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Ronaldo dream return Sixteen-goal Lions as United joint top rout Scrabble in Cup
BY DAVID SAFFER
BY DAVID SAFFER Cristiano Ronaldo made a dream two-goal return as Manchester United eased to a 4-1 win over Newcastle United at Old Trafford to sit joint top of the Premier League.
Chelsea and Liverpool, who both won 3-0, against Aston Villa and Leeds United respectively, and Everton after defeating Burnley 3-1 in the Monday night fixture, are alongside them after four fixtures.
Ronaldo opened the scoring for the Reds just before half time, tapping home after Freddie Woodman failed to hold a Mason Greenwood’s shot. Ronaldo then struck after Javier Manquillo had equalised for the Geordies, finishing off a slick move to edge the Reds ahead.
Bruno Fernandes slotted home the third before substitute Jesse Lingard completed
Reiss Mogilner scored six goals as Maccabi London Lions thumped Scrabble A in the second round of the Cyril Anekstein Cup.
Th e Premier League side racked up a 16-0 win with Daniel Green and Michael Kenley both bagging a hat-trick. Ed Brafman, David Dinkin, and Adam Hassanali completed the rout in a mismatch of a tie.
Lions could have scored in the opening minute of the clash but soon opened the scoring and led 9-0 by half time.
Th e Division One team, though outclassed, battled away to the end.
Lions boss was lost for words at full time such was the display from his team who gave every respect to the opposition.
“I’m not really sure there’s anything to say, we are happy to make it through to the next round of the cup,” he commented.
Hendon United Sports ran out 3-1 victors against League One outfi t North London Raiders.
Th e Premier side led early in the second half only for Raiders to equalise but struck two late goals to book a place in round three of the competition. Left to right: Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, Thomas Tuchel and Jurgen Klopp’s teams lead the way Hendon now turn their attentions to the league as they travel to Oakwood A for a crucial top of the table clash on Sunday the scoring for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s table (10am). toppers.
Daniel Kristall’s team stunned the league United’s boss told Sky Sports, “There were leaders last month when they won 2-0, a loads of expectations today. They all delivvictory would move them to within a point ered. We have to deliver every time. That’s of Hendon with a match in hand. Manchester United. It doesn’t change.”
Elsewhere in the latest round of fi xtures, Regarding Ronaldo, Solskjaer told BBC 10-man North London Galaxy made it a Sport, “He senses big moments and scores three-way title race in the only Division One goals. He’s clinical, he’s ruthless. He’s lifted clash of the day after defeating Oakwood B. the team and everyone around the club.
Jamie Murray saw red early on but Galaxy Everyone is dreaming. They can dream and rallied with goals from Josh Cohen and Ja- we’ll focus.” cob Leigh to record an important 2-1 away Newcastle boss Steve Bruce told Sky win. Sports, “We had some really good oppor-
Galaxy head Redbridge Jewish Care A in tunities. The difficulty is giving poor goals the table by just one point after 10 matches, away.” On Ronaldo, he noted, “If there is a third place Fairlop FC are fi ve points be- genuine superstar among everyone, then hind with two games in hand. this kid is with what he has achieved. We
Rafi Bloom scored for Oakwood. have witnessed it again today. He is some-
“It was a fantastic performance in a thing else.”
must-win game,” commented Galaxy player-manager Luke Lewis.
“We sat back and allowed Oakwood the ball, given the one-man advantage and looked to hit them on the counter attack with pace.
“Both goals came down the right-hand side. Leigh crossed the fi rst one into Cohen to fi nish, before slotting home himself. Up to fi rst we go.”
Th e Division Two title race also took a twist with league leaders Herstwood Vale going down to a 2-1 defeat at Temple Fortune.
Faithfold B have played a game more than Vale but moved level with a 5-3 win at North London Raiders Masters.
Jacob Kalms struck twice for Fortune who scored through leading scorer James Milletwith his 17th goal of the season.
Th e result was all the more remarkable as Temple were down to 11 players with ‘keeper Ben Rebuck dislocating a shoulder in the warm up.
“Th is was a fantastic win given the circumstances,” said delighted Fortune boss Simon Linden.
“We had a number of players out, Rebuck got injured, so I couldn’t have asked any more from the players. We wish Ben a speedy recovery.
“It was a proper old school performance, we battled and defended for the 90 minutes and took our chances. Experience proved to be the winner. It’s a big win, one we will enjoy and we hope to build on it in 2019.”
He added, “Th is win marks 50 years as a football club and will be one Nigel Kyte and everyone associated with the club from day
16-goal Maccabi London Lions one will enjoy.”
Vale boss Jacob Emanuel was quick to wish Rebuck well following his injury.
“First and most importantly, everyone at Vale would like to wish the Fortune ‘keeper a quick recovery, we hope to see him back on the football pitch as soon as possible,” he said.
