BBC pundit Chris Sutton said United had "hit rock bottom" while his former strike partner Alan Shearer put down the debacle to years of mismanagement at Old Trafford.
Every now and then the D word hits the sporting headlines, Greg Rudeski's testing positive to nandrolone being the latest to send tremors through the tennis world.
Rory McIlroy has been named the European Tour's Golfer of the Year for the second time in three seasons, capping an outstanding 2014 for the world number one.
Lewis Hamilton has apologised to residents of his boyhood home town Stevenage for suggesting he grew up in a slum.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
Spurs, Liverpool top eco-friendly table
England fast bowler Stuart Broad wants to emulate his pace colleague James Anderson in terms of career longevity, saying he is fit enough to play for some more years. After being ignored for the first Test in Southampton, the 34-year-old pacer returned to the side for the ongoing second game against the West Indies and handed England advantage late in the fourth day with his three-wicket burst.
Chelsea came from behind to beat Crystal Palace 3-1 thanks to added time goals from Conor Gallagher and Enzo Fernandez.
12-year-old junior player Oliver Whitehouse bagged a 'double hat-trick' in an astonishing over for his club.
While Sunday's clash was the last time Klopp and Guardiola will face off for Premier League points, as far as this year's title race is concerned it merely made things even more interesting with Arsenal ahead of Liverpool on goal difference and City one point back. All three have 10 games left.
Rekabi's statement said not wearing her headscarf during the competition was unintentional, adding "there was poor scheduling and I was called to climb unpredictably".
I S Bindra, the ICC's principal advisor, warned cricketers against giving up their central contracts to participate in the cash-rich Indian Premier League, saying the Twenty20 event will not accept any rebel. A member of the IPL's governing board, he urged players to be patient and wait for the league to adjust in the cricket calendar.
Eugene Amo-Dadzie, who is a full-time accountant and started running seriously four years ago, is the quickest 100m runner in Europe this year.
Birmingham-born playmaker Dhanda, 17, joined Liverpool FC's academy in July 2013 from West Brom, and has now signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Anfield-based club.
Former gymnast Nicole Pavier said British athletes were subjected to "child abuse" and that the findings of an independent review showed physical and mental mistreatment at clubs was more widespread than first thought.
Aston Villa claimed their first three points of the Premier League Season
"No matter how much I can respect what you did inside the pitch, those remarks about Iran culture, Iran national team and my players are a disgrace to football."
The International Cricket Council dismissed reports of controversial umpire Darrell Hair officiating in the Champions Trophy in India as "pure speculation".
Former match referee Barry Jarman had charged South Africa were involved in ball-tampering under Bob Woolmer.
Tottenham Hotspur hammered 10-man Aston Villa 4-0 in the Premier League on Sunday thanks to four second-half goals, allowing them to close the gap with their Birmingham rivals to two points in the chase for Champions League football next season.
The 75-year-old former England fast bowler is undergoing treatment in Airedale Hospital in West Yorkshire.
England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has been named 2005's top cricketer in the 143rd edition of Wisden
English county Surrey are awaiting BCCI approval before announcing the off-spinner as their overseas signing for 2005.
The Indian pace bowler could not confirm his availability because of international commitments with the national team.\n\n
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Christian Benteke's last-gasp penalty completed 10-man Liverpool's fightback against Crystal Palace to keep alive their hopes of a top-four finish. Substitute Benteke went down after a faint challenge by Damien Delaney deep in stoppage time and coolly slotted home to add to Robert Firmino's equaliser on 72 minutes. James Milner's dismissal for a second yellow card on 62 minutes put Liverpool on the back foot, but Firmino took advantage of a scuffed clearance from Palace goalkeeper Alex McCarthy to cancel out Joe Ledley's low drive just after the break. "First half we started OK but forgot to shoot on the goal. But what we did in the end was brilliant," Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp told Sky Sports. "I feel sorry for Palace but I have just seen the replay (of the penalty decision) in the dressing room and it was a clear penalty. If there was no contact, Benteke would have been in a great position to shoot."
The 23-year-old British Sikh has all the traits of a world class spinner, believes England's new spin bowling coach David Parsons.
Australia could find it difficult to retain their dominance in world cricket when the current squad retires, according to Test opener Justin Langer.
He believes the time has come to hand over the leadership to the future of Sri Lankan cricket.
Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United both sealed comeback victories to boost their European qualification hopes.
India will take on England at the Lord's cricket ground in an ODI next year
* The BBC announced a peak audience of 12 million viewers on BBC One, higher than the men's Wimbledon final in July which peaked at 11.3 million.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday.
The Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton, celebrated his big win by taking his friends and family on a snowboarding trip.
Lance Klusener is to take legal action against the UCB of South Africa for unfair dismissal after his exclusion from the team following the World Cup.
Vitaliy Mykolenko's 39th-minute own goal had put Luton ahead before Jack Harrison cheered the Everton faithful with an equaliser in the 55th minute, hammering in a low shot that Luton keeper Tim Krul allowed to let slip through his hands.
Jim Ratcliffe's company INEOS formally entered the bidding process to buy Manchester United on Tuesday, months after the club owners, the Glazer family, said they were considering selling the club as they explore "strategic alternatives".
The ECB did not specify the nature of the breach but said the West Indies team were satisfied with the measures taken.
