tally of six after just 11 games.

Erik ten Hag hailed his side’s spirit and resilience after Bruno Fernandes’ stoppage-time winner over Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Fernandes drilled home from the edge of the area to snatch victory to lift United’s mood after consecutive 3-0 defeats at the hands of Manchester City and Newcastle.

Afterwards ten Hag praised the way his side dug in to grind out a 1-0 win in the wake of two below-par poor performances.

“I am pleased with it. I am pleased with the spirit of the team and with the way we pressed,” ten Hag said.

“We saw this (added time winners) against Brentford and we have seen it again.

“It is a good resilience. They know what the standards are. This is Manchester United. You have to win every game.

“This week we have not been happy with the standards and today we improved with our standards.

“Every game we have to bring the battle which starts with the right mentality and attitude, to show you are hungry with passion and desire.”

A moment of brilliance from captain Fernandes, criticised by former United players after the midweek Carabao Cup loss against Newcastle, proved enough to steal the points for United and earn his manager’s gratitude.

“He gives energy, he is the example,” said ten Hag.

“You can see with the way that he is pressing, with the way that he is counter-pressing in games and the way he recovers.

“So he is absolutely the example and he’s taking the responsibility all the time on and off the field and he’s taken the responsibility by scoring important goals.

“He always wants to have the ball, he always wants to create and I’m happy.”

Fulham boss Marco Silva admitted the late defeat was difficult to accept and highlighted the mistakes in the lead up to Fernandes’ goal.

A rare misplaced pass from Joao Palhinha in Fulham’s box saw Fernandes punish his countryman with a strike which extended the Cottagers’ Premier League winless run to three.

Silva said: “It is a really difficult one for us to take.

“Defeats are defeats and it feels like the same old story.

“We wanted to be the better team and for much of the game we did it but at this level we cannot be getting punished in the way we did.

“In 10 seconds we made three or four mistakes from three or four different players and it is difficult to understand.

“We win and lose together but the individual decisions we have to take in a certain way because there was no reason to be punished in that moment.

“In 10 seconds we lost emotional control completely.”

Emma Hayes will leave her role as Chelsea manager at the end of the current season, the club have announced.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the trophy-laden career of the Women’s Super League’s most decorated coach.

Trophies

Hayes has led Chelsea to six WSL titles, first in 2015 and then the 2017-18 season, followed by the last four in succession from 2019-20 onwards.

The Blues also won 2017’s Spring Series as the league changed from a summer to winter format.

She has also won five FA Cups and two League Cups, completing at least a double in each of her title-winning seasons and a treble in 2020-21, when her side also reached the Champions League final where Barcelona denied them a quadruple.

The 2020 Community Shield completes her trophy haul with the club.

Records

Hayes’ six titles are a WSL record, representing half of the seasons the competition has existed in its modern form – Laura Harvey and Matt Beard are her nearest challengers, winning two apiece with Arsenal and Liverpool respectively.

She has been named the league’s manager of the season in each of those six campaigns, with no other manager winning the award more than once, and also holds the record for the most manager of the month awards – again with six. Her three in the 2019-20 season were another record, matched last season by Manchester United’s Marc Skinner.

Hayes has also amassed the most games (195) and wins (137) as a WSL manager, all with Chelsea after taking the reins in 2012. In the case of wins, she is the only manager in three figures – with former Manchester City boss Nick Cushing second on a distant 72 and only six managers having even reached 50.

Results

Across all competitions, Chelsea’s win over Aston Villa on Saturday was Hayes’ 236th out of 333 matches in charge for a stunning win rate of almost 71 per cent.

Her side have lost only 58 matches in that time and drawn 39, scoring 887 goals compared to 271 conceded.

She has won 27 out of 47 Champions League games, drawing seven and losing 13, and 72 out of 91 in the domestic cups and Community Shield.

Real Madrid have denied they are in transfer talks with Paris St Germain striker Kylian Mbappe.

The France forward is due to leave PSG when his contract expires next summer, with the Bernabeu an expected destination.

But the LaLiga side have rubbished reports they have held any discussions with the World Cup winner.

A club statement read: “Given the information recently issued and published by different media outlets, in which there is speculation about alleged negotiations between the player Kylian Mbappe and our club, Real Madrid C.F. wants to state that this information is flatly false and that no such negotiations have taken place with a player who belongs to PSG.”

The French side accepted a world-record £258million bid from Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal last month, but Mbappe turned down the offer.

Napoli climbed into Serie A’s top four after a deserved 2-0 win at Salernitana.

The reigning champions have endured a stuttering start to their title defence but closed the gap on the leaders on Saturday.

