Lasse Sorensen scored a goal of the season contender as in-form Lincoln stretched their unbeaten League One run to nine matches with a 3-0 defeat of Shrewsbury.

The Danish full-back found the top corner from the right touchline to add to earlier efforts from Teddy Bishop and Reeco Hackett as the Imps emphatically tamed the Shrews at Sincil Bank.

Chey Dunkley poked an early effort wide for Shrewsbury before City went down the other end and took the lead.

Hackett’s corner was headed back across goal by Paudie O’Connor to Joe Taylor, whose shot was blocked, with the rebound falling to Hackett whose effort was then kept out, only for Bishop to find the net.

Bishop curled a 20-yard free-kick just over and then Hackett missed a golden chance to double City’s lead nine minutes into the second half, drilling wide when put through by Ethan Erhahon.

Hackett made amends just four minutes later, though, smashing a left-footed shot into the top corner following a delightful back-heeled pass from Taylor.

Hackett and Taylor were thwarted by Shrews goalkeeper Harry Burgoyne within a few seconds and then Sorensen drove into the side-netting as City went for the jugular.

A third inevitably came after 67 minutes with an incredible effort from Sorensen.

The hosts had won a penalty after Ben House was brought down by Burgoyne.

Bishop struck a post from the spot, with the ball rebounding out to Sorensen on the right wing. The Dane instinctively let fly, with the ball arcing into the top left-hand corner of the net.

Taylor Perry finally had the Shrews’ first shot on target after 70 minutes but Lukas Jensen produced a routine save.

Beryly Lubala’s stunning strike sealed a 2-0 victory for Wycombe over struggling Cheltenham that eased fears of them being dragged deeper into the scrap against relegation.

The Chairboys were frustrated for most of the night by a superb performance by Robins goalkeeper Luke Southwood, but they were eventually able to record their first win in four games in League One.

Wycombe dominated the first half, with Kieran Sadlier drawing a good save from Southwood, who later tipped a fizzing volley from Dale Taylor on to the top of the bar.

The 26-year-old continued to frustrate the hosts after half-time when he saved Freddie Potts’ penalty before he got down brilliantly to push Garath McCleary’s low drive wide.

But he was finally beaten with five minutes left when Joe Low was on hand to blast in from close range after McCleary’s corner caused havoc in the six-yard box.

Lubala then sealed the win three minutes later when Luke Leahy rolled the ball into his path and he unleashed a thunderbolt that gave Southwood, for so long unbeatable, no chance.

Teenager Karoy Anderson scored his first senior goal earned Charlton a shock 2-1 win at promotion-chasing Derby.

Eiran Cashin put Derby ahead but Alfie May scored from the penalty spot before 19-year-old Anderson sealed Charlton’s first win since November.

Derby dominated from the start, but did not have a shot until the 25th minute when Korey Smith fired wide from the edge of the box.

Charlton did well to frustrate the hosts, but they fell behind to a set-piece in the 39th minute.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing swung over a corner and Cashin got in front of a defender to head in at the near post.

Charlton should have equalised in the 61st minute when substitute Chuks Aneke headed a corner against the crossbar, but they were level four minutes later.

Home goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith brought down Daniel Kanu and May stroked the penalty into the bottom right corner.

Charlton stunned Derby in the 80th minute when a mistake by Ebou Adams let Kanu in and although Wildsmith saved, Anderson smashed the rebound home.

Erling Haaland scored five of Manchester City’s six goals in a superb individual display as the FA Cup holders thrashed Luton at Kenilworth Road to progress to the quarter-finals.

City’s top scorer made it 27 for the season despite having missed almost two months with a foot injury, driving his team on to a ruthless 6-2 victory, though the win owed as much to the excellent Kevin De Bruyne, architect of four of his team-mate’s goals.

Mateo Kovacic also scored with a worthy strike of his own late on after Jordan Clark had netted either side of the interval to haul Luton from three down to within a single goal. In truth, though, they never really got close to City.

Pep Guardiola’s side were irresistible in the first half, ripping through Luton from all angles with De Bruyne and Haaland at their electric best. It took under three minutes to make their breakthrough.

