فيديو | محمد صلاح يدعم الأطفال اللاجئين ويصرّح: أتمنى أن يساعدهم الجميع

شارك مُحترفنا المصري محمد صلاح، نجم ليفربول الإنجليزي وجناح منتخب مصر الأول لكرة القدم، في حملة لدعم الأطفال اللاجئين، تابعة لـ المفوضية السامية للأمم المتحدة لشؤون اللاجئين.

صلاح تواجد مع طلاب لاجئين من مدارس المفوضية في كينيا وتنزانيا إلى جانب جنوب السودان، وذلك بهدف مخاطبة قادة العالم في منطقة عمل أهداف التنمية المستدامة.

وقال صلاح: “يجب أنّ نحرص على حصول جميع الشباب بما فيهم اللاجئون على التعليم، لقد حان الوقت الآن لضمان عدم إغفال الطلاب اللاجئين”.

وأضاف: “وفي ظل فيروس كورونا، فإن التعليم المتصل بالإنترنت يعتبر أمراً بالغ الأهمية”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. كلوب: محمد صلاح محترف استثنائي وجشع

وواصل: “لقد عانى الأطفال اللاجئون الأمرين ولكنهم ما زالوا يتحلون بالقوة بشكل مذهل، لديهم أحلام وآمال كثيرة، حالهم حال جميع الأطفال؛ سمعت من أربعة طلاب وهم باسيفيك ولويل وسلامة وفاتنة، وهم يمثلون ملايين الشباب الذين يعيشون في مخيمات اللاجئين عبر إفريقيا”.

وتابع: “لقد ألهمني هؤلاء الشباب الأربعة وبثوا الأمل في نفسي، لقد شاركونا أحلامهم في المستقبل وتحدثوا معي عما يعنيه التعليم بالنسبة لهم”.

وأتم تصريحاته قائلًا: “أدى حصولهم على سبل التكنولوجيا والإنترنت إلى إحداث تغيير في فصولهم الدراسية وأريد أن أضمن حصول الأطفال الآخرين في مخيمات ومجتمعات اللاجئين على نفس الفرص، خاصًة وأننا نواجه الآن فيروس كورونا، والتعليم هو كل شيء بالنسبة للأطفال اللاجئين ولا ينبغي إهمالهم”.

وذكرت المفوضية في بيان لها، أنّه خلال وباء فيروس كورونا، تأثر حوالي 90% من الأطفال ممن هم في سن الدراسة حول العالم بإغلاق المدارس، بما في ذلك ما يقدر بنحو 7 ملايين لاجئ، وكان التكيف مع القيود التي فرضها الوباء أمراً صعباً بشكل خاص بالنسبة لـ 85% من لاجئي العالم الذين يعيشون في البلدان النامية أو الأقل نمواً.

