Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane is considering a departure from the club as soon as next summer, according to a report published on AS. Varane’s contract expires in the summer of 2022 and Real Madrid would sell the player this summer if he refuses to sign a contract extension with Los Blancos, per that same report.
Varane is 28 years old and Real Madrid don’t want to lose him as a free agent in 2022 when they could cash in some money for him this summer. That said, selling Varane is not a priority and it would only be done if the defender proves that he doesn’t want to extend his contract.
It’s been more than 10 years since Real Madrid signed Varane away from Lens for €10 million, and while that deal definitely paid off, it would be a pity to lose him in the current financial context now that he has reached his peak as a player.
The French defender is probably trying to get a better deal than his current contract, but if he truly wants to find a new challenge Real Madrid should probably sell and then focus on finding a replacement in the transfer market.
AS’ report mentions Alaba, Joules Kounde and Pau Torres as the main candidates to join Real Madrid if Varane leaves the club this summer.
Sergio Ramos and Eden Hazard completed Wednesday’s training session with the rest of Real Madrid’s squad as they have recovered from their respective injuries. Both of them should be ready to play when Madrid face Elche this Saturday.
Sergio Ramos
Mariano Diaz and Dani Carvajal are now the two only injured players for Madrid, who have recovered most of the depth they lost during the last weeks and will be able to rely on a very strong team when they take on Atalanta in the return leg of the Champions League.
All things considered, coach Zinedine Zidane will likely take a cautious approach with both of them. Varane and Nacho have been getting the job done defensively and Hazard’s issues with muscle injuries are problematic enough to make sure that he is slowly worked back into the team.
Furthermore, Ramos’ injury was a serious one, so it would be better for both Real Madrid and the defender to be patient.
It was a gathering of football stars in Port Harcourt on Tuesday when Minister of Youth and sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare unveiled the Real Madrid Football Academy.
While commissioning the academy that combines football with education, the minister gave the assurance that the institution would not only create jobs, but produce world class future stars.
Dare said from time immemorial, Rivers State had a reputation for producing notable sports people like the Great Jaja of Opobo, Alfred Diette Spiff, Justice Karibe Whyte, foremost viriologist Professor Tam David West as well as two Sports Ministers Alabo Graham Douglas and Tammy Danagogo.
He said “Today’s event is therefore not only epochal but special and monumental. I’m confident that the Real Madrid Academy will produce fantastic players in the mould of Paul Hamilton, Justice Adokiye Amaesimaka, Jossy Dombraye, Taribo West, Furo Iyenemi and Nigeria’s most capped player Joseph Yobo. The foundation for the actualisation of this dream has been laid today”.
Minister Dare unveils the academy
Dare went on to say that even as the duo of Emmanuel Amuneke and Gbenga Okunowo had played for Real Madrid bitter rivals Barcelona, no Nigerian has played for the Galaticos.
He, however, opined that the brand new academy could change that trajectory by producing new Raul Gonzalez, Roberto Carlos, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and a host of others.”
The minister, therefore, assured the Rivers State Government of the unflinching support of the Federal Ministry of Youth and sports Development to ensure the implementation of the academy’s mandate.
It will be recalled that the Real Madrid Football Academy, Port-Harcourt was founded in 2019 by the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike having been given the Franchise to operate by the Real Madrid Foundation.
The Round of 16 games of our much-loved competition continue on Wednesday. More specifically, we’ve got:
Liverpool vs RB Leipzig (current agg. 2-0), and of course
Paris Saint Germain VS Barcelona (current agg. 4-1)
There’s probably little point in asking which one most of us are more interested in. It will be quite interesting to see whether Barcelona can pile the pressure on PSG and pull a comeback like that comeback, though this Paris Saint Germain team have a point to prove and won’t easily let qualification slip through their fingers.
As for the other game, it may be unwise to consider the job done already, as Liverpool have been anything but commendable at home lately and Leipzig are a very decent team. All in all, this ought to be an interesting night of football (or day, depending on where you live).
So what’s your take? What do you think will happen in these games?
Brazil’s iconic Maracana stadium is to be named in honour of the country’s legendary footballer Pele.
The move follows a vote by the Rio de Janeiro state legislature to change the venue’s name to the Edson Arantes do Nascimento – Rei Pele stadium.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento is the 80-year-old’s full name, while Rei means king in Portuguese.
