Marcus Rashford hailed Manchester United's ruthless counter-attacking display after he scored a second-half brace to inflict Arsenal's first defeat of the Premier League season on Sunday.
Looking to win their opening six games of a top-flight campaign for the first time since 1947-48, Arsenal spent long periods on top at Old Trafford but ultimately fell to a 3-1 reverse courtesy of Rashford's double and a debut goal from Antony.
Rashford has been involved in more Premier League goals against Arsenal than any other club (four goals, four assists) after being teed up by Bruno Fernandes and Christian Eriksen to round off two devastating breaks.
Speaking to Sky Sports after United clinched a huge win over the early league leaders, Rashford praised the Red Devils for biding their time to hurt a technically gifted Gunners side.
"It's a massive game anyway against Arsenal, and they've had such a good start to the season, so it was a big test for us today and we showed up and stood up to the challenge. We can all be proud of ourselves today," he said.
"It was tough; they're a good team. We know their principles of play and they're very good at it, they're a good possession-based team. It was a difficult game and it was what we expected, so we had to be up for the challenge.
"I thought it was an even game. There were big spaces in the first half and we didn't manage to exploit them. In the second half we managed to exploit the spaces and that's what made the difference.
"We've got some great passers of the ball and as long as we make four or five runs, we're going to get the ball. We might not get it the first couple of times, but we have to keep going for 90 minutes and it's tough.
"We had to try to give them possession in spaces where they couldn't hurt us. They're a dangerous team. But as you can see today there was a couple of times where they got through the press and they are electric when they get going.
"You only win these types of games when you're a team. I think we've shown in the last few games, being 1-0 up, that we can see a game out, but we had to be more ruthless and get more goals."
Rashford has looked a player reborn since Erik ten Hag took charge of United, scoring three goals in six league appearances this season after hitting the net just four times in 25 outings last term.
Having also teed up Antony for his first-half opener, Rashford has scored and assisted in a Premier League match for the first time since October 2020 (against Newcastle United), while he also found the net against Arsenal for the first time since his February 2016 debut, when he also recorded a brace.
The 24-year-old acknowledged he had endured a frustrating time as he looked to maintain his improved form, adding: "It's a great feeling – you do miss it as a player.
"I'm just hoping I can stay fit, stay healthy and keep putting performances on like that. It's been a long time that I've not scored against Arsenal – I didn't realise it had been that long until before the game.
"It was something I was looking to do this year and I'm happy that I managed to get the goals."
United are just three points behind Arsenal in the Premier League after winning four consecutive games – their best run since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer led them to five successive victories in March and April 2021.
Plymouth Argyle 2-2 Watford: Two-goal Gray rescues point for Rooney's side
Andre Gray scored twice against his former club to salvage a point for struggling Plymouth Argyle as they drew 2-2 with Watford on Friday.
Gray curled in an equaliser in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time to seal a crucial point for Wayne Rooney's side in their bid for survival in the Championship.
The visitors made a quick start at Home Park when Ivorian striker Vakoun Bayo bundled in a cross from Yasser Larouci only eight minutes in.
Plymouth did, however, equalise against the run of play in the 23rd minute when Lewis Gibson's long ball into the box was met with a spectacular volley from Gray.
Watford regained the lead before the break when Imran Louza's free-kick was knocked back by Mattie Pollock, with centre-back Ryan Porteous on hand to steer the ball home.
But just as it looked like Watford would go home with all three points, Gray picked up the ball on the edge of the area and fired home a stunning effort beyond Daniel Bachmann.
Tom Cleverley's Watford sit in fifth place and trail leaders Sunderland by five points, while Plymouth are 17th with 17 points from 16 matches.
Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 Toulouse: Neves stars in comfortable home win
Paris Saint-Germain maintained their unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season with a comfortable 3-0 win over Toulouse on Friday.
Following Monaco's 3-2 win over Brest earlier in the day, Luis Enrique's side responded emphatically to stay five points clear at the top of the table.
After a dominant start, PSG got themselves ahead in stunning fashion when Achraf Hakimi's cross was brilliantly driven first-time into the bottom corner by Joao Neves.
But Toulouse provided a threat after the break and should have drawn level in the 70th minute through Shavy Babicka, but he fired over with only Matvey Safonov to beat.
That mistake ultimately proved costly with the hosts doubling their advantage eight minutes from time when Beraldo took advantage of some poor defending to finish inside the box.
The triumph was sealed in the first minute of second-half stoppage time through substitute Vitinha, who danced into the box before finishing high into the corner from close range.
Luis Enrique's side will now turn their attentions to the Champions League, with a daunting trip to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich awaiting on Tuesday.
Data Debrief: Party in Paris
PSG's dominance in Ligue 1 continued on Friday, with Luis Enrique's side now having lost just one of their last 41 matches in the top-flight (W30 D10).
Neves was a particular standout for the hosts, winning more duels (nine), registering the joint-most shots on target (two) and the joint-most final third entries (seven) during the game.
Despite the scoreline, PSG were perhaps fortunate to emerge victorious. Though Luis Enrique's side accumulated 17 shots to Toulouse's 11, it was the visitors who ended the contest with a higher expected goals (xG) total, managing 1.39 to the Parisiens' 1.35.
Bayern Munich 3-0 Augsburg: Hat-trick hero Kane smashes Bundesliga record
Harry Kane scored a hat-trick to become the quickest player to score 50 Bundesliga goals as Bayern Munich comfortably dispatched Augsburg 3-0 on Friday.
Kane opened the scoring in the 63rd with a penalty before netting a quickfire double in second-half stoppage time to smash the record previously held by Erling Haaland.
Despite controlling the early possession, Bayern were unable to make their dominance count, with Nediljko Labrovic rarely troubled in the opening 45 minutes.
The hosts maintained their dominance after the interval, with Leon Goretzka's looped header grazing the crossbar before Jamal Musiala went close soon after.
However, Bayern were awarded a penalty after a lengthy VAR review saw Mads Pedersen penalised for handling the ball, with Kane stepping up to score from 12 yards.
The England captain grabbed his second of the game in the third-minute of stoppage time following another VAR review which saw Keven Schlotterbeck sent off after tripping Kane inside the box.
Kane sent Labrovic the wrong way but was not to be denied a fourth treble of the season, brilliantly taking down Goretzka's searching ball before heading the ball home.
Data Debrief: HurriKane
Kane has now scored 50 Bundesliga goals in 43 matches. Before him, Haaland was the quickest player to reach 50 Bundesliga goals, having done so in 50 appearances in the competition for Borussia Dortmund.
He is also the quickest to reach that total for Bayern by some distance. Kane has reached that tally quicker than the likes of Gerd Muller (83 games), Mario Gomez (71 games), Roy Makaay (67 games) and Robert Lewandowski (64 games).
10 of Kane’s goals have come from penalties, while 32 of them have been with his right foot, nine with his left and nine with his head.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
