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Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily: Hurricanes rally to stun Isles
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Hockey
Monday, 29 April 2019 05:13
The Carolina Hurricanes are bruised and battered. They're also two wins away from reaching the Eastern Conference finals. Plus, the Colorado Avalanche got even with the San Jose Sharks -- but not without some controversy.
Here's what happened in the NHL Sunday night (check out replays of every playoff game on ESPN+) and what to watch for Monday night in today's edition of ESPN Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily:
Jump ahead: Last night's games | Three Stars
Play of the night | Today's games | Social post of the day
About last night ...
Game 2: Carolina Hurricanes 2, New York Islanders 1 (Hurricanes lead series 2-0) The Hurricanes have personified the "next man up" philosophy through these playoffs, but this was ridiculous. Already down forwards Andrei Svechnikov (concussion protocol), Micheal Ferland (upper body) and Jordan Martinook (lower body), the Hurricanes lost defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk (upper body) 32 seconds into the first period and then lost starting goalie (and playoff hero) Petr Mrazek about six and a half minutes into the second period, after he stopped nine of 10 shots.
Next man up: Curtis McElhinney came on in goal and turned away all 17 shots he faced. Meanwhile, Warren Foegele and Nino Niederreiter scored 48 seconds apart in the third period to give the Hurricanes the 2-0 series lead.
Game 2: Colorado Avalanche 4, San Jose Sharks 3 (series tied 1-1) So is this the template for the Avalanche? Struggle in a Game 1 loss on the road, rebound with a great effort in Game 2 to even the series? It happened against Calgary in the first round, and it happened on Sunday against San Jose. "We'll take that. We'll win the next three. That'd be great," said defenseman Tyson Barrie with a laugh. "This was a little bit different than the Calgary one, but it's nice to be able to know that if you're down in the series, you can come back."
The Avs answered an Evander Kane goal in the first period with tallies by Gabriel Landeskog and Barrie in the second, and then a big goal from Matt Nieto in the third. Nathan MacKinnon's empty netter ended up being the game winner after Brent Burns' second goal of the game -- on the power play, with an extra skater -- made it a one-goal game with 11 seconds left.
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Nieto's goal helps lift Avalanche to Game 2 win
Matt Nieto scores his third goal of the postseason to help lead the Avalanche to a Game 2 victory over the Sharks and even the series at 1-1.
Three Stars
1. Curtis McElhinney, G, Carolina Hurricanes. Anyone who paid attention to the Hurricanes this season knows that McElhinney had the stuff to step in and potentially win Game 2. From Dec. 31 through the end of the season, he went 13-6-1 for Carolina. Yet this was only his third career playoff appearance, and he certainly made it count with 17 saves in injury relief of Petr Mrazek as the Canes took a 2-0 series lead.
2. Tyson Barrie, D, Colorado Avalanche. Just a huge effort from Colorado's top puck-moving defenseman (pending Cale Makar's official breakout). His shot was tipped home by Landeskog for the Avs' first goal. Then he scored his first goal of the playoffs just over eight minutes later for the 2-1 lead. He had the secondary assist on their third goal of the game. He was on the ice for the Sharks' second goal, but otherwise played well throughout.
3. Brent Burns, D, San Jose Sharks. Burns had two goals and an assist in Game 2, including a late power-play goal that made things interesting. It should be noted, however, that he was on the ice for two of the Avalanche's non-empty-net goals.
Play of the Night
Then they took a 2-1 lead. #StanleyCup>pic.twitter.com/t6IjHhL4ns - NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) April 28, 2019
Just a gorgeous deflection here from Hurricanes forward Nino Niederreiter to give his team a lead it wouldn't surrender. Niederreiter was drafted fifth overall by the Islanders in 2010, and was traded to Minnesota for Cal Clutterbuck in 2013. The Wild traded him to Carolina for Victor Rask in January.
