Manchester United: Wayne Rooney’s return to Old Trafford with Derby County in FA Cup fifth round excites supporters

After Derby County cruised past Northampton Town 4-2 on Tuesday evening to enter the FA Cup fifth round, Manchester United supporters have since gone on to buzz over a reunion with Old Trafford legend Wayne Rooney – with one fan warning of a potential ‘masterclass’ from their former hero. 

Rooney, who is United’s all-time top goalscorer, left the Red Devils in 2017 to boyhood club Everton and has been on the move ever since – enjoying a brief stint in the MLS with D.C. United before joining Derby County last summer. Now, after helping his new team cruise past Northampton in the FA Cup fourth round, contributing to proceedings with a 77th-minute penalty, the former England international now faces a reunion with United at Pride Park – much to the bewilderment of Red Devils supporters.

Indeed, Rooney’s incredible haul of 253 goals and 146 assists in 559 appearances for United (Transfermarkt) has warranted legendary status for the 34-year-old – with a bout against his former club making for a tasty fifth-round tie.

Here’s how supporters reacted to the Rooney reunion on Twitter – find all of their best comments down below.

How will Rooney fare against United? Join the discussion by commenting below…

Solanke loan could save Rangers’ struggling forwards

According to The Scotsman, Rangers are planning a January loan swoop for 21-year-old Liverpool star Dominic Solanke. 

The striker, who is a winner of the UEFA European under-17 Championship and the FIFA u-20 World Cup with England, is yet to feature for The Reds this season under Jürgen Klopp.

The re-emergence of Daniel Sturridge as a deputy to Roberto Firmino has meant that Solanke has been left out in the cold. Liverpool are chasing silverware this season, and Klopp clearly sees it as a risk in playing the youngster.

However, his honours at junior level for both club and country clearly show what a talent Solanke is, and while he may not be able to help out Liverpool this season, he’d be a wonderful asset to Rangers.

Obviously, having a Liverpool legend in Steven Gerrard as the manager of The Gers will always be beneficial regarding signings, shown by Ryan Kent’s current stay at Ibrox. If Gerrard can land Solanke, it will start to show one of the major positives of having him as a manager.

Rangers’ strikers haven’t got going so far this season. Kyle Lafferty has struggled for goals so far, only scoring four goals in all competitions. While Alfredo Morelos has been a bit more fruitful in front of goal, he has in no way impressed everyone, spurning chances at crucial moments throughout the season. Meanwhile, 21-year-old Umar Sadiq has failed to make an impression.

It is not as if Solanke would immediately usurp any of these players, but he would just increase the competition in the Rangers camp, and that will boost performances. He will stand more of a chance of playing for Rangers than Liverpool, so this looks like a deal that would help both parties.

Kodjia rescued the Villans with this heroic performance

Two Jonathan Kodjia goals, including a dramatic headed equaliser in the fifth minute of stoppage time after the ninety, were enough to salvage a point for Aston Villa who played out an entertaining draw with Brentford on Wednesday night.

The end to end encounter took place at Villa Park, and saw both sides play to win in attractive fashion. 

Villa’s attacking contingent were tireless in the press and linked up time and time again with sequences of slick interplay. Manager Steve Bruce will be pleased with the fluid cohesiveness on display, and particularly delighted with the clinical nature of Kodjia’s performance.

The 28-year-old has begun the new campaign in good form, having also found the back of the net in Villa’s previous game against Ipswich Town. After enduring a difficult season last time out, Kodjia has now already tripled his league goal haul of last term.

If the Ivory Coast international can maintain this kind of goalscoring form then the Villans can be optimistic of building upon their play-off final heartbreak of last season and making their way back into the Premier League.

Beyond his brace, Kodjia delivered the complete centre-forward’s performance on Wednesday. 

The ex-Bristol City striker was a constant thorn in the side of the Bees’ defence, and created numerous chances for himself with his smart movement, pace, aerial prowess and physicality. When through on goal, Kodjia invariably forced the Brentford shot-stopper into a save, or scored. From four attempts on goal, Kodjia hit the target four times, meaning he completed the match with 100% shot accuracy. 

The forward’s pass accuracy figure – 87.5% – is almost as impressive as his shooting. Of the others who started for the side in claret and blue, only James Chester, Albert Adomah and Glenn Whelan registered higher pass completion rates. No Brentford player was as consistently reliable in possession as Kodjia.

