Wayne Rooney loses to Manchester United, as Odion Ighalo stars - The Warm-Up

It was the talk of the FA Cup ever since the fifth-round draw was made. Wayne Rooney. Manchester United. One huge Thursday night.

It dominated the pre-match build-up, and most of the in-game coverage too. Every little touch scrutinised, every time Rooney had possession a moment pregnant with pure narrative. United were 3-0 up going into injury time and only a fine stop from Sergio Romero kept out a free-kick that had it reached its intended destination would have achieved that ultra-rare feat in football: getting both sets of fans applauding in concert.

A special night for the cup, for United and for Rooney?

Informed by Jake Humphrey of the overwhelming emotional nature of the occasion, Rooney promptly pooped everyone’s party by replying: “Erm, not really. Same as normal really.”

Oh well. At least it was a memorable occasion for Odion Ighalo, though.

United’s most recent attacking acquisition arrived to decidedly less fanfare than Rooney did back in the summer of 2004. Sitting through a period of quarantine to prevent coronavirus transmission as you join on a short-term deal from China cannot realistically compare to joining United as the world’s most expensive teenager, on a six-year deal, after tearing an international tournament to shreds to earn comparisons to Pele.

And yet, Ighalo is settling in quite nicely thanks, scoring twice last night to make it three goals across two starts. And dare we say it but United are starting to look half-decent again. The responsibility for that may lie more with Bruno Fernandes than Ighalo per se, as the Portuguese’s progressive impact on United’s passing patterns is already discernible.

But Ighalo has added an extra dimension in attack, while United have found an extra one in their play.

That’s six wins and three draws in nine games now and it’s on to a very winnable quarter-final against Norwich City....

Phil Neville’s England started their SheBelieves Cup campaign with a disappointing 2-0 defeat to the United States through the night.

Just as in last summer’s World Cup semi-final, Christen Press opened the scoring for USA - this time with a delicious curling finish into the far corner.

England’s form since the World Cup has been patchy and the pressure is growing on Neville, who indulged in a spot of straw-clutching when facing the media.

“I don’t see a team that lacked confidence in terms of the way that we want to play,” he said. “I see a team that are trying to play the right way and it feels as if we are so close but yet so far at this moment in time, and that is how the players feel as well, we’ve got to overcome that.”

The Copa del Rey final line-up is complete and it will be the first ever Basque derby to grace that stage after Athletic Bilbao sealed their spot in dramatic fashion.

One-nil up from the first leg, Athletic conceded twice as Granada took control of the tie, only for Yuri Berchiche to score with nine minutes remaining to push Athletic through. Cue bedlam, with the help of a trumpeter.

Could Marcus Rashford be any more adorable?

What is it about German managers and sassy replies to coronavirus questions in press conferences?

First Jurgen Klopp said this:

And then Julian Nagelsmann chipped in:

Great line to be fair...

The Warm-Up is now reaching out to Berti Vogts for further comment.

It’s Nottingham Forest v Millwall in the Championship tonight. Watch highlights of that, and all the EFL action, along with a special guest on Quest on Saturday...