Scott McTominay may have been summoned more in desperation than inspiration. Erik ten Hag had already tried four other substitutes, with precious little impact. He had taken off Marcus Rashford, for the third game in a row. He had brought off a defender for a striker. He had hauled Casemiro off at half-time. And then, in the 87th minute, in a last throw of the dice, he swapped his remaining defensive midfielders. Exit Sofyan Amrabat, enter McTominay. It may prove the best substitution Ten Hag will ever make as United manager. Because, 10 minutes later, McTominay was charging, his teammates frantically trying to catch him as Old Trafford, perhaps preparing the boos, erupted. Like a one-man Sheringham and Solskjaer, McTominay had scored twice in injury-time, transforming defeat into victory, a potential mutiny into jubilation. When ignominy and misery beckoned, United instead had McTominay, a man on a mission. It may breach the Trades Description Act to brand him a defensive midfielder here. He spent much of his cameo haring into the box, running with purposeful potency. It was under pressure from McTominay that Nathan Collins put the ball in his own net for a goal that was disallowed because Martial was offside. No matter. When Thomas Strakosha, the second-choice goalkeeper who United barely tested for much of his Premier League debut, parried Diogo Dalot’s shot, McTominay was the predator in the box who was on hand to finish. When Bruno Fernandes’ free kick was headed on by Harry Maguire, McTominay anticipated it and planted his header past Strakosha. His goals have been more frequent for Scotland than United of late but Fergie Time became McTominay Time. Just in time for Ten Hag, too. This was shaping up as a week of three consecutive defeats in eminently winnable games. United still have not lost three successive home games since 1962 and Brentford have not won at Old Trafford since 1937, but each run came perilously close to ending. United could scarcely complain if they had, either. Brentford were responsible for arguably the lowest point of Ten Hag’s reign, the 4-0 shellacking in his second game. Yet a loss here, a seventh in 11 games at the start of the season, may have been a new low for a club who find ways to plumb depths. Results can change much, from a mood to a season, but they should not camouflage everything. Defeat was desperately cruel to Brentford. They looked better coached, with more of a gameplan. United scarcely pressed, and when they did it was individually. Ten Hag can talk of togetherness, but United looked a rabble; with a starting 11 who cost around £400m, an expensive rabble who were rescued by a player who cost nothing, in an academy product. Minutes from a landmark result, Brentford instead could reflect on what might have been. In different ways, Brentford have lost arguably their three most important players from last season, in the departed David Raya, the injured Rico Henry and the suspended Ivan Toney. It meant United should not complain about the loss of Raphael Varane, which meant they were without six sidelined defenders. It nevertheless produced a teamsheet with a difference. The Leicester retro centre-back partnership of Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans were reunited; against the rather quicker Brentford strike duo of Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbuemo, the 35-year-old sometimes backed off so far he was in a different postcode. Lindelof switched to left-back and stalked down the tunnel when substituted. He was a culpable when Brentford led, but one of many. If errors have been a common denominator in goals United have conceded this season, there have rarely been more in one goal, as though a lowlights reel had been spliced together: first Casemiro gave the ball away, then he slid in a failed attempt to regain it. Lindelof failed to clear Wissa’s low pass – as did Casemiro – and Andre Onana should have saved Mathias Jensen’s shot, were he a goalkeeper who saves shots. Thereafter, United could at least be grateful that Onana denied Neal Maupay and that Diogo Dalot cleared off the line from Norgaard. For United, Fernandes at least injected urgency. Alejandro Garnacho brought more verve than Rashford. And yet a comeback was not seriously threatened until, with only Donny van de Beek, Facundo Pellestri, Hannibal Mejbri and Altay Bayindir left on the bench and the Brentford fans suggesting he may be sacked in the morning, Ten Hag turned to McTominay. It may be an exaggeration to brand it his Mark Robins moment – he was not on the brink – but once again, a youth-team product came to a beleaguered manager’s aid. And if the performance showed the flaws in this United team, the win brought respite in a torrid time. Read More Man United vs Brentford LIVE: Latest Premier League updates ‘There is only one person in the world I do not answer back to’ Mikel Arteta urges Arsenal to bring City losing streak to an end Erik Ten Hag insists managing Manchester United is not an impossible job Manchester United vs Arsenal LIVE: Latest Women’s Super League updates Roy Hodgson admits Crystal Palace are in midst of a ‘serious injury crisis’

