At Old Trafford, Ten Hag’s team trailed the Premier League’s lowest team twice before Fernandes saved his struggling manager’s bacon in the second half.

The Blades took the lead thanks to a goal from Jayden Bogle, and even though Harry Maguire pulled one back before halftime, Ben Brereton Diaz quickly gave the visitors their lead back.

With nine minutes remaining, the Portugal midfielder’s long-range rocket gave United the lead after Fernandes had saved Ten Hag with a penalty kick.

After defeating Everton on March 9, United had not won a league game in five, and Rasmus Hojlund secured their fourth.

“I think we played quite well, also creating many more chances. Many positives. But also negatives. Conceding two goals from give-aways. It’s unacceptable,” Ten Hag said.

“I’m happy with the win overall. Have you seen some panic? No, not at all. We were very composed. We have to learn from this.”

It was a short-lived respite for Ten Hag, who intends to win the FA Cup and finish high enough to qualify for the Europa League in order to turn around sixth-place United’s miserable season.

“We are striving to progress the team. The number of goals we are scoring in this moment is a huge progress. If we have our back four back together, then I’m sure we will be more consistent,” Ten Hag said.

Just one year after being promoted from the Championship, the Blades are sliding towards relegation with just four games remaining and 10 points from safety.

Following United’s stuttering victory over Coventry on Sunday, which sent them into the FA Cup final, Ten Hag was subjected to biting criticism.

At Wembley, United let a three-goal lead slip away in the closing 19 minutes of regulation play and narrowly prevailed in a penalty shootout to set up a final meeting with Manchester City.

After coming under fire for his careless performance, Ten Hag mounted a fierce defence of his qualifications on Tuesday, calling the media’s critical coverage of the semifinal a “disgrace” and asserting that he had been successful for the previous ten years.

However, Jim Ratcliffe, a co-owner of United, is said to have ordered Jason Wilcox, the team’s new technical director, to examine Ten Hag’s training regimen and occasionally tense relationships with his players.

Wes Foderingham, the goalie, brilliantly parried a hard effort from United’s Diogo Dalot, before Wilcox, watching from the directors box, could even take a seat.

Andre Onana gave the visitors the lead in the 35th minute, shocking United.

The Blades midfielder intercepted the pass before blasting into the empty net because the United keeper was trying to toss the ball to Dalot and failed to see Bogle standing in his way.

Ten Hag was visibly distraught on the sidelines following United’s 75th goal given up in all competitions this year, the most the team has given up in a single season since 1977–1978.

Just seven minutes had passed when Maguire, following a controversial foul on Kobbie Mainoo, bent to head in Alejandro Garnacho’s free kick, putting United down.

However, United’s shoddy defence was once again exposed in the 50th minute as they gave up two goals in a game for the fifth straight game.

After Ben Osborn returned the ball to Brereton Diaz, the latter punished careless marking by slotting a stylish finish past Onana.

After Maguire was brought down, Fernandes scored a penalty in the 61st minute to bring United back to parity.

Ten Hag was relieved when Fernandes scored in the 81st minute, breaking through midfield and putting a beautiful 30-yard strike past Foderingham.

After going eight games without a goal, Hojlund gave Ten Hag some breathing room four minutes later by putting in Fernandes’ cross.

Photo by EPA/PETER POWELL

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The ninth-placed visitors under Mauricio Pochettino lost steam after their thrilling last-minute victory against Manchester United on Thursday.

Rather, they were caught off guard just three days later when McBurnie scored a close-range goal in the 93rd minute to give the bottom-dwelling Premier League team a point.

Chelsea was ahead thanks to a superb effort from England youth international Noni Madueke halfway through the second half. Madueke cut inside and curled a brilliant finish past Ivo Grbic.

Thiago Silva’s unopposed side-footed strike into Conor Gallagher’s corner gave the Blues an 11th-minute lead. However, Jayden Bogle’s near-post header past Djordje Petrovic tied the score for the Blades.

The Bramall Lane crowd showed their growing faith in Chris Wilder’s team, and their perseverance was rewarded with a moment of happiness during an otherwise challenging season.

With 21 points still to play for, Sheffield United is still at the bottom of the standings, nine points outside of safety.

Photo by Backpagepix

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When Darwin Nunez charged down custodian Ivo Grbic’s clearing in the 17th minute, the ball rebounded into the net, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead.

Liverpool gave up an equaliser in the 58th minute when Gustavo Hamer’s header deflected off Conor Bradley and into his own net, after having 84% of the possession in the first half and missing many opportunities.