Dud of the Night
Bednar, on non-icing call: "Exact same as the icing the other night. Karlsson had inside track on [Nieto], they're in a race. They blow it down because Karlsson had inside path. [Mikko's] got inside path on Vlasic. 2 similar plays, guy on inside got the call." (HT @wyshynski)>pic.twitter.com/x5oQc7EtJv - Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) April 29, 2019
The Sharks on that icing call. Whether or not the linesmen blew the call -- and defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic is waiting for his apology -- San Jose coach Peter DeBoer probably had the best take on Barrie's goal: "Whether or not I thought it was doesn't matter. Our players did. They let up. They relaxed for a minute and it obviously wasn't. So the lesson in that was don't assume anything in the playoffs. Play, and make sure."
On the schedule
St. Louis Blues at Dallas Stars, Game 3, 8 p.m. ET (Series tied 1-1)
On the one hand, Jordan Binnington had a .929 save percentage in three wins at Winnipeg in the first round. On the other hand, he had one good win (21 saves, .955 save percentage) and one not-so-great loss (four goals allowed on 24 shots) in Dallas this season.
Social post of the day
This video of the @NHLCanes>#TakeWarning>pic.twitter.com/4fiPcjpNGl - FOX Sports Carolinas (@CanesOnFSCR) April 29, 2019
You think the locals are fired up about this Carolina Hurricanes run?
Quotable
"This was the horseshoe-up-the-a-- game for us." -- anonymous Carolina player to Arthur Staple of The Athletic on Game 2.
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AVONDALE, La. – At the beginning of the week, Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer seemed like the most unlikely of pairs – a fiery 24-year-old from Spain, who is ranked 11th in the world with six wins in the past two years, and a cool 42-year-old from Texas, who hadn’t won since 2010.
By Sunday afternoon, they proved to be quite the team, winning the Zurich Classic by three shots over Tommy Fleetwood and Sergio Garcia.
“Obviously very different stories, but to get it done together … it was amazing,” said Rahm after the two capped an impressive 26-under performance with a 3-under 69 in foursomes.
Said Palmer: “I'll take him any day I can.”
A year ago, Rahm and Palmer found themselves in the same final-round group at TPC Louisiana – only with different partners, Rahm with Wesley Bryan and Palmer with Jordan Spieth. The two joked then that they’d make a pretty stout team.
“Our games complement each other so much, the way we drive the ball, our iron play,” Palmer said, “and there's nothing better than missing greens knowing his short game is behind me.”
Then Bryan tore his left labrum in his shoulder, and Spieth decided not to return to Zurich this year. Both players needed partners, so Palmer, with his fingers crossed, reached out to Rahm during the Desert Classic in January.
“I shot him a text hoping he would bite,” Palmer said. “When a 42-year-old player is calling him, he's probably like, ‘Why does he want to play with me?’”
Said Rahm: “I’m really happy I said yes.”
Rahm and Palmer have actually been friends for a few years. They first met at the 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open, where Rahm, then a junior at Arizona State, competed as an amateur. They were in the second-to-last group in the final round, along with Zach Johnson. Palmer shot 66 to tie for second and Rahm carded a 68 to share fifth.
“He made every single putt he looked at and I looked how he made every single putt,” Rahm said.
The pair’s relationship has strengthened since then. When Rahm turned pro a year later, Palmer was the first pro to invite Rahm to play in his charity event. They’ve been paired a few times in the past few seasons, too. Now, they’ve shared a victory together.
“You never know when that next win is going to come,” Palmer said, “and man, to come in at 42, and obviously in a partnership with Jon, and to have my wife and my son fly in this morning from Dallas, some friends are here from Amarillo, as well, this will live with me the rest of my life.”
And neither player plans to end a good thing.
Said Rahm: “Jordan and Wesley, sorry, we already have a partner for next year.”
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Putting powers Palmer-Rahm to victory at ‘crusty’ TPC Louisiana
Published in
Golf
Sunday, 28 April 2019 13:17
AVONDALE, La. – For the first 54 holes at the Zurich Classic, Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer drove it spectacularly and took advantage of soft conditions at TPC Louisiana.
That was far from the case Sunday.