As for the defeat, Emanuel commented, “It doesn’t matter how big a squad you have, you can never account for unavailability or injury. Only fi ve of today’s team played in our recent win over FC Team, a lack of togetherness and poor individual
PHOTO: DAVID SAFFER
Romelu Lukaku was unplayable at times as he struck twice for the Blues at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea were not at their fluent best and Villa missed chances before Matio Kovacic doubled the lead early in the second half after a Tyrone Mings’ poor back pass. Lukaku struck again with a clinical finish in injury time to the delight of his manager.
Thomas Tuchel told BBC MOTD, “Everyone’s aware we can do better. There are some reasons why games can look like this. If you’re still able to win 3-0, it’s a good way to progress.”
Regarding Lukaku, Tuchel told Sky Sports, “He’s full of confidence and fully aware what he wants to do. He takes the last decisions and is absolutely confident of scoring, so he’s helped us a lot.”
Villa’s Dean Smith told Sky Sports, “We
PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK
we battled and defended for the 90 minutes
asked a lot of questions from a very good team. The biggest disappointment is we and took our chances. Experience proved to be the winner.” didn’t take our chances when they came.” Liverpool’s win against Leeds at Elland Road was marred by a serious ankle injury to teenager Harvey Elliott. Pascal Struijk was sent off for his sliding challenge on the hour. The visitors were in control after Mo Salah’s 100th English top-flight goal in the first half before Fabinho struck from a corner just after the break. The game was held up whilst medical staff attended to Elliott before he was stretchered off. Sadio Mane fired home for the visitors in injury time. The main topic of conversation at full time was the injury to Elliot who was taken to hospital. He added, “We played as good as we can against Leeds. You have to be ready
for brutal intensity. The crowd was there and an exciting football game with us as the deserved winner.”
Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa told BBC MOTD, “I am sure my player (Struijk) did not have the intention to harm him in any way. In no way did he have provoke any harm to the opponent.” He added, “We were overcome in nearly all aspects in the game. We did not impose ourselves and the result was fair.”
Everton came from behind to defeat Burnley, who had taken a second half lead with a Ben Mee finish.
Raphael Benitez’ team nowadays appear not to panic and hit back with three goals around the hour mark from Michael Keane, free transfer summer signing Andros Townsend, with a sensational 25-yard strike, and Damian Gray to complete a memorable turnaround triumph.
Benitez praised his team and particularly the display of Townsend, noting, “He was my player for some months at Newcastle. I knew him in terms of his quality and tonight you can see that.”
Manchester City reeled off a third consecutive league win to defeat Leicester City at King Power Stadium.
Both keepers, Kasper Schmeichel and Ederson, made big saves in an entertaining clash settled by a close-range finish from Bernardo Silva who was quickest to react to a deflected Joao Cancelo’s shot.
Pep Guardiola told BBC Sport, “It is a difficult place to come, we know that. We did very many good things.” He added, “The last 11 goals I think were scored by nine different players. We don’t have a real striker so we do it as a team.”
Leicester’s boss Brendon Rodgers told BBC Sport, “Technically they really test you but I’m really proud of the team. We played some fantastic football to stay in the game.”
Brighton have made a superb start to the season and are level on points with City after an injury time winner from Leandro Trossard to take all the points at Brentford.
Bryan Mbeumo missed three chances for the hosts at Brentford Community Stadium. The Seagulls had created few opportunities before Trossard grabbed the headlines with a sensational strike from the edge of the penalty area on 90 minutes to steal the points.
Super sub Odsonne Edouard was the hero on his debut for Crystal Palace scoring twice in a 3-0 derby win against 10-man Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park.
Wilfried Zaha slotted home a penalty against a disjointed Spurs side after Ben Davies handled a cross. Deadline-day signing Edouard struck with his first touch of the ball from Zaha’s cross just 28 seconds after entering the fray before notching his second from a Conor Gallagher pass late on.
Palace held a player advantage after Japhet Tanganga received two yellow cards before the hour. Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo, accepted his team had been poor overall.
He told BBC Sport, “Even before the penalty we had problems. We were in control of the game in the first half but with problems. There is no need to find excuses. We didn’t play well.”
Palace manager Patrick Vieira told BBC Sport, “It was a really good team performance. We worked hard, we worked well, we created chances and I’m really pleased with the goals we scored.”
Michail Antonio saw red as West Ham remain unbeaten but they will have hoped for more against Southampton than a goalless draw at St Mary’s Stadium.
Antonio received a second yellow card for a poor challenge on Moussa Djenepo deep into stoppage time. The Hammers bossed possession but Saints could have taken the points as Armando Broja saw a late header cleared off the line by Hammers captain Declan Rice.
Wolves deservedly picked up a first league win with a 2-0 triumph at Watford at Vicarage Road.
The visitors took the lead with a Francisco Sierralta own goal before sealing the win through substitute Hwang Hee-chan courtesy of a close range finish.