Manuel Akanji brought it out of defence and fed Matheus Nunes ahead of him on the left. Nunes stood up Amari’i Bell and played a clever reverse pass that split Luton’s back line and ran through to De Bruyne, and he raised his glance to see Haaland waiting to wrap his left boot around the ball and thump it home from 10 yards.

Luton’s Teden Mengi had competed well with Haaland, matching him for power and strength in one-on-one duels, but after 18 minutes the City striker won out and doubled his side’s lead. De Bruyne again was the creator, receiving it from Haaland on halfway and returning it into the Norwegian’s stride. He burst beyond Mengi and crashed it through the legs of Tim Krul with unerring cool.

His hat-trick nearly arrived soon after, a ball threaded through at pace by John Stones finding his run, but this time Krul raced out and blocked. Nunes was next to go close, thrashing wide at the near post after finding space inside the box.

City threatened to run riot. De Bruyne hit a low volley brilliantly beaten out by the right arm of Krul, who was rewarded with good fortune on the rebound when Haaland’s follow-up landed in his gloves.

Luton wanted offside for Haaland’s third, but VAR showed he had timed his run off the shoulder substitute Joe Johnson expertly. The finish, chipped over Krul as he advanced, oozed confidence.

It looked like being a near-perfect half for Guardiola, marred only by the loss of Jack Grealish just before the break to injury.

Then out of nothing, Luton brought a roar from home fans on the stroke of the interval, a brilliant finish sent spinning into Stefan Ortega’s top corner from 25 yards by Clark.

They came at City at the start of the second half with the same ferocity with which the holders had begun the match, and they were rewarded similarly early. Clark was closer to goal this time though the angle was devilish. A shot across the goalkeeper looked to be on, but instead he lashed it towards the near post and beyond Ortega for 3-2.

It gave Kenilworth Road all of three minutes to dream. That was all it took for Haaland to score his and his team’s fourth, De Bruyne again the provider as he squared for a simple tap-in.

His fifth was harsh on Krul, a left-foot drive squirming through the goalkeeper as though bamboozled by City’s dizzying onslaught. Haaland had scored five in under an hour.

Kovacic added his name to the scoresheet, rifling one in in the 72nd minute to deepen Luton’s misery.

There was at least late respite when Haaland was brought off in the closing stages. It had been his and City’s night.

Substitute Jayden Stockley scored two late goals as Fleetwood came from 2-0 down to snatch a 2-2 draw with fellow Sky Bet League One strugglers Port Vale.

Darren Moore looked on course to celebrate his first win as Vale manager as the Valiants looked comfortable with only two minutes remaining.

Instead, it is now four games without a win for Moore since he replaced Andy Crosby.

Stockley, who also scored in the Cod Army’s 3-0 success over Vale earlier this month, pulled a goal back in the 88th minute.

And two minutes into stoppage time he headed in Phoenix Patterson’s corner to earn the visitors the unlikeliest of points.

Moore has now presided over three defeats and a draw, but first-half goals from Jensen Weir and Ethan Chislett suggested it might be fourth time lucky.

Brighton loanee Weir opened his account with an 18th-minute strike from teenager Baylee Dipepa’s assist.

Fleetwood were second best as Chislett won a contentious 42nd-minute penalty which he converted for his ninth goal of the campaign.

The visitors bossed the second half, however, and super-sub Stockley came to their rescue.

Lasse Sorensen scored a goal of the season contender as in-form Lincoln stretched their unbeaten League One run to nine matches with a 3-0 defeat of Shrewsbury.

The Danish full-back found the top corner from the right touchline to add to earlier efforts from Teddy Bishop and Reeco Hackett as the Imps emphatically tamed the Shrews at Sincil Bank.

Chey Dunkley poked an early effort wide for Shrewsbury, before City went down the other end and Hackett’s corner created the opener.

Joe Taylor’s shot was blocked, with the rebound falling to Hackett whose effort was then kept out, only for Bishop to fire his effort into the bottom corner.