Rahm and Palmer combined to hit just five fairways, and the greens – three days removed from getting soaked by heavy storms – became firm, fast and fiery.
“I couldn't find the planet [off the tee] to save my life for the most part of the day,” said Rahm, who found only two fairways – both with irons – in the final round’s foursomes format.
And the greens? Probably faster than what players saw two weeks ago at Augusta National, Palmer reckoned.
“The greens were crusty,” he explained. “… Your putter blade slips around on it when you put the putter behind the ball, so you're really cautious with that. And when you get greens that are that crusty, it's hard for the friction to kind of grab the ball and take breaks, and then the speed is so different from what you're used to.”
Despite the adversity, Rahm and Palmer were still able to deliver a three-shot victory over Tommy Fleetwood and Sergio Garcia. After 54-hole co-leaders Trey Mullinax and Scott Stallings bogeyed the first hole, Rahm and Palmer led outright the rest of the way, making four birdies and just one bogey.
Rahm had some highlight-reel moments on the back nine. He holed a 14-footer for birdie at the par-4 10th hole, stuck a wedge to 3 feet at the par-4 13th and sank a 24-footer for par at the par-4 15th.
But Rahm was quick to give credit to his partner.
“What got us going for the most part was a lot of those par putts that Ryan made,” Rahm said.
A day after he holed a crucial bogey putt that helped get the duo into Sunday’s final pairing, Palmer made four par saves from 5 feet and out. He also sank an 11-footer for birdie at the par-3 14th hole.
Not bad for a guy who was one of the worst putters on Tour just two years ago.
“I'm not going to use that word, what we were going through in putting,” Palmer said, “but it was getting close to it.”
Palmer had used his college putter for most of his pro career, but decided it was time for a change during the 2016-17 season, which he finished ranked 190th in strokes gained: putting.
“I didn’t even know there were 190 players out here,” Palmer quipped.
Palmer remembers going to a golf store and buying six putters. He also recalls showing up at a friend’s club with 10. It wasn’t until he changed his grips that things started to turn around.
First, at the 2017 John Deere Classic, Palmer’s caddie James Edmondson talked his boss into switching to the claw grip. Then, at the end of that season, Palmer’s coach Randy Smith outfitted Palmer’s putter with a Flat Cat grip.
“He said, ‘Let’s just try it. I think it could be the key,’” Palmer said. “… I've been with it ever since, same putter, Flat Cat grip, and it's turned my game around.”
It’s also helped Palmer, a top-30 putter this season, get back in the winner’s circle.
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Lee wins at LA Open to continue under-the-radar rise to LPGA's elite
Published in
Golf
Sunday, 28 April 2019 14:49
Minjee Lee is the LPGA’s stealthiest star.
She flies under the radar more than any top player in the women’s game, with a skill set that isn’t as celebrated as it ought to be.
Maybe that’s about to change.
With her victory Sunday at the Hugel-Air Premia LA Open, Lee is expected to climb to Rolex World No. 2 in Monday’s release of the new rankings. That’s right. She has put herself on the cusp of ascending to world No. 1 about as quietly as you can do so.
How much will she be driven to go all the way to the top?
“Being that close, it's in the back of my mind, but I'm not going to dwell too much on it,” Lee said. “Just, obviously, going to try my best every week, and, hopefully that will happen one day.”
While there’s respect for Lee’s talent, she hasn’t been in the conversation over who is really the best player in the women’s game. With so much focus on Jin Young Ko’s ascendance this year, with Nelly Korda off to such a terrific start, and with Sung Hyun Park, Ariya Jutanugarn, Brooke Henderson and Lexi Thompson getting so much attention for their big games and with Inbee Park still a factor, Lee has toiled in the shadows.
Not Sunday.
Not in the City of Angels, not in the shadow of tinsel town, not with a primetime Golf Channel finish.
And now Lee will take winning momentum to San Francisco and this week’s LPGA Mediheal Championship, where she nearly won last year, falling to Lydia Ko in a playoff.
“Coming into the first part of the year, I’ve been hitting it pretty solid,” Lee said. “I felt like it was close. I feel pretty good with this one.”
