Marcus Rashford must have watched Cristiano Ronaldo practice free-kicks at Manchester United, according to caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Rashford sealed Manchester United s 2-0 win over Newcastle United on Wednesday, having also helped Romelu Lukaku open the scoring.
Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka was unable to deal with Rashford s free-kick for the opener, spilling it for Lukaku to tap in.
Solskjaer believes Rashford may have learnt a bit from former United star Ronaldo, who left Old Trafford in 2009.
I can talk about loads of individuals but when you re a striker like he is, scores such a great goal like today, calm, composed, just passes it past the goalkeeper, he told a news conference.
Ice-cool finish
Red-hot form is ton…
Tottenham are close to the signing of James Maddison with the Leicester midfielder set to undergo a medical on Wednesday.
Spurs entered advanced talks with recently-relegated Leicester earlier this week and have now struck a deal for the England international, the PA news agency understands.
Maddison will move to Tottenham in a transfer worth £40million plus add-ons, having already agreed personal terms.
The signing of Maddison will represent a major coup for Spurs, who have been long-term admirers of the 26-year-old.
Ex-Tottenham boss David Pleat recommended Maddison to chairman Daniel Levy when the playmaker was still a teenager at Coventry, but no move was able to materialise and he instead joined Norwich.
Spurs’ interest and desire to event…
Antonio Conte insisted he is not a political person though recognised he is not particularly diplomatic as the Inter head coach tried to draw a line under his criticism of the Nerazzurri.
Doubts circulated over the future of Conte at San Siro after he delivered a withering assessment of the little protection he felt his Inter side received amid question marks over performances of the Serie A team.
That led to speculation Conte s tenure could come to end after just a solitary season, with Massimiliano Allegri and Mauricio Pochettino emerging as reported targets to take over.
Conte later preached unity, though, and has engineered Inter s route to the Europa League final, which included a 5-0 battering of Shakhtar Donetsk in the last four on Monday.
Inter pr…
Federico Bernardeschi retains faith in Juventus Champions League aspirations in the wake of their elimination at the hands of Ajax, stating they will win the competition within two seasons.
Juve went into the quarter-final second leg at Allianz Stadium on Tuesday with an away goal following a 1-1 draw in Amsterdam and Cristiano Ronaldo headed them in front in the 28th minute.
However, Donny van de Beek equalised with a cool finish before half-time and Matthijs de Ligt converted from a corner in the 67th minute to give Ajax a famous 3-2 aggregate victory over Massimiliano Allegri s side.
Juve shelled out €112million to sign five-time Champions League winner Ronaldo from Real Madrid last July in a bid to boost their chances of lifting the trophy f…
Manchester United are interested in signing Harry Kane from Bayern Munich in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that United were keen on securing the services of Kane in the summer of 2023 before he left Tottenham Hotspur for Bayern and remain keen on him.
Kane is one of the best strikers in the world and has been superb for Bayern so far this season. Even though Thomas Tuchel’s side are not having the best of the seasons, on a personal level, the England international is doing extremely well. The 30-year-old striker has scored 27 goals and given five assists in 23 Bundesliga matches and has scored four goals and provided three assists in seven UEFA Champions League games this season.
United are sixth in the Premier League table at the m…
The San Jose Earthquakes and Colorado Rapids booked their spots in the MLS play-offs on Wednesday.
The 10-man Earthquakes held on for a 3-2 win over Los Angeles FC.
Latif Blessing tapped in the opener for LAFC midway through the first half, but an Eduard Atuesta own goal from a corner brought San Jose level.
Chris Wondolowski s side-footed finish from a Cristian Espinoza cross put the Earthquakes ahead eight minutes before half-time.
However, San Jose s chances took a hit when Jackson Yueill was sent off for a rash challenge in the 61st minute.
But Espinoza delivered an excellent finish to make it 3-1 and the Earthquakes held on despite Diego Rossi s late goal.
Cristian Espinoza extends the lead for !
— Major League Soccer (@ML…
Scott McTominay scored the only goal of the game as Manchester United booked their spot in the FA Cup fourth round with a slender 1-0 win over Watford on Saturday.
McTominay was one of only two survivors from the EFL Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday and the midfielder – captaining the Red Devils for the first time – headed his side in front after just five minutes.
Eric Bailly and Juan Mata squandered good chances to extend United s lead before the interval, while Dean Henderson had to be alert to thwart Adam Masina.
United rarely threatened a second during a dismal second half but they saw things out with the minimum of fuss to inflict a 10th straight defeat for the Hornets at Old Trafford.
The hosts wasted little …
Santiago Solari is keen on taking a job in the Premier League, having been sacked by Real Madrid earlier this year.
Solari s short spell in charge of the LaLiga giants came to an end in March 2019, with Zinedine Zidane returning to the Santiago Bernabeu.
The former midfielder initially thrived as Julen Lopetegui s temporary replacement but was dismissed soon after Madrid s three-year reign as European champions was brought to an end in stunning style by Ajax.
Solari has not been employed as a coach since leaving Madrid but the 42-year-old is ready to return to the dugout, with the Premier League holding a particular appeal.
I would like to coach in Europe, in a serious project in one of the big leagues, he told BBC Sport.
I saw the Premier Lea…
Diego Simeone has backed his players to respond to a shock LaLiga defeat to Real Mallorca against Porto in the Champions League next week.
Atleti are in fourth spot in LaLiga – seven points behind leaders Real Madrid – after the 2-1 loss at the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday.
It was their first defeat on home turf against Mallorca since April 2006 and against a side who were winless in their previous seven LaLiga games.
Atletico also lost a LaLiga match at home after scoring the first goal of the game for the first time since a 2-1 loss to Barcelona in September 2015.
Atleti s attention will now switch to their final fixture in Group B against Porto on Tuesday where anything other than victory will see them exit the competition.
Simeone claim…
Diego Simeone is confident Atletico Madrid officials will do what is best for the club amid talk of a new European Super League.
Reports emerged on Sunday claiming that 12 clubs – including LaLiga leaders Atleti – will compete in the new competition, a rival to the UEFA Champions League.
Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Milan and Inter are said to be the other sides involved, though the proposal reportedly includes an expansion option to 16 or 18 teams.
UEFA responded strongly, insisting it will do everything in its power to block the plans, including banning the 12 clubs from their own competitions, while there has also been a suggestion that players involved may not be allowed …