Bruno Fernandes said he didn’t deserve to be sent off for a dangerous challenge on James Maddison in Manchester United’s 3-0 Premier League loss to Tottenham on Sunday.

The United captain was shown a straight red in the 42nd minute at Old Trafford.

“Nobody wants to be sent off, it’s not a good feeling,” said Fernandes, who took the unusual decision of stepping up for postmatch interviews following his dismissal. “I didn’t go with the studs. It’s never a red card. Even James Maddison when he gets up, he said it’s not a red card.”

Fernandes appeared to slip when attempting a tackle in Tottenham’s half — but then raised his foot and caught Maddison on the shin in a studs-up challenge.

Referee Christopher Kavanagh immediately brandished a red card.

“If this is a red card, we have to look at many other incidents,” Fernandes said. “It is a foul. There is not much contact. If [the referee] wants to give me a yellow, I agree. I don’t understand why VAR doesn’t call him to the screen.”

Fernandes became the fourth United captain to be sent off in a Premier League game at Old Trafford, joining Roy Keane, Nemanja Vidic and Wayne Rooney on that list.

“I want to say, I left my teammates one man down,” Fernandes said. “I do appreciate everything they did on the pitch, obviously was tougher for them. We didn’t start the game well when it was 11 vs. 11, then obviously the result is on their side and we get the situation with the red card and obviously I think they did … very well.

“They tried, obviously we conceded another two goals, but it was difficult to cover all the spaces. But I think [there are] many good things that we can take away from this, [the] resilience of the team was always there, and I’m really proud of the team.”

United trailed 1-0 at halftime after Brennan Johnson’s goal in the third minute.

It got worse for United after the break, when Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke also scored for Spurs.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.

Minnesota Twins players backed manager Rocco Baldelli on Saturday after fans chanted for his firing amid the team’s late-season collapse.

The Twins, who had a five-game cushion in the American League wild-card race in mid-August, were eliminated from postseason contention with Friday’s loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

Minnesota was 70-53 at its high-water mark of the season on Aug. 17 but has gone 12-26 since, prompting fans at Target Field to chant “Fire Rocco” recently during the Twins’ September swoon.

“I don’t think it’s super fair to put everything on him,” pitcher Bailey Ober told reporters, according to The Athletic. “Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. If the players hear [the chants], I don’t think anyone’s agreeing with that. It’s like, seriously, can’t you see what’s going on? He’s not the one at fault for this mishap that happened.”

Baldelli acknowledged before Saturday’s loss to the Orioles that he has heard the boos and “Fire Rocco” chants but said he respects Twins fans and added that they “have a right to feel almost any way they choose.”

“That’s part of managing a Major League Baseball team,” Baldelli said. “And I respect the fans. The Minnesota Twins fans showed me last year when we were in the playoffs amazing things, things that can change the outcome of a game in favor of their team. … You can’t have greater passion than what I saw. If I’m going to accept that and take that and enjoy that, then I’ll also take the criticism when things don’t go well.”

The Twins (82-79) will finish fourth in the AL Central after winning the division last season. Players cited several reasons for coming up short this season, including long-term injuries to key players such as shortstop Carlos Correa, outfielder Byron Buxton, ace pitcher Joe Ryan and third baseman Royce Lewis.

“If you have anybody to blame, blame me for going down for two months and not being a part of the team,” said Correa, who missed 53 games with a foot injury. “I think that’s one of the main reasons.”

“We’re the ones performing out there and didn’t get the job done,” Ober said. “He’s putting out the lineups, and we’re trying to do it. I feel like most of the blame should be on the players.”

Correa and catcher Ryan Jeffers agreed that offseason changes likely are coming for the Twins but supported Baldelli and his staff.

“Why we couldn’t be consistent? I don’t know if that’s any staff member’s responsibility or fault,” Jeffers said, according to MLB.com.

Baldelli, 43, enters Sunday’s season finale with a 457-412 record in six years with the Twins, who have won three division titles during that stretch. He emphasized his frustration over being unable to lead the Twins out of their downward spiral this season.

“Ultimately, we didn’t find it,” he said. “We did not find it. That’s probably the most frustrating part of it was that it’s not like we just ran this out and continued to try the same methods all the way down the stretch. We tried several methods, and that’s the part where, yeah, that will irk me.

“That will continue to irk me and bother me because you always believe that there is an answer. You always believe that there is a path that could work, and in six weeks, the several paths that we went down, they all ended in the same place. That’s frustrating.”

As for his future in Minnesota, Baldelli said Saturday that he is “never stressed” over his job security and that he is “fully motivated and enjoy what I do.”

Lahore: Star batsman Babar Azam announced on Tuesday that he is stepping down as the captain of the Pakistan cricket team.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Babar shared, “I have decided to resign as captain of the Pakistan men’s cricket team, effective from my notification to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Team Management last month.”

He expressed pride in leading the team but said it was time to move on and focus solely on his role as a player. “It’s been an honour to lead this team, but it’s time for me to step down and focus on my playing role,” Babar stated.

While he described the captaincy as a “rewarding experience,” he admitted that it had added a “significant workload.”

“I want to prioritize my performance, enjoy my batting, and spend more time with my family, which brings me happiness,” he explained.

By resigning, Babar said he hopes to gain better clarity and channel more energy toward his game and personal growth.

He also thanked fans for their unwavering support throughout his captaincy, adding, “Your enthusiasm has meant the world to me. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved together and look forward to contributing as a player.”

Karachi: Shan Masood, the captain of the national test team, on Monday said that he would try to perform better in the test series against England.

Speaking at a press conference in Karachi, he said that the result he wanted against Bangladesh didn’t deliver and that all the boys were saddened by the poor performance.

Masood further said that players would have to be given opportunities to succeed, adding Khurram Shahzad was an important part of the team but unfortunately he had been injured. “In Test cricket, you need regular matches to perform.”

The captain said that the team for the first test had been announced but, “we do not know the conditions in Multan, we will try to make a good start in the first test.”

Masood said that it never felt good when the team lost, especially Pakistan. “The series against Bangladesh and Australia did not start well. After playing against Australia, we saw a lot of positive things but we didn’t get to see those things as a result in the series against Bangladesh.”

“We have to learn from mistakes. Test cricket demands you to be strong physically and mentally. We have to improve these things as a team,” he said.

He said that there were no team cohesion issues against Bangladesh as he always tried to maintain a better atmosphere in the dressing room.

The skipper further said that Muhammad Rizwan was part of the permanent team but Sarfraz Ahmed was the best alternative in the short term. 

The captain of the Test team further said that Babar Azam was the number one and best batsman in the world, adding he (Shan) wanted to give full opportunity to the players.