Luke Williams said Macaulay Langstaff is “adored” at Notts County after League Two’s leading scorer hit a first-half hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Morecambe.
The Magpies have bounced back from a four-match losing run by scoring eight goals without reply in wins over Doncaster and the Shrimps since Christmas, Langstaff with four of them.
And Williams said: “He is adored because imagine you are playing, and you are desperate to win, and you look around and you see Macca and you think ‘well, we definitely have a chance to win because Macca’s going to score’.
“But then if that guy is going to run for team, like he kills himself every week – running, tackling and now playing in three different positions like he has played there his whole career – and then you spend time with him and he is just the best guy as well, he is a really special guy.”
Despite the triumph, Williams was complimentary of the opposition.
“I think they are a good team,” he said. “I know that can sound unfair to say that after the 5-0 but they are, because we have played there before and they should have won the game in the last moments.
“We knew that they were a good team but we performed well and made it very difficult for them to show their qualities.”
Morecambe boss Ged Brennan was equally complimentary of County.
“You have to give them credit, they were outstanding today,” he said.
“We were not at our best and they were at their best but if you are playing against a team with a budget like they have got, whilst we have one of the smallest, it is going to show and that is what it looked like tonight.
“We will go again on Monday, and we will fight for every point from now on and we will try to do the best that we can.
“They had quality all over the pitch tonight. The lad who scored the hat-trick, his movement was absolutely unbelievable and never had to even break sweat tonight. He got three goals but could have got four or five.
“As I say, when you have a lot of quality like that, you are going to get a lot of goals aren’t you?”
Up next for County is a trip to Tranmere on New Year’s Day, where a win could move them within a point of the automatic promotion places. Morecambe will seek a swift response and a return to winning ways against Harrogate.
Borussia Dortmund 4-2 Bochum: Guirassy brace inspires comeback victory
Serhou Guirassy's double inspired Borussia Dortmund to an impressive comeback victory as they downed Bochum 4-2 at the Westfalenstadion on Friday.
Dortmund found themselves behind in the 16th minute when Matus Bero fired home a left-footed finish beyond Gregor Kobel at his near post.
The home supporters were then stunned into silence five minutes later as Dani de Wit capitalised on an error by Kobel to double Bochum's advantage.
Dortmund's attempts to get back into the game were repelled by a series of saves from visiting goalkeeper Patrick Drewes, only for Guirassy to hand the visitors a lifeline a minute before half-time with a well-taken header.
Nuri Sahin's side equalised in the 62nd minute through captain Emre Can's spot-kick following Felix Passlack's foul on Guirassy.
Guirassy would dust himself down to give his side the lead soon after, finishing into the far corner after being picked out by Karim Adeyemi.
The result was sealed by substitute Felix Nmecha, with the midfielder shifting the ball onto his left foot before squeezing a low effort underneath Drewes.
Data Debrief: Guirassy hot streak continues
Since his move from Stuttgart, Guirassy has been on fire for Dortmund, taking his tally to three goals in three Bundesliga games for his new side.
The Guinea international was a constant threat, registering more shots on target (three) and touches in the opposition box (nine) than any other player on the pitch.
Adeyemi also impressed for the hosts, notching two assists and creating four chances for his team-mates, a total only bettered by Pascal Gross (five).
Al-Nassr 2-0 Al-Wehda: Ronaldo on target to maintain Pioli's winning start
Cristiano Ronaldo was on target from the penalty spot to help secure Al-Nassr a 2-0 victory over 10-man Al-Wehda in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.
Angelo had given the hosts the leave just before the break, and Al-Wehda's game went from bad to worse as Waleed Bakshween received some late marching orders.
Al-Nassr dominated the first half and, after Wesley had struck the woodwork, finally got their reward in the 40th minute as Angelo latched onto Sadio Mane's throughball to lob a fine finish over Abdullah Al Owaishir.
Al-Wehda showed some fight after going behind, with Youssef Amyn flashing a shot wide on the stroke of half-time before Juninho Bacuna forced Bento into a good save after the restart.
The result was put beyond doubt shortly after though – Mohamed Al Makahasi pulled down Sultan Al Ghannam in the box, and Ronaldo made no mistake with the resulting spot-kick.
Mane was denied a goal of his own in the 81st minute, with Ronaldo straying just offside in the build-up, before Bakshween received a needless second yellow card for dissent five minutes later.
Al-Nassr move up to second in the table, just one point behind leaders Al-Hilal, for now, with Al-Wehda down in 14th.
Data Debrief: Pioli makes dream start
Stefano Pioli won his first match in the Saudi Pro League 3-0 against Al-Ettifaq, and on Friday, became the first manager in the club's history to start his reign with back-to-back clean sheets in the competition.
The hard work was done in the first half though, as Al-Nassr had 14 of their 19 shots, accumulating 1.42 expected goals as they hit the target five times.
No Neymar return until 2025, says Al-Hilal boss Jesus
Neymar will not return from his anterior cruciate ligament injury until January 2025 at the earliest, Al-Hilal boss Jorge Jesus has warned.
Neymar left Paris Saint-Germain for Al-Hilal in a €90million deal in August 2023, becoming one of the faces of the Saudi Pro League's major recruitment drive.
However, he only played five matches for the club before rupturing his ACL while on international duty with Brazil last October.
The 32-year-old subsequently missed the remainder of the season as well as the Selecao's ill-fated Copa America campaign, and he remains some way away from a return.
Neymar was removed from Al-Hilal's Saudi Pro League squad in September, with the 19-time champions only able to register a maximum of eight foreign players for the first half of the season.
Reports had suggested Neymar was close to a return after Al-Hilal posted footage of him training on social media, but Jesus says Brazil's all-time leading scorer must wait until the halfway point of the campaign before being considered.
"Neymar is an important player for Al Hilal and the league in general," Jesus told reporters on Tuesday.
"I can't, however, specify a date as to when he will return, but we will look at the situation in January."
With no restrictions on foreign players featuring in the AFC Champions League, Neymar could, in theory, play in that competition if he returns to fitness before January.
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