The Rio de Janeiro’s state governor must approve the name change before it becomes official.
Pele, who won three World Cups as a player for Brazil, scored his 1,000th goal at the stadium in 1969 when playing for Santos against Vasco da Gama.
The Maracana held the 1950 and 2014 World Cup finals, as well as the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympics.
More than 200,000 spectators are reported to have been in the stadium to watch Uruguay beat Brazil in the 1950 final, although its capacity is now 78,838.
It was named after Mario Filho, a journalist who lobbied for its construction in the 1940s, but was known as the Maracana after the area in which it is located.
John Barnes scored one of England’s most iconic goals against Brazil in 1984 at the Maracana
Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani “does not feel comfortable” and could move back to his native South America, his father said.
The Uruguay international, 34, joined United on a free transfer last October on an initial one-year deal having left Paris St-Germain.
He has scored seven goals in 25 appearances this season.
“There is a 60% chance that Edinson will come to South America,” Luis Cavani told the TyC Sports network.
Edison Cavani
However, on Tuesday night Cavani posted a photo on his Instagram account of him playing for United with the caption “proud to wear this shirt”.
In the interview with TyC Sports Luis Cavani said: “We are very anxious. We have always been to visit him, he has been in very beautiful places where people have received him very well.
“He has made himself loved, he has made many friends, but today he does not feel comfortable where he is.
“He has been thinking for more than two years that he wants to be closer to his family and that is the reason why I think Edi is going to end up playing for a team from here in South America.”
Cavani’s father said he could move to Boca Juniors in Argentina.
“I know that he would like to play and be close to his country, so that we could be closer to him,” Cavani senior added.Edinson Cavani missed Manchester United’s win over Manchester City on Sunday through injury
Sergio Oliveira’s 115th-minute goal shocked Juventus to send Porto through in a stunning Champions League round of 16 tie despite a 3-2 second-leg win for the Italian side.
Oliveira’s long-range free-kick deep into the second half of extra time went through the legs of Cristiano Ronaldo in the Juventus wall to make it 2-2 on the night and give Porto the lead over two legs.
Adrien Rabiot’s thumping header two minutes later gave Juventus hope, only for Porto goalkeeper Agustin Marchesin to produce a stunning save in the final moments to ensure the Portuguese champions advanced on away goals.
Porto had opened up a 3-1 aggregate lead through Oliveira’s 19th-minute penalty after Merih Demiral brought down Porto’s Mehdi Taremi.
But Juventus’ Federico Chiesa found the far corner from a tight angle in the 49th minute before Taremi was shown a second yellow card for kicking the ball away.
And Chiesa headed in a Juan Cuadrado cross after 63 minutes to level the tie on aggregate.
It looked Juventus would capitalise on their man advantage but Porto defended superbly to take the match extra time where Oliveira’s decided the tie.
Erling Braut Haaland scored his 19th and 20th goals in 14 Champions League appearances as Borussia Dortmund drew 2-2 with Sevilla to progress to the quarter-finals 5-4 on aggregate.
The 20-year-old striker opened the scoring on 35 minutes with what was his only touch in the opposition’s box in the first half, Marco Reus’ pull-back finding the Norwegian for an easy tap-in past goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
If Haaland’s 19th Champions League goal was simple, his 20th was a test of nerve in the face of drama.
Early in the second half, he bullied his way past the Sevilla defence to find the net from a tight angle only to have the goal ruled out for a foul. But the video assistant referee awarded a penalty for a shirt-pull by Jules Kounde on Haaland in the build-up.
The Norwegian took the spot-kick himself and saw both his first attempt and his follow-up saved by Bounou.
The spectacle did not end there, however, as VAR determined Bounou had moved too early off his line and the penalty was taken again, with Haaland finally slotting home to give Dortmund a 5-2 advantage in the tie.
Sevilla kept their hopes alive through a Youssef En-Nesyri penalty, before the same man’s powerful header deep in added time made the final moments nervy for the Bundesliga side.
Dortmund have reached the last eight of the Champions League for the first time since the 2016-17 season and will find out their opponents when the draw is made on 19 March.
Paris St-Germain have ruled Neymar out of the second leg of their last-16 Champions League tie against Barcelona.