Hughes, Khawaja start anew

Freshly relocated, Phillip Hughes and Usman Khawaja wish to prove that they are no longer the lost boys of Australian batting.Sometime last summer both fell out of their prams – dropped from the Test team – and struggled to cope with the repercussions of demotion when playing for a New South Wales side that was battling to function effectively.Each spent much of the winter in England, where Hughes played for Worcestershire in division one while Khawaja helped Derbyshire to promotion out of division two. They have now returned to Australia and are getting acquainted with new surrounds. Next week they will meet as foes, when Queensland host South Australia at the Gabba.Khawaja had a move to Queensland in his thoughts well before season 2011-12 ended, and Hughes had always admired South Australia’s languid lifestyle and Adelaide Oval’s friendly pitch, even if he did not confirm his departure from Sydney until well after the summer’s end.Both can point to past success at their new home grounds. Khawaja notched his first Sheffield Shield century at the Gabba in early 2009, and added another the following summer. Its pace off the wicket will be a useful ally to his back foot game, while the prospect of early swing and seam does not appear to perturb him.”I scored my first century here, and I scored another century the next year,” Khawaja said in Brisbane. “So I’ve enjoyed the Gabba, it’s a place where it’s tough cricket but you can score runs too if you get in. I enjoy the wicket here, it’s got a bit of pace in it – challenging but also rewarding at the same time.”I came up to Queensland cricket because one I felt like I needed a fresh start, two I wanted to win, and I felt like being here gave me the best chance to enjoy my cricket, start afresh, and hopefully I’m here to help contribute to Queensland cricket winning as many competitions as we can. If I can put my hand up and contribute to the team that will help.”For Hughes, Adelaide’s rhythms are closer to those of his Macksville home in country NSW than Sydney’s hustle and bustle were ever likely to be. The Adelaide Oval pitch is also amenable to his bush technique, as an aggregate of 475 at 118.75 in three matches can attest. If the Oval’s conditions do not force Hughes to answer the questions posed by New Zealand’s Chris Martin on testier surfaces last summer, they should help him gather confidence, a critical element to his early international success in South Africa.”I’ve been here a few times for a week or two here and there, and I love the place,” Hughes said of Adelaide. “I’m originally from the country in NSW, so I’m that down-to-earth type bloke, more laid-back and I think it provides that here, and that’s one thing I looked into as well. The place is a lot quieter than Sydney, it’s a lot easier to get around, as I’ve already found out, and I’m looking forward to it.”I love Adelaide Oval, I’ve played there a few times now and hopefully I can get as many runs as possible, it can be good for batting at times and once you’re in on any wicket you want to make good scores. Hopefully I can do that.”Neither Hughes nor Khawaja won many points for their attitude upon returning to the NSW dressing room last summer, as they pondered what might have been with Australia rather more readily than they contributed to the Blues’ faltering season. Khawaja has the chance to rehabilitate his game and his place in the team room under the tutelage of Darren Lehmann, who helmed a Bulls Shield victory in his first season as coach. The past examples of Ryan Harris and Peter Forrest are helpful.”They did a lot of hard work to be where they are, they didn’t just come here and let it happen, so there’s nothing certain about now that I’ve moved up here my career’s going to go to the next level, the next stage,” Khawaja said. “I’ve got a lot of hard work in front of me and there’s going to be a lot of tough times for me to get through. I’m just here to be honest to enjoy my cricket, have fun and the rest will take care of itself.”Darren’s been great, just like everyone else, they’ve all really made me feel welcome, which is probably the toughest thing coming to a new place. I’ve talked to Darren here and there, been at the Centre of Excellence the last couple of years, and I’ve known him for a good four or five years now, so I know what he’s all about and he’s just a guy who loves his cricket.”Hughes, meanwhile, showed a willingness to open up to new advice in England, working attentively with Worcs’ coach Steve Rhodes where previously he had listened only to the technical advice of his long-time mentor Neil D’Costa, to the exclusion of all others. Darren Berry, the Redbacks’ coach, will hope for a similar level of openness.”Steve was good, he’s a hard working coach, and I found his work ethic was outstanding, and from the day I got there he made me feel very welcome,” Hughes said. “We got to the nets and he was quite simple on a lot of things, for me that’s a good thing, and through the four months he was very supportive of me.”I just want to be the most consistent player I possibly can be in all three forms of the game. It can be tough to juggle all the formats and hopefully through the season I can score as many runs in all the formats that I can.”

Everton fans react to Carlo Ancelotti’s transfer comments

Loads of Everton fans have been reacting to manager Carlo Ancelotti’s transfer comments prior to the 2-2 draw with Newcastle United.

The Italian was asked during his pre-match press conference whether the rumours linking the club with a move for former Liverpool and current Juventus midfielder Emre Can was true, and he made it pretty clear what the situation was with his answer.

He said: “I told you at the press conference that all of the names in the newspapers were wrong. I can say the same today.

“All of the names in the newspapers are wrong, also the names on Sky are wrong.”

Should the 60-year-old be telling the truth, then it is certainly good from the Merseyside outfit’s perspective if they are managing to keep their potential targets out of the public eye.

Sky Sports reported previously that Everton wanted to sign a new centre-back and central midfielder during the January transfer window, but there has been no movement so far with the only major deal being the loan exit of Cenk Tosun to Crystal Palace.

Although nothing looks to be on the cards right now, some Toffees supporters are loving their manager’s honesty and humour.

However, others believe that the comments from their manager point to it being unlikely that there will be any new arrivals through the door at Goodison Park this month.

It would be understandable from the club’s point of view as it can be difficult to get good value for money at this time of year, but the centre-back and central midfield positions in particular do look to need strengthening right now.

Did he play for Everton? Simple question but a lot tougher than you think…

Ancelotti only has Mason Holgate, Yerry Mina and Michael Keane to pick from as senior options in central defence, while the likes of Morgan Schneiderlin, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Fabian Delph have struggled in the middle of the park, with the former duo picking up 3/10 and 2/10 ratings respectively from The Liverpool Echo following their FA Cup displays against Liverpool earlier this month.

