DC United have claimed their second win of the 2021 MLS season and condemned Chicago Fire to four consecutive defeats after a 1-0 victory on Thursday.

Peru international Edison Flores came up with the winner, netting his first goal for DC United with a header in the seventh minute.

Adrien Perez broke on the left side of the box and showed composure on the byline with a pinpoint cutback for Flores to head home.

United's German defender Julian Gressel came close twice with a curling early free-kick as well as a 21st minute strike which cannoned into the crossbar.

Chicago also hit the woodwork when 17-year-old Brian Gutierrez's hit a left-foot shot which beat United keeper Jonathan Kempin but not the post.

The win, in United's first home game since their opening weekend win over New York City, ends their three-game losing run and lifts them up to sixth in the Eastern Conference.

The Fire remain winless, with only one point from five games and are second last in the Eastern Conference.

Borussia Dortmund managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke insists there is no economic need to sell Erling Haaland amid speculation he will remain in Germany until next year.

Haaland netted a double as Dortmund won the DFB-Pokal final 4-1 over RB Leipzig, with Jadon Sancho also chipping in with a brace.

The title is a major boost for Dortmund's hopes of retaining Haaland, who has been linked with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City and Chelsea this off-season.

Dortmund's uplift in Bundesliga form, which has seen them move into the Champions League spots, has also aided their cause to convince the Norwegian to stay.

"You always have fears in my job," Watzke said after Thursday's DFB-Pokal victory.

"We definitely want to keep Erling with us next season. You can see his value, you saw how committed he is last Saturday against Leipzig, with joy.

"Besides we still have it in our own hands, we just have to win twice more now. We have managed the club solidly for so many years, when we go into the second or third year of the coronavirus, then we have to take out a few loans at some point we will pay them back.

"But there is absolutely no economic need to sell him, regardless of whether it is a Europa League or Champions League."

Watzke also casually revealed that interim head coach Edin Terzic had extended his deal with the club to presumably work as an assistant under Marco Rose.

"Edin Terzic did a great job," he said. "He took over the team in December, it was half dead, and he brought it to life. That is a huge achievement at his first coaching station.

"He's holding the keys in his hand. He extended a long-term contract a few weeks ago.

"He's a Dortmund boy, he lives and breathes the club. If Edin wants to do something different, then we have to work with him. But we won't do that now."

Terzic was delighted with the DFB-Pokal success but remained focused on the bigger picture, with Dortmund determined to confirm a top four league spot with two games to play.

"That was definitely not our best game, but we found the key to success," he said.

"Now we all deserve to enjoy this evening tonight but the season is not over for us yet."

Outgoing Leipzig head coach Julian Nagelsmann, who will finish his time at the club without a trophy, said it was a "painful" loss.

"You can imagine that I'm not doing well but it's not about me, it's about the club," he said.

"It's painful. I know what the headlines are like now… We still have two Bundesliga games that are not that pleasant. I'm not thinking about my move [to Bayern Munich] now.

"I'm proud of the boys. "We weren't the worse team, we just scored fewer goals. Dortmund makes a lot out of a little."

Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane says his side will go until the final minute in the LaLiga title race after closing within two points of leaders Atletico Madrid on Thursday.

Madrid won 4-1 away to Granada to keep the pressure on the leaders with games to go, while moving ahead of third-placed Barcelona who are a further two points back after their 3-3 draw at Levante earlier in the week.

Atletico remain in the box seat to clinch their first LaLiga title since 2013-14, but Zidane's side remain in the hunt should there be any slip-ups.

"We'll keep going; there are two games left and we'll go to the end, until the final minute, we'll give it our all," Zidane said post-game.

Atletico's final two league games are at home to 11th-placed Osasuna and away to 18th-placed Valladolid, while Real go to ninth-placed Athletic Bilbao and host seventh-placed Villarreal on the final day.

Madrid are unbeaten in their last 16 games in LaLiga (W11 D5), the best current unbeaten run in the competition. In addition, Los Blancos have equalled their best unbeaten run in a single league campaign under Zidane, achieved in 2016-17 (P16 W12 D4).

Zidane was delighted with the win at Granada which loomed as a tricky assignment in the run home.

"It's not just about the goals," the Frenchman said. "We played very well, defensively too.

"We started the game very well, it was a complete performance. I say that because at 2-1 we didn't let our intensity drop, we scored again quickly and that shows our character.

