Bruno Fernandes praised Manchester United for picking up where they left off in their win over Liverpool after firing them to a 1-0 victory at Southampton.
Fernandes produced a classy side-footed finish when he met Diogo Dalot s cross after 55 minutes at St Mary s, guiding United to back-to-back wins for the first time since Erik ten Hag took charge.
Since Fernandes made his United debut in February 2020, only Mohamed Salah (54), Harry Kane (49) and Son Heung-Min (45) have scored more Premier League goals than the Portuguese livewire (37).
The creative midfielder has assumed a crucial role in United s improvement this week, taking on the captain s armband for each of their last two games with Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo both starting on the bench.
Best odds: 8/15
Bookmaker:
Crystal Palace are set to welcome Liverpool at Selhurst Park on Saturday in what will be the 14th Premier League game of the season for both teams. It means Palace boss Roy Hodgson will once again be facing the club he led at a time few Liverpool supporters care to remember.
Crystal Palace
If there s anything that the Eagles have been consistent in this season, it s inconsistency. They seem to be a personification of that thing in football when form means nothing; they ve won when expected to lose, they ve lost when expected to do better, and that has been the trend for them both at home and away.
Palace s position in a closely nit table reflects all that. They are currently 12th with 18 points, with five games won, five games…
Sebastian Rode has completed his return to Eintracht Frankfurt, signing a five-year deal after leaving Borussia Dortmund.
Rode spent the second half of last season on loan at Eintracht, making 20 appearances in all competitions.
And last season s Europa League semi-finalists have now sealed a permanent deal for the midfielder, with no transfer fee disclosed by either side.
Rode spent four years in Frankfurt earlier in his career before joining Bayern Munich for a short spell in 2014.
Sebastian Rode has joined Eintracht Frankfurt on a permanent transfer.
We wish him the best of luck in the future.
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow)
I ve seen how strong Eintracht have become in the last six months, Rode told the club s offici…
Manchester United 1-1 Leicester City: VAR spares Red Devils´ blushes but top-four hopes still dented
Manchester United s hopes of finishing in the Premier League top four were further dented as they were held 1-1 by Leicester City, who were denied a winner by VAR.
United were without Cristiano Ronaldo due to illness and Ralf Rangnick s decision to go without a recognised striker did not pay off for large parts of Saturday s contest at Old Trafford.
The hosts found themselves behind when former Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho headed in from a James Maddison cross, but Fred levelled just three minutes later.
Maddison thought he had struck a winner 10 minutes from time, though it was ruled out for an Iheanacho foul on Raphael Varane in the build-up, following the intervention of VAR.
Harvey Barnes was wayward on a few occasions in an underwhelmi…
Juanfran has signed a one-year contract renewal with Atletico Madrid which ensures he will represent the club for a ninth LaLiga season.
The 33-year-old right-back joined Atletico in January 2011 from Osasuna, becoming a crucial part of Diego Simeone s side during an extended period of success.
Juanfran was a key part of the side that won LaLiga in 2013-14, Atletico s first top-flight crown since 1996, and has also celebrated two Europa League triumphs with the club.
Having played a total of 325 games for Atletico, Juanfran spoke of his delight at the renewal.
Our fullback will stay one more season as a rojiblanco player
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish)
To continue one more year fills me with pride and happiness, he said.
…
Russia president Vladimir Putin has given the World Cup hosts extra motivation ahead of their quarter-final showdown against Croatia, says head coach Stanislav Cherchesov.
There was a huge upset in the last 16 as Russia stunned 2010 champions Spain on penalties thanks to Igor Akinfeev s heroics in the shoot-out.
Not much was expected of Russia prior to the tournament after they exited Euro 2016 and the 2014 World Cup without winning a game.
However, Russia have defied the odds and are riding a wave of momentum heading into Saturday s clash at Fisht Stadium in Sochi.
Criticism is good actually. I believe we should have our eyes open and ears ready and when you re praised all the time, it s bad too, Cherchesov told reporters on Friday. We Russians like ex…
Jadon Sancho became the youngest player to reach 35 goals in Bundesliga history, but team-mate Erling Haaland is fast closing in on that record after netting another double in Borussia Dortmund s 4-0 win over Schalke.
England international Sancho picked his spot from just inside the box to open the scoring for BVB in Saturday s Revierderby at the VELTINS-Arena.
Sancho, who joined Dortmund from Manchester City in August 2017, reached the 35-goal milestone at the age of 20 years, 10 months and 26 days.
However, Haaland took his Bundesliga tally for Dortmund to 30 in 32 matches in the same game. Almost four months younger than Sancho, Haaland has until the end of the season to snatch the record off his team-mate.
Put it in the Louvre.
— Borussia…
Joachim Low s decision not to select Mats Hummels for Germany must be accepted, according to former Borussia Dortmund player and coach Jorg Heinrich.
Hummels was suddenly dropped from the national team in March, along with his then Bayern Munich team-mates Thomas Muller and Jerome Boateng.
The centre-back subsequently rejoined Dortmund from Bayern and has been in fine form in the early weeks of the 2019-20 Bundesliga season.
Low, though, has continued to leave Hummels out of his squad despite defensive injuries affecting his latest selection, with Freiburg s Robin Koch called up for the first time.
Jogi Low has his strategy with dealing with this topic, Champions League winner Heinrich told Omnisport. When Hummels played in Munich it was not a big topic …
Manchester City came from behind to draw 1-1 with Manchester United before winning 7-6 on penalties in the Community Shield on Saturday.
Alejandro Garnacho had broken the deadlock in the 82nd minute before Bernardo Silva headed in an equaliser just seven minutes later, setting up the shoot-out in which Manuel Akanji s penalty was the difference.
After a slow start, it looked like City were kicking into gear when Oscar Bobb latched onto a loose back pass from Lisandro Martinez, but Nico O Reilly could only hit the far post with his curling strike.
Bruno Fernandes thought he had given United the lead in the 54th minute, only to be denied by the offside flag after curling a wonderful shot over Ederson and into the far corner, before Marcus Rashford struck the post …
Globetrotting former England and Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has been appointed head coach of the Philippines.
The 70-year-old will lead the Azkals at the Asian Cup in January after reportedly signing a six-month contract.
Eriksson, who claimed in August he had rejected approaches from Cameroon and Iraq, returns to the international arena after an eight-year absence, last leading Ivory Coast to the 2010 World Cup.
The experienced Swede has not held a managerial position since leaving Chinese side Shenzhen FC in June 2017.
Former England, Mexico and Côte d Ivoire manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has been appointed as the new coach of the Philippines
— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom)
…