Charlton head coach Michael Appleton praised the ice-cool finishing of Alfie May as his took his season’s goal tally to 17 with a double to down his former club Cheltenham at The Valley.
May was signed in the summer from the Robins to score goals. That is exactly what he is doing – and at a prolific rate.
The Charlton striker’s brace against his old employer means that he now has 29 league goals in 2023 – a figure only matched in England by Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.
May struck twice from the penalty spot to see off Cheltenham.
Appleton said: “It’s difficult for him because he knows them so well – whether it is the goalkeeper or the outfield players. There was certainly more pressure on him tonight than there probably would be against anyone else.
“For him to have the calmness and nerves of steel to slot the two penalties away just speaks volumes of him.
“I keep reading that I’m not playing him in the right position but he’s doing alright considering that because he has scored a lot of goals from there and he looked like he could have got two or three more in that first half.
“He’s in a good place and I’m glad he’s in a good place because when he is then he is hard to stop.
“It’s the most satisfying victory since I’ve been here. We didn’t get off to the start we would’ve liked and it was a poor goal from our point of view to concede – for lots of reasons.
“After that we should have been out of sight by half-time with the amount of opportunities we had. I know the keeper made some good saves but we have to be more clinical in front of goal than what we have been tonight and certainly that first half – but the players held their nerve and limited them to very little, especially second half.”
Town saw their three-game unbeaten run in the league ended despite taking a 10th-minute lead through Will Goodwin’s header.
Lewis Freestone tripped Miles Leaburn for the first penalty, with Will Ferry deemed to have handled Tyreece Campbell’s cross for the second. #
Manager Darrell Clarke said: “When you come to places like Charlton you need the rub of the green – one or two decisions to go your way – and it didn’t quite happen.
“We started the game really well and then gave a really sloppy penalty away, we shouldn’t be diving in there.
“It’s a frustrated changing room. We thought it was a foul in the lead-up to the second penalty and he’s never going to try and deliberately handball it there.
“If we’d have got the second goal it would’ve made it interesting. I said to the boys we can’t afford to be too downbeat. We have got to stay positive. The lads have given me everything and that’s all you can ask.
“We’ve got a big squad but lacking a little bit of quality, rather than quantity. That will be the way it is until the window opens.
“We are massive underdogs in every game we play.”
Al-Ahli 1-2 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic double keeps Saudi champions perfect
Aleksandar Mitrovic proved to be the difference once again for Al-Hilal as the reigning Saudi Pro League champions beat Al-Ahli 2-1 on Saturday.
Al-Ahil went in front with 12 minutes played when Gabri Veiga was sent through on goal by Franck Kessie, with the Spaniard rounding Yassine Bounou to open the scoring at King Abdullah Sports City.
The hosts went close to doubling their advantage soon after, with Riyad Mahrez and Ivan Toney going close, before Sergej Milinkovic-Savic saw his effort cleared off the line at the other end.
But parity was restored early in the second half through Al-Hilal's master marksman, as Mitrovic nodded home a trademark header from Renan Lodi's delivery.
Al-Ahil were then awarded a penalty when Rayan Hamed fouled Malcom inside the box, only for Mitrovic to see his effort saved by Abdulrahman Al Sanbi.
However, the Serbian was given the chance to redeem himself after the VAR deemed encroachment had taken place, and he made no mistake at the second time of asking to net his 14th goal of the season in all competitions.
Data Debrief: Mitrovic the main man
Mitrovic has been in fine form since his move to Saudi Arabia, with his latest double taking his tally to 54 goals in as many appearances for Al-Hilal.
This time out, he contributed 1.16 expected goals (xG) tally to the visitors' 2.24 total, while also recording the most touches in the opposition box (six).
Malcom also impressed for Al-Hilal, creating more chances (three) than anyone on the pitch, with his 14 passes into the final third a total only bettered by Ruben Neves (18) and Salem Al Dawsari (15) among his team-mates.
Al-Nassr 3-0 Al-Orubah: Mane double helps hosts close in on leaders
Sadio Mane scored a goal in either half, helping Al-Nassr cruise to a 3-0 win over Al-Orubah and close in on the top two in the Saudi Pro League.
Cristiano Ronaldo had given the hosts the lead from the spot, setting them on their way to a dominant victory.
After a slow start, Jean Seri was penalised for a handball, and Ronaldo made no mistake from the spot. After a stuttering run-up, he coolly slotted his strike into the bottom-left corner.
Mane got his first on the stroke of half-time, latching onto Ronaldo's pull-back before firing his low shot into the far side of the net.
He could have had a hat-trick, having also hit the woodwork and squandered a first-time shot by slicing it wide, but he did get his second in the 71st minute, guiding Nawaf Bu Washi's cross past Gaetan Coucke.
Cristian Tello came closest to a consolation for the visitors, smashing a long-range effort off the crossbar.
Data Debrief: Mane's time to shine
Mane, so far this season, has been providing the spark as a playmaker after registering five assists in Al-Nassr's first five games in the Saudi Pro League.
Today, however, he regained his scoring touch, getting his first two goals of the campaign.
He had the most shots (five), and shots on target (three), as he accumulated 0.97 expected goals (xG), while his seven touches in the box was the most of any player on the field.
Napoli 3-1 Como: Lukaku and McTominay on target to extend hosts' Serie A lead
Romelu Lukaku continued his fine start to life at Napoli as the Belgian notched a goal and two assists in his side's 3-1 win over Como on Friday.
The hosts found themselves ahead with just 26 seconds on the clock when Scott McTominay was picked out by Lukaku, with the Scotland international firing home his first goal for Gli Azzurri off the post.
But Como would draw themselves level two minutes before the break when Gabriel Strefezza's strike from distance rifled into the bottom corner.
However, Antonio Conte's side needed just eight minutes after the interval to restore their advantage when Sergi Roberto brought down Mathias Olivera in the box, with Lukaku stepping up from 12 yards to net his fourth Serie A goal of the season.
Napoli continued to push for a third goal to secure the victory, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia going closest but saw his effort saved by Emil Audero.
But the points were sealed in the 86th minute when Lukaku turned provider once again, holding off his marker before slipping through substitute David Neres who slotted home with a fine finish to extend Napoli's lead at the top of the standings to four points.
Data Debrief: Lukaku continues Conte love story
Lukaku has been a player reborn under Conte's stewardship. The Belgian is the player who has been involved in the most goals in his first five appearances for Napoli in Serie A since the Italian top-flight returned to 20 teams (since 2004/05) with three goals and four assists.
He has also managed to better his assist tally for the whole of last season, managing just three in 32 appearances for Roma last term.
McTominay's goal after 26 seconds is the third-fastest scored by Napoli since the start of a Serie A match in the three points for a win era, after Hirving Lozano's goal against Hellas Verona in 2021 (nine seconds) and Ezequiel Lavezzi's goal against Genoa in 2008 (25 seconds).
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