New Era at Man United Begins with Home Loss to Fulham

Marcus Rashford of Manchester United reacts after Fulham’s second goal during the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Fulham FC, in Manchester, Britain, 24 February 2024. (EPA)
Marcus Rashford of Manchester United reacts after Fulham’s second goal during the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Fulham FC, in Manchester, Britain, 24 February 2024. (EPA)
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New Era at Man United Begins with Home Loss to Fulham

Marcus Rashford of Manchester United reacts after Fulham’s second goal during the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Fulham FC, in Manchester, Britain, 24 February 2024. (EPA)
Marcus Rashford of Manchester United reacts after Fulham’s second goal during the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Fulham FC, in Manchester, Britain, 24 February 2024. (EPA)

The new era at Manchester United got off to a disappointing start as the team lost ground in the race for Champions League qualification with a 2-1 home loss against Fulham on Saturday.

The week started with new co-owner Jim Ratcliffe completing his purchase of a minority stake in United and boldly setting out a three-year plan to return the club to the top of English soccer, knocking local rivals Manchester City and Liverpool “off their perch” in the process. It ended with Erik ten Hag's side getting mostly outplayed in its own stadium by an opponent in the bottom half of the standings and conceding the deciding goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time.

Not only did sixth-place United's four-game winning run in the league come to an end, fourth-place Aston Villa beat Nottingham Forest 4-2 and there is now an eight-point gap between the teams. Fifth-place Tottenham is three points ahead of United and has a game in hand.

It remains to be seen if the Premier League will have four or five places in next season's Champions League. Failing to qualify for the lucrative competition will be a huge blow to United's status and finances — and could yet spell the end for Ten Hag as Ratcliffe looks to raise the standards at the fallen giant.

There could be more twists in the title race later Saturday, with second-place City away to Bournemouth and third-place Arsenal hosting Newcastle. City is four points behind Liverpool and Arsenal is a further point back.

In other results, relegation-threatened Everton conceded an equalizer in the sixth minute of stoppage time to draw 1-1 at Brighton and newly hired Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner's tenure got off to strong start as his team beat next-to-last Burnley 3-0.



F1 Seeks to Spice up Monaco GP with More Mandatory Pitstops

Ferrari’s Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc drives during the third practice session of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix on May 25, 2024. (AFP)
Ferrari’s Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc drives during the third practice session of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix on May 25, 2024. (AFP)
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F1 Seeks to Spice up Monaco GP with More Mandatory Pitstops

Ferrari’s Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc drives during the third practice session of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix on May 25, 2024. (AFP)
Ferrari’s Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc drives during the third practice session of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix on May 25, 2024. (AFP)

Formula One's governing body is planning to spice up the showcase Monaco Grand Prix by forcing teams to carry out more pitstops.

The FIA said in a statement that an F1 commission meeting in London on Tuesday had discussed "proposals for Monaco-specific regulations" to promote less processional racing at the tight and twisty circuit.

"The commission agreed to increase the numbers of mandatory pitstops in the race," it added, without providing further details.

"These proposals will be further discussed by the sporting advisory committee in the coming weeks."

The current mandatory minimum is one pitstop per race.

Overtaking is extremely difficult around Monaco, with qualifying and pole position a much more crucial element than at other races.

The FIA said there would also no longer be any restriction on the number of gearboxes teams could use during a season as the reliability of current designs had rendered the regulation obsolete.