With 14 minutes remaining, however, Argentina’s World Cup-winning Alexis Mac Allister—nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month award in March—produced a breathtaking 20-yard strike that sailed into the top corner, giving the hosts a lead once again.

Mac Allister’s curling free-kick bounced off the crossbar, denying him a spectacular second.

However, it made no difference since in the ninetieth minute, substitute Cody Gakpo headed in Liverpool’s third goal to secure the win.

With eight league games remaining, the Reds are now two points ahead of Arsenal and three ahead of the defending champions, Manchester City.

Above all, it retains Liverpool’s title fate under their control.

They know they will win their second Premier League title and be crowned the 20th English premier league champions if they defeat Manchester United, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Everton, West Ham, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Wolves.

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The Gunners showed their intent early on and took their lead in the third minute but Bukayo Saka smashed his effort off the woodwork before Jack Robinson cleared his line.

Arsenal did manage to take the lead a minute later when Declan Rice cut the ball back for Martin Odegaard, who calmly fired the ball home from the middle of the box.

The visitors picked up their pace and scored their second goal of the game in the 13th minute after Jayden Bogle put the ball into his own net after Saka’s initial cross into the area.

Arsenal added a third goal two minutes later after Gabriel Martinelli darted his way down the left flank before firing his low effort home to make it 3-0.

Kai Havertz grabbed Arsenal’s fourth goal in the 25th minute when he was afforded time to pick his spot before slotting the ball into the net, despite Anel Ahmedhodzic’s appeal for a foul.

Things went from bad to worse for Sheffield after Arsenal added a fifth goal in the 39th minute when Saka cut the ball back for Declan Rice, who found the back of the net with a first-time finish.

Arsenal held on to their healthy five-goal lead as the game went into the half-time interval at Bramall Lane.

The Gunners picked up where they left off in the first half and added a sixth goal in the 58th minute when Ben White fired the ball home after being played in by Havertz to find the bottom corner.

The Blades opted to bring on fresh legs in the 65th minute as Ahmedhodzic was replaced by Oliver Arblaster, who made his Premier League debut.

Meanwhile, Arsenal made a triple change a minute later as Cédric Soares replaced White, Thomas Partey came on for Jorginho and Gabriel Jesus was brought on for Martinelli before bringing on Leandro Trossard to replace Rice in the 77th minute.

The Blade goalkeeper Ivo Grbi was called into action in the 84th minute when he made an excellent save to deny substitute Jesus, whose curling effort was heading for the far corner.

Arsenal were unable to add to their gaol tally and were forced to settle for a dominating 6-0 victory over Sheffield to close the gap on first-placed Liverpool and second-placed Manchester City.

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Liverpool briefly went to the top of the table after beating Wolves 3-1 in the early game, while Tottenham beat Sheffield United with two goals in stoppage time.

United, which is led by Erik ten Hag, started the season in a good mood after winning a trophy and finishing third in the league. But now, things are getting out of hand.

Some fans hoped for a long-overdue run at the title, but after a third humiliating loss in five games, they are now nine points behind leaders City.

United started strong at Old Trafford, where they were trying to make up for a terrible start to the season. However, in the 20th minute, former youth player Welbeck shut down the home crowd.

Pascal Gross scored in the 53rd minute, giving United a big hill to climb. Joao Pedro made it 3-0 before Hannibal Mejbri scored a goal to make it 3-1.

With their win against United, Brighton moved up to third place in the table.

In his second year at Old Trafford, Ten Hag has a big job to do to save Manchester United’s season, which is full of problems on and off the pitch.

After a public fight with the manager, Jadon Sancho has been kicked off the first team. Meanwhile, Antony has been given a leave of absence to deal with allegations of domestic abuse, which he denies.

The Glazer family, the team’s unpopular owners, are still getting booed from the stands, and it looks like they have put their plans to sell the team on hold.

The winners Manchester City keeps on winning, even though Pep Guardiola’s team didn’t have it all their own way at the London Stadium. In the first half, James Ward-Prowse scored a goal for Crystal Palace, which put them behind.

Early in the second period, Jeremy Doku tied the score, and then Bernardo Silva put City ahead 2-1. Erling Haaland’s seventh goal of the season made sure that City would win its fifth game in a row.

The win gives City 15 points, which puts them two points ahead of Liverpool at the top of the table.

Earlier, Jurgen Klopp’s team woke up after a lacklustre first half against Wolves. They came back from being down a goal after Wolves dominated the first half.