In other Everton news, Alan Myers has provided an update on how many players he expects the club to sign before the deadline…

Newcastle fans react to Simon Jordan’s comments on Mike Ashley

Newcastle fans have taken to Twitter to react after former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan told TalkSPORT that Mike Ashley is actually going to sell the club this time around, and will also make signings in January.

Given the fact that Magpies’ supporters have heard Ashley say he is going to sell up almost every season now, these claims are sure to have fallen on deaf ears, whilst anyone with a brain won’t fall for Jordan’s comments on signings.

Jordan knows Ashley well, so some fans are pessimistic about his comments, and feel that he is simply trying to portray his friend in a good light and get the angry St James Park faithful off his back.

Ashley has never backed Rafa Benitez since the Spaniard took over on Tyneside, and if he is in the process of selling the club, why would he invest any money into signings?

Let’s take a look at how Newcastle fans reacted to Jordan’s comments…

Celtic fans mock Rangers as Gerrard’s side fall 8 points off leaders

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Rangers fans were crucifying Celtic fans last week after their defeat to Kilmarnock, and the Bhoys are returning the favour after this weekend’s results.

The Scottish Premiership is wide open this season, as both Celtic and Rangers have suffered two defeats from their opening seven games.

Brendan Rodgers’ side got back to winning ways on Saturday though, winning 1-0 in a hard-fought encounter wih Aberdeen.

Scott Sinclair replaced the injured Odsonne Edouard in the first half, and his genius backheel goal was enough to grab all three points.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”300259″ player=”12034″ title=”Mo Salah’s “7th Best Goal” Wins FIFA’s Puskas Award”]

Steven Gerrard’s side had no such luck on Sunday though, losing 1-0 at Livingston courtesy of a first half striker from Dolly Menga.

The Gers have not won away from home in the Premiership this season, a very damning statistic for Gerrard’s side.

The two arch-rivals now sit six and eight points off Hearts respectively, but Celtic fans are absolutely loving this weekend’s results.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Everton would be wise to cash in on goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg

According to a report from France Football, Everton goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg has been linked with a move to French side Lille. The 35-year-old has been well down the pecking order at Goodison Park behind Jordan Pickford and Joel Robles, and while the arrival of new manager Marco Silva could change his fortunes, it seems unlikely that the Dutchman will command regular football at the Merseyside outfit.

But with Lille reportedly keen on a move for the 58-cap Netherlands international, and believing that £2 million may be enough to secure his signature, Everton should absolutely sanction his departure this summer.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, things haven’t worked out for Stekelenburg since his move to Goodison Park back in 2016, with the 35-year-old seeking regular first team football after a frustrating spell at Fulham, a stint which saw him go out on loan to Monaco and Southampton, where he also struggled for minutes.

And while he played 25 times for the Toffees in his first season at the club in 2016/17, 17 of which coming in the Premier League, he has slowly but surely fallen out of favour at Goodison Park, to the point that he mustered just three senior appearances last season.

And while second-choice Everton shot-stopper Robles has made the move to Real Betis this summer, and thus Stekelenburg is set to move up the goalkeeping pecking order, he is still highly unlikely to dispose Pickford, whose World Cup exploits are only likely to further raise his stock.

How far will England get in Russia? Tell us now

Thus, it’s clear that the Dutchman is not what is required at Goodison Park, and while his departure would leave Silva short of goalkeeping options ahead of the 2018/19 season, recouping £2 million would be a mighty fine result.

And given he is very much entering the twilight of his career, Stekelenburg himself is unlikely going to be happy sat around on the bench in the final year of his Everton contract, so not only does a deal make sense for the club, but it also makes sense for the player himself.

As such, for £2 million, Everton should absolutely let the 35-year-old leave Goodison Park this summer.

Everton fans… what do you think? Let us know!

Adama Traore an intriguing potential signing for the Hammers

Slaven Bilic appears close to completing his second signing of the summer, bringing in Middlesbrough right-winger Adama Traore, according to online bookmakers BetVictor.

The 21-year old former Barcelona youth player has solid Premier League experience and would add some speed and creativity to a West Ham squad that scored one or fewer goals in 24 games last season.

The Spanish youth international led the league in dribbles per game last season, averaging five across 27 league appearances. A move for Traore is an interesting one for Slaven Bilic as it would likely force him to move on better, more experienced players.