The Brazil forward missed the first leg against his former side, which PSG won 4-1, with a thigh injury.
“Neymar returned to partial training with the squad last week and will continue to work back to fitness individually,” said a PSG statement.
Barcelona will be without defenders Gerard Pique and Ronald Araujo for the match in Paris on Wednesday.
Pique sustained a knee injury in the Copa del Rey semi-final win over Sevilla on 3 March, while Araujo has returned to training after an ankle problem but is not in the squad.
Ex-Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho is still missing for the Spanish side because of a knee injury.
Barcelona, who lost 8-2 to eventual winners Bayern Munich in last season’s one-legged quarter-final, have made it past the last 16 of the Champions League in each of the past 13 seasons.
In 2016-17, they were beaten 4-0 by PSG in the last-16 first leg in Paris, before winning the second leg 6-1 in Spain.
Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman remained optimistic his side could reach the quarter-finals and said: “It is always different to have a result like this.
“Losing 4-1 at home means we have to score goals away from home and it’s more complicated but nothing is impossible.
“We believe in ourselves – we know we are Barca and have to win and will demonstrate this mentality.”
PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino, who took Tottenham to the Champions League final in 2018-19, will also be without on-loan Everton striker Moise Kean as he is self-isolating because of coronavirus.
Neymar helped the French champions reach their first Champions League final last August and has scored 12 goals in 17 competitive fixtures this season.
Joachim Low will step down from his role as Germany manager after this summer’s European Championships.
The 61-year-old has been in charge of his country’s national team since replacing Jurgen Klinsmann in 2006.
He had a contract until the 2022 World Cup but approached the German Football Association (DFB) to end it early.
“I take this step very consciously, full of pride and enormous gratitude,” said Low, who led his country to victory at the 2014 World Cup.
He added that “at the same time” he continues “to be very motivated when it comes to the upcoming European Championship tournament”.
“I am proud because it is an honour for me to be involved and because I have been able to work with the best footballers in the country and support them in their development,” said Low.
Sensational Joachim
Following the World Cup success in Brazil, Low guided Germany to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 where they were beaten by hosts France.
He then came under pressure after his side went out at the group stage of the 2018 World Cup.
“I have great triumphs with them and painful defeats, but above all many wonderful and magical moments – not just winning the 2014 World Cup in Brazil,” added Low.
“I am and will remain grateful to the DFB, which has always provided me and the team with an ideal working environment.”
Germany are in Group F with France, Hungary and Portugal for this summer’s European Championships, which will take place from 11 June to 11 July after being delayed by a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
They open their campaign against France on 15 June at Allianz Arena in Munich.
Younger Joe
DFB president Fritz Keller said: “The fact that he informed us about his decision at an early stage is very decent.
“He gives us the necessary time to name his successor.”
Media outlets in Uruguay have confirmed the death of 25 year old Franco Acosta, the center forward has been missing since Saturday 6th of March, after he tried to cross a river. The terrible incident happened during an outing organised to celebrate his 25th birthday, it’s indeed a dark month for Uruguayan football and the world football at large.
The former U-20 Uruguay National team player, Franco Acosta, was last seen on 6th March 2021, attempting to swim with his brother across Arroyo Pando (a river), located in the Department of Canelones in Uruguay, when he disappeared. A police search was launched but unfortunately his lifeless body was later found, confirming that he died by drowning.
Franco Acosta was a former Villarreal youth player between 2015 and 2020, he was without a club until August 2020, when he signed with Atenas de San Carlos (an Uruguayan team), which was his current team, before the unfortunate incident. He was among the Uruguay youth international players to feature in the American youth tournament in 2015, where he scored two goals against Chile and overall netted in 6 goals.
Midfielder Declan Rice said West Ham is a “special place to be” as they maintained their unlikely push for a place in next season’s Champions League with a deserved victory over Leeds United.
David Moyes’ side climbed to fifth in the Premier League – two points behind Chelsea, who beat Everton 2-0 earlier on Monday – and have a game in hand on their London rivals.
Jesse Lingard sparked West Ham into life at London Stadium when his menacing run into the penalty area drew a foul from Luke Ayling. Lingard, on loan from Manchester United, converted the rebound after his spot-kick was saved by Illan Meslier.
