Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer compared two-goal hero Marcus Rashford to Cristiano Ronaldo following his stunning free kick against Chelsea in the EFL Cup.

Rashford s spectacular 73rd-minute free kick sealed a 2-1 victory away to Chelsea and United s place in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

Michy Batshuayi had cancelled out Rashford s 25th-minute penalty after the hour before the United star stepped up and scored a jaw-dropping, Ronaldo-esque set piece.

United great Ronaldo spent six years at Old Trafford, where he netted a number of free kicks as he won three Premier League titles and the Champions League before leaving in 2009.

It s very Cristiano-like, isn t it? Solskjaer told MUTV. The boy has got nerves of steel, takes a penalty, no…

The former Real Madrid star whose words inspired the infamous WALES. GOLF. MADRID flag hopes criticism of Gareth Bale has come to an end.

Predrag Mijatovic, scorer of 44 goals for Madrid in the late 1990s, fuelled negative fan opinion against the 30-year-old winger when he questioned Bale s priorities in an October interview.

[The perception is] the first thing he thinks about is Wales, then golf and after that, Real Madrid, Mijatovic, 50, was quoted as telling radio station Cadena SER.

Wales fans adapted the comments into a light-hearted chant and later a banner, which Bale posed behind following last month s triumph over Hungary.

The former Tottenham star was celebrating qualification for Euro 2020 but several Spanish media outlets perceived his action…

Kai Havertz was the hero as Chelsea snatched a 1-0 win over Newcastle United on Sunday at the end of a difficult week at Stamford Bridge.

The European champions did not manage a shot on target for 75 minutes in a largely listless performance coming just days after Roman Abramovich was disqualified as owner after being sanctioned by the UK government following Russia s invasion of Ukraine.

The lack of clarity over the club s future seemed to permeate the performance, with even Chelsea s home shirts creating confusion given they carried the Three logo despite the company suspending sponsorship and asking the banding to be removed.

Havertz eventually tested Martin Dubravka with a header late in the second half but it looked as though Newcastle – whose own Saudi Ar…

Ange Postecoglou changed the landscape of Australian football and now the trailblazer is tasked with leading an embattled Celtic back to the Scottish summit, having been dethroned by bitter rivals Rangers.

Postecoglou – cut from the same cloth as Pep Guardiola and Maurizio Sarri – was appointed by Celtic last month amid some backlash in Scotland, but Bhoys fans are slowly starting to get an idea of why the former Australia manager is so highly rated.

With an emphasis on a high-octane style of attacking football and unrelenting belief in his philosophy, Postecoglou is the most decorated coach in Australian football history.

From South Melbourne to Australia and Japan, Postecoglou has won it all – a pair of National Soccer League championships, back-to-back A…

Everton fans have staged a protest outside the Premier League’s headquarters in London in response to the club’s 10-point punishment for breaching financial regulations.

The Toffees were handed the sanction by an independent commission last week after they exceeded losses permitted under the league’s profitability and sustainability rules by £19.5million in the three seasons ending in 2021-22.

Manager Sean Dyche expressed shock at the “disproportionate” penalty on Friday, a sentiment shared by the fans who gathered outside the Premier League’s offices in Paddington, west London.

Paul, 36, who lives in East Dulwich but is originally from St Helens, is a season-ticket holder who will be at Sunday’s game against Manchester United.

He told the …

Mason Mount was delighted to fire Chelsea into the Champions League final against Manchester City but felt Real Madrid got off lightly with a 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.

Timo Werner headed Thomas Tuchel s Chelsea into a first-half lead in London but the tie remained in the balance until Mount made it 3-1 on aggregate five minutes from time on Wednesday.

Chelsea were far superior and passed up a host of chances to make the game safe – Opta s expected goals xG projection tallying 3.8-0.5 in Chelsea s favour.

We should ve probably had about five, Mount beamed in his post-match interview with BT Sport. But the most important thing is we won. We want to go into every game winning it.

It was 1-0 but that really didn t matter because if they score, they …

Napoli manager Walter Mazzarri hailed a “thrilling” match in prospect after his side were drawn against Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League.

The Serie A champions will face their LaLiga counterparts in February after progressing from a tough group which contained Real Madrid, Braga and Union Berlin.

It took a victory on the final matchday against the Portuguese side before qualification was confirmed.

— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli)

And their reward is a meeting with a Barca side who last played at this stage of the competition in 2021 having been eliminated in the group stage in each of the last two seasons.

Mazzarri replaced the sacked Rudi Garcia in November with two games of the group to go and helped salvag…

Verdict: Both teams to score

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Verona will be looking to get out of the relegation zone with a home win against Lecce. The match will start Monday night at 19:30 on Marc Antonio Bentegodi Stadium. More than 30,000 fans are expected to back their favourites for a much-needed 3 points.

Verona

Marco Baroni, the experienced Italian manager failed to impress since his arrival this summer. After a perfect start to the season with an away 1-0 win at Empoli, Verona pulled an impressive home victory against Jose Mourinho s Roma (2-1). Since then, the Yellow-Blues went on to have a disastrous spell of results, failing to win in their last 11 competitive matches. Sitting on 19th with 8 points after 12 rounds, Leece needs a win to ease the pre…

Manchester City moved 10 points clear at the top of the Premier League after a 3-1 victory over Everton at Goodison Park on Wednesday. 

With in-form goalscorer Ilkay Gundogan missing through injury, it was fellow midfielders Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva who stretched City s winning run to 17 games in all competitions. 

Mahrez struck a sublime second for City in the second half, his fourth league goal on this ground, after a fortuitous Richarlison effort had cancelled out Foden s deflected opener. 

Silva s third 13 minutes from time – shortly before Kevin De Bruyne made a return from injury off the bench – ensured Carlo Ancelotti s side have only won twice in eight league games in 2021, and their season is in danger of unravelling.�…

Another record went tumbling on Wednesday as Cristiano Ronaldo became the leading goalscorer in the history of international men s football.

Ronaldo, who completed a remarkable move to Manchester United this week, surpassed the tally of 109 set by Iran great Ali Daei.

The 36-year-old pulled level with Daei during the recent Euro 2020 tournament, but he reached 111 with a dramatic late double during the World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland at Estadio Algarve.

To mark the Portuguese superstar’s latest record, Stats Perform looked back at some of the milestone goals from the 785 he has scored in his incredible career

Cristiano Ronaldo = top international scorer in history!

— European Qualifiers (@EURO2020)

G…