On other occasions with the ball at his feet, when he wasn’t passing or shooting, Kodjia was running at his opponents and taking them on with glee. He completed two dribbles in the match. Jack Grealish was the only player on the pitch to manage more. Kodjia’s close control, power and speed were evident as he burst beyond defenders to bear down on goal.

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However, perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Villa No. 26’s game was how efficient he was with the little time he managed to spend on the ball. The only Villa starter to amass less than Kodjia’s 27 touches was the ‘keeper, Orjan Nyland. 

This match was very much one battled out in the centre of the park, with much of the attacking play being orchestrated on the flanks. That meant that Kodjia couldn’t afford to be wasteful with his opportunities. 

Thankfully, from Bruce’s perspective, Kodjia was able to capitalise upon his chances and ensured that his side came away with a point – which was no less than they deserved for their efforts against a determined Brentford side.

Sheffield Wednesday fans slam Carvalhal’s pre-match comments

Sheffield Wednesday are going through a tough spell having lost four of their last five Championship games.

After losing to Preston North End on the opening day of the season, the Owls went on a seven-game unbeaten run.

When they faced rivals Sheffield United, though, the tide began to turn as Carlos Carvalhal’s team lost 4-2 at Hillsborough.

Defeats to Birmingham City, Bolton Wanderers and Derby County followed, with a 3-0 win over Leeds United sandwiched in between.

The outcome of their recent results has placed the team 16th in the division, 13 points adrift of current leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers and six below the playoff places.

The season is just 13 games old, but there is a disgruntled atmosphere among Sheffield Wednesday’s fans and many are growing increasingly frustrated with the manager.

Ahead of Saturday’s home match against Barnsley, Carvalhal told the media that he was happy with the team’s performance in their recent defeat to Derby.

The Portuguese coach also felt optimistic about the club getting back on track.

The fans, though, are not in agreement with him…

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Celtic fans are delighted Patrick Roberts is starting vs Rangers

The countdown is on to today’s massive Scottish Cup semi-final between Celtic and Rangers at Hampden Park.

Aberdeen await the winners in the final and both clubs are desperate to lift the trophy. For Celtic it’s the chance to secure a rare treble and go the entire domestic season unbeaten. For Rangers winning the competition would represent significant progress and give supporters what they’ve craved most over the last few season, major honours.

The teams have been announced and one man is causing excitement amongst Celtic supporters; Patrick Roberts.

The young winger has more often than not found himself on the bench this season, with the consistent James Forrest usually keeping him out of the first eleven.

However, the on loan Man City star now has the opportunity to impress in one of the biggest games in the season and fans certainly think he will make a big impact.

They took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his inclusion…

Five players who should follow Raphael Varane to Man United

Manchester United have been part of some of the most protracted transfer sagas this Summer.

We had to wait for them to confirm the inevitable that Zlatan Ibrahimovic would be their new striker for this season whilst the Paul Pogba deal seemed to be heading in all manner of different directions until they announced the French star had completed his return to the club from Juventus.

Surely then, there cannot be any more to come in this window? Well don’t hold your breath.

Despite Raphael Varane saying he is staying put at Real Madrid for now you never can rule out a massive bid on behalf of the Red Devils after this window. Jose Mourinho is an admirer of the young centre-half and if there’s any team that might fancy their chances of turning the deal on it’s head, it’s United.

Varane might not even be the only one, there’s plenty of other’s being linked, and here are FIVE of them…

Jose Fonte

Football Soccer – Portugal v Wales – EURO 2016 – Semi Final – Stade de Lyon, Lyon, France – 6/7/16Portugal’s Jose Fonte celebrates at the end of the gameREUTERS/John SibleyLivepic

Jose Mourinho has clearly identified that United’s defence still needs some work before the end of the window.

The Old Trafford boss is a big advocate for building from the back and after signing Eric Bailly, it looks as though Jose Fonte is also on his wishlist.

Fonte has been consistent in the Premier League for some time and also helped he national team win EURO 2016 meaning he’d be a good asset.

Fabinho

As well as at centre-half United could do with a right-back to shore up their defence. Currently Antonio Valencia is their first choice and despite his reasonable enough performances, Mourinho wants specialist players for each position – this is where Fabinho from Monaco comes in.