Bishop curled a 20-yard free-kick just over and then Hackett missed a golden chance to double City’s lead nine minutes into the second half, drilling wide when put through by Ethan Erhahon.

Hackett made amends just four minutes later, though, smashing a left-footed shot into the top corner following a delightful back-heeled pass from Taylor.

Both Hackett and Taylor were thwarted by Harry Burgoyne within a few seconds and then Sorensen drove into the side-netting as City went for the jugular.

A third inevitably came after 67 minutes with an incredible effort from Sorensen. The hosts had won a penalty after House was brought down by Burgoyne. Bishop struck a post from the spot, with the ball rebounding out to Sorensen on the right wing. The Dane instinctively let fly, with the ball arcing into the top left-hand corner of the net.

Taylor Perry finally had the Shrews’ first shot on target after 70 minutes, but Lukas Jensen produced a routine save.

Carlisle ended a run of eight straight defeats as captain Paul Huntington scored the only goal to seal a scrappy 1-0 win at Burton.

The Cumbrians had to battle hard for their victory as Albion’s home woes were extended to a third straight loss – the Brewers have failed to score in each of those defeats.

Carlisle midfielder Jack Diamond tested Max Crocombe in the Burton goal with an early effort from range after Albion had made a bright promising opening.

Burton continued to enjoy the lion’s share of the play and skipper John Brayford forced an excellent save from Harry Lewis as the home side searched for the breakthrough.

But it was Carlisle who grabbed the lead just before the half hour, Sam Lavelle heading Taylor Charters free-kick on to Huntington and beyond Crocombe.

Deji Oshilaja was denied by Lewis early in the second half before Crocombe produced an outstanding save midway through the second half to keep out Diamond’s curling effort.

Albion threw on all their attacking options at Carlisle, but the visitors clung on for a precious victory.

Sarina Wiegman said England’s trip had yielded “many positives” after the team concluded their double-header of friendlies in southern Spain with a 5-1 win over Italy.

Four days on from the 7-2 defeat of Austria at the Estadio Nuevo Mirador in Algeciras, another thumping victory for the Lionesses at the same venue began with Lotte Wubben-Moy heading her first international goal in the opening minute.

Lauren Hemp extended the lead with a brace, the second via an excellent header, and after Michela Cambiaghi pulled a goal back for Italy in stoppage time at the end of the first half, substitutes Ella Toone and Rachel Daly completed the rout in the second half.

Boss Wiegman told ITV: “I think the whole camp, a lot of things pleased me.

“I think we had the opportunity to play many players…see what the level was, that was exactly what we wanted, see players in some positions and the connections between players, and then the competition.

“And when you have then such good wins as we had tonight and last Friday, that’s really nice too of course.”

Next up for England are the opening Euro 2025 qualifiers in April as Wiegman’s side begin the journey of defending the title they won on home soil in 2022.

When asked if the camp had given her the answers she needed ahead of the matches in April, Wiegman said: “You never know, because things in football can change so quickly, but it gave us many answers on questions we had at this moment.

“We could take this opportunity to see so many players and play two very good games, train also, see the under-23s (who joined the senior team on the trip). So just very many positives about this week.”

Those positives for Wiegman – who saw Leah Williamson withdraw from her original squad due to injury and Fran Kirby do so between the two matches – included debuts being made by 20-year-old Grace Clinton, a goalscorer in the Austria match, and Millie Turner introduced as a substitute against Italy.

On Arsenal defender Wubben-Moy, after her 12th senior appearance for the team, Wiegman said: “I think she’s definitely taken a step forward because she’s developing a lot and very good.

“That’s what we see weekly at Arsenal and that’s what she shows here too. What you can (also) see is the competition in the position is just really high.”

Wubben-Moy heading in from an Alex Greenwood delivery was an early example as England – on a night that saw them also make some notable errors at the back – demonstrated the problems they can cause from corners.

Wiegman added: “We are always working on it. We had a little more emphasis on it, we had a little more time this week.

“So it’s really good to see that it had so much effect and hopefully we can do that again in the following games.”