Lee won on one of the tour’s newest venues but most venerable courses. She showed her versatility winning at Wilshire Country Club, once host to the PGA Tour’s L.A. Open.
Lee isn’t flashy, outspoken or controversial. She doesn’t seek a lot of attention. For climbing so high in the world rankings, she also hasn’t won a lot, with Sunday’s title her fifth LPGA victory. Still, she has shown an ability to consistently contend. She has five second-place finishes in the last year, going back to that playoff loss at the Mediheal. This was just her second title in the last two-and-a-half years. Still, she’s only 22 and still trying to build a major championship resume. She has just three top-10 finishes in her 25 major championship starts, but she’s learning to put all the pieces of her game together.
They came together at Wilshire.
With Sunday’s 3-under-par 68, Lee was the only player to shoot four rounds in the 60s. At 14 under overall, she was four shots better than runner-up Sei Young Kim (66).
Kim was five shots back of Minjee with six holes to go and made a charge, making back-to-back birdies at the 13th and 14th to gets within two shots after Lee bogeyed 11th, but she couldn’t get closer.
Lee was solid the rest of the way.
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Zurich Classic purse payout: Palmer, Rahm don't need to split spoils
Published in
Golf
Monday, 29 April 2019 00:49
Here is the complete FedExCup points and purse breakdown for winners Ryan Palmer and Jon Rahm and the rest of the players who made the cut at the 2019 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Money and points represent what each player earned.
| Finish | Player | FedEx | Earnings ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Rahm/Ryan Palmer | 400.00 | 1,051,200.00 |
| 2 | Sergio Garcia/Tommy Fleetwood | 162.50 | 423,400.00 |
| T3 | Brian Gay/Rory Sabbatini | 96.25 | 256,412.50 |
| T3 | Kyoung-Hoon Lee/Matt Every | 96.25 | 256,412.50 |
| T5 | Hank Lebioda/Curtis Luck | 64.37 | 163,337.50 |
| T5 | Seamus Power/David Hearn | 64.37 | 163,337.50 |
| T5 | Roberto Castro/Cameron Tringale | 64.37 | 163,337.50 |
| T5 | Kevin Kisner/Scott Brown | 64.37 | 163,337.50 |
| T9 | Peter Malnati/Billy Hurley III | 44.00 | 92,345.00 |
| T9 | Martin Laird/Nick Taylor | 44.00 | 92,345.00 |
| T9 | Nick Watney/Charley Hoffman | 44.00 | 92,345.00 |
| T9 | Ian Poulter/Sam Horsfield | 44.00 / - | 92,345.00 |
| T13 | Kevin Tway/Kelly Kraft | 28.75 | 51,136.50 |
| T13 | Billy Horschel/Scott Piercy | 28.75 | 51,136.50 |
| T13 | Alex Cejka/Alex Prugh | 28.75 | 51,136.50 |
| T13 | Scott Stallings/Trey Mullinax | 28.75 | 51,136.50 |
| T13 | Adam Hadwin/Jim Knous | 28.75 | 51,136.50 |
| T18 | Joel Dahmen/Brandon Harkins | 17.50 | 33,716.87 |
| T18 | Chez Reavie/Lucas Glover | 17.50 | 33,716.87 |
| T18 | Russell Henley/Ryan Blaum | 17.50 | 33,716.87 |
| T18 | Henrik Stenson/Graeme McDowell | 17.50 | 33,716.87 |
| T22 | Troy Merritt/Robert Streb | 8.45 | 19,609.62 |
| T22 | Chris Stroud/Jason Kokrak | 8.45 | 19,609.62 |
| T22 | Austin Cook/Andrew Landry | 8.45 | 19,609.62 |
| T22 | Russell Knox/Brian Stuard | 8.45 | 19,609.62 |
| T22 | J.T. Poston/Stephan Jaeger | 8.45 | 19,609.62 |
| T22 | Shubhankar Sharma/Anirban Lahiri | - | 19,609.62 |
| T22 | Brooks Koepka/Chase Koepka | 8.45 / - | 19,609.62 |
| T22 | J.J. Spaun/Matt Jones | 8.45 | 19,609.62 |
| T30 | Corey Conners/Mackenzie Hughes | 4.90 | 15,987.00 |
| T30 | Shawn Stefani/Bill Haas | 4.90 | 15,987.00 |
| T32 | Julián Etulain/Andres Romero | 4.10 | 15,403.00 |
| T32 | Justin Harding/Branden Grace | - | 15,403.00 |
| T34 | Bubba Watson/J.B. Holmes | 3.30 | 14,819.00 |
| T34 | Tom Hoge/J.J. Henry | 3.30 | 14,819.00 |
| 36 | Keegan Bradley/Jon Curran | 2.85 / - | 14,381.00 |
| T37 | Whee Kim/Sungjae Im | 2.45 | 13,797.00 |
| T37 | Denny McCarthy/Roberto Díaz | 2.45 | 13,797.00 |
| T37 | Cody Gribble/Joey Garber | 2.45 | 13,797.00 |
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Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer teamed to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, but one of them actually fell in the Official World Golf Ranking.