Giacomo Raspadori’s first-half goal and Elif Elmas’ late strike extended Napoli’s unbeaten run to four games in all competitions.

It is a mini resurgence for Rudi Garcia’s side after successive defeats to Real Madrid in the Champions League and Fiorentina in Serie A last month.

Defeat saw the hosts slip to a 12th game without a win to set an unwanted record of their longest winless run in Serie A. They remain rock bottom of the table with four points from their opening 12 games.

Napoli remain without the injured Victor Osimhen, in Nigeria having been granted time off by the club, but Italy striker Raspadori scored in his third straight game to ease the pressure on the champions.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia had already gone close, firing wide from the edge of the box, before Raspadori put Napoli in front after 13 minutes when he collected Stanislav Lobotka’s pass and rifled in from 10 yards.

It continued his good form after goals against Union Berlin in the Champions League and in last week’s 2-2 draw against AC Milan.

Matteo Politano almost added a second two minutes later but Guillermo Ochoa turned his drive over after the winger had cut inside.

Raspadori went close to doubling the visitors’ lead when he forced Ochoa into a smart stop before Politano hit the outside of a post from 20 yards.

Salernitana had not beaten Napoli since they were both in Serie B in 2002 and Ochoa kept the visitors at bay.

The goalkeeper turned Piotr Zielinski’s volley from the edge of the box wide just after the hour.

Yet he did need Lorenzo Pirola to stop Politano making it 2-0 with a crucial close-range block.

Raspadori was withdrawn with 22 minutes left as Garcia sensed victory was close and a flurry of substitutions upset the game’s rhythm until eight minutes from time.

Salernitana’s hopes of a comeback and a valuable point in their battle against the drop were ended by Elmas.

The substitute wrapped up the points for the visitors when he took the ball from Mathias Olivera and found the bottom corner from 15 yards, despite Ochoa getting a hand to the strike.

Brendan Rodgers praised his much-changed Celtic team for the way they ground down a spirited 10-man Ross County side to move eight points clear at the top of the cinch Premiership.

The hosts had James Brown sent off early on and they kept the Hoops out until deep into first-half stoppage time when David Turnbull broke the deadlock.

Celtic eventually killed off County – whose goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw was in inspired form – with goals from substitutes Luis Palma and James Forrest.

Rodgers, who made six changes ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid in Spain, was pleased with the energy and patience of his team.

“We made a number of changes to bring new energy in the team,” said the Hoops boss. “It’s difficult when they get the man sent off early because it means it’s a game of attack v defence. But we had some really good chances before taking the lead.

“It was a game where we needed some energy from the guys at the beginning. We scored some fantastic goals and their keeper made some brilliant saves.

“Credit to County, they lose a man so early. You can unravel or stick at it and keep going and they did that.”

Hyeongyu Oh, Paulo Bernardo, Anthony Ralston and Hyunjun Yang were among the players handed starts in Dingwall.

“It’s all about the team,” he said. “It’s not about cementing your place in the team, it’s about contributing to the performance. The guys came in and worked very hard and were steady and concentrated.”

Prior to taking the lead, Celtic had two goals chalked off. Liam Scales had the ball in the net from close range but it was ruled out as Oh was deemed to have pushed Jordan White in the build-up.

Later in the first half, Oh netted from close range but the celebrations were cut short when VAR adjudged that Daizen Maeda had strayed offside when running on to Bernardo’s pass on the right.

“I thought the first goal that was disallowed should have been a goal,” said Rodgers. “It was two defenders challenging for the ball. I don’t know where the foul was and it takes an eternity to find out if it was a goal or not. The offside looks really close. I’d have to see it again.”

County boss Malky Mackay was proud of the way his team competed after the early red card – although he was irked that Celtic’s opener came in the seventh minute of first-half stoppage time, when a minimum of six minutes had been signalled.

“We got a mountain to climb when we go to 10 men,” said Mackay. “It was a sending off, James has apologised but he didn’t see him. He came from his blind side so you can’t say too much to him.

“Coming towards half-time we’d weathered the storm and to lose the goal at six minutes and six seconds – which is surprising and interesting – it was a great strike and the only place he could have put it for the goalie not to get to it.

“But we stuck at it, we were disciplined and organised. I have to be proud of my team.”

Barrow upset League One Northampton in the first round of the FA Cup with a 3-1 victory at Sixfields.

Emile Acquah’s early header was cancelled out by Mitch Pinnock but second-half goals from Tom White and Ben Whitfield secured Barrow’s place in the draw for the second round.

The League Two outfit made the better start and led after only nine minutes when Acquah headed in Elliot Newby’s corner.

