FANS hailed Marcus Rashford’s Premier League debut for Aston Villa – and reckon Manchester United might have been the problem.

Rashford, 27, joined Villa on loan during the January transfer window.

Reuters

Marcus Rashford impressed on his Premier League debut for Aston Villa[/caption]

Getty

That came after the £325,000-a-week forward was exiled by United boss Ruben Amorim.

The Portuguese gaffer publicly slammed Rashford – even claiming he would rather play his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach ahead of the England international.

But now Rashford is away from Amorim and toxic United, he looks ready to thrive once again and wasted no time in showing what he can do.

And if his Villa performance on Saturday is anything to go by, the egg may well be left on Amorim’s face instead.

Rashford played the final 24 minutes in the FA Cup win over Tottenham on his Villa debut.

But his first bow for his new side in the Premier League came as Villa drew 1-1 with ten-man Ipswich.

Rashford replaced Jacob Ramsey at half-time and midway through the second half he was involved in Villa’s equaliser.

The striker’s epic free-kick crashed back off the woodwork and Ollie Watkins scored the rebound.

CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS

Elsewhere, there was plenty of bright play from Rashford as proved a constant threat with his direct running, dangerous forward play, linking up with his new team-mates effectively and even helping out defensively in his first Prem match for 70 days.

And fans on social media were quick to laud the 60-cap Three Lions ace.

One said: “Look at Rashford man. Utd let him down, nothing else. The environment is massive. Every bit of abuse from fans plays a massive part. Open your eyes.”

Another wrote: “Rashford looks good…… Amorim, you really froze him out instead of utilising him until the end of the season.”

A third added: “Rashford is looking good, out to prove Amorim wrong.”

A fourth typed: “Marcus Rashford has been brilliant so far.”

A fifth commented: “What did Amorim say he is bad at?”

A sixth replied: “We loaned our best player Rashford to Villa when Amorim could have lowered his ego and worked with him?”

And a final user posted: “Rashford tracking back!!”

Despite Rashford’s impact, though, Villa had to settle for a point against the relegation-threatened Tractor Boys.

Reuters

Rashford was a constant threat throughout the second half[/caption]

Reuters

His free-kick bounced back off the woodwork for the equaliser[/caption]

SINGER Selena Gomez ditched her top as she got very cosy with her music producer fiance Benny Blanco for a new photoshoot.

The 32-year-old could not keep her hands off her lover in the new pictures for Interview magazine.

Interview Magazine

Selena Gomes ditched her top as she got cosy with Benny Blanco in Interview[/caption]

Interview Magazine

The couple put on an amorous display in the saucy shoot[/caption]

Interview Magazine

The couple have a joint album in the works[/caption]

Interview Magazine

Selena and Benny cover March’s Interview magazine[/caption]

In one close-up shot, Selena’s bare shoulders could be seen as she went without a top as Benny clutched her from behind.

In the seductive snap, she held her finger up and pressed it against the inside of his lip before resting her other hand on her bare chest.

Benny opted to strip down to his boxer shorts as he went trouser-less for another snap where he sat on a sofa alongside his popstar partner.

Selena put on a busty display in that image as she threw of a furry coat and channelled old Hollywood glamour with her hair and make-up.

The pair also appeared to get hot and heavy with one another inside a car for the raunchy new images as Selena laid on top of her partner with their bodies hanging out the door of the vehicle.

It comes as the couple confirmed that they would be working together on a collaborative music project.

Vowing to be the nest music power couple, Selena and Benny have teamed up for their first joint album, I Said I Love You First.

Ahead of the impending record’s release, they surprised fans with the first song entitled, Scared of Loving You.

The record was co-written with Finneas, the brother of Billie Eilish and her primary collaborator.

A statement to tease the album read: “The album came together organically as a direct result of the comfort that they both felt when working together creatively, allowing them to produce art that authentically reflects their experiences.

“It chronicles their entire story — before they met, falling in love and looking to what the future holds.”

It will be Come & Get It singer Selena’s first full-length release since 2020’s Rare.

The news of their new album comes after Benny admitted to almost “f***ing up” his proposal to Selena after she began to get suspicious about his then-impending surprise.

Benny told Interview: ” It was the sickest surprise that she had no idea about and it couldn’t have come at a better time because I was starting to f**k up.

Interview Magazine

Selena put her feet on Benny’s face in one snap[/caption]

“The thing that makes me so crazy is, you’re getting engaged, and right before, they’re like, ‘Show me how good of a liar you are. Sneak around and try to do this perfect thing without me knowing.’

“At the end, she was starting to get upset because she was like, ‘Why aren’t you coming home tonight?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, I’m just at my friends’.

“I almost did it early. But I nailed it, I think.”

Selena and Benny first confirmed their engagement in December 2024.

Interview Magazine

The couple confirmed their engagement last year[/caption]

SUN Racing takes on Sunday’s action confident of banging in some winners.

Back a horse by clicking their odds below.

LONGSHOT

CARD SHARK (4.52 Lingfield)

He came back from eight months off to finish a close-up third at Kempton last time and he’s off the same mark today.

THIEF

EARLY RELEASE (2.22 Lingfield)

He landed a battling win at Southwell last time out in December and can figure again from a fair 4lb higher.

ALICES’S IMPACT (3.22 Lingfield)

The first-time visor can help after two solid efforts over seven furlongs.

