Wayne Rooney and Luciano Acosta led their team to a dramatic turnaround in 2018. What can they do for an encore? It’s the oldest of sports clichés, but 2018 really was the proverbial tale of two seasons for D.C. United.  The first half of the season featured a seemingly never-ending road trip while the team’s new home, Audi Field, was under construction. At midseason, United had played just three home games – all at temporary venues – and was in last place.  But in July, everything changed. Audi Field finally opened and on the night the club christened its new home, it also marked the debut of the most high-profile…

The former Manchester United midfielder thinks Anthony Martial was sulking about his shirt number earlier this season, but says he is over it now Anthony Martial was “in a sulk” about losing the Manchester United No.9 shirt to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, according to Paul Scholes. The ex-United midfielder says shirt numbers would never have bothered him in his playing days, but feels they are significant for others like David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo. Man Utd fixture pile up spells trouble Editors' Picks Juve on alert: Exiled Icardi may have already played his final game for Inter Sarri vindicated for dropping Kepa as Chelsea & Pedro impress in Spurs win Magnificent Mane…

The England captain has netted just three times in 20 games this season, but the Manchester United boss insists he will remain in an attacking role Jose Mourinho has warned captain Wayne Rooney and Manchester United’s other goal-shy forwards that they must start doing more to lift the burden on Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Scholes: Man Utd should fear no one in Europa League Rooney has scored just three goals in 20 matches across all competitions this season and failed to add to his tally in Thursday’s Europa League contest against Zorya, which United won 2-0. Editors' Picks Juve on alert: Exiled Icardi may have already played his final game for Inter…

Jose Mourinho said the England striker is still “not happy” with his fitness and will miss the Europa league quarter-final first leg. Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has been left out of the squad to face Anderlecht in the Europa League quarter-final on Thursday. The 31-year-old has missed the last two Premier League games with ankle problems and has not travelled with the team for the first leg in Brussels. Jarvis Landry practices goal celebrations during NFL tour in UK​ Editors' Picks Juve on alert: Exiled Icardi may have already played his final game for Inter Sarri vindicated for dropping Kepa as Chelsea & Pedro impress in Spurs win Magnificent…

The teenage forward came on as a second-half substitute in his side’s 3-0 win over Saint-Etienne, reaching a career milestone in the process Marcus Rashford moved onto 50 Manchester United appearances as he came on as a second-half substitute in his side’s 3-0 win over Saint-Etienne. Pogba brother shows off crazy shirt The England international replaced Juan Mata after 70 minutes, bringing up his half century in the process, and was immediately involved in the action. Editors' Picks Juve on alert: Exiled Icardi may have already played his final game for Inter Sarri vindicated for dropping Kepa as Chelsea & Pedro impress in Spurs win Magnificent Mane takes centre stage as…

The 20-year-old has everything he needs at Tottenham to develop and should dismiss interest from the big clubs interested in his signature COMMENT It’s common knowledge that English players come with a premium. There was no surprise, then, when arguably the most exciting prospect in English football, Dele Alli, was linked with an eye-watering £100 million summer switch to Manchester City, with Manchester United and Bayern Munich also said to be interested. Arsenal taunted after Champions League humiliation On the back of such rumours, and their potential head-turning effects, Alli’s Tottenham team-mate and close friend Eric Dier told Sky Sports: “I think he’s at the perfect place for that because…

Now being played in his preferred position, the Bosnian is showing just why Juventus were more than happy to sell Paul Pogba for €105 million COMMENT It’s not often that one of the visitors is the best midfielder on the pitch at Camp Nou. Wednesday night was one of those rare occasions. While Barcelona trio Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic tried and failed to rediscover some of their old magic, Miralem Pjanic did everything that was expected of him – and more. Hazard proves he’s best in England Editors' Picks Juve on alert: Exiled Icardi may have already played his final game for Inter Sarri vindicated for dropping…

The Mexican standout has been linked to Philly, but concerns about his recent injury history have led to a mixed reaction to the possibility Forgive Philadelphia Union fans for being predisposed to fearing the worst, even when there’s reason for optimism. When you consider the club’s brief history, you’ll realize that, more often than not, moments that were believed to be positive and potentially fortune-changing have turned out to be thoroughly disappointing. That might explain why the reactions to the team’s reported move for Mexican star Marco Fabian have been mixed instead of overly positive. Consider some moments in the team’s history that wound up being more disappointment than success. The…

Marcus Rashford predictably earned Jose Mourinho’s plaudits, but so did Manchester United team-mate Luke Shaw. Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho lauded Luke Shaw for playing through pain in his team’s win over Anderlecht. Shaw, often criticised this season, played 120 minutes as United edged into the Europa League semi-finals with a 2-1 extra-time win at Old Trafford on Thursday. Shaw says Ibrahimovic is fine Editors' Picks Juve on alert: Exiled Icardi may have already played his final game for Inter Sarri vindicated for dropping Kepa as Chelsea & Pedro impress in Spurs win Magnificent Mane takes centre stage as league leaders Liverpool put on a five-star show Lukaku sends reminder…

The Reds take on Zorya in an unforgiving environment and the skipper’s experience could be crucial to them getting the point they need to reach the last 32 COMMENT Progression in the Europa League on Thursday might not make Manchester United’s season, but failure certainly could help to break it. And the clash with Zorya Luhansk bears all the hallmarks of the stereotypical European upset. Willian happy with Spurs snub There’s the lethargy-inducing flight from one side of the continent to the other, the freezing cold weather, the far-from-ideal icy pitch conditions and the relatively-unknown opponents who have already proved tough to break down in their previous meeting with United…