Lauren Hemp scored a first-half brace as England beat Italy 5-1 in the second of their double-header of friendlies in southern Spain.

Four days on from defeating Austria 7-2 at the Estadio Nuevo Mirador in Algeciras, the Lionesses started the ball rolling for another thumping win with Lotte Wubben-Moy heading home her first international goal in the opening few seconds.

Hemp then added two efforts, the second an excellent header, to put England three goals up just past the half-hour mark.

Michela Cambiaghi pulled a goal back for the visitors in first-half stoppage time before substitutes Ella Toone and Rachel Daly completed the rout after the break.

After this positive start to the calendar year, next up for England are the opening Euro 2025 qualifiers in April as Sarina Wiegman’s side begin the journey of defending the title they won on home soil in 2022.

Having made five changes to her starting line-up from the Austria game, Wiegman saw England begin in similar fashion, again taking the lead in the opening moments.

This time it came even quicker than Alessia Russo’s third-minute finish against the Austrians, with Wubben-Moy heading in from Alex Greenwood’s corner in the first minute to break her England scoring duck.

Wubben-Moy saw a further header turned around a post by Laura Giuliani soon after before the Lionesses’ lead was extended in somewhat fortuitous circumstances following another Greenwood corner.

The Manchester City defender’s 21st-minute delivery was met by a Giuliani punch and Aurora Galli attempted to clear the ball, only to see it hit Hemp and go in.

After Grace Clinton’s strike was caught by Giuliani and Niamh Charles breathed a sigh of relief when her attempted pass to Mary Earps was intercepted by Cambiaghi but the ball was run out of play, Hemp made it 3-0 in the 34th minute with a fine header as she connected with Georgia Stanway’s cross.

Wiegman’s side pushed for more with Greenwood curling a free-kick wide and Giuliani denying Chloe Kelly and Russo before first-half stoppage time saw Earps called into action to block a Sofia Cantore shot, and then beaten as England lost possession near their own box and Cambiaghi slotted in.

Lauren James was one of two players brought on at the interval and her curling effort from just outside the box was well saved by Giuliani in the 64th minute.

Five minutes later James latched on to a long ball forward from Greenwood, produced a cross from the left to Toone – just off the bench herself – and the Manchester United player finished with a rising side-footed effort.

There was a let-off for Earps when her kick went straight to Cantore and she passed to Cambiaghi, who could only shoot wide from a good position.

England then punished an Italian error in the 79th minute as the recently-introduced Daly pounced on an underhit backpass, took the ball past Giuliani and stroked it in for 5-1.

James almost added a sixth goal in the closing stages, with Giuliani doing well to save her shot.

Inter midfielder Davide Frattesi has hailed the man-management skills of Simone Inzaghi as the Nerazurri boss prepares to shuffle his pack once again against Atalanta.

The Serie A leaders boast a nine-point lead over Juventus and could stretch it to 12 with the right result against Gian Piero Gasperini’s side on Wednesday night.

Inter are set to be without key men Marcus Thuram, Francesco Acerbi and Hakan Canhanoglu, but are ready to bolster the starting XI by recalling some of the players who were rested for Sunday’s 4-0 walkover against Lecce.

Nicolo Barella is expected to reclaim his leading role in the centre of the park, with Benjamin Pavard and Alessandro Bastoni poised to return to the backline after sitting out at the weekend. Striker Marko Arnautovic is also eyeing a promotion from the bench.

And Frattesi, who scored Inter’s second goal against Lecce, believes Inzaghi’s ability to keep the whole squad ready to compete at the highest level is a huge strength.

“It’s best to see a team where everyone is involved. Credit to Inzaghi for not leaving anyone behind,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Even when they were always playing the same ones, he came to talk to us and motivate us, making us feel important. I didn’t think I’d be a starter here straight away, it would have been stupid to even think so – but the bench is an opportunity for growth.

“Inzaghi knows how to manage us and when you have a bad day, he tells you the right words.”

Atalanta will return to the San Siro just three days after their most recent visit, which ended in a hard-fought 1-1 draw with AC Milan.

They will run out lying in fifth place, but just two points adrift of Bologna in fourth and with a game in hand.

