• Manchester United manager responds to pundit
• ‘This is just rotation. We have many games to cover’

Erik ten Hag described Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp as “crazy” and insisted Marcus Rashford was not dropped from Manchester United’s team as they were held to a disappointing stalemate with Crystal Palace.

United spurned a series of chances in the first half as Dean Henderson excelled against his former club before Rashford was introduced after the break. André Onana then came to their rescue with a brilliant double save to deny Eddie Nketiah and then substitute Ismaïla Sarr. It meant that United secured a third successive clean sheet after losing at home to Liverpool at the start of September.

The goalkeepers were the men of the hour at Selhurst Park, where Palace and United thrashed out a goalless draw

3 min United win a corner on the right through Amad’s persistence. De Ligt gets his head to it but can only plop the ball into the arms of Henderson.

2 min Mateta is almost through on goal – but he clips Mattijs de Ligt, who goes down rather theatrically and wins a free kick.

Erik ten Hag never does things the easy way. The Manchester United manager had complimented Marcus Rashford’s improved attitude but left him on the bench and then watched his replacement, Alejandro Garnacho, fail to find a way past the outstanding Dean Henderson, who was inspired against his former club.

By the time Rashford made it on to the pitch in the second half, a strangely off-colour Crystal Palace had finally woken up and United needed a brilliant double save from André Onana to avoid a second successive defeat in south London against Oliver Glasner’s side. Lisandro Martínez was fortunate to escape a red card for a reckless challenge on Daichi Kamada but at least this was a much-improved display from the 4-0 debacle here in May that was the low point of last season under Ten Hag, with United’s defence standing firm in the face of late pressure.

• Forward scored three goals in two games after drought
• Erik ten Hag: ‘Players at this club need some resilience’

Erik ten Hag says Marcus Rashford is benefiting from an improved attitude and greater professionalism after issues on and off the pitch last season.

Rashford has scored three times in two games for Manchester United against Southampton and Barnsley over the past week, having not found the net since March. He endured a difficult campaign last season, getting nine goals in 50 appearances for club and country, and was not selected in the European Championship squad. Rashford was also disciplined by Ten Hag in February after reporting ill for training having been in a Belfast nightclub until the early hours.

Chelsea are no longer Cole Palmer FC, Darwin Núñez is out to impress and it’s personal for two of Villa’s young guns

Cole Palmer was quiet during Chelsea’s victory over Bournemouth last weekend. Bournemouth tracked the playmaker’s movements closely and when they were unable to stop him by legal means they were not afraid to foul him. But the fact that Chelsea found a way to win suggests they might not be Cole Palmer FC any more. Enzo Maresca has a range of options in attack and it was encouraging that two of his substitutes combined for the only goal on the south coast; Christopher Nkunku turning and finishing well after latching on to Jadon Sancho’s pass. “If we want to help Cole we don’t need to think all the pressure has to be on his shoulders,” Maresca said last week and the message has been taken on board. Others are stepping up and the worry for West Ham is that stopping Palmer might not be enough to stop Chelsea. Jacob Steinberg

West Ham v Chelsea, Saturday 12.30pm (all times BST)

Aston Villa v Wolves, Saturday 3pm

Fulham v Newcastle, Saturday 3pm

Leicester v Everton, Saturday 3pm

Liverpool v Bournemouth, Saturday 3pm

• Manchester United manager will not rush back pair
• ‘We hope we can integrate them in a very careful way’

Erik ten Hag says he has learned lessons from being forced to select players who were not fully fit last season. The Manchester United manager has no plans to rush back Mason Mount and Rasmus Højlund for Saturday’s trip to Crystal Palace as he aims to avoid a repeat of previous injury crises.

Mount started August’s Community Shield and the first two Premier League matches before being withdrawn at half-time in the defeat at Brighton with a hamstring injury, and Højlund is yet to feature because of a hamstring problem. Mount missed 30 games through injury last season, his first after joining from Chelsea.

Antony’s penalty in this evisceration means the maligned wide man needs only two more goals to equal the three last season for Manchester United. The paltry tally sums up how poor he has been so, while scoring versus lowly opposition is no phoenix-from-the-flames return, it is a step on the path to rebuild his standing under Erik ten Hag. Marcus Rashford’s expertly executed double can be taken as firm evidence that he is returning to his best as it follows Saturday’s finish at Southampton, a first of the season.

Twenty-six years ago this was a Premier League fixture that ended 2-0 to United and gave Sir Alex Ferguson’s vintage a competition aggregate 9-0 for the 1997-8 campaign. This evening, as their great rival Liverpool faced off against Milan at San Siro in a clash of Champions League aristocrats, Ten Hag’s men progressed in the land’s second-tier cup, dispatching Barnsley, who arrived seventh in League One and departed on the wrong end of a hiding.