Cody Gakpo scored 10 minutes into the second half, and Andy Robertson made a nice finish in the 85th minute. Hugo Bueno then scored an own goal to make the score look even better.

It was the third time this season that Liverpool came from behind to win.

Klopp said that his team should have won the game because of how well they played in the second half, but he stressed that they couldn’t keep falling behind.

“Turning games around is helpful in a season but we cannot rely on it, we cannot,” he told the BBC.

“We have to play better in the first half of games generally. We are not stable yet, that is not possible. Too many things are new.”

At the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Sheffield United looked like they were going to get their first win of the season.

But Spurs tied it up when Richarlison headed in Ivan Perisic’s corner in the 98th minute. This set up a great finish at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Dejan Kulusevski scored the winner in the 12th minute of extra time.

Aston Villa beat Crystal Palace 3-1 with three late goals.

Odsonne Edouard scored in the first half to give London a 1-0 lead, but Jhon Duran tied the game in the 87th minute.

Villa went ahead when Douglas Luiz scored a penalty late in stoppage time, and Leon Bailey made it 3-1.

Luton, who just joined the Premier League, lost for the fourth time in a row because of a goal by Carlos Vinicius of Fulham.

In the night’s first game, struggling Newcastle plays at home against Brentford.

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With Mahrez’s great performance, City beat the underdogs from the Championship and ended their streak of losing three straight FA Cup semi-finals.

The 32-year-old broke United’s defence with a penalty at the end of the first half, and he finished off his hat trick with two more goals after the break.

The winner of Sunday’s match between Manchester United and Brighton will play City in the Wembley final on June 3.

The team coached by Pep Guardiola is back in the final for the first time since 2019, when they won the FA Cup for the only time during his tenure.

They are the first team since Everton in 1966 to get to the final without giving up a single goal.

“It is the fourth season in a row we are in the semi-finals. We could not win in the past but today we performed,” Guardiola said.

“We cannot forget we were in Munich three days ago. It could be hard. We had to perform well and we did it. All the guys who came in were perfect.

“I’m really happy for the club to be back in the final after many years.”

On Mahrez’s match-winning contribution, Guardiola added: “Riyad is grumpy with me all the time when he doesn’t play. He makes me notice.

“When he plays, he is there, that is most important. He is a big-stage player. I’m so satisfied for Riyad.”

City has won 11 of their last 12 games in all competitions, and they are still on track to win a historic treble as they chase Arsenal in the Premier League and face Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final.

“We are far away,” Guardiola of the treble. “But after many years, winning so many titles, still we are here one more year in the latter stages of the big competitions.

“The mentality of the club, not just the players, is there. This is why I like to be at this club.”

On Friday, bottom-placed Southampton held Premier League leaders Arsenal to a 3-3 draw, which was good news for second-placed City.

After that loss, the champions were five points behind Arsenal, but they still had two games in hand before their important match against Arsenal in Manchester on Wednesday.

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The Reds got off to a perfect start and took the lead as early as the fourth minute when Divock Origi headed down a corner into the path of Takumi Minamino, who slotted the ball under the goalkeeper from five yards out.

The visitors nearly doubled their lead in the 13th minute, but Ibrahima Konaté could not keep his header down as it sailed just over the crossbar.

Kaide Gordon should have made it 2-0 after 20 minutes but the midfielder’s left-footed effort flashed just wide of the near post.

Norwich had a chance to level matters in the 42nd minute when they were awarded a penalty, but Christos Tzolis failed to beat Caoimhin Kelleher from 12 yards out as the game went into the half-time break.

Liverpool came out guns blazing in the second half and eventually doubled their lead after Tsimikas lifted a beautiful ball into the six-yard box towards Origi, who got up and directed a brilliant header into the far corner.

Jurgen Klopp opted to make a substitution in the 54th minute as 18-year-old midfielder Tyler Morton was introduced in place of Naby Keita.

The Reds had an opportunity to add a third goal in the 61st minute when Origi got down the left and crossed the ball to Gordon, but he couldn’t get over the ball to put it on target and test Gunn.

Liverpool eventually grabbed their third goal of the game in the 80th minute when Oxlade-Chamberlain played the ball into the path of Minamino, who waited before tucking the ball low into the corner at close range to complete his brace.

Klopp made his final change with four minutes left to play as captain Jordan Henderson was brought on to replace Curtis Jones.

However, Liverpool maintained their dominance over Norwich to hold on to a 3-0 win at Carrow Road and advance to the next round.

