Dribble Diaries

Some strikers simply age like good wines, and Pedro, a Spanish winger, is no different. At the early age of 37, the former Barcelona star is still strutting his stuff for Serie A club Lazio, and he demonstrated why against Ajax on Thursday evening in the Europa League. The veteran forward rounded out a magnificent Lazio triumph in Amsterdam with a goal that truly rolled back the years, cutting inside and curling his effort into the side netting. Lazio won 3-1 and are temporarily top of the Europa League, but Pedro stole the headlines after the game. It's been more than a decade since the 37-year-old opened his European account, and he still finds the back of the net. A true legend in the game.

The Europa League returned tonight, with numerous intriguing matchups taking place throughout the continent, including Ruben Amorim's first home game in charge of Manchester United and Claudio Ranieri renewing rivalry with Tottenham, this time as Roma manager. Højlund saves United to secure Amorim's first win. Ruben Amorim's first win as Manchester United's head coach was a 3-2 victory over Bodø/Glimt at Old Trafford. After scoring only two minutes into his debut game at Ipswich, United took the lead here even earlier, with Alejandro Garnacho scoring within a minute. Nikita Khaikin, the goalkeeper for Bodø/Glimt, mishandled the ball, allowing Rasmus Højlund to close him down and Garnacho to score in the empty net. Bodø, who carried a danger throughout, equalized in the 19th minute with a fantastic goal from Håkon Evjen. He curled a left-footed drive from outside the box after his side profited on some slack United play. Three minutes later, the Norwegians startled Old...

Jose Mourinho slammed the referee and UEFA after being sent off in Fenerbahce's 1-1 draw with his former club Manchester United. Mourinho lost his calm on the touchline, protesting Clement Turpin's decision not to award a penalty following Manuel Ugarte's challenge on Bright Osayi-Samuel. "I don't want to speak about it," Mourinho told TNT Sports. "(After the contest), the referee told me something amazing. He stated that he could see both the action in the box and my actions on the touchline. "I praise him because his peripheral vision during the game was just outstanding; he had one eye on the penalty scenario, one eye on the bench, and one eye on my behavior. So that is the answer he gave me, and that is why he is one of the top referees in the world!" Later, Mourinho concluded his news conference by stating that he would be open to returning to England. The 61-year-old says he is done playing in European championships and could instead jo...

Manchester United’s Europa League showdown went from bad to worse with 10 minutes remaining until they ultimately pulled off a 3-3 draw. Captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off once more, this time against Tottenham, one game after receiving his first club red card. In the 81st minute, with United down 3-2, the Portugal international tried to dive for a ball in the box, but his boot went too high, resulting in a second yellow card. Fernandes was seen angrily disagreeing with Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa, a fellow international, over the choice, but as he made his way through the tunnel, it was already too late. United had already taken a 2-0 lead in the first half, and this event simply made it worse.

Manchester United began the Europa League with a 1-1 draw against Erik ten Hag's previous club FC Twente, with Christian Eriksen making a costly mistake after a vicious finish. After missing out on European qualification through the Premier League last season, the Red Devils were not anticipated to embark on a continental campaign. But May's surprising FA Cup victory over opponents Manchester City secured United's Europa League spot, and they began the new league season in frustrating fashion against the Eredivisie side. Ten Hag, United's manager, spent a total of 23 years at Twente, three as a player and later in various coaching capacities, remarking on the eve of the game: "It's not nice to have to hurt something you love." Eriksen's first-half rocket set United on track to achieve exactly that, but the bottom-ranked team in terms of UEFA coefficient heading to Old Trafford in this revised group round had other plans. Sam Lammers came close with a...