Reece Oxford

According to the Daily Mail the young West Ham midfielder is eager to try and sign a new contract with the club.

It’s also believed though that should any talks hit a potential snag Mourinho and United are ready and waiting to snap the England U19 international up.

It might be a slow burner this one but the Old Trafford club have already shown this Summer they’ll wait for their targets.

James Rodriguez

Jun 25, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Colombia midfielder James Rodriguez (10) against the United States during the third place match of the 2016 Copa America Centenario soccer tournament at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / ReutersPicture Supplied by Action Images

This one just seems to refuse to go away even when it appears a move isn’t immediately obvious.

The Colombian star has been linked with United once again this Summer and if any move did somehow come off two things would be certain.

Number one it would take another huge bid that the Red Devils are capable of and number two it would give the club no excuses if they didn’t win the league handsomely.

Gabriel Barbosa

2016 Rio Olympics – Soccer – Preliminary – Men’s First Round – Group A Brazil v South Africa – Mane Garrincha Stadium – Brasilia, Brazil – 04/08/2016. Gabriel Barbosa (BRA) of Brazil and Keagan Dolly (RSA) of South Africa fight for the ball. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. Picture Supplied by Action Images

The latest player to come from the South American country with huge things expected of him given he is both named as ‘Gabigol’ and ‘The New Neymar’ – no pressure then.

He’s scored goals for fun in the Brazilian Serie A and could forge an exciting double act with Marcus Rashford for the forseeable future.

Malik Tillman scores off bench for PSV as USMNT stars Sergino Dest and Ricardo Pepi feature in lopsided win over RKC Waalwijk

Malik Tillman made a statement off the bench for PSV as the U.S. men's national team star came on to score in a win over RKC Waalwijk.

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  • Tillman scores for PSV
  • Pepi sees goal ruled out
  • Dest starts once again

Both Tillman and Ricardo Pepi came off the bench for the Dutch giants, with their USMNT teammate, Sergino Dest, retaining his starting spot, albeit at the right-back position after playing on the left in recent weeks.

Tillman scored PSV's fourth goal in the 4-0 win, netting his first for his new club, while Pepi was inches away from his own, which would have counted if he was not just offside.

With the win, PSV have made it three wins from three, putting them atop the Eredivisie heading into the international break.

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    WHAT HAPPENED?

    PSV took the lead late in the first half, having been knocking on the door throughout the first 45.

    It was Joey Veerman that got the goal in the 44th minute, as he provided a fantastic finish following a layoff from striker Luuk de Jong. With the goal, Veerman already has three goals and four assists this season.

    PSV made it 2-0 in the 53rd minute by pouncing on a disastrous goal kick sequence following a mazy Dest run.

    After Dest's shot went out of play, RKC attempted to play out of the back from the ensuing goalkick. A calamitous mistake from defender Jeffrey Bruma left PSV with an easy chance, which was put away by Noa Lang after De Jong unselfishly played him in.

    De Jong, ultimately, got his goal, scoring PSV's third to seal the result before Tillman came off the bench to make it four with a late goal of his own.

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    THE BIGGER PICTURE

    Dest started once again for PSV, having also started in the two Champions League playoff matches against Rangers. And, once again, he put in a performance you'd expect as he joined the attack plenty of times throughout the match.

    The American had one decent cross in the first half, although it was played a bit too close to goalkeeper Etienne Vaessen. His best moment came in the second half as he went on a long, mazy run through the defense before firing over the bar. While he did miss his chance to put a shot on target, the sequence did lead to a goal, as Waalwijk made a mess of the goal kick to lead to PSV's second.

    With the game out of hand, Pepi and Tillman got their chance to feature, with the latter only making a cameo during the Champions League tie against Rangers as the former didn't feature. The two came into the match in the 73rd minute.

    Pepi, unfortunately, saw a goal ruled out, as he was just a bit offside on a cross from Noa Lang in the 84th minute. Tillman, fortunately, scored just moments later, netting his first PSV goal to make it 4-0.

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    USMNT IMPACT

    USMNT boss Gregg Berhalter will be glad to see all three of the PSV trio get some minutes ahead of the international break.

    Dest may start at right back for the USMNT in the upcoming matches, although he could face competition from Joe Scally at the start of this cycle. Consistent minutes are key for Dest, who hasn't had that luxury in recent years, so a hot start at PSV will be good news for the U.S.