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to meet with top executives from global semiconductor companies as early as

Some bad news for Kyle Walker. Manchester City’s oldest player, the third-choice goalkeeper Scott Carson excepted, has age-defying speed and prides himself on his pace. And yet there may come a point in the near future when he finds himself only the second quickest player on their right flank. Jeremy Doku’s acceleration impressed even Kylian Mbappe – “I have never seen someone develop so much strength from a standstill as him,” football’s answer to Usain Bolt said in 2021 – and his arrival in England might not be welcomed by opposing full-backs who are not as fast as Walker. If the Rennes winger signs as immediate replacement for Riyad Mahrez, in a sense he is more of a belated successor to Leroy Sane: the sprinter, the roadrunner with the scorched earth policy. And part of the intrigue behind his £55m deal is because, in various ways, Doku is the antithesis of a Pep Guardiola winger; certainly of a recent Guardiola winger. Think of Mahrez, Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva and a common denominator is a midfielder’s skillset, a capacity to retain possession, often while cutting infield. In contrast, Doku is likelier to run forwards, often at a rate of knots, taking on defenders. He averaged more than 10 dribbles per 90 minutes last season. He had the most successful take-ons in Ligue 1 in 2020-21 and the second most last season, behind only Lionel Messi (and third only in the five major European leagues, in a table topped by Vinicius Junior). If the sense is that Grealish has been a more restrained player at City, exhibiting more positional discipline, running wild and free less often than at Aston Villa, Doku can be a spectacular solo artist. Perhaps the pick of his goals for Rennes was a burst from his own half against Ajaccio, taking him past three defenders. It was the sort that City rarely score these days but also one they rarely try to. And Doku invites comparisons with Allan Saint-Maximin and Adama Traore, two great entertainers and crowd-pleasers with the ability to torment defenders with electric surges but who can lack productivity. Doku’s goalscoring return – six in 37 games for Anderlecht, 12 in 92 for Rennes – is mediocre and emulating Sane, who scored 14 and 16 in successive seasons for City, or Mahrez, who got 24 and 15 in his last two campaigns, would require a dramatic improvement. Yet while he only registered two assists in Ligue 1 last season, his expected assists per 90 minutes was the joint fourth best in the division – his teammates missed too many of the chances he created. Nevertheless, he has the feel of a project player for Guardiola: it is easy to imagine melodramatic, if rather incomprehensible, gestures from the touchline if Doku is so busy on solo runs that he fails to pick out colleagues. But that speed and ability to commit several opponents comes with a capacity to mean other City players will be free; the key then will be the decision-making of when to pass and who to find. Certainly Doku is young enough to learn: a prodigy at still just 21. He has been touted for the top for years. Doku’s father suggested that, on a visit to Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp saw his son as a successor to Sadio Mane. He has been on many shortlists, scouted by everyone. That Rennes paid a club record €26m (£22m) for a teenager seemed designed with resale value in mind and, while he did not realise his potential with them, they will pocket a healthy profit with a £55m sale. At international level, Roberto Martinez first capped him for Belgium at 18 but, while Doku excelled in the Euro 2020 quarter-final exit to Italy, he was given just 18 minutes in last year’s World Cup. With Eden Hazard in international retirement, he could take over from one of his country’s golden generation. For City, he might add another dimension or look a Plan B. His counter-attacking menace may be less relevant when teams defend deep against the treble winners, as they often do: perhaps, though, it could make him more useful against more ambitious opponents, who are often the better sides. Or perhaps he suggests another shift in their style of play. Guardiola used false nines but then got a towering, prolific centre-forward in Erling Haaland. His full-backs were often midfielders by trade until he started playing centre-backs there recently. His wingers often had certain similarities with midfielders – in the cases of Silva, Grealish and Phil Foden, they have spent much of their careers infield – but Doku is more dribbler than distributor, more touchline sprinter than tiki-taka passer. And, before he even gets on the pitch, his training-ground contests with Walker could be well worth watching. Read More Pep Guardiola to miss Man City matches after emergency surgery Man City agree £55m fee for winger - which could see Cole Palmer depart Promising defender Lewis Hall joins Newcastle on season-long loan from Chelsea

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