Will Hondermarck curled wide and Sam Hoskins had a shot blocked before Northampton levelled a minute shy of the half-hour mark as Hoskins charged down Niall Canavan’s clearance and the ball rebounded kindly for Pinnock to slot home.

Barrow’s Dom Telford smashed just wide from 20 yards before Hoskins missed a good chance at the start of the second half, poking wide when through on goal.

That proved a big moment in the game as Barrow regained the lead moments later through White’s long-range shot, which took a wicked deflection and wrong-footed Max Thompson.

Victory was secured 18 minutes from time after a mix-up between Thompson and Ali Koiki allowed Whitfield to score into an empty net.

Chelsea boss Emma Hayes will depart the Blues at the end of the season after more than a decade in charge, the Women’s Super League club have announced.

Hayes is among the most respected and successful managers in women’s football, having led Chelsea to six WSL titles, five FA Cups, two League Cups, one Spring Series trophy and one Community Shield.

The 47-year-old, who steered Chelsea to an historic double on two occasions and achieved one domestic treble, has previously been linked to the vacant United States women’s national team role currently occupied by interim boss Twila Kilgore.

A club statement read: “Chelsea FC can today confirm that highly decorated Chelsea Women’s manager Emma Hayes OBE will depart the club at the end of the season to pursue a new opportunity outside of the WSL and club football.”

Boss Carlo Ancelotti has praised flawless Jude Bellingham as Real Madrid look to go back to the LaLiga summit.

The midfielder’s brace, including a last-minute winner, secured a dramatic 2-1 win at Barcelona last weekend.

Bellingham has 13 goals in 13 games since his £88.5million move from Borussia Dortmund in the summer and is hunting more against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, having won the Kopa Trophy this week as the world’s best player under 21.

Victory will take Real back to the top of LaLiga on goal difference after Girona moved three points clear following Saturday’s 4-2 comeback win at Osasuna.

Ancelotti told a press conference: “Jude’s shown no flaws whatsoever so far and he doesn’t really have much to improve on. At this level, the important thing is consistency.

“These kinds of players and great talents like Bellingham and Vinicius make the difference through consistency.

“His physical profile helps him to maintain the levels he’s showing. It’s not just about his goals either, we’re praising him for his hard work with and without the ball and his incredible physical capacities.

“Rodrygo and Vinicius will score more goals over the course of the season. They will get more than Bellingham and Joselu. We have no doubts about that. But if they’re not scoring, Bellingham and Joselu have done a great job so far this season.”

Atletico Madrid’s 2-1 defeat at Las Palmas on Friday did at least keep Real’s city rivals three points behind in the race for the title.

Ancelotti added: “It will be a hard-fought LaLiga campaign. We’ll be fighting against Barcelona and Atletico until the end and we’ll see how Girona go because they’re playing brilliantly.

“Those are the teams, Real Madrid included, who will be battling it out to win the competition.

“We will rotate over the next three games but the priority is tomorrow. We’ll be playing against a side in very good form, they’re well organised and solid.

“We have three games at home and now is the time to make a statement in LaLiga and the Champions League.”

Meanwhile, Rodrygo has targeted another clean sweep after signing his new Madrid deal.

The Brazil international penned a new contract at the Bernabeu until 2028 this week.

He is preparing to welcome Rayo Vallecano and after two LaLiga titles, a Champions League, the Super Cup and the Copa del Rey since signing from Santos in 2019, the forward wants more.

He told the club’s official site: “I couldn’t have imagined it. It was my dream to win everything, but I didn’t expect to do it in four seasons. I thought the Champions League, which is the most special, was going to take me a bit longer.

“I’m very happy because I’ve already won them all. Now I’d like to win them all again.”

The talent of players from Concacaf can be found all around the world, the latest signing happening in Spain at Real Betis Balompie, who added Jamaica's senior Reggae Girlz forward Tiffany Cameron to their roster.

Cameron was part of the Reggae Girlz squad in both of their historical participations at the FIFA Women’s World Cup appearances. The first in France 2019 when they became the first Caribbean nation to qualify, and in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year, when they became the first male of female Caribbean team to contest the Round of 16 since Cuba's feat in 1938.

Besides making an impact with her national team, the Canadian-born Cameron has made her presence felt in different teams around the world over the years. So, her current stint in Liga F, Spain's professional women’s football league, with Real Betis Balompie, one of the most popular clubs in the Andalusian region, comes as no real surprise.