    Pepi, meanwhile, is seemingly No. 2 on the striker depth chart, with Folarin Balogun expected to lead the line.

    As for Tillman, he could very well feature in the No. 10 role with Gio Reyna out of camp, with the USMNT thriving in that 4-2-3-1 system during the Nations League after playing a 4-3-3 almost exclusively last cycle.

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    GOAL'S RATING

    Sergino Dest (7/10):

    A standard performance from Dest, who looks so at home back in the Eredivisie. Didn't get a goal contribution in his 85 minutes, but had a few good moments in a game his side dominated.

    Malik Tillman (8/10):

    You can't do much better than that, can you? Came off the bench late and scored a lovely goal, making a big impression as he looks to battle his way into the PSV XI.

    Ricardo Pepi (6/10):

    Nearly had his goal, but was a bit too eager. You can't blame him given his lack of minutes recently, but, even if it didn't count, it was good to see him involved and creating danger.

Upbeat Royal Challengers target smarting Lions

Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to build momentum when they run into Gujarat Lions on Sunday

The Preview by Arun Venugopal in Rajkot23-Apr-2016Match factsSunday, April 24, 2016
Start time 1600 local (1030 GMT)Big pictureRoyal Challengers Bangalore have more than one reason to be happy with their 13-run win over Rising Pune Supergiants on Friday. They successfully defended a total for the second time this season and their replacement player – South African chinaman bowler Tabraiz Shamsi – impressed on IPL debut. Shane Watson and Kane Richardson held their own in the end overs even as Thisara Perera caused panic.Locals outfit attempts to dig up pitch

Four members of a local outfit attempted to dig up the pitch at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Friday to protest against IPL matches being held in Rajkot in view of the water crisis in the region.
“They tried to sabotage the wicket, but our security officials made a timely intervention and handed them over to the police,” Niranjan Shah, president of the Saurashtra Cricket Association, told ESPNcricinfo.
Shah called it “sports terrorism” and said the same group of people had come to organise a demonstration inside the stadium a few days ago. “We have our security in place. After this incident, the security will be more tight,” Shah said.

Royal Challengers’ batting line-up has been in red-hot form, with AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli firing with astonishing regularity. Should they fail, they have enough insurance in the form of Watson, Sarfaraz Khan and Mandeep Singh in the middle order. Having lost in Mumbai and won in Pune, Royal Challengers would look to finish their last match in the western region on a high before heading to Hyderabad.Gujarat Lions, meanwhile, produced polished performances in their first three matches before faltering against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday night. Aaron Finch has led the batting line-up with three fifties and three Man-of-the-Match awards in three successful chases but his only failure coincided with a big Lions defeat.Captain Suresh Raina’s return to form was a silver lining in their 10-wicket loss, and their bowling, save for the Sunrisers game, has been consistently good. Lions, though, will want more runs from their allrounder-heavy middle order. Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja have only managed a combined tally of 60 runs in seven innings.Lions had an intense fielding session on Saturday with funky drills based on relay-throws and backing-up. Lions performance coach Monty Desai said the team used such sessions to build energy. They would want that to rub on to their batting.Form guideGujarat Lions LWWW (most recent matches first)
Royal Challengers Bangalore WLLWIn the spotlightDinesh Karthik was expected to be one of the leaders of the Lions batting group. But after his unbeaten 41 against Kings XI Punjab in the opening game, he has managed only 17 runs in two innings. Karthik’s wicketkeeping has also been patchy at times, and at practice, he seemed to place special emphasis on leg-side takes.Tabraiz Shamsi, who came in as replacement for the injured Samuel Badree, had Ajinkya Rahane stumped at a critical period, despite finishing with an economy rate of nine. Shamsi’s ability to spin the ball either way will come in handy on a surface that has traditionally been kind to spinners. Ask Jadeja.Team newsJames Faulkner had a long net with both bat and ball, and he is likely to return to the XI in place of Dale Steyn, who conceded 17 runs in two overs against Sunrisers. The hosts may also toy with the idea of playing an extra spinner in place of Praveen Kumar, who leaked 31 runs in two overs on Thursday.Gujarat Lions (probable) 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Brendon McCullum, 3 Suresh Raina (c), 4 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Akshdeep Nath, 8 James Faulkner/Dale Steyn, 9 Praveen Kumar/Sarabjit Ladda/Shadab Jakati, 10 Dhawal Kulkarni, 11 Pravin TambeChris Gayle, according to a Royal Challengers source, is yet to join the squad, having returned to Jamaica on paternity leave. Also, going by Kohli’s post-match interview on Friday night, Shamsi is likely to get an extended run. Should Royal Challengers need another spinner, they may consider bringing in Yuzvendra Chahal for Harshal Patel, who leaked 25 runs in one over against Supergiants.Royal Challengers (probable) 1 Virat Kohli (c), 2 KL Rahul (wk), 3 AB de Villiers, 4 Shane Watson, 5 Sarfaraz Khan, 6 Mandeep Singh, 7 Stuart Binny, 8 Harshal Patel/Yuzvendra Chahal, 9 Tabraiz Shamsi, 10 Kane Richardson, 11 Iqbal AbdullaPitch and conditionsThe game will be played on the same pitch that was used for the last two matches. It is learnt that one of the two adjoining surfaces was considered, but with the broadcasters having trouble in re-positioning their equipment, the same track will be used. It is an afternoon game and the temperature is pushing north of 36 degrees. The pitch is likely to have consistent bounce, while assisting batting throughout.Stats and trivia Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have scored 516 of the 773 runs (66.75 %) scored by Royal Challengers in the tournament.Dinesh Karthik has gone 21 innings without a T20 fifty.Quote”The best thing about him is that he treats everyone equally. The way he treats the likes of Brendon McCullum and Aaron Finch, he treats everyone else as well the same way. He might seem calm, but there is a lot of fighting spirit in him. He will look to win the match till the last ball.”

