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Russia were able to secure a 1-1 draw with Englandin their first match of the 2016 Euro competition. England started the match on a high tempo, hoping to at least put the match to bed in the first half as they kept on hammering on the Russians but they had to wait until the 79th minute of the game to take the lead. They could not hold on to that lead until the end of the game and the three lions coach Roy Hodgson could be blamed for that draw.

England had a lot of chances to put the game to bed in the first half but they did not make it count. Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney came close with a shot on target but it was not good enough to trouble Akinfeev, Russia’s goalkeeper. Liverpool’s Adams Lallana also came close on two occasions but his efforts could not give the three lions the lead they desired. Raheem Sterling was also another England player that made valuable contributions to the team in the first half. As it was both England and Russia could not break the dead lock in the first and the half ended 0-0.

the second half started with both teams now serious to make every effort count, threatening at every chance they had but there wasn’t any magic of the sort until the 79th minute when the referee awarded England a spot kick on the edge of the Russia goal area due to a foul on Harry Kane. Wayne Rooney and Eric dier both stood over the ball but it was the later who shot a thunderous ball past the wall and goalkeeper to give England the lead. Russia came out after this as it was now all or nothing for them.  The match ended in a stalemate and both teams would have to wait until their respective second matches to secure a win if they would get any in the competition.

Tuesday night was the first night of match day 4 in the UEFA Champions League. The night started out with Astana hosting Spanish La Liga club Atletico Madrid. After thrashing them an astounding 4-0 in Madrid two weeks back, Diego Simeone’s men just couldn’t cracking down a rather spirit Astana side and that saw the match end in goalless draw. Manchester City displayed a first class first half performance to qualify for the knock out stages of the competition with a 3-1 victory over Sevilla. The Premier League club had to wait till the dying minutes to grab a winner the last time the two met but the case was different this time as the tie was decided in the first half with goals from Raheem Sterling, Fernandinho and Wilfred Bony was enough to give them a deserved win.

Wayne Rooney ended what could have been a third straight goalless draw for the red devils with a header in the 79 minute at Old Trafford. The coach’s trust in his captain finally paid off when the England international nodded in from close range to give Manchester United a 1-0 victory over a rather defensive CSKA Moscow. The game between Real Madrid and French champions PSG was also decided in the first half. The only goal came from the substitute Nacho Fernández who had come on to replace Marcelo as the later could not seem to shake off the injury he picked up. PSG playmaker Marco Veratti was also taken off in the early minutes of the game due to an injury.

The biggest winners of the night were Shaktar Donetsk who thrashed Malton an astounding 4-0. The first came in the first half with the remaining three coming in the second half. Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw against Borrusia M’Gladbach while PSV pulled a surprised 2-0 victory over Wolfsburg. Benfica also got a 2-1 victory over Galatasaray on the night. The events of match day 4 continues tomorrow and some of the teams would join City and Madrid in qualifying for the next round.

Manchester United skipper Wayne Rooney has come under the spotlight again as the team drew at home to city on Sunday. Rooney has been picked out by the fans and media for his failing performances this season. he has failed to consistently find the net even when presented with such opportunities. Against former team Everton last weekend it took three one-on-one chances before the striker could convert, giving him a conversion rate of 33% and that’s very low for a player like Rooney. United manager, Louis van Gaal has always backed the player stating that he believes the striker would hit form soon enough but the case was different after the derby yesterday. when asked about Rooney’s performances on the pitch, the manager said he was tired of answering questions concerning the English captain.

While Rooney has been finding it difficult to find the net, the exact opposite could be said about 19 year old summer spending Anthony Martial. Even though the player has been subjected to supporting roles for United so far he has never failed to deliver and that showed against city yesterday. It could be said that Martial is the only Manchester United player that was a constant threat in the match. City on the other hand had their own fault as their most creative player on the pitch was made to attack from the wing.

Considering Rooney’s performance, it is only fair that Anthony Martial be given a chance at the striking role because of his high conversion rates as we have seen. It is still unknown whether that is an option the dutch coach would be willing to accept but United’s inability to finish off games would go a long way in affecting their title campaign if not handled earl enough.

A lot was expected as all the leagues returned to action following the long international break but the Premier League just had so much going on for it. Chelsea were expected to have gotten the break needed to get them back to winning ways, Liverpool fans couldn’t wait to see the effects of their new coach, Arsenal longed to see their good run continue and Manchester United just wanted to be over their heavy lose at the Emirates.

Chelsea seemed to have found their rhythm in the absence of their main talisman Eden Hazard as they capitalised on Aston Villa’s defensive errors to win the game by 2 goals to nil. Manchester City were on fire, thrashing AC Bournemouth 5-1 with Raheem Sterling scoring three of those goals. Meanwhile United got the better of the game at Goodison park by winning 3-0, captain Wayne Rooney rounded off the scoring when he picked up a superb pass from Ander Herrera and lifted the ball over the on rushing keeper. Liverpool played harder, faster and with more enthusiasm but ended up sharing the spoils at White Hart Lane.

Southampton gave away a two goal lead as Vardy lead Leicester City to a great comeback to draw level with the second goal coming-in in the 90th minute. Late goals from Lazzini and Payet helped West Ham secure a vital win over Crystal Palace. Hot sensation Alexis Sanchez lead the rout as Arsenal came in strong in the second half to win newly promoted side Watford. Berahino was the man to burst Sunderland’s bubble as faced West Bromwich later in the day.

Earlier today, Wijnaldum scored a staggering four goals as Newcastle trashed Norwich City at St James Park. The Netherlands international scored twice in both halves of the game. And that leaves us with the last match of this round, which is Swansea vs Stoke City and that would be played tomorrow night.

Former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson made a series of revelation in his new book titled leading. The book was published on Tuesday talks about his leadership skills and time at old Trafford which saw him lift a lot of silver wares. He left the club in 2013 and was replaced by fellow scot David Moyes, although he has now revealed that Moyes wasn’t his first choice and that he was picked because all the world class managers were unavailable at the time. He also mentioned that he spoke with Guardiola after the Spaniard quit Barcelona and told him to left him know before accepting any other job but that didn’t go according to plan as Guardiola accepted the coaching role at Bayern later that year.

Sir Alex also mentioned that he has only coached four players who he regards as being world class. First off, is Eric Cantona who he described as a catalyst upon his arrival to united, scoring goals that led the team to being crowned league champions that year. Next up were Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs who he regarded a lot for their consistency and longevity. According to him, no other player has performed so well for a long time like the two. Last on the list was Cristiano Ronaldo, who he also described as simply brilliant. He said that Ronaldo’s ego has helped him achieved all he ever wanted.

He also talked about how he went on to become the highest paid coach after he signed a new deal with united in 2010. According to Sir Alex, he was called by the club’s owners and asked about how he felt about Wayne Rooney’s new deal which would see him earn double his previous salary and the manager responded by saying he does not think any player should earn more than he is earning. That was it, simple as that and the deal was agreed.