"Thibaut [Courtois] made two or three saves, as he has been doing lately, but it's all good. In general terms it was a good win against a decent side at a tough place to come, because Granada are a side who have had a fantastic year."

Marvin was substituted at half-time after a hamstring issue, while Marcelo did not play due to a minor injury concern as Zidane fielded his youngest starting XI all season.

"Marvin picked up a knock. I hope it's nothing serious but yes, he felt something in his hamstring," Zidane said.

"Marcelo didn't play because of an injury and we didn't want to take any risks, as always. The injury is the reason why he didn't come with us."

Bayer Leverkusen winger and Jamaica international Leon Bailey could be set for a spell on the sideline after sustaining a toe injury against Werder Bremen last weekend.

The 23-year-old suffered the injury after a collision early in the match but played until halftime before he was withdrawn.  Bailey, who it is feared might have suffered a fractured toe, did not take part in the team’s training session on Wednesday.

Leverkusen will be looking to secure UEFA Europa League qualification at home to Union Berlin on Saturday.  Should he be unable to take the field, the Jamaican will be a major miss, particularly given his form at home this season. 

Bailey has scored five goals in the last two home games.  Leverkusen have won all three of their fixtures at the Bay Arena under interim coach Hannes Wolf.  Bailey, who was also not called to the Jamaica national team, for its friendlies next month due to a contractual issue, has played eight times for the country since making his debut in 2019.

Jurgen Klopp hailed Liverpool's reaction to the concession of an early goal after they came from behind to beat Manchester United 4-2 at Old Trafford.

The Reds looked set for another disappointing visit to the home of their bitter rivals when Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring after just 10 minutes on Thursday evening.

But goals from Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah either side of a Roberto Firmino brace rendered a further Marcus Rashford effort irrelevant and handed Liverpool their first Old Trafford win since 2014.

And it was the mental strength shown in the aftermath of the early setback that most pleased Klopp.

He told Sky Sports: "We reacted really well on their goal, it was unlucky in that moment but it was a bit like we started the game to be honest. 

"The defending in that moment, letting Bruno, half right side, coming inside - there was nobody. 

"He could have used his left, could've used the outside of his right foot and it was unlucky in the centre but the defending in that moment wasn't good. 

"They overloaded the wings obviously and we didn't adapt well to that in the first 15 minutes or so. 

"Then we got control and from that moment on we could play what we want to play. That was absolutely okay and second half even better.

"Great fight, good game, intense, how a derby should be, and since I'm at Liverpool the first win at Old Trafford. 

"Good timing, I would say! We needed it, we fought hard for it, we deserved it and so all good."

Chelsea's defeat to Arsenal on Wednesday opened the door for Liverpool to claim a place in the Champions League spots with four wins from their last four games of this season.

But, while it is one down as far as that aim is concerned, Klopp is expecting the remaining three Premier League fixtures to throw up plenty of challenges.

"It was necessary. Without this result we don't have to talk too much about it," he added.

"We are still in the race, that's all that we could have done tonight, we did that and now we have a very intense period playing the next three games in a week.

"In three days West Brom, Burnley with supporters, and then Crystal Palace at home, which we are looking forward to for different reasons because our supporters are there then hopefully.

"We have to recover quickly and to go again."

If there was one small blot on a good evening for Liverpool, it was an apparent spat between Klopp and substitute Sadio Mane at full-time.

Asked about the Senegalese's refusal to acknowledge his manager when leaving the pitch, he said: "There's no problem. 

"Yesterday I made a late decision in training to decide Diogo. I explain things usually but there was no time for that.

"That's all. It's all fine."

Real Madrid kept alive their LaLiga title hopes with an emphatic 4-1 win over Granada at Nuevo Estadio de Los Carmenes on Thursday. 

The result moved Zinedine Zidane's side above Barcelona into second, two points behind leaders Atletico Madrid with just two games remaining in the season.

Luka Modric got them on their way early on with his fourth league goal of the campaign – the first time he has achieved that since 2011-12 with Tottenham in the Premier League – before Rodrygo doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time.

Jorge Molina threatened to set up a dramatic finale with a goal 19 minutes from time, but Los Blancos comfortably sealed an 18th win in their last 19 games against Granada thanks to goals from Alvaro Odriozola and Karim Benzema.