Leeds had found the net twice in a blistering opening spell, but Tyler Roberts’ finish was ruled out for a marginal offside against Helder Costa, and Raphinha ran the ball out of play before crossing to Patrick Bamford.
But they were two goals down before half-time when the unmarked Craig Dawson headed in Aaron Cresswell’s corner.
Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds went close to a response five minutes after the restart when Raphinha’s sensational overhead attempt was tipped over by Lukasz Fabianski, while Bamford blazed over from Raphinha’s cut-back and Dawson cleared off the line as Leeds chased a late lifeline.
Pablo Fornals struck the crossbar for the hosts with a dipping second-half shot, but the Hammers ultimately held firm at the back to see out the three points.
“I’m disappointed with the performance,” England international Rice told Sky Sports. “We won but Leeds caused us a problems. Now we are starting to learn how to win ugly.
“This is the best squad I have been a part of. You look forward to training and seeing the lads and that shows on the pitch. We are fighting for each other. It is real special place to be at the moment. The place has a real buzz about it.
“It is hard to say we are going to be [in the] Champions League – there are so many games left. It will be a real tough test, but look where we are now and it is a massive upgrade. It is in our hands. If we want to believe we can be a European team we need to win the big games”.
Novak Djokovic says it has taken “a lot of blood, sweat and tears” to break Roger Federer’s record of 310 weeks ranked as world number one.
The 33-year-old Serb set the record on Monday for most weeks at number one in the 48-year history of the ATP rankings.
“My family have supported me for day one,” he told BBC World Service.
Djokovic won his 18th Grand Slam singles title and his ninth Australian Open crown in Melbourne last month.
Djokovic, whose longest continuous run at the top was 122 weeks between July 2014 and November 2016, paid tribute to the 39-year-old Federer, who is competing at this week’s Qatar Open, his first tournament since the Australian Open in 2020.
“What Roger is doing still at his age is something that is very inspirational for me and many other tennis players, and it’s great to see him back,” said Djokovic.
The Serb’s Australian Open triumph leaves him only two wins behind the joint holders of the men’s Grand Slam singles record, Federer and Rafael Nadal – the men he said had made him the player he is today.
“When I started in the men’s professional tennis world 15 years ago, I had two of the highest challenges, which was to overcome Roger and Rafa.
“Back in 2008, when I won my first Grand Slam, I thought OK, this is now my time. I’m going to be competing with these guys; I have the ability to win slams.
“But then, for three years, I didn’t win a major title and I was losing most of my big matches against them.
“They made me really sit and realise what I need to do, and how I need to improve in order to win against them.
“They definitely made me the player that I am today. Those rivalries are the ones that were the most impactful on my tennis game and evolution,” he said.
After setting a new rankings record, Djokovic is focused on adding to his Grand Slam titles.
“I cannot run away from that fact that I’m not 23 any more, so I have to try to be smart with my scheduling and be able to emphasise and prioritise the Grand Slams,” he said.
Barcelona have once again elected Juan Laporta as their president.
He replaced the embattled and ousted Josep Maria Bartomeu. Club members voted 58-year-old Mr. Laporta to defeat rivals Victor Font and Toni Freixa on Sunday, NAN reports. Mr. Laporta, who was at the helm from 2003 to 2010, amassed 19,293 votes after 75 percent of votes were counted, earning him victory. His closest rival, Mr. Font had 10,404 votes, while Freixa came third with 3,346 votes.
Celebrating his victory at Camp Nou, he tried to inspire the confidence of the players and fans regarding the club’s Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League last 16-second leg tie against Paris Saint Germain. “Let’s go to Paris and see if we can turn it around,” Mr. Laporta said despite Barcelona heading into the clash 4-1 behind.
The election for his replacement became necessary after Mr. Bartomeu stepped down in October following a vote of no confidence. Mr. Laporta’s greatest challenge will now be how to offset the club’s gross debt of about €1.2 billion and probably how to keep their best player, Lionel Messi, whose contract expires in the summer and can leave the club for free. Amongst the voters were Messi himself, his teammates, and former president Bartomeu. Resulting from a social media scandal, ‘Barcagate,’ police had last week put Mr. Bartomeu in detention while they carried out an investigation regarding alleged corrupt practices with a company contracted to pilot the affairs of the club’s online presence.
Joan Laporta has been named as Barcelona president for a second time after winning the club’s election.
