Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs believes the players have to take the responsibility for a disappointing first half to the 2018/19 season. The Red Devils recently suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Liverpool on the road and this has created a 19-point gap between them and Jurgen Klopp’s side, who are leading the standings.

In a report covered by Fox Sports, Giggs admitted that Jose Mourinho would undoubtedly get the criticism for the club’s showing during the campaign but the players should equally take the blame for a team which has struggled to stay aloft in the top-four race, he said: “Jose takes a lot of stick, rightly or wrongly, but the players have got to take responsibility as well.

Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku says he is clear on his target at the club following talks with the coach Jose Mourinho. The Belgian has been underperforming for a while, resulting in a loss of his starting shirt at Old Trafford.

Mourinho wanted the player to emerge from his post World Cup slump earlier hence the frustrations when Lukaku was not banging in the goals as expected.

Belgium international Eden Hazard has said that he is capable of reaching the 20 to 25 goal mark this term after making a bright start with Chelsea. The attacker has already amassed eight goals and three assists during the ongoing campaign but he has been absent for the past two matches with a back problem.

In a report covered by Goal.com, Hazard highlighted that he does not have an obsession to score goals but he is pleased with the output provided by him during the ongoing campaign. He added that the 40-goal mark appears far-fetched for him but he can fancy his chances of reaching the 20-goal mark for the first time in his Blues career.

Switzerland international Granit Xhaka has taken the blame for the penalty conceded during the final minutes of the Premier League clash against Crystal Palace. The Gunners looked to have made another comeback after coming from a goal down but they were pegged back seven minutes from time after Xhaka fouled Wilfried Zaha in the box.

Speaking after the game, Xhaka admitted that he has no complaints regarding the penalty decision after clearly touching Zaha before the forward dropped to the ground. He told Sky Sports: “It was a clear penalty. I came too late and I touched him. We can’t be happy because for me we have lost two points. If you are 1-0 down and you change the game and come back to lead 2-1 then you must be clever at the end. We know the Premier League is difficult and we know we can’t win all the games. Palace are difficult at home, but it was not our best game.”

In 158 games as a Premier League player, Harry Kane has scored 113 goals and picked up the Golden Boot on two occasions as the division’s leading scorer. In that time, a World Cup Golden Boot has also come his way and it isn’t bad set of statistics for a player who may feel is overrated and a ‘one-season wonder.’

There will always be detractors however and now, following a positive if unspectacular start to the new season, all the talk is of burn out and the idea that the Spurs striker is simply carrying too much of a burden for club and country.

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney feels Jose Mourinho is being made the easy target for the players’ shortcomings during the ongoing campaign. The Red Devils have been far from impressive since the Premier League season started in August and they find themselves seven points behind the leaders after just eight matches into the campaign.

As a result, there has been plenty of criticism levied towards the club’s head coach but Rooney believes the player have to stand up and produce strong performances on the field, he told The Telegraph: “It's tough [at United], it has been a tough situation.The players, the manager, it has been a tough start to the season.