Madrid started on the front foot and almost went ahead after 14 minutes, Benzema's header forcing a smart stop from Rui Silva. 

Zidane's men opened the scoring three minutes later, though, when Modric latched onto Miguel Gutierrez's sumptuous flicked ball over the top and rolled through Silva's legs from a tight angle. 

The visitors' dominance was rewarded again in first-half stoppage time when Rodrygo powered into the penalty area down the right-hand side and fired across Silva for his first LaLiga goal of a frustrating campaign.

Granada reduced the deficit inside the final 20 minutes, Molina stroking into an empty net after Thibaut Courtois had parried Luis Suarez's strike into his path. 

Substitute Odriozola settled any Madrid nerves, though, powering home after Eden Hazard's cross had fallen kindly to him in the 75th minute. 

Benzema added gloss to the scoreline a minute later, expertly  into an unguarded net from 35 yards after Silva's slapstick attempt to cut out Casemiro's long ball over the top.

Jadon Sancho signed for Borussia Dortmund three months after they last won the DFB-Pokal in May 2017.

Back then, it was Ousmane Dembele and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who scored to see off Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 in Berlin. Major transfers followed for both: Dembele was quickly on his way to Barcelona, a €105million replacement for Neymar, while Aubameyang left for Arsenal for a reported €60m the following January.

This year, Dortmund returned to the Olympiastadion for their first Pokal final since, with envious eyes from across the continent casting longing looks again at their best attacking talent: Sancho and Erling Haaland. Inevitably, it was they who settled the contest with RB Leipzig, and before the half-time whistle had even blown.

At least, it feels inevitable with these two. Haaland, who scored the second in a 4-1 win after shunting the imposing frame of Bayern Munich-bound Dayot Upamecano to the ground, has hit 55 goals in 57 games in just under 18 months at the club. Sancho has been directly involved in 105 goals (50 scored, 55 assisted) in 135 Dortmund games. These are breathtaking returns for two players who weren't even teenagers when Dortmund last won the Bundesliga in 2012.

Haaland has always seemed an outlier in the expected development of a young footballer; a striker of such prodigious physical and technical gifts that it seems entirely plausible he was grown in a number nine laboratory. Dortmund are convinced they will keep him for another year and they probably will unless a European giant is capable of throwing a pandemic-defying nine-figure transfer bid their way.

Sancho's rise feels different. He is the product of calculated gambles as well as divine gifts. He is the 17-year-old boy who uprooted from Manchester City to speculate on game time in Germany, who made himself undroppable for one of the country's greatest clubs and was in the team of the season before his 20th birthday.

On Thursday, he was the best player on the pitch as Dortmund ruined Julian Nagelsmann's Leipzig farewell tour, as he became the youngest player to score twice in a DFB-Pokal final – at least until Haaland surpassed him. The transformation from brave kid to matchwinning bravura was complete. This was the dawning of a superstar.

His first goal, a curling effort from the kind of area Thierry Henry spent a career exploiting, was a thumping reminder of his finishing skills. His second was impudent footwork, as he collected Marco Reus' cut-back, danced inside the covering defender, and waited for Peter Gulacsi's despairing dive before putting the ball in the net.

Alongside Reus and Haaland, Sancho was a roving, controlled menace. He drifted into space to the side of the Leipzig back three but timed forward runs to perfection. His performance trod that fine line of spontaneity and foresight: unpredictable for defenders, while his team-mates knew where he'd be. Such a display can only come when talent meets application, and lessons are learned. For a 21-year-old to do it is remarkable. He even managed to make a total mess of overplaying a one-on-one chance before another counter-attack saw him set up Haaland for the fourth late on. He's still learning.

We may be in the final weeks of seeing Sancho as a Dortmund player. You can bet Manchester United's interest will only strengthen once Ole Gunnar Solskjaer watches back the highlights of this game, and they won't be alone. With a "gentleman's agreement" in place with Dortmund over his future, this could well be the transfer window where they elect to cash in.

They will do so in the knowledge that Sancho's journey to stardom is complete.

Monaco progressed to their first Coupe de France final since 2010 as they beat minnows Rumilly Vallieres 5-1 to tee up a showdown with Paris Saint-Germain.

PSG needed penalties to beat Montpellier on Wednesday, though Monaco got the job done in the allotted 90 minutes, with Cesc Fabregas delivering a star turn.

