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Rasmus Hojlund scored twice as Manchester United rallied to a 2-1 victory over Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on Thursday.

The hosts took the lead shortly after half-time, but Hojlund levelled on 62 minutes, six minutes after replacing Marcus Rashford, when the Danish striker tapped in Amad Diallo’s deflected shot.

After Bruno Fernandes had found him inside the box with a clever free kick, he beat Plzen goalkeeper Martin Jedlicka with a clinical finish.

Matej Vydra, a former Watford, West Brom, Reading, Derby and Burnley forward, opened the scoring for the hosts with a close-range finish three minutes after half-time.

After intercepting United goalkeeper Andre Onana’s pass inside the box, Pavel Sulc found Vydra facing an empty net.

The goal was a wake-up call for United manager Ruben Amorim, who made three replacements in its wake, including Hojlund.

“It was not a great game”, said Amorim, before praising the substitutes.

“They changed the game. I’m pleased that they are able to accomplish that.

He continued, “It was important not to give up because that is a great message.”

The chilly evening in Plzen demonstrated that United still have a way to go after Eric ten Hag was fired in the sack in November under the former Sporting Lisbon boss.

Both teams had to work up their pace to start the match with nine points from their first five Europa League games.

Half an hour into the game, Fernandes’ first shot was on target, but Jedlicka parried his low, right-footed effort from the edge of the box.

Two minutes before the break, Onana watched Cheick Souare’s shot scurr just past the top corner of his own goal.

Jedlicka denied Mason Mount and Antony in the second half, with Mount failing to score the goalkeeper twice from close range.

Hojlund turned the game around for United, putting them in a strong position for direct passage to the last 16.

“We didn’t have so much time to work on this type of game. We were controlling the game but didn’t have the pace (in the first half)”, said Amorim.

“We want to improve and we want to improve really fast”, he added.

Manchester City defender Kyle Walker has called for tough action to tackle online abuse after he received a “vile, racist and threatening” message following Wednesday’s 2-0 loss at Juventus.

Walker was unable to prevent Pep Guardiola’s side from falling to third place in ten games in Turin despite playing the entire Champions League game.

The England international posted a screenshot of a racist message the unnamed user sent to his social media accounts on Thursday that used obscene language.

According to Walker, “No one should ever be subjected to such hateful, racist, and threatening abuse as I have received online since last night’s game,” according to his X and Instagram accounts.

In order to protect all those who are suffering this abuse, Instagram and the authorities must stop this. It is never acceptable.

“To our fans, we will continue to work as a team to do better, to improve and to turn the corner together. ”

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City condemned the racist attack. Following last night’s game, a club statement read, “Manchester City strongly condemns the racist abuse Kyle Walker was subject to online.”

Whether it is in the stadiums or online, we will not tolerate discrimination of any kind. ”

A Premier League statement read: “The Premier League condemns all forms of discrimination. Racism is not acceptable in society or in our game. We counsel anyone who encounters or hears discriminatory abuse to report it so that legal action can be taken.

In an effort to combat online hate, Kyle Walker and the club will support the Premier League. ”

With a 3-1 victory over Astana in Almaty on Thursday, Chile won the fifth of its five Europa Conference League games.

A much-changed Chelsea side triumphed in Kazakhstan’s frigid conditions, defeating only to earn a top-eight finish in the league phase, which would guarantee automatic round-eight qualification.

Legia Warsaw, the only other side with a perfect record in the competition, are three points clear of Chelsea at the top of the standings.

When Lugano of Switzerland takes on the Polish side later on Thursday, they will attempt to match Chelsea.

READ ALSO: &nbsp, Guardiola ‘ Questioning Self ‘ After Latest City Loss At Juve

The defeat leaves Astana in the final knock-out play-off spot with four points and at risk of elimination.

Marc Guiu and Renato Veiga’s goals gave Chelsea the lead in the first half.

On the stroke of half-time, Marin Tomasov restored the hosts’ lead, but Enzo Maresca’s side never looked unharmed in the second half.

Guiu scored a brace in the opening 20 minutes to give Chelsea the perfect start, bringing his total to three goals in five appearances this year.

His first, which came in 14 minutes, showed the ex-Barcelona attacker’s budding talent as he passed a defender on the right flank before striking home from a close range.

Pedro Neto’s good wing play saw the 18-year-old Spaniard score a striker’s goal four minutes later when he forced the ball home at the front post.

Renato Veiga, 21, headed in Chelsea’s third from a corner on 39 minutes.