Laporta, whose central pledge was to keep Lionel Messi at the club, won more than 54% of the vote.
The 58-year-old, who oversaw the appointment of Pep Guardiola as head coach in his previous spell at the club between 2003-2010, succeeds Josep Maria Bartomeu who resigned in October.
Victor Font was second with 30% of the vote, with Toni Freixa a distant third.
Barcelona said 55,611 of its 109,531 eligible members voted in the election, which was postponed from January because of coronavirus restrictions in Catalonia.
Laporta signed the likes of Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho and former Cameroon forward Samuel Eto’o in his first stint as president, with the club winning the Champions League twice, four La Liga titles and the Copa del Rey.
Messi also emerged as a world star during that period and was among several current Barca players to vote in the election.
Amid champagne celebrations on Sunday evening, Laporta shouted: “Now let’s go to Paris and see if we can make another ‘remontada’ [comeback] happen!
“Seeing Leo [Messi] go to vote, the best player in the world, voting with his son, for me, this shows what we’ve said all along, that Leo loves Barca, that we are all a big family. Hopefully that helps him to stay which is what we all want.”
Longer term, Laporta’s task will be to rebuild a club in crisis, with crippling debts exacerbated by the pandemic and Messi considering leaving for free when his contract expires this summer.
Diogo Dalot’s goal was his first for AC Milan in Serie A since joining the club in October
AC Milan moved within touching distance of Serie A leaders Inter Milan with a comfortable victory at Verona.
Despite being without injured top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, it appeared to be a welcome return to form for Milan, who have faltered of late.
Rade Krunic’s superb free-kick put them in charge and Manchester United loanee Diogo Dalot scored a brilliant second after the break.
The result leaves Stefano Pioli’s side three points behind city rivals Inter.
Antonio Conte’s Inter team could regain a six-point lead at the top of the table if they win their home game in hand against Atalanta on Monday (19:45 GMT).
Milan, who had arrived in Verona with just one win from their four previous Serie A fixtures, led the table from October until midway through February and are chasing their first Scudetto for a decade.
Karim Benzema scored a late equaliser as Real Madrid prevented city rivals Atletico Madrid from moving five points clear at the top of La Liga.
France striker Benzema was earlier denied several times by keeper Jan Oblak at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Luis Suarez scored the opener, which Kieran Trippier helped create on his return from a 10-week ban for betting.
Atletico are three points clear of Barcelona and five ahead of third-placed Real.
England right-back Trippier, who was suspended in December and fined £70,000 after a Football Association panel found he broke betting rules, was bright throughout for the hosts.
He started the move for Atletico’s goal, finding Marcos Llorente with a clever pass from defence.
A fine first touch from the Spanish midfielder helped him race clear before he slid the ball to Suarez, who beat Thibaut Courtois with a well-placed shot with the outside of his boot.
Real were denied a penalty for handball before the break, with referee Alejandro Hernandez watching several replays before deciding against awarding a spot-kick after the ball appeared to strike Felipe’s arm.
Courtois made a string of crucial saves after the break, denying Yannick Carrasco and twice keeping Suarez out.
At the other end Oblak made an excellent double save from Benzema with 10 minutes remaining, but Benzema could not be denied the equaliser after neatly exchanging passes with Casemiro in the penalty area.
Liverpool’s incredible slide continued with a sixth successive Premier League home defeat as Fulham secured a crucial win to give their survival hopes a huge boost.
Mario Lemina’s goal on the stroke of half-time, after the Gabon midfielder had dispossessed Mohamed Salah, gave the visitors a deserved win and saw them draw level on 26 points with 17th-placed Brighton.
It was Fulham’s first win at Anfield since 2012, while champions Liverpool are now struggling to finish in the top four after another uninspired performance at home.
The Reds, who won the title last season by 18 points, had gone 68 home league matches unbeaten before their current run started with a loss to Burnley in January.
Since then they have also lost on home soil to Brighton, Manchester City, Everton, Chelsea and now Fulham.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp made seven changes following the defeat to Chelsea in attempt to freshen things up, but Fulham were the better side and carved out four chances in the opening half an hour alone.
Ademola Lookman, who was given the freedom of Anfield, twice got behind the Reds defence but could not finish while Josh Maja was denied by a brave save by Alisson.