On Sunday, La Dea trailed to Rafael Leao’s superb third-minute strike, but got themselves back into it before the break courtesy of Teun Koopmeiners’ penalty, controversially awarded for a high challenge by Olivier Giroud on defender Emil Holm.

Gasperini saw his side lose the reverse fixture against Inter 2-1 in November despite a performance with which he was largely satisfied, and he knows they will need to play at least as well to return with some reward for their efforts.

Gasperini told a press conference: “Inter are a complete team in all respects. Inzaghi has done a great job. Inter have quality players in every department. They play as a team, both in domestic and European competitions.

“We played a good game in the reverse fixture. It was a pretty even match. We aim to repeat that performance.”

Mykhailo Mudryk is "the most talented and unique player in the world", and patient work on the training ground will see Chelsea get the best out of the winger.

That is the view of Serhiy Palkin, Shakhtar Donetsk's chief executive who struck the £89million deal which took Mudryk from Ukraine to Stamford Bridge last January.

Like many of the big-money recruits of the Todd Boehly era, Mudryk has struggled for consistency since arriving in west London, after emerging as one of Europe's hottest prospects at Shakhtar.

Between the start of 2021-22 and his move to the Premier League, Mudryk averaged a goal involvement every 70 minutes in the Ukrainian top flight, scoring nine goals and adding 13 assists in just 23 appearances during that spell.

However, Mudryk has just three goals and four assists to his name in 34 Premier League appearances, and he attracted more criticism for an ineffective substitute appearance in Sunday's EFL Cup final defeat to Liverpool.

Palkin, however, remains convinced of the 23-year-old's talent and feels he simply needs close attention from Mauricio Pochettino and his backroom staff. 

"I can tell you that for me, Mudryk is the most talented and unique player in the world," Palkin told Stats Perform.

"I believe that in order to get from Mudryk the maximum, as they anticipate, you need to invest in him. These investments are not money. 

"It's time for the coaching staff to communicate with him and to work closely with him. He is a young boy, he changed from the Ukrainian Championship to the Premier League. 

"It's a completely different world, with completely different levels, completely different football. 

"Therefore, I believe that if the coaching staff dedicates him some time, he will return three, four, or five times more."

One former Shakhtar man who made a far more immediate impact in the Premier League is Roberto De Zerbi, who led Brighton and Hove Albion to Europa League qualification last term while implementing a daring style of play. 

The Seagulls are in the hunt for European qualification again this season, and they rank second in the Premier League for average passes per sequence (5.01), third for build-up attacks (127) and joint-first for high turnovers resulting in goals (seven).

After overseeing Brighton's dramatic rise, De Zerbi has been tipped to move on to pastures new, with both Barcelona and Liverpool suggested as possible landing spots for the Italian.

Palkin has no doubt De Zerbi is destined for the top, saying: "I can tell you that he did a lot for Brighton, he did brilliant work for Brighton. 

"I believe 100 per cent that he can jump into a top club tomorrow, even today, 100 per cent. The most important thing is he must accept the proposition.

"I believe he has a lot of propositions, including in Italian football and English football. Therefore, everything, everything, everything depends on him."

Derek McInnes believes Kilmarnock will on Wednesday night face a vastly-improved Rangers team to the one who lost at Rugby Park on the opening day of the cinch Premiership season.

A 1-0 win for the Ayrshire side on August 5 heaped immediate pressure on then Gers boss Michael Beale, who lasted only until October when he was replaced by Philippe Clement with the Light Blues trailing Celtic by seven points at the top of the table.

The Belgian boss has turned Rangers’ fortunes around, bringing the Viaplay Cup to Ibrox and guiding the Govan side to the last 16 of the Europa League where they will play Portuguese side Benfica, as well as overtaking their Old Firm rivals by two points in the league.

Killie themselves are in good form, with their only defeat in the last 14 games coming at Ibrox on January 2, but manager McInnes is bracing himself for a night of “bedlam” when the Ibrox men visit for the second time this season.

