Marcus Rashford feels his current run of form is "up there with the best" he has ever been after another excellent display in Manchester United's FA Cup victory over Everton.
After scoring in his previous four matches, Rashford looked a man full of confidence as he ran Everton's defence ragged on Friday, playing a part in all three goals as United saw off the Toffees 3-1.
He set up Antony for the opener just four minutes in, and though Conor Coady levelled for Everton shortly after, dazzling work from Rashford down the left wing forced the Everton defender to turn into his own net to put United 2-1 ahead in the second half.
Rashford then capped his brilliant performance by thumping home a penalty late on after Alejandro Garnacho was felled by Ben Godfrey, becoming the first United player since Wayne Rooney in 2012 to score in seven consecutive home appearances in all competitions.
After leading United into the fourth round, Rashford believes he is near the peak of his powers, telling ITV: "This is probably up there with the best I've ever been.
"I feel good on the pitch and I'm getting in positions and areas to score goals. If they keep creating chances, I feel at the minute I'll keep scoring."
Manager Erik ten Hag is enjoying a strong start to his Old Trafford career, and his team remain fighting on all four fronts as he looks to end his first season with silverware.
Rashford says United have their sights firmly set on winning trophies, explaining: "That's the aim. That's why we do what we do and work so hard.
"We want to be in finals and play in the biggest games. Ultimately we want to win silverware and trophies, so hopefully this season we get the opportunity to do that.
"It's always nice to go through in cup games, and the FA Cup is definitely a special competition to play in.
"We're pleased that we can go through to the next round and more importantly, we keep momentum going and keep winning games."
In stark contrast to United's hunt for glory, success for Everton may be simply staying in the Premier League after a run of six defeats in seven in all competitions.
Manager Frank Lampard looked to be staring down the barrel after his team were hammered 4-1 by Brighton and Hove Albion on Tuesday, but an improved performance against United, albeit in defeat, has given the former Chelsea man hope he can turn things around.
Lampard cited Rashford as the key to the result, saying: "The players were very, very good. We had the better chances.
"Marcus Rashford was probably the difference between the two teams because top individual talent can do that to you."
With a huge league fixture with fellow strugglers Southampton next up for Everton, Lampard was asked whether he expected to be in the dug-out, to which he replied: "That's not under my control. It's not for me to focus on that.
"This league can change very quickly and when you're in difficult times you have to work really hard to get out of it and the picture can change. My focus is on this team and getting a result against Southampton."
Cushing confirms NYCFC stay after links to vacant Arsenal role
New York City FC boss Nick Cushing rubbished rumours linking him with the vacant head coach position with Arsenal women, confirming he would remain in the MLS next season.
Cushing previously spent seven years in charge of Manchester City in the Women's Super League between 2013 and 2020 and has been touted for a return to England with the Gunners after Jonas Eidevall's dismissal last month.
Despite the rumours circulating around his future after leading NYCFC into the postseason, Cushing was quick to deny reports, saying: "I can confirm that I will be back here next year."
The Pigeons travel to the TQL Stadium to face FC Cincinnati this weekend in an encounter that will decide who will advance to the Eastern Conference semi-finals in the MLS playoffs.
Cushing encouraged his players to play their football and dig deep in their pursuit of a victory, adding his side can harness the momentum generated from their 3-1 win in Game 2.
"It's about trying to show our players how much our fans enjoy seeing that type of performance from our players," he said. "Not just the good football and the goals, but the guts and the fight and the desire to ensure that we are the team that goes through the next game right.
"The performance at Citi Field had everything. Not only did we play well and create chances, but the running numbers were excellent, as was the desire to make sure that we didn't give the second goal away.”
"We've got to make sure that we play the football that our fans deserve and that we know we can play, and in the difficult moments, you have to dig deep. We know who we are now. We've just got to make sure that we go prepared, and we deliver everything that we've got.”
Pat Noonan, meanwhile, noted that his side were unable to create clear-cut opportunities against NYCFC, which resulted in defeat last time out.
The Orange and Blue scored 58 goals in the regular season, with only the four sides who finished above them in the East netting more.
But despite their defeat in Game 2, Noonan is confident that his players will respond in their deciding fixture, not wanting to end their season just yet.
"We've created enough chances. These are playoff games. You're not going to score three, four, five goals a game. So sometimes one goal is going to have to be enough like we saw last week," Noonan said.
"I don't expect us to score at ease. That's just not how these games are played. But it was going to take a little bit more, and we just didn't finish some of those moments when it was 2-1 to level it in a better way or in a good enough way.
"I could see it in the locker room. The guys are going to move on from this pretty quickly. For a team that just lost a game, I think they recognise the good and the bad of the game to know they should feel confident going into Game 3.
"So at the moment, I don't think I need to say too much. I think they understand, and we'll just have good conversations about this game and what we think needs to improve when we go back home."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
FC Cincinnati – Luca Orellano
Orellano scored Cincinnati's only goal in their Game 2 defeat to the Pigeons, notching his 13th goal in all competitions this term.