Last summer, right-winger Sofiane Feghouli joined on a free transfer from Valencia and, after initially struggling, showed improved form in the second half of the season. The 27-year old Algeria international didn’t score his first league goal until 14 January against Crystal Palace but contributed two more goals and assisted another pair after finally breaking his duck.

It would be disappointing for Bilic to move on from a player like Feghouli for Traore, who hasn’t really done much in his two Premier League seasons.

Traore moved to Aston Villa ahead of the 2015/16 season but struggled to break into the league’s worst side, making only 10 substitute appearances in the league and one in the EFL Cup. He did score his first English goal in that cup appearance and picked up two assists in the league, which was enough for Middlesbrough to keep him in the top division last summer.

At Boro, the winger registered only one assist in 32 appearances for the goal-starved club. Traore started 16 league games for Aitor Karanka and Steve Agnew and was substituted in seven of those. He is a very raw player and seems to be staying in the Premier League based on the reputation he developed at Barcelona, where he made his professional debut aged just 17.

He certainly has excellent dribbling skills, but his lack of an end product leaves a lot to be desired. Whether it’s his shot or final pass, goal creation is the aspect of Traore’s game that needs the most work. He clearly picked up some dribbling tricks training alongside players like Lionel Messi and Neymar, but his finishing looks more like Javier Mascherano’s.

Still only 21-years old, Traore has plenty of time to develop and could prove a great signing for the Hammers and Bilic, but the Croatian hasn’t had a great track record of developing young players.

He has stunted the hype surrounding Reece Oxford and 21-year olds Ashley Fletcher, Edimilson Fernandes struggled for consistent playing time for the Hammers last term.

Perhaps Traore can break the trend.

How strikers are becoming expendable in the Premier League

There was once a time when guaranteed goalscorers were worth their weight in gold. Power, height, pace, technical ability and all that jazz certainly helped, but the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Robbie Fowler got by for long enough without it.

They simply found a way of getting the ball into the net one week to guarantee a start the next; an entirely logical cycle that had even the most attritional of managers prepared to overlook workshy tendencies in favour of that one thing needed to win football matches – goals.

Traditionally, strikers have commanded the largest transfer fees, the largest salaries and unrivalled importance in the starting XI. But fast forward to 2016/17 in the Premier League and the job security of the guaranteed goalscorer isn’t as sure as it once was. Have we reached a point where most, if not all, predatory net-finders are suddenly expendable?

On the surface, that may seem absurd. A beautiful game without a consistent supply of goals would be a wet dream for Sam Allardyce and a nightmare for the rest of us. But no star striker doesn’t mean no goals; indeed, there is a growing trend of managers looking to find their goals from other areas of the pitch. The traditional poachers, meanwhile, the men who’ve forged careers almost exclusively from getting on the scoresheet, are suddenly being sacrificed.

Britain Football Soccer – Sunderland v Liverpool – Premier League – Stadium of Light – 2/1/17 Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge scores their first goal Reuters / Russell Cheyne Livepic EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.

Take Sergio Aguero and Daniel Sturridge. On paper, both are amongst the best goal-getters in the Premier League, if not world football. The Argentine proved as much against Burnley, when he came off the bench to fizz in a strike from the most impossible of angles, somehow finding a gap between a goal-line defending Michael Keane and the post to give his side a 2-0 lead. But that’s precisely the point; a fully-fit, world-class striker, unrivalled in his position throughout the City squad, had to make a difference from the bench.

Of course, Aguero has largely been selected when fit; barring his three and four-game suspensions. Yet, it’s hard to imagine any of Pep Guardiola’s predecessors voluntarily extending his exclusion from the starting XI by an extra game after such a long absence, like the Spaniard did against Burnley. In fact, Aguero’s spent most of his City career sacrificing his health and risking injury by being rushing back into the fold as soon as possible.

And the trend rings even truer at Anfield, where Sturridge has spent the majority of the campaign watching from the sidelines. Once again, few can dispute the England international’s talent, but Jurgen Klopp has consistently preferred Roberto Firmino in the false nine role as part of his high-pressing, fluid front three rather than a traditional centre-forward. Even Divock Origi, more a roaming forward than a predominant front-man, has found himself selected ahead of the former Chelsea and Manchester City starlet.

Britain Football Soccer – Sunderland v Liverpool – Premier League – Stadium of Light – 2/1/17 Liverpool’s Sadio Mane scores their second goal Reuters / Russell Cheyne Livepic EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.