FREE BETS – GET THE BEST SIGN UP DEALS AND RACING OFFERS

Commercial content notice: Taking one of the offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. You should be aware brands pay fees to appear in the highest placements on the page. 18+. T&Cs apply. gambleaware.org.

---

Remember to gamble responsibly

A responsible gambler is someone who:

• Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
• Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
• Never chases their losses
• Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
• Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk
• Gamble Aware – www.gambleaware.org

Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.

The application is awaiting approval

Ronaldo has named former Real Madrid midfielder Thomas Gravesen as the worst-ever player he’s played with.

Brazil’s legendary No.9 spent five seasons at Madrid and was a key figure in the club’s Galacticos era.

Gravesen, meanwhile, joined Madrid in a surprise £2.5 million move from Everton in January 2005 and made 49 appearances for the Spanish side.

The Denmark international spent two seasons alongside Ronaldo at Madrid and while the Brazilian striker insists he was a ‘cool guy’ he claimed the former defensive midfielder was ‘very bad’ on the pitch.

In an interview with fellow Brazil legend Romario, Ronaldo was asked to name the worst player he’d ever played alongside.

‘There are a lot of them,’ Ronaldo replied.

‘There was one at Real Madrid who was a joke… Gravesen.

‘He was a Danish midfielder. He was a really cool guy, good guy. A little while ago he won a $50 million poker tournament or something.

‘But in football he was very bad, he scored and he beat the hell out of people.’

Asked to name the worst technical player he had played with for Brazil’s national team, Ronaldo replied: ‘Amaral was bad with the ball, wasn’t he?

‘But he ran, he caught everything, he recovered 10 balls and gave away nine.’

'Hopefully he is fine...'

Michael Owen believes Raheem Sterling will be dropped for Mikel Merino after his ‘really poor performance’ in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Leicester City on Saturday.

Both Sterling and Arsenal struggled to break down a well-organised Leicester side in Saturday’s early kick-off and the on-loan Chelsea winger was replaced by Mikel Merino just over the hour mark.

Merino then scored two late goals to secure Arsenal’s victory, which has moved Mikel Arteta’s side to four points behind Liverpool, who host Wolves at Anfield on Sunday.

Owen says he understands Sterling’s difficult period for Arsenal due to his lack of minutes this season but feels the 30-year-old will now lose his place in the team following Merino’s double.

‘The only thing I would say to back him up in a way is that when you don’t play regularly it really affects you, it affects your rhythm,’ Owen told Premier League Productions when asked about Sterling’s performance.

‘I remember towards the end of my career I was not playing a lot and then all of a sudden you get asked to start out of nowhere. There’s loads of injuries, all of a sudden he’s asked to start a game and you feel out of touch, you almost lose your bearings sometimes.

‘You could see he was almost tripping over himself at times, standing offside there’s no excuse for that, even when he’s 50 he should know how to time a run and how to look across a line.

‘I agree, it is sad to see him put in a really poor performance but the one thing I would say is it might be because he’s a little bit rusty.

‘Now he’s going to get the opportunity, probably off the bench again now because Merino’s going to take his place for the next game, it’s going to be an impact thing.

‘He’s got to grab these chances because at his age there isn’t many opportunities left, there’s going to be people coming in, coming back from injury, signings, this is his opportunity now with so many injured players to grasp it, you’ve only probably got six to ten games to do that.’

Meanwhile, Ian Wright believes Sterling showed ‘hesitancy’ and ‘apprehension’ during his 69 minutes on the pitch.

‘It’s a sad watch, it’s been a sad time to watch Raheem in this Arsenal period because of what he’s done, what he’s achieved,’ Wright told Premier League Productions.

‘To come to Arsenal at a time where it’s a great opportunity for him to show people he’s still got something left, for some reason unfortunately he can’t find the spark to get him going.

‘I think you saw it again today, there’s hesitancy in his game, there’s a little bit of apprehension, it just feels like it’s not quite happening for him and it’s sad to see.

‘The thing is as well, if it continues in the way we’re seeing him play at the moment, you think, ‘who are his suitors going to be after this?’.

‘This is a level he’s got to, even if it’s a loan, where you think if you prove it here Arsenal may keep you on, you may go again at this level.

‘But it’s very tough to see him at this level if it carries on like this.’

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Amor Vittone - the widow of the late Joost van der Westhuizen - celebrated her Valentine's Day - with a sizzling snap in a bikini.

The latest Ithuba National Lottery draw in South Africa, including its secondary draws, Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto Plus 2, took place on Saturday, 15 February 2025. Lotto, Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto Plus 2 Results Here are the winning numbers and jackpot amounts for today: Lotto Pending… Lotto Plus 1 Pending… Lotto Plus 2 […]

The post Lotto and Lotto Plus Results: Saturday, 15 February 2025 appeared first on Political Analysis South Africa.

The latest results for Ithuba’s Lotto, Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto Plus 2 draws on Saturday, 15 February 2025 are out. Lotto, Lotto Plus 1 and Lotto Plus 2 Results Here are the results for today’s draw: Lotto Pending… Lotto Plus 1 Pending… Lotto Plus 2 Pending… The jackpot amounts for today’s draws were estimated […]

The post SA Lotto and Lotto Plus Results: Saturday, 15 February 2025 appeared first on Political Analysis South Africa.