NAPLES: Rasmus Hojlund celebrated a brilliant night in the European Champions League when he scored two goals to help Napoli beat Sporting Lisbon 2-1 at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, early this morning.
The Danish striker, who joined Manchester United before being loaned to Napoli, celebrated the victory by showing off the Champions League badge on his shirt.
The action reminded United fans that several of their former stars are now increasingly prominent on the European stage, while Ruben Amorim’s squad failed to qualify for this season’s tournament.
Hojlund, who was sidelined by Amorim after Benjamin Sesko came on, opened the scoring in the 36th minute through Kevin De Bruyne’s pass.
Sporting equalised from the penalty spot, but De Bruyne’s cross was again key as Hojlund headed home the winning goal.
De Bruyne praised Hojlund’s sharpness by comparing him to former Manchester City teammate Erling Haaland.
“I think Rasmus is maturing and his style is very similar to Haaland. They both like to attack space and are dangerous in front of goal,” said De Bruyne.
Hojlund has now scored three goals in five appearances for Antonio Conte’s side, with his loan including an obligatory buy-out clause of £38 million.
Besides Hojlund, several other former United players also stole the spotlight.
Anthony Elanga, who left Old Trafford for Nottingham Forest before moving to Newcastle, emerged as man of the match after helping the Magpies to a 4-0 win over Union Saint-Gilloise.
Marcus Rashford continues to shine with Barcelona with six goals in six matches.
The England international provided the assist for Ferran Torres’ goal against Paris Saint-Germain, although the defending champions came from behind to win 2-1.
In Germany, Marcel Sabitzer, a former United loanee, was also named man of the match as Borussia Dortmund beat Athletic Bilbao 4-1.
Meanwhile, Alejandro Garnacho helped Chelsea to a narrow 1-0 victory over Benfica at Stamford Bridge when he was involved in the only goal of the match.
ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN: Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick as 15-time Champions League winners Real Madrid thrashed Kairat 5-0 in a league match in Kazakhstan on Tuesday.
Xabi Alonso’s team bounced back after being humiliated by local rivals Atletico Madrid with a big away win after travelling more than 7,000 kilometres.
Mbappe was a nightmare for the hosts with a hat-trick while Eduardo Camavinga and Brahim Diaz completed Madrid’s victory that temporarily took them to the top of the table.
Kairat, who made their first appearance in the main competition of this tournament after defeating Celtic in the qualifying round, were unable to match the prowess of Los Blancos, especially French star Mbappe.
The striker has now scored 13 goals in 9 matches this season in all competitions but still looked disappointed when he missed a great opportunity in the second half.
The hosts, Kairat, fielded 18-year-old goalkeeper Sherkhan Kalmurza following injuries to their three main goalkeepers.
However, Kalmurza easily gave Madrid the opening goal when he brought down Franco Mastantuono and Mbappe converted the penalty in the 25th minute.
Seven minutes into the second half, Mbappe scored his second goal from a long pass from goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Kairat thought they had a penalty when Dani Ceballos was accused of bringing down Valery Gromyko but the decision was overturned after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review.
Mbappe finally completed his hat-trick when Arda Guler made a clever pass outside the penalty area and Mbappe fired a sharp shot for his third personal goal.
Camavinga, who came on as a substitute, headed in the fourth goal in the 83rd minute while Brahim Diaz capped Madrid’s glorious night with a fifth goal in injury time.
LONDON: Arsenal proved their determination to become champions by beating Newcastle 2-1, said manager Mikel Arteta after two late goals secured a crucial victory at St James’ Park early this morning.
Nick Woltemade put Newcastle ahead in the first half, but Arsenal’s dramatic comeback came when Mikel Merino headed in an 84th-minute equaliser before Gabriel Magalhaes secured all three points with a stoppage-time goal (96th minute).
The victory came a day after Liverpool suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of Crystal Palace, lifting Arsenal to second place in the Premier League, just two points behind the defending champions.
Arteta said his squad had shown signs of being able to move “to the next level” in their quest for a first title since 2004.
“We talked about how to get to the next level, you have to learn from the past. We’ve been through tough times in this stadium, but today is an opportunity to show who we are, who we want to be, and how we want to play,” said Arteta.
Arsenal ended a run of three consecutive defeats at St James’ Park, silencing critics after failing to beat Liverpool and Manchester City earlier in the season.
For Newcastle, old wounds are bleeding again after previously losing 3-2 to Liverpool thanks to a 100th-minute goal.
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe admits his side have yet to achieve the success they achieved last season when they won the League Cup and qualified for the Champions League.
“Two late goals at home really hurt. There was no lack of effort, but in terms of playing football we weren’t at our best,” Howe said.
VALENCIA: Real Madrid maintained their perfect record in La Liga after beating Levante 4-1 early this morning.
Kylian Mbappe was the hero when he scored twice to take his tally to seven league goals from six matches, ensuring Xabi Alonso’s team remained at the top of the table with an unbeaten record.
Vinicius Junior opened the scoring in the 28th minute with a stunning finish before 18-year-old Argentine Franco Mastantuono added the second goal from Vinicius’ pass.
It was also Mastantuono’s first goal since moving from River Plate last summer.
Levante managed to close the gap in the second half through Karl Etta Eyong who headed in a rebound after Ivan Romero’s cross was hit by an opposing player.
However, the home team’s comeback did not last long when Mbappe added to Levante’s suffering by converting a penalty in the 66th minute after being brought down in the penalty box.
Two minutes later, the French striker cleverly bypassed the defender before beating goalkeeper Mathew Ryan for his second goal of the match.
“We played very well from the start, the first goal gave us confidence to control the game. Vini also showed a complete performance, I’m happy for him,” said Alonso.
Since missing out on the Ballon d’Or last season, Vinicius has struggled for consistency, but his brilliant display at Valencia was seen as a resurgence for the Brazilian star.
Mbappe, who previously struggled to adapt after moving from Paris Saint-Germain in 2024, has now found his true touch, with nine goals in seven games in all competitions this season.
“We still need to improve a few things, but the team is on the right track.
“We are building a solid foundation and everyone has an important role to play,” said Alonso, who will lead Real in the Madrid derby against Atletico this weekend.
PARIS: Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma admitted that his heart still wanted to stay with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) before making a surprise decision to move to Manchester City.
The 26-year-old, who was crowned the world’s best goalkeeper at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, as a result of helping PSG win the Champions League last season, does not deny that the closeness with his teammates makes him reluctant to part ways.
“When you’ve shared so much, spent time together and built a friendship, it’s really hard to leave,” he told AFP.
However, PSG chose to let him go after signing French goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier in the summer transfer window.
Donnarumma then signed a five-year contract with Pep Guardiola’s squad for a transfer value of around 26 million pounds.
He described City as an extraordinary club with extraordinary players and was moved by the welcome they received.
“They accepted me like family, and that was very important to me,” he explained.
In his speech after receiving the Yashin Trophy for the second time after 2021, Donnarumma also expressed his appreciation to his former teammates at PSG.
“This is an honour. Congratulations to the whole team, without them I wouldn’t be here. This is a team success,” he said.