Erik ten Hag was convinced Marcus Rashford would react the right way to his manager s risky decision to bench him following his late arrival to a meeting.
Rashford was left out of Ten Hag s starting line-up for Manchester United s away match with Wolves on December 31 for disciplinary reasons, with it later revealed Rashford had overslept and turned up late to a team meeting.
Ten Hag brought on Rashford with the game goalless at Molineux at half-time, to great effect too as the forward netted the winner.
Rashford then went on to score in the following two games, a 3-0 Premier League victory over Bournemouth and a 3-1 FA Cup success against Everton.
Ten Hag believes dropping Rashford was necessary to set the standard he wants, though he added he was confid…
Best Odds: 1/2
Bookmaker:
Looking to move another step closer to claiming this season s Premier League title, Manchester City will make the trip to West Ham on Sunday afternoon.
West Ham
Starting with the hosts, while West Ham might have been left heartbroken after their Europa League adventure come to an end out in Germany last week, the Hammers came roaring immediately back. Managing to pick up what was a much-needed boost thanks to a routine 4-0 romp against an already-relegated Norwich last weekend, David Moyes men have gained plenty of plaudits once again this season. Now firmly sat in pole position to book back-to-back European finishes this year, the one-time Manchester United boss finds his side holding a commanding five-point buffer from dropping out o…
France ended Finland s hopes of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time as a 2-0 win in Helsinki condemned the Nordic nation to third place in UEFA qualifying Group D.
With France s place at Qatar 2022 already secured, attention in the group was firmly on the battle for a place in the play-offs between Finland and Ukraine.
Finland began the night in the box seat, two points ahead of Ukraine, but the situation was turned on its head in the second half.
Oleksandr Zinchenko and Artem Dovbyk secured a 2-0 win for Ukraine over Bosnia-Herzegovina while Karim Benzema s deflected strike and a superb individual effort from Kylian Mbappe saw the reigning world champions claim maximum points as Finland fell at the final hurdle.
A long-range Mbappe effort wa…
It s a clash befitting a Champions League final, yet Barcelona and Manchester United will tussle twice over the next nine days just for the right to play in the last 16 of the Europa League.
A result of United s dreadful 2021-22 season and Barca s surprising failure to get out of their Champions League group means two giants of the European game find themselves in UEFA s second-tier competition.
While that might suggest a hint of both being fallen giants, these two teams are enjoying largely promising seasons, with Thursday s first leg at Camp Nou undeniably intriguing.
Barca are on course to win LaLiga for the first time since 2019, while United have made significant strides forward following the beginning of a rebuild with new manager Erik ten Hag. A Premier Le…
Market: Melbourne City win
Odds: 1/2 @
Looking to make an immediate return to winning ways in the early hours of Sunday morning, Melbourne City will welcome Brisbane to AAMI Park.
Starting with the hosts, coming off the back of a nightmare display on their travels last weekend, Melbourne City will be seeking an immediate response here. Eventually getting hit with an action-packed 4-2 defeat at the hands of Adelaide, Rado Vidosic s men will be glad to make a return to home soil on Sunday. Still holding a six-point buffer at the top of the A-League table and tipped as a runaway pick to defend their domestic crown this season, the Blues have gained a reputation for their continued success at AAMI Park. In fact, on a run that is highlighted by a famous 6-1 romp agai…
Javi Martinez has his sights set on making the Spain squad for Euro 2016 as he approaches a return to peak condition.
The 27-year-old has been plagued by injuries in the past two seasons and featured just three times for Bayern Munich in 2014-15 due to a knee problem.
After returning to training in early September, the former Athletic Bilbao midfielder played the full 90 minutes for the first time this season in Bayern s 5-1 win over Borussia Dortmund before the international break.
Martinez has now confirmed he is rapidly nearing match fitness and is hopeful of a call-up from Vicente Del Bosque for Euro 2016 in France next year.
The European Championships is my goal, hopefully I can be with the Spain team when this is the case, Martinez told reporter…
Pep Guardiola says Manchester City do not have the quality to replicate Liverpool s 5-0 victory over Manchester United when they face the Red Devils on Saturday.
Liverpool recorded their biggest ever margin of victory against United in last month s contest thanks to Mohamed Salah s hat-trick and goals from Nany Keita and Diogo Jota.
It also marked the first time United have lost by five or more goals without scoring since February 1955, when going down 5-0 to City.
United have a good recent record against City, however, having gone unbeaten against them in four league meetings – their best run since between 2008 and 2011 (six matches).
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s four wins from eight encounters with Guardiola in all competitions, meanwhile, is the best win …
Carlo Ancelotti is back in charge of Real Madrid and has plenty on his plate after succeeding Zinedine Zidane.
The Italian called time on an 18-month stay at Everton in order to return to the club where he won the Champions League, Copa del Rey and Club World Cup in a spell between 2013 and 2015.
However, Ancelotti inherits a Real squad with plenty of question marks over it.
The Spanish giants have just endured their first trophyless season since 2009-10 and so there is plenty for the 61-year-old to consider as he starts his second stint.
75% Carlos Ancelotti has won 75% of his managerial games for Real Madrid in all competitions (89 wins in 119 games), the best win percentage of any Real Madrid manager with at least 50 games. Return.
— Opta…
Antonio Conte insists his outburst following Tottenham s recent loss to Burnley was strategic rather than emotional as he reiterated his commitment to the Premier League side.
The 52-year-old appeared to question his own future after last week s 1-0 defeat at Turf Moor when stating he was not good enough to fix Spurs problems.
Conte, who signed an 18-month contract with Tottenham in November, later took aim at his squad on the back of a fourth defeat in five league matches.
That led to reports that the Italian could be heading for an early exit from Spurs, but he backtracked on those comments ahead of Saturday s 4-0 win at Leeds United.
Conte has now further explained his remarks, admitting there is a specific intention behind what he says in news confere…
US Soccer confirmed on Thursday that the 2016 Copa America Centenario will go ahead as planned despite the latest arrests in the FIFA corruption scandal.
CONCACAF president Alfredo Hawit and CONMEBOL president Juan Angel Napout were arrested in Zurich prior to the FIFA Executive Committee s briefing on its plans to implement reform within the organisation.
The US attorney general later confirmed that 16 individuals had been charged with corruption as part of its investigation into football s governing body.
However, US Soccer has made it clear that the tournament will take place as planned from June 3 to June 26 across 10 American venues, despite Hawit s arrest, insisting there are rigorous safeguards in place despite the turmoil.
Their statement read…