When Cristiano Ronaldo last went up against David de Gea, the Portuguese striker put three past the Spanish keeper in a virtuoso performance during the 2018 World Cup this summer. The Ronaldo vs de Gea matchup went in the opposite direction on Tuesday, with the latter making some impressive saves to deny the former.
Cristiano Ronaldo was full of flicks and tricks early on in his first visit to Old Trafford since joining Juventus. He made Ashley Young look silly with an early move and even had an admirer invade the pitch to see him (though he was tackled before he reached the former Manchester United winger.
Then Ronaldo made an actual imprint on the game, setting up Juventus’ first goal in the 17th minute.
Did you watch the goal above? He does that more often than most, doesn’t he? With his languid, cerebral, hyper technical, pass-first-shoot-later style, Mesut Ozil scores sublime goals that ooze sensibility and ease but register a 10/10 on the difficulty scale.
As a Newcastle fan, I can instantly remember the times he’s done as much to the Premier League’s current cellar dwellers. Last December, he looped an audacious effort into the roof of the net when the danger seemed to be cleared.
The ridiculous transformation that D.C. United’s experienced since the arrival of Wayne Rooney reached a fitting conclusion today with a 3-1 victory over New York City FC and a berth in the 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs. Rooney scored twice for United and strike partner Luciano Acosta was also on the scoresheet before David Villa struck a late consolation goal on a celebratory day at Audi Field.
We should be used to this by now, but for some reason it still comes as a surprise.
Another big match involving Jose Mourinho became all about the Portuguese manager, despite an enthralling Chelsea-Manchester United match in the first 96 minutes on Saturday at Stamford Bridge.
Despite only being appointed manager of AS Monaco on Saturday, Thierry Henry has had to approach his first head coaching job like one of his trademark goals from the left wing: with remarkable speed. The traditional Ligue 1 power sits in 18th place after nine matches, and Saturday’s trip to Strasbourg represents a massive opportunity to begin the climb out of the relegation places.
D.C. United’s unlikely push for an Eastern Conference MLS Playoff place — inspired by the arrival of Wayne Rooney — continued apace tonight with a match against reigning champs Toronto FC (although the Reds have already been eliminated from playoff contention).
In the 18th minute, United took the lead thanks to Rooney’s monster free kick from long-range. It was the Englishman’s 10th goal in 18 MLS appearances this season to go along with six assists.
Wayne. Freaking. Rooney.