No world ranking points were awarded in the team event. Rahm remained 11th in the world while Palmer dropped three spots, from 70th to 73rd.
There were points handed out in Morocco, however, and first-time European Tour winner Jorge Campillo jumped 25 spots to 65th thanks to his triumph at the Trophee Hassan II.
This week's Web.com Tour winner, Xinjun Zhang, rose nearly 100 points to 195th.
The top 10 in the world rankings remained the same, with world No. 1 Dustin Johnson followed by Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods, Francesco Molinari, Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele and Rickie Fowler.
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Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has hit back at former club captain Roy Keane by declaring his critics "can say what they want."
Keane has been critical of the France international, branding him "a problem" ahead of the derby defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday.
But Pogba, who has scored 16 goals this season and was named in the PFA team of the year, said he pays no attention to what is said in television studios when asked specifically about Keane's comments.
"There's no problem," he told RMC following the 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday. "They're paid to say things in front of the camera. I'm just focused on what happens on the pitch.
"They can say what they want, they're paid for that. I'm not paid to speak. I'm paid to be on the pitch and to fight for my team. That's all."
After the embarrassing 4-0 defeat at Everton, Pogba issued a public apology to supporters and said United had "disrespected" the fans who travelled to Goodison Park.
However, the interview prompted a furious response from Keane.
"I wouldn't believe a word he says," Keane told Sky Sports. "There's no meaning, no meaning behind it. I don't even think he believed what he was saying there. He is a big problem, no doubt about it.
"You've got to run back when you're defending. He said it got a bit heated after the game against Everton; I heard they were actually throwing their hair gel at each other."
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Nedum Onuoha has rejected an apology from striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic after the two players clashed during La Galaxy's 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake on Sunday.
Ibrahimovic, who scored the winning goal late on, received a yellow card after 60 minutes for grabbing the former Manchester City defender and throwing him to the floor, sparking a fiery confrontation.
After the match, the players continued the argument in the dressing room and Onouha later confirmed that he wasn't willing to make amends with the Swedish forward.
"He came in to apologize after the game, because from 60 minutes in, he's saying to me he's going to do me, he's going to hurt me for that game," Onuoha told reporters. "And this is the guy who's the face of MLS, as he calls himself, but this is the way he plays on the field.
"So I don't care. Someone comes in and tries to do that to me -- you don't say that on the field. I don't care. I'm not going to accept his apology. It's unacceptable."
Ibrahimovic had little regrets over the altercation and said that it helped him to perform better in the game.
"I like to feel alive," Ibrahimovic told reporters afterwards. "I like when it becomes duels and that, because sometimes -- not that I fall asleep, but I don't feel alive if they don't actually activate me. When I get angry, I feel good."
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Barcelona are taking inspiration from Pep Guardiola's tactics against Liverpool in the Premier League this season as they prepare for Wednesday's Champions League clash, sources have told ESPN FC.