Mustafizur, Litton Das named in ODI squad

Left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman and wicketkeeper-batsman Litton Das are the only uncapped players named in Bangladesh’s 14-man ODI squad for the three-match series against India. They replaced Abul Hasan and the injured Mahmudulah.Mustafizur’s international debut was in the T20 against Pakistan in April, while Litton made his debut against India in the Fatullah Test.Abul has featured in six ODIs and played the first ODI against Pakistan in April. Mahmudullah’s finger injury, ahead of the India Test, made way for Litton. It is also likely that Litton could keep wickets in place of Mushfiqur Rahim who is still struggling with a finger injury.Mustafizur was impressive since he toured the West Indies with Bangladesh A last year. He was one of the top wicket-takers among pace bowlers in domestic cricket. He took the wickets of Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez on his T20I debut, in which he bowled with much verve.The three ODIs against India will be played in Mirpur on June 18, 21 and 24.ODI squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan (vice-captain), Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain, Rony Talukdar, Mustafizur Rahman, Liton Das

Kartik warns against rushing Narine back to bowling

Former India spinner Murali Kartik said the ban on Sunil Narine’s offbreaks was a setback and added rushing him back into bowling could be detrimental to Narine and his team Kolkata Knight Riders.”It is already hurting him [Narine] in terms of physical and emotional pain because just to be called or to be put on the suspect [actions] list is a big thing,” Kartik told ESPNcricinfo. “You can see it is hurting. He is not the Narine we have known because his economy rate has gone up and his wicket-taking ability has gone down.”Narine’s economy rate in five matches this season is 7.35, a noticeable increase from the 5.77 he has managed across three previous seasons. In those five matches, Narine has gone wicketless thrice. In 47 previous IPL matches, he had gone wicketless in only 13 matches.”He needs to have very strong people around him,” Kartik said. “People who need to give him the belief that by changing and remodelling his action he can comeback. And secondly he needs to given a bit of time because it is a scar – not just a mental scar but a scar on your record.”If he is going to be questioned again it is a lots of mental stress for both the team management as well as the player. Are you trying to tell me that if there is no Sunil Narine, there is no team? Unless they feel his other deliveries are going to be as effective and play him.”Kartik said it would be impossible for Narine to refrain from bowling his stock delivery. “You are so used to doing it. (But now that) He has been reported for his offspinner because they have spotted some flex when he bowls it.”Kartik felt the greatest challenge for a bowler asked to remodel his action was to suddenly stop doing something that has been ingrained in them since they started learning his art. He pointed out Saeed Ajmal’s struggles in the on-going Bangladesh series, where the once dangerous Pakistan off spinner was dealt with easily by the opponents. “To unlearn and re-learn something and be as effective as before it does not happen. I have not seen anyone doing that at least in the short term.”

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