Cameron had previous experience in Europe, playing in the Frauen Bundesliga in Germany as well as many other clubs around the continent. Her first venture overseas was with Apollon Limassol of Cyprus, where she played in the most important club competition in Europe, the UEFA Women’s Champions League. In 2015, she scored three goals in the tournament.

She arrived at Real Betis Balompie in June of this year, as she signed with the club until 2025. Full of expectations about her talent, fans were looking forward to seeing the new member of the squad, and even more so after her participation with Jamaica in the Women’s World Cup.

Cameron's impact was an immediate one.

Shortly after debut in Real Betis Balompie’s first game of the season, Cameron's first goal arrived just weeks later against Real Madrid, as she scored the only one for her team in the match, proving she is a key player for the club every time she’s on the field.

With many weeks of the league ahead, the versatile Cameron, who also plays the right-back position for the Reggae Girlz, will try to seize her chances with Real Betis Balompie to not only show her class, but more importantly, continue to grow her game and go above and beyond for her new team.

"Spain is a beautiful country with vibrant people. My teammates have been very welcoming and supportive since I’ve arrived.  I think it’s a great fit for me because I enjoy combinational play and playing with players that express themselves and make football an enjoyable sport to watch. Playing in Spain will improve my decision making overall, as the speed of play in Spain is ranked one of the highest in the world," Cameron shared. 

Tottenham can go all the way in the Premier League title race after making a brilliant start to life under Ange Postecoglou, says former Spurs defender Jan Vertonghen.

Postecoglou has made the best-ever start by a Premier League manager across their first 10 games in charge, leading Spurs to eight wins and two draws while implementing a vibrant brand of possession-based football.

The former Celtic boss could become just the third manager to go unbeaten through his first 11 games in the competition when Spurs host London rivals Chelsea on Monday. 

Frank Clark (with Nottingham Forest in 1994) and Maurizio Sarri (with Chelsea in 2018) are the only men to previously achieve that feat, with the latter avoiding defeat in his first 12 matches.

With new arrivals including James Maddison, Micky van de Ven and Guglielmo Vicario requiring no bedding-in period, Tottenham have made their best start to a top-flight season since 1960-61.

On that occasion, they won their first 10 games in the old First Division before capturing what remains their most recent league title.  

With a lack of European football giving Postecoglou more time to work with his players, Vertonghen believes Tottenham can dream of replicating that success.

"He's doing an unbelievable job," Vertonghen, an Athlete Partner for APEX, told Stats Perform when asked about Postecoglou's impact.

"Lots of things have happened since I left Tottenham, but this year they made all the right decisions. 

"They signed the right players, the right coach with the right mentality that the club has missed for a while. 

"He's doing an unbelievable job. I'm really enjoying watching them and I don't see why they can't go for the highest things possible. 

"All the other clubs are playing in Europe or struggling with injuries, and besides that, Spurs have a great team and that's very important as well. 

"They have the crowd behind them. I can see them going all the way."

Spurs face a familiar face next time out as Vertonghen's former boss Mauricio Pochettino returns to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Chelsea on Monday.

Vertonghen's old club have won all four of their home league games under Postecoglou, with Manchester United and Liverpool among the teams to leave north London empty-handed in 2023-24.

Another victory would make Postecoglou the first coach to win his first five home games in the Premier League since May 2017, when Craig Shakespeare achieved the feat with Leicester City.

Bruno Fernandes fired home an injury-time winner to secure a much-needed victory for Manchester United at Fulham.

United came into the Craven Cottage clash under a cloud after the midweek Carabao Cup defeat at home to Newcastle.

They were quiet for long periods of the game but a moment of brilliance from skipper Fernandes, who came in for criticism from former United players after the Newcastle loss, gave manager Erik ten Hag a welcome three points.

Fernandes evaded attempts to close him down on the edge of the penalty area before placing his shot beyond Fulham keeper Bernd Leno.

United thought they had taken a 1-0 lead after eight minutes but VAR ruled out Scott McTominay’s effort for offside.

The Scot tapped in Alejandro Garnacho’s cut back but referee John Brooks overturned the goal after VAR ruled Harry Maguire had interfered with play from an offside position.

The decision was a wake-up call for the hosts who were looking to build on Wednesday’s last-16 3-1 Carabao Cup victory at Ipswich.

Craven Cottage was fired up and Willian dragged the Cottagers up the pitch with a slaloming run but his effort was blocked at the last moment.

The Brazilian was Fulham’s main creative outlet in the final third and in the 27th minute he produced a delightful cross, but, in keeping with Fulham’s season so far, no striker was there to finish at the back post.

Nigeria international Alex Iwobi marauded from his own half into United’s box but was wasteful in front of goal, failing to hit the target.