Indeed, Monaco had to come from behind after Alexis Peuget's fine opener, but Arthur Bozon's calamitous own goal and Aurelien Tchouameni's header put Niko Kovac's team in control.

Wissam Ben Yedder's 21st goal of the season dashed any lingering comeback hopes, and Rumilly Vallieres' incredible run came to an end with a whimper as Fabregas – who provided two assists – curled in an exquisite free-kick before Aleksandr Golovin finished things off.

Eager to make the most of an unprecedented opportunity, Rumilly Vallieres had their reward for a bright start in the 20th minute.

Djibril Sidibe's awful clearance put Monaco in trouble, with Joris Cottin laying it off for Peuget, who dispatched a brilliant 20-yard strike into the top-left corner to leave the visitors stunned.

Yet it was a lead which lasted just seven minutes, and was cut in a humiliating fashion – Bozon directing what would have been a perfect diving header at the other end into his own net.

Rumilly Vallieres were behind within five minutes, Dan Delaunay failing to keep out Tchouameni's header despite getting a hand to the ball, and matters would have been made worse for the minnows had Kevin Volland performed the simple task of finishing into an empty net from six yards out, only for the German to hit the crossbar.

Having set up Volland's chance, Ben Yedder made no such mistake, combining with Fabregas before lifting a delicate finish over Delaunay.

Jocelyn Gay went close with a rasping strike, but Rumilly Vallieres were out of ideas, and Monaco's fourth came from the brilliant Fabregas, who sent a wonderful free-kick into the top-left corner.

Further damage came four minutes later, substitute Golovin racing through and slotting home to seal Monaco's progression in emphatic fasion.

Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland both scored twice as Borussia Dortmund ruthlessly defeated RB Leipzig 4-1 in Thursday's DFB-Pokal final to win the competition for a fifth time.

England winger Sancho netted at the beginning and end of a sensational first 45 minutes for BVB, who added to their advantage through Haaland between those strikes.

This was an impressive display of strength from a Dortmund side with work still to do to secure Champions League qualification, with Haaland's second late on making sure in Berlin after a superb Dani Olmo hit.

The result means Julian Nagelsmann departs Leipzig for Bayern Munich still without the first major trophy of his career and no doubt keen to forget this missed opportunity.

The moves for the first two Dortmund goals started in the same fashion with Leipzig sloppily gifting possession to Marco Reus near halfway.

After five minutes, he took the ball from Kevin Kampl and set in motion a swift attack that passed through Haaland and Mahmoud Dahoud to reach Sancho, who shaped a gorgeous finish into the bottom-right corner.

There was then little by way of goalmouth action until Reus seized on a loose pass on 28 minutes and again fed Haaland to this time go alone, powering beyond Dayot Upamecano and contorting his body to shoot left-footed past Peter Gulacsi.

And an astonishing first half for Reus and Dortmund was complete when he raced clear on the stroke of half-time and squared for Sancho to calmly score again, the goal awarded after a VAR review overturned an incorrect offside call.

The second period was similarly frantic, albeit now with chances at either end. Christopher Nkunku hit the crossbar 19 seconds after his half-time introduction, while fellow substitute Thorgan Hazard toed agonisingly wide from another Reus pass.

Moments after Leipzig struck the woodwork for the second time, with Emil Forsberg somehow stabbing against the post, Olmo rattled in from outside the area.

Sancho should have had a memorable hat-trick but dallied after rounding Gulacsi and allowed the goalkeeper to recover. He picked out Haaland instead the next time Dortmund broke and a fortuitous finish wrongfooted Gulacsi for number four.

St Vincent and the Grenadines will play a second consecutive home match away from home, with its upcoming CONCACAF World Cup qualifier against Cuba booked for the Kirani James Athletics Stadium, in Grenada.

The match, which was originally scheduled for the Arnos Vale Stadium for June 8, however, existing protocols, including quarantine, means that it would not be possible for the country to host the event.  The match is set to kick off at 4 pm, the St Vincent and the Grenadines versus Cuba encounter will precede Grenada against Montserrat, which takes place at 7 pm.

Prior to this round, St Vincent and the Grenadines played a home ‘match’ against the British Virgin Islands at the Ergillo Hato Stadium in Willemstad, Curacao.  The Vincy Heat emerged 3-0 winners from the match.