The winner came after Liverpool thought they had cleared a free-kick but Salah was caught on the ball by Lemina who produced an arrowed finish, his first goal since joining on loan from Southampton.
Diogo Jota, making his first start since 28 November, was denied an equaliser by an acrobatic save from Alphonse Areola early in the second half before substitute Sadio Mane hit the post with a looping header.
But Liverpool were poor and have now failed to win their last eight home games.
Weary Liverpool look broken
It was this time last year that Liverpool went 22 points clear at the top of the table after a win over Bournemouth in front of a raucous Anfield crowd.
Twelve months on and Premier League games at Anfield have become an uncomfortable watch for Klopp and this was another stodgy repeat of recent performances.
The Liverpool manager’s attempts to shake things up by making wholesale changes backfired as Fulham, who have spent most of the season in the bottom three, took advantage of another inexperienced centre-back partnership in the shape of Nathaniel Phillips and Rhys Williams.
Lookman and Maja were a constant source of worry as they exploited huge pockets of space before Salah, the Premier League’s leading scorer, was dispossessed by Lemina for the goal.
Klopp sent on Mane, Fabinho and Trent Alexander-Arnold in an attempt to rescue the game but, despite an improved second-half showing, this was another woeful performance which extended an inexcusable run of home losses.
They have not kept a clean sheet at home since 6 December while they are yet to score a goal in open play at home in 2021.
A plane circled above Anfield during the game towing a banner which read: “Unity in Strength – Let’s Go Reds YNWA’.
But Liverpool, who are in Champions League action on Wednesday, have the weary look of
Bruno Fernandes’ penalty after 101 seconds is the earliest goal Man City have conceded in a league match at Etihad Stadium
Manchester United brought Manchester City’s sequence of 21 successive victories in all competitions to a crashing halt with an impressive derby victory at Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola’s side still have what looks to be an unassailable 11-point lead at the top of the Premier League, but the manner in which United subdued a previously unstoppable City and enhanced their own top-four chances will be a huge confidence boost to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his players.
United, who have now gone 22 league away games unbeaten – including 14 wins – stunned City with a fast start and were ahead after a penalty was awarded inside the first 30 seconds when Gabriel Jesus fouled the impressive Antony Martial.
Bruno Fernandes scored from the spot despite City keeper Ederson getting a strong hand on the ball, then United fashioned the win with a mixture of solid defence and constant menace on the break.
Rodri almost equalised just after the break when his shot glanced off the angle of post and bar, but United effectively sealed the win – condemning City to their first loss since a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham on 21 November – when the outstanding Shaw, who had earlier missed a chance to double United’s lead, led a counter-attack, exchanging passes with Marcus Rashford before beating Ederson with a low shot.
Solskjaer’s team, who had not scored in their previous three games, moved back into second place, a point ahead of Leicester City in the increasing tight fight for a place in the top four.
Man Utd show their best side
United’s recent performances were greeted with frustration, particularly after they played out unambitious, goalless stalemates at Chelsea and Crystal Palace.
It cemented the impression that this was a very talented side that had arguably under-achieved this season.
This was the other face of United, the one they need to show more often if they are to find the sort of consistency that leads to serious title challenges.
They struck early to grab the initiative, then retained impressive composure and control even as City, inevitably, threatened to work their way back into contention.
And the symbol of what United could be perhaps came in the shape of Anthony Martial, so often inconsistent but outstanding here as they looked a constant threat on the break.
Martial missed a couple of second-half opportunities but fully deserved the applause he received from the United bench when he was replaced by Nemanja Matic late on.
Martial was not the only significant contributor. Goalkeeper Dean Henderson looked secure and confident as he kept another clean sheet, pressing his claims to be United’s number one with David de Gea away in Spain after the birth of his daughter.
Shaw will have impressed watching England manager Gareth Southgate, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka won his personal battle with Raheem Sterling.
This, above all, was a tight-knit team effort from United and great credit must go to manager Solskjaer for another impressive game plan and victory at City.
United did the double over City last season and Solskjaer is the first manager at the club to win three successive away games against their arch-rivals since a run of four between November 1993 and November 2000.
He is also the first manager in United’s history to win each of his first three away meetings against City in all competitions.
All in all, a good day’s work for United and their manager.
We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