Barnsley’s trailblazer is determined to show what he can do, starting against Manchester United in the Carabao Cup

Vimal Yoganathan was eight years from being born when Barnsley last visited Old Trafford, in 1998. In the intervening quarter of a century the teenage midfielder has achieved something no one else has, becoming the first person of Sri Lankan Tamil descent to play professionally in England, but there is far more to his story.

The 18-year-old is a trailblazer and stepping out at Manchester United in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night would be a great inspiration for the next generation of south-east Asian players and recognition of the commitment he and his family have shown to get him to this stage.

• Right-winger ‘has to get over’ rivals in his position
• Brazilian in queue to start Carabao Cup tie against Barnsley

Erik ten Hag has stated that despite Antony being Manchester United’s second most expensive player it is the “law” that he has to fight against the academy products Amad Diallo and Alejandro Garnacho to regain his place.

Since signing for £86m in summer 2022 Antony has disappointed, with 11 goals and five assists in 83 appearances. This season Ten Hag has fielded the right-winger once, as an 89th-minute replacement in the 2-1 defeat at Brighton last month.

Manchester United's Erik ten Hag is confident Marcus Rashford will keep the goals flowing this season, after the team secured a 3-0 win at Southampton. Ten Hag responded to the criticism Rashford received following a loss to Liverpool, saying there was 'too much negativity' aimed at him, and that the striker created 'great chances'. The 26-year-old had gone 12 matches in all competitions without scoring but doubled United's lead on the south coast, six minutes after Matthijs de Ligt headed in from a short-corner routine

• Ten Hag hopes Rashford will be like ‘ketchup bottle’ and keep goals flowing

After a first goal in 189 days in the win at Southampton, some players seem to inspire these feelings and mean more

The sun was just trying to break through as Manchester United took their curtain call here: a weak and hazy sunlight, an autumn-adjacent sunlight, sunlight if it had been taught how to press by Ole Gunnar Solskjær. But sunlight all the same. And as perfunctorily routine as this win seemed in retrospect, days like these are actually pretty rare for United, a club where the roof always seems to be leaking, even when it isn’t raining.

This was – by way of illustration – only their second away win in the Premier League since February, their biggest win on the road since November, their biggest league win against Southampton since 2001, the year they left the Dell. And yes, getting to that stage required half an hour of pure inertia, a saved penalty and a pretty complete implosion from a home side that failed to register a single shot in the last hour of play. But finally, United had carved themselves out a little breathing space.

• United coach says criticism of striker has been overblown
• Russell Martin bemoans Southampton’s missed penalty

Erik ten Hag borrowed Cristiano Ronaldo’s ketchup analogy as he predicted Marcus Rashford will go on a goalscoring run after ending his Manchester United drought in a 3-0 victory at Southampton.

“Once a striker was talking about a ketchup bottle, once it’s going, it’s coming more,” said the Manchester United manager after Rashford registered his first goal since March.

Finally, Erik ten Hag could enjoy a game without the kind of jeopardy that had stalked his Manchester United so far this season. Four games into the season Ten Hag appeared embattled but after an awkward opening half hour, well-taken goals by Matthijs de Ligt and Marcus Rashford allowed United to runaway with things with victory with uncharacteristic ease. The substitute Alejandro Garnacho capped the scoring in style, lashing United’s third into the net in the 96th minute.

Southampton did not muster a shot on goal from the moment Cameron Archer’s rebound from a 33rd-minute missed penalty ended up in the gloves of André Onana and, to make matters worse for the Saints, Jack Stephens was shown a straight red card for a high challenge on Garnacho. It was a near-perfect day for Ten Hag, who introduced Manuel Ugarte late on for his United debut. On this occasion the full-time boos were not directed at Ten Hag.

• Premier League latest, 12.30pm BST kick-off at St Mary’s
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Southampton’s manager has thus far been loyal to the players who helped Southampton to the Premier League but after three consecutive defeats, he says he is ready to hand more opportunities to new recruits such as Cameron Archer, Mateus Fernandes, Maxwel Cornet and Ryan Fraser.

“I have to balance that loyalty and what they did last season with what some are actually doing now and the place they’re in right now,” he said. “Also, with the level of talent that’s come into the building, they need a bit of time to adapt, but we’ve brought in some really brilliant players.

• Manager says winger will play only if he trains well
• ‘Since Jadon has been with us he has been perfect’

Enzo Maresca has insisted signing Jadon Sancho was not a risk, but Chelsea’s head coach has reminded the winger that he will play only if he trains well.