The hangover from United’s back-to-back 3-0 home defeats against Manchester City and Newcastle was clear to see as ten Hag’s side lacked intensity, with Fernandes’ skewed added time cross summing up their first-half efforts.

The visitors searched for a way into the game after halftime through Garnacho who enjoyed touches in promising areas before a dangerous cross was tipped over by Leno.

Momentum shifted in Fulham’s favour on the hour. Iwobi picked out Harry Wilson who tried from range with a powerful outside of the boot effort but he was denied by United keeper Andre Onana.

The Cottagers also came close from the following set-piece when last week’s goal scorer Joao Palhinha failed to keep his effort down as Onana made another save to maintain the deadlock.

The minutes ebbed away and substitutions from both sides sapped the games’ intensity before Fernandes’ free-kick in the 83rd minute gave United hope late on.

The Portuguese midfielder had not been heavily involved but showed what he is capable of when he struck a dipped free-kick towards Leno’s bottom corner and the Fulham keeper did well to prevent United edging in front.

But there was no denying Fernandes in added time. He combined with Rasmus Hojlund and jinked inside onto his preferred right foot before unleashing a powerful shot that proved too much for Leno, who could only palm it into his bottom corner.

Celtic geared up for their midweek Champions League trip to Atletico Madrid by moving eight points clear at the top of the cinch Premiership with a 3-0 win at 10-man Ross County.

The hosts were up against it following an early red card for James Brown, but – inspired by a brilliant display from goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw – they stood firm until David Turnbull made the breakthrough for the Hoops in first-half stoppage time.

Second-half goals from substitutes Luis Palma and James Forrest allowed the leaders to see the match out in comfortable fashion ahead of their Tuesday night showdown with Atleti in the Spanish capital.

County – back at home following a run of three successive away draws – made three alterations to the side that drew 2-2 at Hibernian in midweek as Ben Purrington, Kyle Turner and Eamonn Brophy were replaced by George Harmon, Yan Dhanda and Jordan White.

Amid a hectic fixture schedule, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers opted to freshen up his squad by making six changes to the side that defeated St Mirren 2-1 on Wednesday as Kyogo Furuhashi, Matt O’Riley, Alistair Johnson, Nat Phillips, Palma and Forrest dropped out to make way for Anthony Ralston, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Paulo Bernardo, Hyunjun Yang, Hyeongyu Oh and Daizen Maeda.

The Hoops had the ball in the net after five minutes when Liam Scales fired home from close range but it was swiftly ruled out after Oh was deemed to have pushed White in the build-up.

Celtic were the beneficiaries of a decision from the officials shortly afterwards, however, when Brown was sent off for catching Yang’s ankle with his studs while trying to halt the South Korean as he burst in from the left. The Staggies right-back was initially shown a yellow card but it was upgraded to a red following a VAR intervention.

County boss Malky Mackay, in a bid to bring fresh defensive reinforcement to his depleted team, responded by sending on Will Nightingale in place of striker White.

Despite being a man down, County competed manfully for the remainder of the first half although their goalkeeper was a busy man.

Laidlaw got down brilliantly to tip a 20-yard strike from Callum McGregor behind in the 21st minute. From the resulting corner, taken by Turnbull, Oh glanced his header over the bar.

Laidlaw made another fine save in the 28th minute when he clawed out a Scales header from Turnbull’s corner.

Celtic thought they had the breakthrough in the 31st minute when Oh forced in from close range following a Maeda cross from the right. However, after a VAR check, Maeda was deemed to have been offside as he ran on to a pass from Bernardo.

Laidlaw made an excellent point-blank save to keep out Bernardo in the 38th minute and the County keeper looked on course to end an inspired first half with what would have been a deserved clean sheet when he pushed away a Turnbull shot from just outside the box.

However, the Celtic midfielder eventually beat the defiant County keeper with another low strike from outside the box.

That late hammer blow might have been the signal for the floodgates to open early on in the second half but County and Laidlaw in particular continued to put up admirable resistance.

Five minutes after the restart, Oh was denied by Laidlaw from a tight angle before Bernardo curled a free-kick just over.

Laidlaw then made a superb double save to thwart substitute Furuhashi and Yang in quick succession, and his heroics continued as he threw himself high to his left to tip away a goalbound effort from Oh in the 77th minute.

But Laidlaw was helpless a minute later when substitute Palma looped a stunning strike from 30 yards into the top corner.

Palma then turned provider in the 84th minute as his cross from the left was nodded in at the back post by fellow replacement Forrest.

Laidlaw pulled off another double save in stoppage time to halt Furuhashi and Oh, but the damage was already done.