Manchester United have reportedly rubbished claims that four of their players were involved in a dressing room scuffle after their 3-1 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend.
The Red Devils' troubled start to the season continued with another home defeat to Roberto De Zerbi's side on Saturday, where Danny Welbeck opened the scoring against his former club.
Pascal Gross and Joao Pedro then breached Erik ten Hag's permeable backline, before a powerful long-range strike from Hannibal Mejbri reduced the arrears late on.
Mejbri's effort came too late to spark a miraculous fightback, though, as the Red Devils suffered their third defeat in four Premier League games following previous beatings to Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
With just six points to show from their opening five games of the new term, the 20-time English champions occupy 13th place in the table ahead of Wednesday's Champions League group-stage opener against Bayern Munich.
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Following their embarrassing defeat to Brighton, it was alleged that four members of Ten Hag's first team came to blows in the dressing room, with Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay among those to engage in a spat.
Centre-back partners Victor Lindelof and Lisandro Martinez were also said to have lost their temper at one another, and head coach Ten Hag was desperately trying to keep the peace.
However, the Daily Mail states that Man United have denied claims of a behind-the-scenes bust-up at Old Trafford, and club sources insist that Ten Hag still has a firm grip on the situation.
The Dutchman guided Man United to EFL Cup glory and a third-placed finish during his debut season, but his authority has been publicly called into question by Jadon Sancho during a wretched period of off-field problems for the club.
The Englishman has been banished from first-team training after refuting Ten Hag's claims over his performances in training, and he will allegedly not be allowed back in until he apologises to the head coach.
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Meanwhile, Antony is taking a leave of absence to contest allegations of domestic violence, while Mason Greenwood was told that he would not play for the club again after all criminal charges against him were dropped.
The Red Devils were initially believed to have been planning for Greenwood's return before performing a U-turn due to enormous backlash, but rather than terminate his contract, the Englishman was loaned out to La Liga side Getafe.
In addition, the unpopular Glazer family are said to have had a change of heart about their decision to sell the club, leading to further discontent among the Man United faithful, who have protested against the Americans' ownership for nearly two decades.
Former right-back Gary Neville - a vocal critic of the Glazers - recently said that the owners must bear responsibility for his old club's current predicament, although he also questioned the quality of Man United's business in the summer transfer market.
However, Ten Hag has not been helped by injuries early on in the season, as all of Luke Shaw, Raphael Varane, Amad Diallo, Mason Mount, Kobbie Mainoo, Sofyan Amrabat and Tyrell Malacia sat out the loss to Brighton, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka is now facing several weeks out with a hamstring strain.
Ben Knapton
