Manchester United were again guilty of poor finishing in Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Newcastle United in the Premier League but manager Erik ten Hag was pleased his players matched the physicality of their opponents.

Ten Hag had been critical of his side’s finishing against Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League on Thursday, when Scott McTominay’s stoppage time goal gave them a 1-0 win over the Cypriots.

Marcus Rashford and Fred passed up late chances on Sunday for the hosts, who are fifth in the league, three points behind Chelsea in fourth.

“We are disappointed we didn’t win as the performance was good,” said Ten Hag. “A clean sheet, we pressed well from the front to the back and we controlled it.

“We were a little bit erratic in the first half. You see a physical team as Newcastle, we matched them, at least. In the end, we could have won and we deserved to win.

Marcus Rashford. File picture

“It’s a big compliment to the team that we could deserve this with a physical performance against maybe the best physical team in the league.

“In the end, we broke them but didn’t kill them by not scoring,” the Dutchman added. “So I’m pleased with the performance but disappointed by the result.”

Richarlison update

The calf injury to Tottenham Hotspur’s Richarlison is not as serious as first thought and the Brazil forward should be fit in time for the World Cup, manager Antonio Conte said on Monday.The 25-year-old suffered the injury in the 2-0 Premier League win against his former side Everton at the weekend and later said that he feared he could be ruled out for Qatar.

Fred. File picture

Conte allayed those fears and confirmed that Richarlison, who has 17 goals in 38 appearances for Brazil, would recover before the tournament kicks off on November 20.

“He is not risking to not play the World Cup. The injury is not so serious. I’m happy,” Conte told reporters ahead of his side’s league game at Manchester United on Wednesday.

“He is having a scan, an MRI and then we’ll see how long he needs to recover. For sure though, against Manchester United he is not available... I hope he plays with us before the World Cup.”

Forward Dejan Kulusevski, who has not played since last month due to a hamstring problem, is close to full fitness but Conte refused to confirm whether the Swede would be available to face United.

“The medical department are working to recover him,” said the Italian.