The team is just one of several who will see their fixtures altered as countries around the region continue to battle the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Other teams expected to be playing their upcoming home matches away are Aruba, the British Virgin Islands, Barbados, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, Montserrat, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, Anguilla, and Puerto Rico.

With two matches played in the first round of the qualifiers, St Vincent and the Grenadine are currently third in Group C behind Curaçao and second place Guatemala.

Leon Bailey and Michail Antonio will not be available for the Reggae Boyz matches against Japan and Serbia that have been scheduled for June as Jamaica’s senior squad continues its preparation for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in July and the World Cup qualifiers in September.

Cristiano Ronaldo's mother could attempt to persuade her superstar son to return to Sporting CP next year.

Ronaldo has gone on to become one of the all-time greats since leaving Sporting to join Manchester United for £12.24million as a teenager in 2003.

The Portugal captain was a revelation at Real Madrid after leaving the Red Devils in 2009, breaking the LaLiga giants' all-time scoring record with a staggering tally of 450 goals.

Ronaldo joined Juventus three years ago and with his contract due to expire in 2022, the 36-year-old's future has been the subject of speculation with Andrea Pirlo's side in danger of missing out on Champions League football next season.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner's mother, Dolores, has been celebrating Sporting's first Primeira Liga title in 19 years.

And she hopes her son can play a big role in helping the famous Lisbon club add further honours. 

"I will talk to him and try to convince him to return next year," she was filmed by TVI 24 saying. "To the Alvalade Stadium and to wear the colours of Sporting."

Sporting defeated Boavista 1-0 on Tuesday to be crowned champions of Portugal for the first time since the 2001-02 season.

Ronaldo scored his 100th Juve goal in a 3-1 Serie A victory at Sassuolo on Wednesday.

Jamie Maclaren became Melbourne City's record scorer as his double sealed a 4-1 win for the A-League leaders over faltering Adelaide United.

The Australia international went past Bruno Fornaroli by reaching 58 goals for Melbourne, who extended their lead to 11 points at the top of the table.

Maclaren's late penalty and close-range finish followed earlier strikes from Scott Jamieson and Scott Galloway, with Ben Halloran fleetingly giving the visitors to AAMI Park some hope early in the second half.

Adelaide, though, are now without a win in five games and missed a chance here to move second in the table.

Jamieson marked his 100th appearance for Melbourne with a goal against one of his former clubs, making the breakthrough after eight minutes when his 22-yard strike deflected past James Delianov.

Galloway then capitalised on a clever corner routine just before the break, charging into the penalty area and rapping a fierce left-footed shot across goal and into the bottom-right corner.

Halloran netted from a tight angle early in the second half to trim the lead, but Melbourne were awarded a penalty in the 71st minute after Stefan Colakovski was scythed down by Joshua Cavallo.

Maclaren cracked the spot-kick into the left corner, before sealing the victory and the club record in the 82nd minute when he slotted in from Marco Tilio's low centre, delivered from the left.

Porto will host the Champions League final on May 29, with UEFA confirming the clash between Premier League sides Manchester City and Chelsea has been moved from Istanbul.

The Turkish city had been slated to host the 2020 final, before the coronavirus pandemic led to the closing stages of the tournament being moved to Lisbon and played as one-off matches last August.

Rising COVID-19 cases in Istanbul mean UEFA has again looked to Portugal, with Estadio do Dragao now the host venue for the meeting between newly-crowned English champions City and FA Cup finalists Chelsea, who are in the European showpiece for a third time.

Turkey was placed on the UK government's travel 'red list' last week, making the Ataturk Stadium an impractical venue, with fans told they should not be travelling to such destinations and players and staff would have had to isolate in a government-approved hotel upon their return.

Euro 2020 and the Copa America each starting on June 11 would have made that element particularly problematic.

UEFA on Thursday announced the change of venue and revealed both clubs will be given 6,000 tickets for the showpiece and they will be on sale immediately.

Portugal is on the UK's 'green list', meaning there will be no need for fans or players to quarantine afterwards.

UEFA discussed moving the match to England but it was not possible to achieve the necessary exemptions from UK quarantine arrangements.

Aleksander Ceferin, the UEFA president, said: “I think we can all agree that we hope never to experience a year like the one we have just endured.

"Fans have had to suffer more than twelve months without the ability to see their teams live and reaching a Champions League final is the pinnacle of club football.  To deprive those supporters of the chance to see the match in person was not an option and I am delighted that this compromise has been found.

