Bruno Fernandes guided Manchester United to a 1-0 victory over Southampton at St Mary s as they claimed back-to-back wins for the first time in the Erik ten Hag era to build on Monday s victory over Liverpool.
Fernandes, retaining the captain s armband as both Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo started on the bench, produced a classy 55th-minute finish to hand United the win.
Joe Aribo went closest to a leveller for Southampton with a close-range header, but United produced one of their most composed defensive performances of recent months to secure a first away league win in eight attempts.
After making a dire start to the new campaign, United have now strung together consecutive league wins for the first time since February, giving lift-off to Ten Hag s te…
Premier League rivals Liverpool and Manchester United will face off in a pre-season friendly in Bangkok.
The game will be played at the Rajamangala Stadium on July 12, where Jurgen Klopp s men will battle the Red Devils for the Bangkok Century Cup.
It is the only pre-season fixture confirmed by Liverpool so far, but United announced they will also play Melbourne Victory at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 15, before facing more familiar opposition again in Crystal Palace at the same venue four days later.
The last time Liverpool and United played in a friendly was in 2018 and saw the Reds win 4-1 in front of more than 100,000 fans in Michigan as part of the International Champions Cup.
United will be hoping to have a new permanent manager installed…
Andres Iniesta is adamant his former Barcelona team-mate Ivan Rakitic wants to stay at Camp Nou despite links with Paris Saint-Germain, Inter and Manchester United.
Croatia international Rakitic has spent five seasons at Barca following a move from Sevilla in 2014 and has been a key part of the side ever since, making at least 32 LaLiga appearances in each campaign.
Although his coaches have valued Rakitic s input, some supporters have questioned whether the 31-year-old merits inclusion in the Barca team.
But in spite of United, Inter and PSG apparently holding an interest in Rakitic, Iniesta is convinced his former colleague has no plans to leave.
Que alegría verte hermano
— Ivan Rakitic (@ivanrakitic)
I don t know if he is u…
Vitaly Janelt scored a classy double and Christian Eriksen opened his Brentford account in a sensational 4-1 derby win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
The Bees were the better side in the first half, but it was the Blues who took the lead just after the break through an Antonio Rudiger thunderbolt from long range.
Magnificent Brentford responded to that blow by scoring three times in the space of 10 minutes, Janelt on target with two brilliant strikes either side of Eriksen s clinical finish at the end of a devastating counter-attack.
Yoane Wissa added a late fourth goal as the Bees ran riot in a first victory over Chelsea since 1939, ending their London rivals six-match winning run to move 11 points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.
3 Ch…
Luis Suarez made his 100th appearance for Uruguay in the World Cup clash with Saudi Arabia in Rostov-on-Don on Wednesday.
As expected, the Barcelona striker was paired with Paris Saint-Germain s Edinson Cavani in attack for the Celeste in the Group A match.
Suarez, who failed to score in the 1-0 win over Egypt to start his country s campaign, became just the sixth Uruguayan to reach a century of caps.
A Copa America winner in 2011, Suarez was sent off for using his hand to stop Ghana from scoring in the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup.
He then received a four-month ban from all football activity and was suspended for nine international matches after biting Italy s Giorgio Chiellini at the previous tournament in Brazil four years ago.
Uruguay …
Harry is a University of Worcester graduate who has been writing professionally for the last two years. He specialises in several sports such as MMA, pro wrestling and athletics, with football being his primary love. He continues to dream of a life in the Premier League as a Wolves fan.
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Paris Saint-Germain s aggregate lead over Barcelona will not result in a change in Neymar s scheduled return from injury.
Kylian Mbappe made up for the absence of his star team-mate on Tuesday, with his sensational hat-trick propelling Mauricio Pochettino s PSG to a 4-1 victory at Camp Nou in the first leg of the Champions League last 16 tie.
Neymar – who scored twice in Barca s famous 6-5 aggregate triumph over PSG in 2017 – missed the game through an adductor injury sustained in a Coupe de France win over Caen.
The 29-year-old is set to miss four weeks, which would put him in line to be available for the return leg against his former club at the Parc des Princes on March 10.
However, asked if PSG s 4-1 lead heading into the game will mean there is…
On Thursday night, the Netherlands host Northern Ireland in a game that could prove pivotal to both teams’ chances of qualifying for Euro 2020. Both teams are in good positions in the group. However, with Germany also in Group C
Once again punching above their weight
Northern Ireland are once again mixing with the big footballing countries and not looking out of place. At the beginning of the qualification campaign, most would have had Germany and the Netherlands as likely automatic qualifiers from the group. The two giants of the international game may still clinch the top two spots in Group C.
However, Northern Ireland have done what they have done best under Michael O’Neill and punched above their weight during the campaign. They currently sit second in the tabl…
Vaclav Cerny struck the winner as Rangers ground out a 2-1 win over Motherwell at Hampden Park on Saturday to pick up their first victory of the Scottish Premiership campaign.
The Gers, held 0-0 by Hearts in their opening match of the season last week, survived an early scare when Lennon Miller fired wide from a glorious position in the opening minutes.
However, after Scott Wright had an effort stopped on the line, Cyriel Dessers who rescued a late European draw against Dynamo Kyiv in midweek found the net from close range with 13 minutes on the clock.
Motherwell responded instantly as John Souttar failed to cut out a deep delivery and Robin Propper turned into his own net, but fellow new signing Cerny cut inside and curled in a delightful goal seven minutes late…
Niko Kovac has challenged Bayern Munich to match the level of Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund but denied having any interest in poaching their rivals young stars.
Bayern head to Mainz on Saturday ahead of restorative back-to-back wins over Wolfsburg and AEK Athens, Kovac s position having come under scrutiny after they went four games without a win in all competitions heading into the October international break.
The champions slump was made all the more damaging by Dortmund s flying form under Lucien Favre.
After eight games, BVB occupy top spot on 20 points thanks to six wins and pair of draws – three points above nearest rivals Borussia Monchengladbach and Werder Bremen and four better off than Bayern in fourth.
It means the anticipation surroun…