Jesse Lingard described his celebration for England against Andorra as a little welcoming gift for new Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo.
Lingard starred for the Three Lions on Sunday, scoring twice and setting up Bukayo Saka for a late header as Gareth Southgate s men ran out 4-0 winners at Wembley in World Cup qualifying.
It ended a long wait for the United midfielder to score for his country, his last goals coming 1,022 days ago against Croatia in November 2018.
Lingard marked his first by mimicking the famous celebration of Ronaldo, who rejoined United from Juventus and could make his first appearance for the club in 12 years against Newcastle United on September 11.
Me and Mason [Mount] were thinking about celebrations this week and obvi…
Verdict: Both teams to score – yes
Best Odds:
Bookmaker:
Portugal giants Benfica have been paired with Turkish behemoths Fenerbahce in the Champions League third qualifying round. This will be the first time the two sides meet since the 2012/2013 and their Europa League semi-final clash so it promises to be a cracker of the tie.
Benfica
The Portuguese Eagles have fond memories of their previous encounter with Fenerbahce. Benfica had eliminated the Turks in the 2012/13 season to advance to the Europa League final and although the stakes are a bit different this time around, the Portugal powerhouse will do its best to get one step closer to grabbing a place in Europe’s elite competition.
Benfica are coming off from back-to-back defeats to Ju…
Raphinha has not ruled out leaving Leeds United amid reports he is on Barcelona s radar.
The Brazil winger has been a revelation at Elland Road since his move from Rennes in October 2020.
Raphinha was Leeds leading scorer with 11 goals as they avoided relegation from the Premier League last season, including a crucial penalty in a 2-1 win at Brentford on the final day that kept them in the top flight.
The 25-year-old has two years remaining on his contract with the Yorkshire club, but has been strongly linked with a move to Barca.
Raphinha, who is currently away on international duty, says it is vital he is playing regular football with the World Cup on the horizon but is unsure where he will be at the end of the transfer window.
I have a contrac…
Portugal head coach Fernando Santos jumped to the defence of his experienced side after they cruised past Luxembourg 5-0 in their World Cup qualifier thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo s 58th career hat-trick and 10th international treble put hosts Portugal out of sight at the Estadio Algarve, where Joao Palhinha and Bruno Fernandes also got on the scoresheet on Tuesday.
The five-goal crushing left Portugal a point behind Group A leaders Serbia, albeit with a game in hand, with two matches remaining and the top two teams meet on the final matchday, in what is likely to be a winner-takes-all decider.
However, Santos focus after the game was on the age of his squad as he quashed suggestions that his veterans were likely to let him down again, after exiting bot…
Gareth Southgate does not expect any transfer involving Harry Kane to progress during Euro 2020.
England captain Kane was named in Southgate s provisional 33-man Three Lions squad on Tuesday.
The Tottenham striker is expected to be the subject of intense speculation this close-season after widespread reports revealed his desire to leave the club.
Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea are among the clubs said to be interested in Kane, who finished 2020-21 as the Premier League s top goalscorer.
Kane earned his third Golden Boot, becoming only the third player – after Thierry Henry (four) and Alan Shearer – to achieve such a feat.
The 27-year-old, the leading marksman at the 2018 World Cup, had 23 goals and 14 assists, making him only …
Cody Gakpo could return for Liverpool when they face Toulouse in a Europa League clash on Thursday night.
The Dutch forward has been missing since suffering a knee injury in the 2-1 defeat to Tottenham at the end of last month, but after returning to training in the build-up to the 2-0 derby win over Everton at the weekend, Gakpo is now available for selection, Jurgen Klopp has said.
Andy Robertson, meanwhile, has undergone surgery on the shoulder he injured while on international duty with Scotland, but faces a longer road to recovery.
Jürgen Klopp has revealed that Cody Gakpo is ready and available for selection ahead of tomorrow s meeting with Toulouse in the
— Liverpool FC (@LFC)
“Robbo had surgery and all went well, as good as it coul…
Graham Coughlan paid tribute to Omar Bogle as his two penalties helped Newport to a 2-0 win over Gillingham at Priestfield, while the Welsh club said they were “extremely disappointed” after a Gills supporter appeared to make a racist gesture towards the striker as he celebrated.
The County forward found the net twice in the space of seven first-half minutes, and appeared to be racially abused by a Gillingham supporter after the first goal – with the fan promptly issued a lifetime ban, according to Gills director of operations Joe Comper.
And Newport boss Coughlan, a central defender in his day, gave Bogle the ultimate compliment after the win.
He said: “He was a real handful all afternoon, which we know he’s got in his locker. He worked his socks off. …
Carlo Ancelotti was pleased with Real Madrid s ability to grind out a 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao after acknowledging they were far from their best at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Karim Benzema, who also scored in the 2-1 win over Sevilla at the weekend, grabbed the only goal of the game in the 40th minute with his 12th strike of the LaLiga season.
The France international has now scored 35 goals in 46 games for Madrid across all competitions in 2021, equalling his best goalscoring tally in a single calendar year for Los Blancos (35 goals in 50 games in 2019).
The hosts had to work hard for a fifth consecutive LaLiga win, with the visitors taking 18 shots on Thibaut Courtois goal.
Indeed, their expected goals against indicator of 2.7 was the highest Madrid…
Didier Deschamps was not surprised by Mike Maignan s superb save in France s 1-0 win over Republic of Ireland, which he described as worth a goal .
Milan goalkeeper Maignan preserved France s victory in the Euro 2024 qualifier with a sensational late stop, somehow clawing away Nathan Collins goal-bound header.
That save followed him keeping out a penalty in France s 4-0 win over the Netherlands in their opening Group B clash, with Maignan quickly justifying his promotion to France s number one between the posts following Hugo Lloris international retirement.
Having seen his side claim six points from two games, Deschamps was left with plenty to smile about as he reflected on their excellent start, including the shot-stopping prowess of Maignan.
There is …
Ronald Koeman has confirmed Barcelona were interested in signing Georginio Wijnaldum in the transfer window and is hopeful a deal for Memphis Depay can still be agreed.
Barcelona failed with a deadline-day move for Lyon attacker Depay earlier this month and Liverpool midfielder Wijnaldum was also strongly touted as a target for the Catalan giants.
Wijnaldum, who like Depay played under Koeman with the Netherlands national side, is due to be out of contract at Anfield at the end of the season and remains a target for Barca.
In a general sense, I think our selection could use some depth, especially without the ball, Koeman told AD.
Gini has a great sense of space, he can get to the goal fantastically well from midfield and could really add something to …