"After the year that fans have endured, it is not right that they don't have the chance to watch their teams in the biggest game of the season.

"Once again we have turned to our friends in Portugal to help both UEFA and the Champions League and I am, as always, very grateful to the FPF and the Portuguese Government for agreeing to stage the match at such short notice.

"They have worked tirelessly in very tight time constraints in finding solutions for the many challenges that hosting a game of this magnitude presents.  Whenever there has been an obstacle, they have been creative in the solutions presented and the success of staging this year’s final is entirely down to their hard work and persistence.

"We accept that the decision of the British Government to place Turkey on the red list for travel was taken in good faith and in the best interests of protecting its citizens from the spread of the virus but it also presented us with a major challenge in staging a final featuring two English teams.

"The difficulties of moving the final are great and the FA and the authorities made every effort to try to stage the match in England and I would like to thank them for their work in trying to make it happen.

"The Turkish football federation and the Turkish authorities have recognised the UEFA's efforts to give fans of the competing clubs a chance to watch the game.

"The Turkish Football Federation and the authorities have always been reliable partners of UEFA and Turkey has hosted many UEFA events over the years with great success. I hope to be in Istanbul and Turkey for a Champions League final and many other events in the near future.

"I hope the final will be a symbol of hope at the re-emergence of Europe from a difficult period and that the fans who travel to the game will once again be able to lend their voices to showcase this final as the best in club football.."

Dayot Upamecano has claimed he turned down an opportunity to join Manchester United as a teenager because Ralf Rangnick presented such a persuasive alternative.

The defender, who will leave RB Leipzig to join Bayern Munich at the end of this season, was targeted by United as a teenage prospect when he was with French club Valenciennes.

He elected to turn down United and move to Austrian club Salzburg, Upamecano says, after being wowed by Rangnick's precise vision for his career.

At the time, Rangnick was sporting director for Salzburg and Leipzig, with both clubs part of the Red Bull empire, and talking Upamecano into a move proved one of many successes he achieved in that role.

United had tempted the youngster, however, and Upamecano told The Athletic: "I was a young boy. I wanted to sign for them straight away. Manchester United! But then my parents took me aside and said: 'Let's think carefully about this'.

"We thought about it for a long time and then decided that going 'etape par etape' [step by step] was the best option for me. Everything Ralf said came true."

Upamecano was loaned out to Liefering before returning to make an impact with Salzburg while still in his teens, and at the age of 18, in January 2017, he was moved through the ranks to join Leipzig.

Rangnick, who had already enjoyed one spell as head coach of Leipzig, returned for another in 2018, and Upamecano said: "Ralf was the most important coach for me. He's a professor, a scientist of football, and he also cares about everything. He's always there for you with advice on matters football and non-football, every single day."

Before joining Bayern, Upamecano has the chance on Thursday to land a DFB-Pokal title with Leipzig as they head into the final in Berlin against Borussia Dortmund.

Julian Nagelsmann, who succeeded Rangnick in 2019, has been another major influence on the career of Upamecano, who describes the 33-year-old as "an unbelievable manager".

Like Upamecano, Nagelsmann will also move to Bayern at the season's end.

"He really takes you to another level," Upamecano said. "For example, because of Julian, I have improved a lot in terms of opening the game from the defence with precise passes into the midfield, and he told me to use my dribbling abilities in order to create spaces going forward."

That is borne out by data that shows Upamecano has progressed significantly while at Leipzig.

Following his mid-season arrival in 2017, Upamecano had an overall passing accuracy of 78.6 per cent in the Bundesliga, while his accuracy with passes ending in the final third of the field was just 46.2 per cent.

These numbers belong firmly in Upamecano's past, because his precision now shows a marked improvement.

In 2017-18, he stepped up those percentages to 83.7 and 55 in the Bundesliga, while attempting 130 passes into the final third of the pitch.

But in 2019-20, his overall accuracy stood at 89.1 per cent and his accuracy into the final third was a healthy 74 per cent, with Upamecano attempting 232 balls into that attacking area in league games. Each figure put him in the top 10 for Bundesliga defenders who played at least 20 games.

This season has seen a minor step back, but an 88.5 per cent total accuracy and 70 per cent accuracy into the final third continues to reflect well on the French defender, a player United must sorely regret failing to recruit.