In the 45th minute, Croatian veteran Tomasov stood up Renato Veiga in the box and fired a fine left-footed shot in off the far post.

Prior to that, Sweden’s Djurgarden clinched a 2-1 victory over Vikingur Reykjavik, finishing with just 10 men.

As his Manchester City team suffered yet another defeat at Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday, Pep Guardiola admitted that he is unsure of his own abilities.

With a 2-0 defeat in a icy Turin, City’s seventh successive defeat in ten games would put their fate in the last 16.

Asked by reporters whether he was questioning his management, Guardiola replied: “Yeah, of course”.

“Of course I question myself in the good moments and the bad moments”, said Guardiola.

“I was stable in the good times and I’m stable in the bad,” according to the statement. “My biggest challenge is when they give me the opportunity to work as a manager and get results,” he continues.

” If I would miss the big challenge in the first season, the second season, I wouldn’t be here. “

READ ALSO: Juve Deepen Man City Crisis, Barcelona Into Champions League Knockouts

City, the English champions, are only one point above the bottom 12 spots that result in Champions League elimination.

With only matches left in their league phase campaign against Paris Saint-Germain and Club Brugge, City is automatically qualified for the last 16 after a five-point gap with the top eight spots.

In the Premier League on Sunday, Guardiola’s team travels to local rival Manchester United, where they are eight points clear of Liverpool.

According to a prosecutor in Sweden, there is insufficient evidence to conclude an investigation into alleged rape and sexual assault against French football player Kylian Mbappe.

In a statement that didn’t mention Mbappe by name but noted that he had “not been notified of suspicion of a crime,” prosecutor Marina Chirakova stated, “My opinion is that the evidence is not sufficient to proceed and the investigation is closed.

Mikel Arteta praised Bukayo Saka’s “incredible talent” after the Arsenal forward’s double inspired a 3-0 win over Monaco that moved his side closer to the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday.

Before Kai Havertz’s fourth win in six games in the revamped league phase of Europe’s elite club competition, Saka scored late in each half at the Emirates Stadium.

With just two games left, the Gunners are third in the table and are on the verge of automatic qualification for the last 16.

That should be a simple task for Arsenal given the January fixtures against Dinamo Zagreb and Girona.

However, Saka must stay in top form if Arteta’s team is to claim their first Champions League title.

The 23-year-old has scored five goals in all of his previous six games, nine in the season, and added a ton of assists.

Even those impressive statistics don’t do justice to Saka’s influence on Arsenal.

More than anyone else, Arteta is aware of how much Saka has grown since the Spaniard’s rule in 2019.

“He looks really mature. At his current level, what he has already accomplished in the game is incredible. Very humble, a great guy to have around and an incredible talent,” Arteta said.

“He’s a special person. In his role his leadership is increasing. With the young kids he is amazing, with the seniors he is amazing. Everyone loves him, and he makes a difference on the field. ”

Also, read: Juventus loses the Champions League, Man City’s crisis worsens.

‘The ambition he has’

There is little chance that Saka will blow his own trumpet because he is a quiet, self-assured person both on and off the pitch.

However, it is starting to become popular to rank the winger among the best forwards in the world, and Arteta agrees that he is on the right path to being compared to Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, and Vinicius Junior.

He claims that is what he wants. That is his level of ambition and talent. He is preparing himself every day so I’m not surprised,” he said.

To put yourself in that position, you must be able to do that consistently over a long period of time.

“What he has done at that age, you can put him in those brackets. It was an exceptional performance for him during his six years playing professional football.

“That has been an evolution. He wasn’t able to do that at 18 or 19. A year or two ago, he developed in the right way, his condition, his preparation.

He is now playing every three days at the highest level. ”

Arsenal have won five of their past six games in all competitions, but Arteta acknowledged that they weren’t performing well against Monaco.

They squandered a number of chances in the opening period before Saka’s stunning second goal, which was fortunate that Monaco had missed opportunities to equalize.

In the first half, we should have scored four or five, but that wasn’t the case, according to Arteta.

There will be challenging matches in the Champions League, and we will go through them, but with the second goal, the game was in charge. ”

Arsenal opted to withdraw from the Champions League last year when it faced Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.

This term, they appear to be showing signs of maturity in Europe, and Arteta is confident that they will pose a serious challenge for the trophy.

We are having fun on our run. We can compete against any team,” he said.

“We keep learning. We obviously need more, and I’m confident that we will experience some difficulties in the near future. ”