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Erik Ten Hag comes out fighting, but is it too late?

Leinster the Buffalo Bills of rugby; Limerick’s statement win over Waterford; and the French Open gets into gear

Erik ten Hag's future as manager of Manchester United is still up in the air. Photograph: Alex Pantling/Getty Images

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David Gorman
Mon May 27 2024 - 10:51

Should Manchester United keep Erik ten Hag? The decision is not a difficult one for Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos, according to Ken Early in his column after the Red Devils’ win in the FA Cup final over rivals Manchester City. “The choice for Ratcliffe looks like this. Either he risks looking like the bad guy by sacking a coach who has just enjoyed his finest hour. Or he keeps faith with the guy who has led the most expensive squad in world football to one of their worst seasons in decades. Is it really even that difficult a choice?” The Dutch manager came out fighting after the match when he said “if Man Utd don’t want me I’ll win trophies for someone else”, while Ten Hag got sympathy from his own fans after his treatment on BBC from Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer. Expect Manchester United’s decision on his fate to come soon.

Leinster somehow have to recompose themselves after their agonising defeat to Toulouse in the Champions Cup final in extra time, and a third straight loss in the final of the competition. John O’Sullivan writes the pain will ache for weeks but it “should not obscure that fact that Leinster took a brilliant Toulouse team to the brink”. Gerry Thornley suggests Leinster will be called the Buffalo Bills of the Champions Cup, but says they did not choke, and that there was “no shame either in this latest, excruciating near miss” as “the margins were again minuscule”. One player who definitely did not choke on the day was the brilliant outhalf Romain Ntamack, who alongside Joshua Brennan became the only two father-son combinations to win the trophy in its 29-year history. Meanwhile, Johnny Watterson writes if you fancy Leinster to make the final again, you can already get tickets for next year’s showpiece in Cardiff.

It was an exciting finale to the round robin stage of the hurling championships, with Galway and Waterford falling the wrong side of it. Nicky English writes about Limerick’s statement victory over the Déise, where “the litany of positives for John Kiely was extensive”. The departing Galway and Waterford find their hopes turn to ‘if onlys’, writes Denis Walsh, as the football championship “continues its game of billiards at a stately pace. Five teams left hurling’s pool hall yesterday, beaten by the breakneck potting.”

TV Watch: Not a whole lot of sport on the telly, but the pick of the bunch is probably the French Open tennis from 11.50am this morning until the end of the day. Iga Świątek gets her campaign for three in a row under way, but the tie of the day is undoubtedly the now unseeded but 14-time champion Rafael Nadal taking on fourth seed Alexander Zverev in the first round.