Sancho, who has joined on loan with an obligation to buy, found himself out in the cold at Manchester United after clashing with Erik ten Hag. The United manager was open about his dissatisfaction with the England international’s level in training, but Maresca is not worried about the attacker’s past.

• ‘In football you have to win, that’s clear’
• Ten Hag defends Matthijs de Ligt’s poor Netherlands form

Erik ten Hag accepts that if Manchester United’s poor results continue the backing offered by the club’s executive will fade, with the manager admitting: “You have to deliver.”

In their past two games United have lost 2-1 at Brighton and 3-0 to Liverpool. The chief executive, Omar Berrada, and sporting director, Dan Ashworth, supported Ten Hag when speaking before the Liverpool game. “We think Erik is the right coach for us and we’re fully backing him,” Berrada said.

While a familiar tale of gloom is playing out, the manager’s future is a distraction from the fact that United face more profound challenges

There was no shortage of casually devastating detail in reports this week of the billionaire’s paddling-pool squabble at Chelsea. Chief among these was the fact that, according to Todd Boehly sources, Todd Boehly sees his role at Stamford Bridge as “a 30-year project”.

It is worth just drinking this in, the full implications of a scaled-up triple-decade Boehly supremacy. It has so far taken two years to gouge out any pretence of being a serious sporting and commercial concern. Just think what he could achieve in 30. Crash the global exchanges. Hollow out the Earth’s core. Give a dead leg to every koala bear on the planet. Most obviously Boehly will be nearly 80 by the time his project reaches fruition, up there in his virtual hover-box, unveiling the latest crop of bespoke disaffected 20-year-olds grown in jars from insect protein.

Erik ten Hag has hit back at Cristiano Ronaldo by pointing out that the Portuguese admitted Manchester United are not well placed to win the biggest trophies this season despite criticising the manager for stating the same.

In a pre-season interview Ten Hag discussed United’s chances of winning the Premier League and Champions League. 'We are really a long way away from that,' he told the Dutch outlet AD Sportwereld. Ronaldo criticised this apparent lack of ambition on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, saying: 'You cannot say that you’re not going to fight to win the league or Champions League'. But Ronaldo then effectively contradicted himself. 'They can win the Carabao [Cup] – Champions League or Europa League or Premier League, difficult.'

Ten Hag was asked about Ronaldo’s claim that the manager should not say the club cannot win the league. 'No, he said this, if you read the article very well. He is far away in Saudi. Everyone is entitled to have an opinion. It is OK.'

A clash of colours in north London, Manuel Ugarte getting the Ten Hag call and more new faces featuring

After Casemiro’s disastrous 45-minute outing in the thumping by Liverpool, Erik ten Hag looks certain to hand the Uruguayan midfielder Manuel Ugarte his debut at St Mary’s. Last time out, Ten Hag was forced to send on the inexperienced Toby Collyer at the break to try to bring calmness alongside Kobbie Mainoo because Casemiro was so embarrassingly off the pace in gifting goals to Liverpool. Having not featured for Paris Saint-Germain before his deadline-day move to the Premier League, Ugarte got minutes in his legs with Uruguay, including a full 90 in Venezuela on Tuesday before returning to his new home to get to know his teammates. It seems a big ask for Ugarte to perform on Saturday lunchtime after a hectic few weeks but Ten Hag has little to no choice because he needs results and is heavily invested in the 23-year-old midfielder. Will Unwin

Southampton v Manchester United, Saturday 12.30pm (all times BST)

Brighton v Ipswich, Saturday 3pm

Crystal Palace v Leicester, Saturday 3pm

Fulham v West Ham, Saturday 3pm

Liverpool v Nottingham Forest, Saturday 3pm

Manchester City v Brentford, Saturday 3pm

• ‘He is far away in Saudi. Everyone can have an opinion’
• United visit Southampton after consecutive defeats

Erik ten Hag has hit back at Cristiano Ronaldo by pointing out that the Portuguese admitted Manchester United are not well placed to win the biggest trophies this season despite criticising the manager for stating the same.

In a pre-season interview Ten Hag discussed United’s chances of winning the Premier League and Champions League. “We are really a long way away from that,” he told the Dutch outlet AD Sportwereld. Ronaldo criticised this apparent lack of ambition on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, saying: “Manchester United coach, you cannot say that you’re not going to fight to win the league or Champions League.” But Ronaldo then effectively contradicted himself. “They can win the Carabao [Cup] – Champions League or Europa League or Premier League, difficult,” he said.