Wayne Rooney admitted “it’s great to be back in English football” despite suffering a 1-0 defeat in his first match as Birmingham’s new boss at Middlesbrough.
The former Manchester United and England striker was left frustrated against ex-team-mate Michael Carrick’s Boro when Morgan Rogers flicked in an 89th-minute winner at the Riverside.
Rooney, who turns 38 on Tuesday, took over from John Eustace during the international break.
It was a day of emotion and reflection for both Rooney and Carrick as they heard the news of Sir Bobby Charlton’s death at half-time, with both sets of fans then chanting the World Cup winner’s name before the restart.
Both Rooney and Carrick had spent time with Charlton during their Old Trafford careers.
Middlesbrough had controlled the first half and wasted numerous opportunities, the best of which was when striker Josh Coburn was played in and fired wide, having earlier headed over the bar too.
But when Rogers, only 13 minutes after emerging as a substitute, arrived at the front post to turn in Matt Crooks’ low return pass, there was no way back for Birmingham – meaning defeat for Rooney in his first game.
Rooney, whose side have slipped to seventh after a fourth straight defeat on the road, said: “I have been quite calm. You always have a feeling before the game as player or manager, which is normal, but I was quite calm. I know what I want.
“I know where we need to get to. I knew this was a possibility today, but it will take time to get where we want to go.
“We might have to go through days like this and it is important we stay calm to ensure we hit the goals we really want to.
“You never enjoy when you lose, but it is great to be back in English football, great to be at Birmingham. Thankfully we have another game Wednesday.
He added: “There were parts of the game we wanted to take the ball more, but ultimately you don’t always get what you want in football. It is decision-making and game management.
“Even after Middlesbrough scored there were different moments in the game were our game management has to be better. That is what frustrated me in the last eight minutes.
“But we are a team trying to adapt to a different way and that will take time. During that period we do have to pick up points.”
Given Rooney and Carrick’s Old Trafford connections, it was ironic that it was Rogers, a former Manchester City player, who scored the winner.
The 21-year-old has scored twice in the league cup since his summer arrival from the Etihad, but this was his first goal in the Championship – and one that secured a fifth straight win for Middlesbrough.
Carrick, whose side moved a point behind seventh-placed Birmingham, said: “It was a big goal for all of us – a big goal to win a game.
“I’m really pleased for Morgan, he came on to make an impact. Goals like that can give you a massive boost and I am sure he will have an impact for the rest of the season.
“We did enough to win the game because we had enough chances, and those chances we could have scored from, they were good ones.
“I couldn’t fault the boys. It is tough when you go into a game like this because we didn’t really know
what we were going into, there wasn’t much we had to go on (after Rooney’s arrival).
“But I’m really pleased about the impact from the boys off the bench. They have all come off and made an impact in different ways.
“You never know if a goal is going to come, but you have to keep doing the right things and freshen up to try to create a spark. In the end the boys found a way to score.”
Kurzawa to follow Mbappe through PSG exit door
Defender Layvin Kurzawa will leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season after nine years with the Ligue 1 giants, he announced on Monday.
Left-back Kurzawa joined PSG from Monaco in 2015 for €23million and has made 154 appearances for the Parisiens.
However, the 31-year-old has fallen out of favour in recent years and has played just eight minutes in one match throughout the 2023-24 campaign.
Kurzawa was loaned out to Premier League club Fulham in the 2022-23 season after not playing for the French side for more than 11 months, but he made just six appearances for the English outfit.
"I've had some great times, as well as some tough ones," he wrote in a post on X. "But I want you to know that my love for Paris Saint-Germain is sincere.
"I know that our relationship has sometimes been complicated, but I want you to know that I can only take back the positive and that I have been privileged to have called the Parc des Princes my home for all these years."
Kurzawa's announcement comes after Kylian Mbappe played his final home game for PSG on Sunday, a 3-1 defeat to Toulouse.
Mbappe is widely expected to join Champions League finalists Real Madrid after opting not to activate a one-year extension clause in the big-money deal he signed with PSG in 2022.
Manchester City's success is "not boring" or purely determined by financial reasons, head coach Pep Guardiola insists.
The Citizens are on the hunt for an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title, and could become the first team to win back-to-back doubles should they also prevail in the FA Cup final later this month.
Once again, City appear to be hitting form at just the right time, winning each of their last four matches by an aggregate scoreline of 15-1.
Guardiola's side are a point behind leaders Arsenal heading into the final week of the campaign, and will leapfrog the Gunners should they win their game in hand against Tottenham.
But the Spaniard rejected the claim City's success is becoming too predictable - or that it is down to the money they have spent - believing other teams would have lifted more silverware than his side had that been the case.
"It's not boring," he said. "It's difficult. Before, it was the money. For that reason, Manchester United should have won all the titles, Chelsea - all the titles, Arsenal - all the titles.
"They spent as much money in the last five years as us. They should be there. They are not there.
"For that reason, Girona shouldn’t be in the Champions League [next season] and Leicester should win the Premier League."
City will take a giant step towards that fourth straight Premier League crown with victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday.
While Guardiola admits the achievement was not at the forefront of his squad's intentions at the beginning of the campaign, he is well aware of it's significance.
"In the beginning of the season, we didn't think about it," he added. "But then we were in February, March and April, we were still there [in the title race]. After that, it ignites something in all our heads.
"No team has done it. That shows how hard it is. Liverpool in the 1980s, Alex Ferguson's [Manchester] United in the 1990s. Chelsea with [Roman] Abramovich and Jose [Mourinho], Arsenal with [Arsene] Wenger didn't do it."
Barcelona pleased to have second-place battle with Girona in their own hands
Barcelona face a tough battle to secure a second-place finish in LaLiga but are pleased to have their fate in their own hands with three games remaining, says defender Inigo Martinez.
Barca leapfrogged Girona into second with Monday's 2-0 home win over Real Sociedad, going one point clear of their Catalan rivals after they drew 2-2 with Alaves on Friday.
Lamine Yamal put Xavi's team ahead in the 40th minute when he coolly slotted home from Ilkay Gundogan's pass after a quick breakaway, then Raphinha's stoppage-time penalty made certain of the win.
The Blaugrana go to Almeria on Thursday before hosting Rayo Vallecano in their final home game of the season on Sunday. They then bring their campaign to a close at Sevilla on May 25.
"There is still a long way to go. It will be a battle to the end. Girona are very strong," Martinez told Movistar after Monday's game.
"It's in our hands now. I think the team is very good. It's three valuable points. We had some mistakes in the first half, but in the second half I think we could have finished it off earlier."
Teenage winger Yamal believes Xavi's side – who are some 14 points adrift of champions Real Madrid – may need maximum points to hold off Girona.
"It was an important game to regain second place and we have to try to make it a nine-point week," the 16-year-old said.
"La Real did very well in the first half but then we were able to improve. There was a good feeling in the whole team."
Xavi, meanwhile, was pleased to see his team pass a difficult test, saying: "La Real always make it difficult for us.
"They are always very organised, aggressive, you don't create danger for them. It's an important victory for us. We played a good game in general."
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