He said: “The biggest compliment I can give the current manager is that even with a lot of the players that played that day, there’s far more robustness about Rangers, there is a strength about them, they certainly have the added confidence that winning gives you.

“When maybe the performance that day was a wee bit unsure, there is a certainty about them now. You know what you’re going to get.

“I actually like the way he plays, there is a directness, there is a simplicity, an organisation, you see the detail in their work in and out of possession.

“They don’t think they are anything they are not. They play forward, they ask the question, put balls in the box, take shots on from distance. They work you and you need to be able to stand up to that.

“We’re expecting a tough game but equally, I expect Rangers to get a tough game from us, if we can be anything like ourselves.

“We feel there is a performance in us that can upset Rangers and cause Rangers problems.”

Rangers, who have won nine in a row, scored in the second minute of their commanding 5-0 win over Hearts at Ibrox at the weekend and McInnes expects the start on Wednesday night to be important.

The former Gers midfielder said: “It will be bedlam here, there will be a brilliant atmosphere.

“It is a type of game players want to be involved in and that focuses you, the game demands that and concentration.

“When you are playing against players who want to start quick and come here and flex their muscles, you have to be ready to fight fire with fire and we want to make sure that we try to own that pitch, impose ourselves on the game, like we do any home game.

“Some games are easy to do that, tomorrow night will be a challenge against a strong Rangers team but we have to have the belief going on to the pitch that we are capable of getting a result.

“I know we have the performance in us to win the game and we have to do so much right to make sure that is the case.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers stressed the advantages of positivity from the stands ahead of Wednesday’s visit of Dundee after finding dissent over a substitution “strange”.

Boos rang out from the away support at Motherwell on Sunday when Rodgers brought on Paulo Bernardo for Tomoki Iwata with the scores tied at 1-1 with 13 minutes left.

The criticism likely stemmed from supporters’ desire to see someone else coming off other than Iwata, who had not played since December 13 because of injury, but Rodgers felt it did not help the player coming on.

Celtic went on to win 3-1 with substitutes Adam Idah and Luis Palma getting all three goals between them and Rodgers brought up the jeers when asked about the importance of utilising his bench.

“It’s very important, especially when you get booed for taking off a defender and putting on an attacker,” he said. “That seemed strange.

“You are talking 95 to 100-minute games now, so your bench is very, very important. Having the depth to bring players on make an impact is very important.”

When asked how he felt about the criticism, Rodgers said: “It doesn’t really matter to me, it’s more for the player coming on and the team.

“It’s a negative reaction which I don’t quite understand. You are 1-1 in the game and take off a defensive midfield player and bring on an attacking player who has scored goals this season and you get booed. It just seemed a little strange.

“But thankfully the players’ mentality on the pitch was superb, they kept going, they kept fighting and all the great work they did – especially in the second half in terms of tiring the opponent out – led to a couple of goals at the end.”

When asked about the effect of criticism from the stands, Rodgers said: “It’s not only for Celtic, it’s in general in any club, if that feeling rolls down from the stands onto the pitch and it’s negative, then what do you expect?

“You will get players who will have a nervousness, so the game will look different.

“Whereas if they have that positive reaction and that support, it’s like life, if you get that support and that feeling that people are behind you, everyone, then you will have a greater chance to succeed.”

Sunday’s encounter continued a recent trend where Celtic put together two very different halves of football, as Motherwell deservedly led at half-time. On other occasions, they have struggled to build on a comfortable first half.

“To be fair, it’s been like that for bits of the season,” Rodgers said.

“I see people saying ‘they don’t know their best team, they don’t know the best structure’. We know clearly what the structure is. And it’s not about the best team, it’s the team that finishes the game.

“You play so many games, you are looking for an energy in the game that you can’t possibly keep for 90 minutes unless you make those changes.

“Each game tactically is different. It’s not about finding your best 11 because they won’t finish the game. You have to adapt within the game.

“But there’s no doubt you need to have that ruthless mentality and we would want that for longer periods, of course.

“And we will continue to analyse that to see where we can improve. But by the end of the game, if we have won the game, then that’s what is most important, as well as performing well.”