Yet, that hasn’t affected Liverpool’s capacity to find the net – in fact, quite the opposite. They’re the top scoring side in the Premier League with 48 goals – seven more than Barcelona after just four more games – and perhaps even more intriguingly, their top scorer isn’t even Firmino, the closest thing their strongest starting XI has to a conventional front-man. That title belongs to in-cutting winger Sadio Mane.

It’s a similar case at Arsenal. Although Olivier Giroud has come back into the fold recently amid a run of fixtures against predominantly defensive and physical sides, Alexis Sanchez has lead Arsenal’s line for the most part this season. The Chilean forward is certainly capable in terms of scoring prowess but once again, it’s the other elements of his game that have seen him preferred to Giroud, specifically his pace, tenacity and link-up play with those around him, notching up seven assists already this term.

Meanwhile, Jermain Defoe is the fourth-top scorer in the Premier League but seemingly compelled to ply his trade with third-bottom Sunderland. Of course, Defoe is a particularly extreme case – he’s 34 years of age and has been marginalised for most of his career for an apparent lack of all-round contribution.

Nonetheless, the point still stands; out-and-out goalscorers are becoming decisively old-fashioned. It’s rather telling that just eleven of the Premier League’s top 20 scorers this season are actual strikers. The rest occupy the attacking midfield berth just behind them.

There are exceptions, most notably Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Diego Costa of Manchester United and Chelsea respectively. But once again, it’s rather telling that Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte are both considered as tactically traditional in terms of defence coming first and creating largely functional sides.

Britain Football Soccer – Liverpool v Manchester City – Premier League – Anfield – 31/12/16 Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola Reuters / Phil Noble Livepic EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further d

Their counterparts Guardiola and Klopp, on the other hand, are seen as more progressive and favour less obvious traits in their front-men, namely energy to press off the ball, the flexibility to move around the forward line and the ability to bring the midfield into the game. Actually finding the net regularly appears to come a distant second.

Yet, this isn’t a case of revolution; it’s been coming for some time. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi ushered in the era of free-scoring wingers, the 4-3-3 system that arrived in the Premier League with Mourinho in 2004 asked for almost superhuman contribution from the lone front-man and as a rule of thumb, strikers’ roles have become increasingly industrious throughout the Premier League era.

You can’t imagine the aforementioned Van Nistelrooy, or for that matter even the likes of Andy Cole or Alan Shearer, working tirelessly to pin back a defence in their own third. At the same time, Premier League managers have gone from deploying two up front to, on many occasions, none over the course of the last 15 years.

Indeed, times are changing and it seems the out-and-out goalscorers are being left behind – or at the very least, losing the unparalleled importance they once had, reduced to making contributions from the bench when all other hope of finding the net is seemingly lost. Once the first names on the team-sheet, traditional strikers are becoming a last-minute roll of the dice.

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Could this Man United starlet upset Man City come the end of the season?