He is the seventh different player to score Cincinnati's last seven playoff goals dating back to last season's first round. Four of those seven scorers hail from Argentina.
NYCFC – Alonso Martinez
Martinez found the back of the net against Cincinnati in NYCFC's 3-1 win in Game 2, taking his tally to two goals in five appearances against the Orange and Blue.
Along with Santiago Rodriguez, either Martinez (nine) or his Uruguayan team-mate (five) have scored 14 of NYCFC's 21 goals in the regular season and playoffs since MLS returned from the Leagues Cup break in August.
MATCH PREDICTION: FC CINCINNATI WIN
Cincinnati's 3-1 defeat in Game 2 was the fifth time they conceded multiple goals in their last seven matches dating back to the end of the regular season.
They are winless when allowing multiple goals in that time (D1 L4) while winning both matches in which they held their opponent under two goals.
NYCFC have won only one of their last 14 away matches in all competitions dating back to late May (D6 L7). Overall, they have won just five out of 40 away matches in all competitions since the start of last season (D15 L20).
The Pigeons' win over Cincinnati last Saturday was their second win of the season over Noonan's side, both coming at home. Cincinnati have won their last five home matches against NYCFC in all competitions, though, including a 1-0 victory in Game 1 of their best-of-three series.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
FC Cincinnati – 50%
Draw – 25.3%
NYCFC – 24.7%
Al-Riyadh 0-1 Al-Nassr: Mane hands visitors bragging rights
Sadio Mane's first-half strike ensured Al-Nassr maintained their unbeaten start to the Saudi Pro League season with a 1-0 win over rivals Al-Riyadh.
He smartly finished from close range in the 41st minute, with his goal enough to seal the three points and move Al-Nassr up to third in the table.
Al-Nassr's threat grew as the first half went on, with Milan Borjan making a fine double stop to deny Ronaldo and Talisca once again before Mohamed Simakan struck the post on the rebound.
Mane would eventually break the deadlock in the 41st minute though, darting in front of his marker to meet Abdulrahman Ghareeb's low cross and rifle it into the roof of the net.
The Senegalese striker arguably should have doubled his tally before the break, but was denied by Borjan's stretching save when one-on-one with the Canadian.
Talisca should have wrapped up the points in the final three minutes, but he blazed over an empty net from close range, before having a late goal disallowed for offside.
Data Debrief: Derby delight for Al-Nassr
After drawing their last two matches, this win was a welcome result for Al-Nassr as they racked up their sixth victory of the season to close the gap at the top of the table to six points.
It is just the second time Al-Nassr have avoided defeat in their first 10 matches of a Pro League campaign, last doing so in 2013-14, when they won the league title.
They are now unbeaten in their last seven Pro League derbies (W4 D3), their longest such streak since a run of nine between 2018 and 2020.
This is the first time in eight such games that they have kept a clean sheet though, and limited their opponents to just five shots throughout.
Al-Hilal 3-1 Al-Ettifaq: Champions return to the summit with dominant win
Al-Hilal surged back to the Saudi Pro League summit with a convincing 3-1 triumph over 10-man Al-Ettifaq on Friday.
The defending champions are now one point clear of Al-Ittihad in the standings, with their latest victory piling more misery on Al-Ettifaq boss, Steven Gerrard.
Al-Hilal struggled in the early exchanges at the Kingdom Arena, registering their first effort on Marek Rodak's goal in the 38th minute courtesy of Marcos Leonardo.
But the hosts would take the lead in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, with Mitrovic on hand to steer Renan Lodi's delivery into the net from close range.
Al-Hilal then doubled their advantage nine minutes from time when Malcolm collected the ball from Abdullah Al Hamddan, before rounding Rodak and finishing into an empty net.
However, hopes of a comeback from the visitors were revived in second-half stoppage time when Joao Cancelo gave away a penalty after a handball inside the box.
Vitinho stepped up and fired home the spot-kick, but Al-Hilal confirmed the win two minutes later through Mohammed Al Qahtani, with visiting forward Abdullah Radif shown a late red card for violent conduct.
Data Debrief: Happy Friday!
Al-Hilal continued their quest for a 20th Saudi Pro League crown with a dominant display against Al-Ettifaq, extending their unbeaten run against their opponents in the process.
They have now not lost their last 13 league encounters against Al-Ettifaq (W12 D1), surpassing their longest unbeaten streak against them in the competition (12 matches between 2008 and 2013 - W8 D4).
Al-Hilal have now lost only three matches when hosting teams on a Friday in the Pro League out of 55 matches (W46 D6 L3).
Lodi also took his goal contribution tally to eight this season in all competitions (three goals, five assists). During his European career with three different clubs, he only notched more goal involvements (nine) in the 2021-22 campaign with Atletico Madrid.
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