Manchester City have earned four points against Jurgen Klopp's side in the league this season to leave themselves in pole position to win the Premier League with two games left. They won 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium and drew 0-0 at Anfield -- blowing the chance to take all three points when Riyad Mahrez missed a late penalty.
- Hunter: Liverpool have potential to be Barca's Kryptonite
Sources have told ESPN FC that Ernesto Valverde and his staff are confident going into the semifinal first leg this week, but they are aware the tie against Liverpool is Barca's toughest test in recent years.
Valverde has spent hours going over 24 carefully selected Liverpool games from this campaign, but it is their two matches against Guardiola's City side which he has been paying particular attention to.
The Barca coach believes the key to nullifying Liverpool's threat will be to overcome their pressing. At times City resorted to long balls and, even though Barca have never played that way, the source said it is being considered as "the last option."
"Liverpool apply very high pressure in the form of six or even seven players," a club source told ESPN FC. "They want to make you uncomfortable and, if possible, they want to rob the ball back.
"Our intention is to play as we always do. We want to get the ball at the back and play through their press. But we haven't ruled out going long if we have to."
A lot of work has also gone into analysing Liverpool's front three of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, too, while full-backs Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are also players Barca know they have to pin back as much as possible.
Valverde confirmed before Saturday's win over Levante -- which saw Barca crowned Spanish champions for a fourth time in five years -- that he has been exhaustively analysing Liverpool, while centre-back Clement Lenglet also spoke about the video work players have been doing.
"To prepare [for Liverpool] I have videos of the players I am going to face," he told El Periodico. "I look at what they like to do, how they dribble, how they move, how they behave at certain moments, what foot they prefer.
"When does Robertson, for example, like to cross and where does he usually put the ball? Does Firmino prefer to go to the front post or attack the back post? I like to have every piece of information possible."
Barca returned to training on Monday to step up preparations for Wednesday's game. The players had Sunday off after winning the league on Saturday, which was followed by the trophy presentation on the Camp Nou pitch and a small party.
"I won't lie, I've had a beer and I want another," midfielder Ivan Rakitic said on Saturday. "We have the day off [on Sunday] and when we get up in the morning we may have a headache. But, after that, we have to think about the Champions League."
Valverde has no new injury concerns going into the game. Lionel Messi has started the last two matches on the bench but will return to the side for the visit of Liverpool, while Rafinha is the only Barca player nursing an injury.
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Manchester United are seriously considering triggering Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak's €120 million buy-out clause, sources have confirmed to ESPN FC -- throwing David De Gea's future into doubt.
Oblak, 26, signed a new contract at Atletico in April, but his buy-out clause was only increased by only €20m to a figure which the United hierarchy believe would still be excellent value for a player considered one of the world's best in his position.
De Gea, 28, was United's player of the year in four of the last five seasons, but made the latest mistake of an error-strewn 2018-19 campaign in Sunday's 1-1 Premier League draw against Chelsea, and has just one year left on his contract.
Oblak had the opportunity to join Liverpool in the past, and Chelsea have also shown an interest. The Slovenia international had previously always preferred to stay at Atletico.
Despite extending his deal with Atletico up until 2023 with a pay rise included, sources have told ESPN FC Oblak is in a similar situation to teammate Antoine Griezmann in that he would like to see more top players arrive in order to help them compete with Barcelona -- while Real Madrid are also likely to strengthen.
Atletico have already lost 2018 World Cup winner Lucas Hernandez to Bayern Munich, while defenders Diego Godin, Juanfran and Filipe Luis are all out of contract in the summer. Meanwhile, several top clubs are interested in other key players including midfielders Saul Niguez and Rodrigo.
United are considering whether to pay Saul's €150m buy-out clause, while Manchester City and Barcelona are interested in Rodrigo, who has been likened to Sergio Busquets.
There is an understanding that Oblak would only leave Atletico for a team playing in the Champions League -- something which is far from certain at United, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team sitting sixth with two games remaining after taking just one point from the last nine available.
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