It feels like I’ve stepped into an episode of The Twilight Zone. There’s water on Mars, Sir Alex is going to manage David Beckham again, and Sergio Aguero hasn’t scored in open play for a month and a half. That’s usually as probable as Manchester going the same period without rain.It’s a normality that when the Argentine is playing he’s scoring. With him failing to find the net can someone steal his Golden Boot?Before last weekend Aguero had a little bit of breathing space in the race for top scorer. His expected rivals for the accolades had all been suffering droughts of their own. This ended when Sanchez bagged a hat-trick for Arsenal, Kane scored against Manchester City and Rooney put fifteen hours of goalless Premier League matches behind him.The belief Sergio just needed a goal – any goal – to get his confidence back was dismissed when he scored a spot-kick against Sunderland in the League Cup but still appeared far from his best. The trend continued this week in the Champions League. Again, the history books will record a penalty scored, but they won’t reflect an evening of frustration for City’s star striker.[ffc-gal cat=”manchester-united” no=”5″] Never before in his time for the Manchester club has he looked so painfully out of sorts. There has to be questions surrounding his fitness and with each passing week the wayward efforts are driving his mental wellbeing down. Normally if Aguero shoots you expect a goal, recently attempts are met with an inward breath as you wait to see how close the miss was.This is great news for rival strikers.The question then becomes: who is most likely to emerge as the leading scorer this year? The usual candidates have to be considered. First up we have Harry Kane. He was last year’s runner-up for the Golden Boot with an impressive 21 goals, including a hat-trick against Leicester. What makes his tally all the more eye-catching is he only played one more game than Aguero in a side less able to provide chances.In music terms, this season could be the difficult second album. What came so easy last year is arduous at present. But if he finds his form in the next five games he has to be considered a good bet.Wayne Rooney was another of the men to end his drought. Unlike the other’s that will be mentioned here, he can’t be seen as a threat. Last year he bagged 12 goals and there’s little to suggest he is going to suddenly become prolific. In his defence, he hasn’t been utilised as an out-and-out striker, and while there was hope this could be the season he features heavily leading the front line again, the performances of Anthony Martial have put the idea to bed. More on the Frenchman in a minute.Sanchez was the third player to end a goalless streak. He has a solid chance of being around the prize if we have a relatively low scoring season for strikers. He bagged 16 goals in the league last year, and while it could be argued now he’s fully acclimatised he can push on, asking for more than 20 could be fanciful. From within his team it seems Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott will split the goals between them.The elephant in the room so far is last year’s third place man for the Golden Boot. That player everyone loves, the type of character first on the list for any party, Diego Costa.He played 459 minutes less than Sergio Aguero last season and was only 6 goals behind the prize. So while he would have needed a goal every 76 minutes to catch the City player he was almost his equal, this in his first stab at the Premier League. He may only have a single goal to his name at the moment but Chelsea’s poor start to the season will end soon. When it does expect the goals to flow with Costa netting the majority.Droughts aside, we are left with outsiders and a rookie. Southampton’s Pelle has started the season with four but anyone that had him in their Fantasy Team last year will recall his ability to fire blanks when least expected. Everton’s Lukaku is also on a quartet and the only man in the current top ten to have scored from outside the area. If Everton sustain a push, and the bigger names continue to be indifferent, he will finish in the top five scorers with one eye on the prize, he’s not been that close since 2013.At the danger of sounding dismissive, I can’t see players such as Jamie Vardy or Callum Wilson continuing their chart leading ways for an entire season. This is no slight on them but their respective clubs will have difficult days ahead over the remainder of the season which will impact on chances. Three others, Gomis, Benteke and Sturridge, I expect to easily finish in the top ten but their sides will lack a run of form that enables a higher goals return.The unknown quantity is Anthony Martial. He has three from three. The stats aren’t as impressive as the visual demonstration. The comparisons to Theirry Henry were premature. Now they have more weight behind them. Against Liverpool he scored a goal that mirrors one Henry scored against the same club in Arsenal’s Invincibles season.If United do form a solid challenge this year, and excellent service is provided by players like Rooney and Mata, there’s no evidence to suggest Martial can’t steal Kun’s Golden Boot.

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'I don't take it personally' – Man Utd hero Scott McTominay addresses lack of regular starts under Erik ten Hag after scoring another vital late winner off the bench at Aston Villa

Manchester United star Scott McTominay says he doesn't take his lack of regular starts "personally" after his late winner against Aston Villa.

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Man Utd beat Aston Villa 2-1Sub McTominay scores winnerScot unphased by lack of startsGetty WHAT HAPPENED?

Scottish international McTominay came off the bench to score an 86th-minute winner following goals from United's Rasmus Hojlund and Villa's Douglas Luiz. After the Red Devils' 2-1 win at Villa Park, the 27-year-old said he was unphased by his repeated cameo roles under Erik ten Hag as the midfielder just wants to do his best for the team.

AdvertisementWHAT SCOTT MCTOMINAY SAID

He told : "I feel like as long as I'm fit and healthy I can come onto the pitch and perform. I don't take it personally, I just want to come in and try and do the best I can for this. Long may it continue. It was an unbelievable cross to be fair, whipped with a lot of pace. I just needed it to hit my head and get it on target. Full credit to the boys, we created a lot of good chances which may go unnoticed. Every game you win is massive for taking a step forward and confidence for the boys. It is all positive but it is about repeating it and not getting too far ahead of ourselves when we win a few. We've got to repeat it now."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Although McTominay has started just 12 times in the Premier League this season, no player has scored more goals from the bench (four) in the English top-flight this term. The Scot has scored eight goals and bagged two assists in all competitions in 2023-24 and his contributions are certainly having a positive impact on United – who are just five points off fourth-placed Tottenham.

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Getty ImagesDID YOU KNOW?

United's victory at Villa Park was their 40th in the Premier League over Villa (won 40, drawn 13, and lost five), equalling the record for most wins by a club against a single opponent. They have also beaten Everton 40 times in the Premier League era.

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