A moment of magic from Marcus Rashford covered for the fact that United’s strikers have struggled all season – backing up José Mourinho’s regular gripesFeyenoord, Fenerbahce, Zorya, St-Étienne, Rostov, Anderlecht and now Celta Vigo. Against their seventh different opponent from a seventh country Manchester United’s challenge was to finally produce the signature display that had eluded them on their travels.Do so in this Europa League semi-final first leg and José Mourinho’s side would make themselves firm favourites to reach the final at Solna’s Friends Arena in Stockholm later in May. Related: Marcus Rashford gives Manchester United crucial away win over Celta Vigo Related: Celta Vigo v Manchester United: Europa League semi-final first leg – as it happened Continue reading...
The 23-year-old Argentinian forward, an immensely talented player with ‘PlayStation moves’, will be key as the Italian side take on Monaco in the Champions League semi-finalThe 24 years since Argentina last won a trophy are frustrating enough but they have been given additional edge of late by the suspicion that the conveyor belt that brought five Under-20 World Cups between 1995 and 2007 is not delivering talent at anything like the same rate. Lionel Messi, Sergio Agüero and Gonzalo Higuaín will all be older than 30 by the time of the next World Cup final: when they are gone, who can replace them?The answer probably lies in Turin, with a 23-year-old who could have played for Poland. Paulo Dybala has...
The Brazilian full-back arrived at the Bernabéu as a 19-year-old but a decade later he is one of the most consistent players at Zinedine Zidane’s disposal For the second time in six days, the final whistle brought Marcelo Vieira to his knees, but this time his body didn’t slump forward face first, fists beating the floor; this time his body arched back and his arms were raised to the sky, like the poster from Platoon. After the clasico late last Sunday night, Real Madrid’s left-back took responsibility for how it had ended; after their match with Valencia early on Saturday evening, he didn’t – even though this time it actually was his doing. “We all fought, we all ran,” he...
Bayern Munich wrapped up a fifth successive Bundesliga title sparking scenes of celebration, but the outlook for Wolfsburg is far bleakerIt has been a long couple of weeks for Bayern Munich. Little wonder, then, that Thiago Alcântara’s first words as the players made it back to the dressing room after celebrating with a fifth successive Bundesliga crown with their travelling fans at Wolfsburg were, according to Süddeutsche Zeitung, a throaty cry of “donde está el alcohol?”Long after the season is done, Bayern will pick over the season’s two most costly defeats, each of which defy comprehension for very different reasons – against Real Madrid, in the Champions League and last week, against Borussia Dortmund in the DfB Pokal semi-final. In...
The island’s only top-flight team are mired in fan violence, underinvestment and poor results, and their ultras are heavily culpable for the toxic atmosphereOfficial retribution for the ugly scenes that led to the abandonment of Sporting Club de Bastia’s French league match against Lyon two weeks ago was swift and will almost certainly get more brutal. Corsica’s only top-flight club are bottom of Ligue 1 and members of the Bastia 1905 ultra group may have sealed the club’s descent into the second tier by twice attacking assorted Lyon players before the game was called off. Bastia were ordered to play Saturday’s home game against Rennes behind closed doors at the neutral Stade Parsemain in Fos‑sur‑Mer on the French mainland, where they...