In other Carabao Cup results:

Brentford 7-0 Oldham Athletic
Preston North End 3-1 Cheltenham Town
QPR 2-2 Everton
Sheffield United 2-2 Southampton
Wigan Athletic 0-2 Sunderland
Manchester City 6-1 Wycombe Wanderers
Burnley 4-1 Rochdale
Watford 1-3 Stoke City
Fulham 0-0 Leeds United

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Davies, 26, yet to make a senior appearance for Liverpool after joining from Preston in January, is Blades boss Slavisa Jokanovic’s first signing.

The Blades said on their official website: “Liverpool’s Ben Davies arrives at Bramall Lane on a season-long deal, which will see him remain at S2 for the remainder of the 2021/22 campaign and bolster United’s defensive options moving forward.”

Centre-half Davies was signed for a reported £2million by Liverpool after injuries last season to Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez.

He started out at Preston, making his first-team debut aged 17, and has also had loan spells at York, Tranmere, Southport, Newport and Fleetwood.

The Blades, relegated from the Premier League last season, appointed Jokanovic as their permanent manager in May following the departure of Chris Wilder.

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Both players had to be withdrawn during the 3-0 victory at Bramall Lane, where Arteta was already without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Martin Odegaard and Emile Smith Rowe.

Saka went to ground holding his thigh following a collision with Blades striker Rhian Brewster and made the sensible decision to come off the field. Martinelli twisted his ankle and looked set to come off moments before scoring the Gunners’ second goal.

Both Aubameyang (illness) and Smith Rowe (ankle) face a race against time to be fit for the Europa League showdown with Slavia Prague on Thursday night.

Arteta will be desperate to have key players back for the trip to Czech Republic, for a match that could define Arsenal’s season.

The Gunners boss said: ‘It was a strong performance, efficient and intelligent with the ball and the right attitude. I am really happy, but the injuries are a worry.

‘[Saka] had some discomfort in his thigh. I don’t know what it is. The last thing we need is another issue because we have enough of that and are missing some big players at the moment.

‘I don’t know the extent but we will see how it develops in the coming days. Martinelli twisted an ankle and it was sore, but he’s a tough boy.’

Asked if Aubameyang will be fit to face Sparta on Thursday, when Arsenal must score if they are to stay in the Europa League after drawing 1-1 in the home leg, Arteta said: ‘I hope so.

‘He was unwell yesterday and could not train. Hopefully in the next day or two he will be feeling better and will be available.

‘As for Emile and Martin, we don’t know yet. Kieran Tierney is out – probably for the season.’

Arsenal’s opening goal at Bramall Lane was one of real beauty. Some lovely one-touch football around the edge of the penalty area involved Saka, Thomas Partey and Dani Ceballos, whose deft backheel flick eventually put Lacazette through on goal to slide the ball beneath Aaron Ramsdale.

It was not quite of the level of the Gunners’ much-celebrated team goal against Norwich in 2013, scored by Jack Wilshere, but it had many of its hallmarks.

Arteta, who was in the Arsenal team on that occasion, said: ‘It was a typical Arsenal goal, really high quality. It was a quality finish and movement from Laca as well. He is playing really well and scoring goals.

‘He has a high level of confidence and hopefully it will keep right up until the end of the season because if it continues it means the team is doing well and winning matches.’

Lacazette’s strikes either side of Martinelli’s goal inflicted a 25th Premier League loss of the season on the Blades and they remain rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table.

A third straight defeat for interim boss Paul Heckingbottom – a second in the league – leaves the South Yorkshire club 18 points from safety with seven games to go.

‘It’s an unforgiving league,’ said Heckingbottom. ‘Just as I thought we were having our strongest moments in the game, we conceded a second goal which took the wind out of our sails.

‘We have to keep going. The season we’ve had as a club has taken its toll but you have to look forward. The moment you want to have a breather and not give 100% then you are no good to the team.

‘We want to catch [19th-placed] West Brom – it’s some pride and meaning for the club, and also a financial reward which we are obviously keen on.

‘We need to make sure we get the most out of what is left to prepare for next season.’

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Arsenal had the better of the first-half chances, Martinelli finding the side-netting and later forcing goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale into a smart save.

And they took the lead when Bukayo Saka and Dani Ceballos exchanged passes before the latter produced an exquisite flick for Lacazette to round off a fine team move on 33 minutes.

Ramsdale then parried Nicolas Pepe’s shot into Martinelli’s path for a tap-in before Lacazette completed the scoring late on when played through on goal.

Arsenal’s first away Premier League victory over the Blades puts them on 45 points, above Leeds United and into ninth, with seven matches remaining, while Sheffield Utd remain bottom with 14 points.

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