Manchester United playmaker, Christian Eriksen, has said he and his team mates can “only blame ourselves” following a 6-3 thrashing in the hands of Manchester City on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola’s men took a four-goal lead into the break, with Phil Foden and Erling Haaland scoring twice each.

Foden and Haaland both completed their hat-tricks in the second half, while Anthony Martial (twice) and Antony scored for United.

Eriksen, speaking to Sky Sports, said: “It came very heavy. Everyone feels it was a very bad day at the office. We started on the wrong foot. They had chances straight from kick-off. We can only blame ourselves.

“We missed a bit of courage to play out from the back and we let them be at their strength. The main focus from this game will be on ourselves.

“There are a lot of things we need to change and a lot of things we need to do better. Today was far from acceptable from what we should be doing.”

Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola, has singled out three players who played key roles in his side’s Premier League 6-3 derby victory over Manchester United on Sunday.

Guardiola watched as Man City defeated Man United at Etihad Stadium, thanks to Erling Haaland and Phil Foden’s hat-tricks.

When asked about Haaland’s impact, Guardiola hailed Jack Grealish, Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne.

The Spaniard said he was very pleased with his players, adding that they are humble.

Guardiola said at his post-match press conference (via Viaplay): “Not just him. Look at Jack Grealish today, how good he played. Kevin, and Gundogan – come back in his position as holding midfielder that he started years ago.

“They are humble and they follow us, saying ‘okay, let’s try to go and do it again after four or five years of success’. I’m very pleased. It’s not about winning or losing, of course, we want to win all the time. The way in the two or three days how they train, how they focus. It’s good.”

The shirt worn by Diego Maradona when he scored his famous “Hand of God” goal will be on display as part of an exhibit that will open ahead of this year’s World Cup, the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum said on Saturday.

The blue jersey, which sold at auction in May for a then-record $8.93 million, is on loan to the Doha-based museum where it will headline the World of Football exhibit opening on Sunday and running until April 1, 2023.

Maradona wore Argentina’s No. 10 shirt in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England in Mexico. Six minutes into the second half he put his team ahead by punching the ball into the net for what became known as the “Hand of God” goal.

Four minutes later Maradona dribbled from his own half to score a goal widely considered one of the greatest in World Cup history.

Maradona, regarded as one of the world’s best ever footballers, died in November 2020 aged 60.

he new jersey design for Algeria’s football team was revealed earlier this week

Morocco’s culture ministry has accused Adidas of appropriating Moroccan culture in its new jerseys for Algeria’s football team.

Adidas said the design was inspired by the Mechouar Palace in Algeria.

However the geometric blue, teal and yellow design is a pattern called zellige, which is common in Moroccan mosaics, the ministry’s lawyer said.

The neighbouring nations have a long history of tensions, as they continue to dispute Western Sahara.

Lawyer Mourad Elajouti wrote that he had issued a legal warning to Adidas, on behalf of Morocco’s Ministry of Culture.

In a letter to the company’s chief executive Kasper Rorsted, Mr Elajouti said the new design was cultural appropriation and “an attempt to steal a form of Moroccan cultural heritage and use it outside its context”.

He has demanded the German sportswear brand remove the design within two weeks.

Mr Elajouti added that Algeria’s 2022-2023 season kit “contributes to the loss and distortion of the identity and history of these [zellige] cultural elements”.

Algeria and Morocco share a nearly 2,000 km (1,242 miles) border, which has been a source of tension since independence from French colonial rule.

In 1963, they had the Sand War over Morocco’s claim to territory in Algeria.

Later on, Algeria backed the Polisario Front’s campaign for Western Sahara’s independence from Morocco, leading to the 1975-1991 Western Sahara War.

The border was then closed in 1994 for security reasons after militant Islamists bombed a hotel in the historic Moroccan city of Marrakesh.

More recently, in 2021 Algeria cut diplomatic ties with its neighbour, accusing Morocco of “hostile acts”. Morocco called the move “completely unjustified”.

IOC president Thomas Bach 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is considering a return to competition of Russian athletes who do not support the country’s invasion of Ukraine, IOC president Thomas Bach said on Friday.

The IOC issued guidance to sports governing bodies in February to remove Russian and Belarusian athletes from competition. Belarus has been used as a staging ground for Russia’s invasion, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”.

“It is not about necessarily having Russia back. It’s about having athletes with a Russian passport who do not support the war back in competition,” Bach told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

“Here comes our dilemma – this war has not been started by the Russian athletes. But we saw that some governments did not want to respect anymore the autonomy of international sports…

“This is why we’ve had to take these protective measures to be at least still a little bit in the driving seat and not lose all autonomy.

“And this is why, on the other hand, we also have to see, and to study, to monitor, how and when we can come back to accomplish our mission to have everybody back again, under which format whatsoever.”

The German stressed that the current guidance on Russian athletes was still standing but added that the IOC also needed to think about the future. Some qualifying events for the 2024 Paris Olympics have already taken place

“There is no change in the recommendations… We are very grateful to the International Federations that they are following them,” Bach added.

“The Olympic Movement has as a mission to contribute to peace, so we have to see how we can contribute to peace.

“I think our major contribution is to have the Olympic Games, and to have sport in general, as something that still unifies people and humanity.”