United turn up heat against Hotspur, win 2-0

Manchester, October 20

With a few minutes remaining in the match, Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United’s dugout and made his way along the side of the field and down the tunnel, shunning fans’ attempts at a high-five off the soccer great.

He was in no mood for that, not after failing to even make it off the substitutes’ bench. United didn’t need him Wednesday.

Producing possibly their most complete performance under Erik ten Hag, United swept past Tottenham Hotspur in a 2-0 win to move to the brink of the Champions League qualification positions in the Premier League.

Liverpool completed a redemptive week by beating West Ham 1-0 at Anfield, where three days earlier Jurgen Klopp’s team had seen off Manchester City by the same score. Darwin Nunez scored the first-half winner against West Ham, showing signs of life after a slow start at his new club. Chelsea occupy the fourth and final Champions League place after drawing 0-0 at Brentford.

Routine win for Madrid

Madrid: Federico Valverde, Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio scored to give Real Madrid a 3-0 win at Elche in La Liga on Wednesday. Real top the standings with 28 points. — Agencies