Marcus Rashford found the right answer to being benched by scoring Manchester United s winner at Wolves on Saturday, according to manager Erik ten Hag.
Despite being England s joint-top goalscorer at the World Cup and then netting two in two for United on his return to club football, Rashford was named on the bench for the visit to Molineux because of an internal disciplinary breach.
But after a lacklustre first-half display, Ten Hag brought on Rashford at the break, a decision that paid dividends as the forward scored a 76th-minute winner to send Manchester United into the Premier League s top four heading into 2023.
Ten Hag was delighted with the forward s response to being left out of the starting line-up, which the 25-year-old explained after the game was bec…
Chinese outfit Beijing Enterprise Group have announced the signing of Cheick Tiote from Newcastle United.
The Ivory Coast international was in the final four months of his deal at St James Park and had been expected to join Super League side Shandong Luneng.
However, in a late twist, the 30-year-old has opted to sign for the capital club, who play in China s second tier.
Beijing confirmed the arrival of Tiote, along with four other new signings, via their official Weibo account on Tuesday.
Tiote joined Newcastle from Twente in 2010 for a reported £3.5million and became a mainstay of their midfield.
The combative player, who won the Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast in 2015, has been used sparingly by Rafael Benitez this season, making just …
Trying to put a smile on the face of stricken team-mate Seamus Coleman will provide additional motivation for Everton as they go in search of a first Merseyside derby win over Liverpool since 2010, according to club captain Phil Jagielka.
The Toffees will be without Coleman at Anfield on Saturday and are unable to call on his services for months to come after the defender suffered a badly broken leg in Republic of Ireland s World Cup qualifying draw against Wales.
Everton have not beaten their local rivals in the last 13 meetings across all competitions and face another big match just three days later, when they visit Manchester United at Old Trafford.
There are two massive games coming up and that s one thing Seamus will want us to do, to play well and get …
Barcelona midfielder Xavi looks set to make a summer move to Qatari club Al Sadd
According to Spanish sports publication AS, Barcelona and Spain metronome Xavi Hernandez is set to leave the Catalan club for Qatari outfit Al Sadd on a three-year-contract.
The veteran midfielder has been the heartbeat of the Barcelona midfield for a long time, but it seems the time has come to leave.
The Catalans have not yet confirmed the deal, but the prospect of Xavi leaving La Liga and European football now seems a very real one.
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Xavi Hernandez will go down as a true Barcelona icon. A long with fellow La Masia graduate Andres Iniesta he has been the heart, soul and brains of the Barcelona midfield for over a decade.
His extraordinary ability to kee…
Newly appointed Barcelona technical director Eric Abidal admitted that Andres Iniesta is irreplaceable at Camp Nou but vowed to get the best out of French forward Ousmane Dembele.
Abidal, who made 125 league appearances for the club between 2007 and 2013, replaced Robert Hernandez after the Spaniard s contract expired and will work alongside head coach Ernesto Valverde in the 2018-19 season.
At his presentation to the media, alongside vice-president Jordi Mestre, the former Monaco and Lyon defender paid tribute to Iniesta, who joined Japanese club Vissel Kobe at the end of 2017-18.
We will make the decisions according to the needs of the team, Abidal told reporters. But we cannot replace Iniesta with a player of the same quality, that s impossible.
We w…
As Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo take football into a new stratosphere, the Champions League goal record is their latest battleground.
Having once again launched their quest for success this season on Europe s grandest stage, the game s two biggest stars are close to writing another entry into the history books.
It has long been a case of when and not if the 71 Champions League goal landmark of former Real Madrid and Schalke striker Raul will be surpassed.
Ronaldo has 69 in the Champions League proper; Messi is on 68.
Goalscoring immortality is imminent for one of them. Yet Ronaldo v Messi is a race that will run and run.
Football rarely produces such compelling rivalries between individual players but Messi and Ronaldo s exploits for sworn e…
VARs Darren England and Daniel Cook will return to Premier League duty this weekend following their error in last month’s fixture between Tottenham and Liverpool.
England and Cook were the VAR and VAR assistant respectively when Liverpool forward Luis Diaz’s goal was incorrectly ruled out for offside in Tottenham’s 2-1 home win.
Both officials were stood down the following week, but England will be back as the fourth official for Brentford’s home game against Burnley on Saturday and Cook will return as assistant referee for Sheffield United’s home match against Manchester United.
Referees body PGMOL have released the full audio from the VAR hub relating to the Luis Diaz goal that was incorrectly disallowed in Spurs v Liverpool
— Pre…
When: 7/30/2017, 4:00PM EDT
Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA
Tickets:
A derby match between two of Italy’s biggest rivals and is close to perfect closure of this year’s edition of the International Champions Cup.
Giallorossi and Bianconeri will lock horns in what is expected to be a highly competitive affair at the Gillette Stadium with both sides keen on grabbing the bragging rights and an important morale boost in the preseason.
AS Roma
Giallorossi are hoping to maintain the unbeaten record at the International Champions Cup as they prepare for a great preseason test against Serie A champions Juventus.
AS Roma opened their account with a 1-1 stalemate against whereas they managed to snatch a last-ditch winner in a clash …
Marseille can win Ligue 1 for the first time since 2009-10, according to midfielder Andre Ayew.
Marcelo Bielsa s Marseille are five points adrift of defending champions Paris Saint-Germain, who kicked off week 30 with a 3-1 win over Lorient, as they prepare to face second-bottom Lens on Sunday.
PSG, Lyon and Marseille are all in the hunt for honours in the French top flight and Ayew is optimistic about his side s chances under Chilean boss Bielsa.
I think playing under a coach like Marcelo Bielsa is great for any player, especially when you are young, Ayew told The Ligue 1 Show on beIN Sports.
He s a coach who is very tough, who wants to always go forward and I think since he has come, whether me or other players, we are learning a lot from his training…
Toronto FC must keep moving forward after their dramatic defeat to Atlanta United made it four straight losses, said John Herdman ahead of Wednesday s clash with Orlando City.
The Reds miserable run continued on Saturday as they were beaten 2-1 by Atlanta in remarkable circumstances.
The Five Stripes Jamal Thiare lurked behind Toronto goalkeeper Luka Gavran and stole possession from him as he went to kick the ball long, before converting into an empty net.
Despite the nature of the result, Herdman believes their performance represented a step in the right direction, saying: The team took a big step.
The players were all in. You got that sense they were grinding out a result, but also had chances to win it.
What can you say about the last goal? …