Arsenal also claimed a first win of the campaign with a goal from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to defeat Norwich City at Emirates Stadium.
The Canaries have yet to pick up a point on their return to top flight football.
Ronaldo and Messi chase Champions League glory
BY DAVID SAFFER
The UEFA Champions League is back with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi chasing another shot at glory in the competition this week.
Ronaldo will be leading the line for Manchester United whilst Messi is hoping for one last hurrah at Paris St Germain who are desperate for a first Euro title.
Ronaldo has triumphed in the competition on five occasions, Messi four. Ronaldo is the all-time leading scorer with 135 goals with Messi next on the list with 120 goals from his Barcelona exploits.
Their career stats to date are mindboggling and they are not finished yet!
Both Ronaldo and Messi are top goal scorers and the most capped player for their respective countries, Portugal and Argentina. Ronaldo became the all-time leading international goalscorer on 111 goals with a brace against the Republic of Ireland whilst Messi scored his 79th to pass Pele’s landmark figure with a hat-trick against Bolivia only last week.
“I’m very happy,” said Ronaldo. “Not only because I beat the record but for the special moments we had, getting two goals at the end of the game is so tough, I appreciate what the team did.”
“I was really anxious and I really wanted to enjoy it,” Messi said. “I’ve waited a long time for this, I went for it, and I dreamt about it.”
Presently Ronaldo heads Messi with 783 to 748 career goals. The stats goal ratio of Messi 0.81 and Ronaldo 0.73 is simply stunning. Astonishingly, Ronaldo has 57 career hat-tricks to Messi’s 55.
And the penalty figures are also crazy with Ronaldo leading the way over Messi 139 to 100. Most players are lucky to score these totals from open play in a career!
As for major honours Ronaldo edges Messi 25-24 (league titles, domestic cup wins, FIFA Club World Cups, COPA America, Euro Championships and Nations Leagues), however Messi heads Ronaldo with Ballon d’Or trophies six to five. One can only guess where these statistics will end up by the time they both hang up their boots and take a place in the pantheon of greatest ever players.
Regarding this season’s Champions League, it seems no time at all since Chelsea was lifting the trophy last May. Kai Havertz scored the only goal to deny Manchester City a first title.
The 2021/22 final takes place at the St Petersburg Stadium, Russia on May 28th.
Chelsea and City are among the favourites and strengthened their squads with £97.5m sharpshooter Romlula Lukaku leading the defending champs attack while £100m Jack Grealish has added even more attacking options for Pep Guardiola’s Premier League champions.
The most talked about transfers of the summer though were Messi’s arrival at PSG, which illustrated the French sides intent this season. And with a forward line of Messi, Kilian Mbappe and Neymar leading the PSG attack they will take some stopping.
The Reds could go far after the return of prodigal son Ronaldo back at Old Trafford. Ronaldo scored twice on his debut in a 4-1 victory against Newcastle United. They are certainly in with a shout of Euro glory.
Any discussion about UEFA’s premier tournament though must also include Bayern Munich whilst Liverpool, Real Madrid, Juventus and Barcelona will also look to go deep.
The latest odds have PSG leading the way followed closely by Bayern, Chelsea and the Manchester clubs.
UEFA Champions League 2021/22
Group A: Manchester City, Paris St Germain, RB Leipzig, Club Bruges Group B: Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Porto, AC Milan Group C: Sporting Lisbon, Borussia Dortmund, Ajax, Besiktas Group D: Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Sheriff Tiraspol Group E: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Benfica, Dynamo Kiev Group F: Villarreal, Manchester United, Atalanta, Young Boys Group G: Lille, Sevilla, FC Salzburg, Wolfsburg Group H: Chelsea, Juventus, Zenit St Petersburg, Malmo
Chelsea start out at home to Zenit St Peterburg and should come through Group H which also includes Italian giants Juventus and Malmo.
Manchester City and PSG line up in Group A so it will be some battle who comes top to avoid potential big guns in the knock out phase.
City face RB Leipzig, who will be no pushovers, PSG travel to Club Bruges in opening clashes.
The draw appears to have been kind to Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s United who kick off away to Young Boys in Group F. Ronaldo and co should account for the Swiss side, Villareal and Atalanta.
Liverpool, meantime, are arguably in the toughest quartet of teams possible as they take on initially AC Milan then Atletico Madrid and FC Porto in Group B.
Jurgen Klopp’s men will have their work cut out to get through but it is not beyond them.
Another standout set of games will come in Group E where Barcelona host Bayern Munich while Dynamo Kiev welcome Benfica. The Germans are most pundits’ favourites to top the group especially as the Spaniards are rebuilding, as are their great rivals Real Madrid who travel to Inter Milan where they will be severely tested in the Group D. Both though should make the last 16 as they will be expected to overcome Shakhtar Donestsk and debutants Sheriff Tiraspol.
The coming weeks are set to be tremendous for all followers of top level football.
