Talk of the Devils: The Athletic FC's Manchester United show

A committed showing in an entertaining contest at the league leaders; how refreshing was that! It was certainly a pleasant surprise relative to our gloomy expectations.The return of Ugarte and Mainoo helped midfield, as did that of a resurgent Bruno Fernandes, but there were positive performances across the defence, from Diogo Dalot against Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Garnacho off the bench as well. The only big question was why they haven't been able to produce this before now.Marcus Rashford was not included in the squad; an expected move after Ruben Amorim said his training had been limited by illness, but Laurie shed a little light on the wider situation for Rashford with an article earlier in the weekend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was the worst month for Manchester United in 95 years, yet it started with a four-nil victory and included a famous derby win.We attempt to pick apart the problems of a team learning new patterns of play while negotiating a hectic festive programme and with their most valuable player deemed un-selectable, for the time being at least.Is there much hope for improvement in the near future? We do our best, but it's tough when you're visiting Europe's best team (on form) and the Premier League's hottest attacker of all time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The stats don't make for pretty reading after Bournemouth won 3-0 at Old Trafford, just as they did on their previous visit. In fact, United are setting all the wrong trends with Ruben Amorim's honeymoon period, if he ever had one, well and truly over.The Marcus Rashford situation might not be exactly what fans are making of it, but after he was left out of the squad for a third time, it looks like it may take a little while longer before that's resolved.And, with January on the horizon, Harry Maguire's contract will need addressing or he might leave on a free transfer in the summer. If he does stay on he will probably have to delay any holiday plans, with a tour to Asia mooted. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ruben Amorim rang the changes again as Manchester United tumbled out of the Carabao Cup at the quarter-final stage against Tottenham. Spare a thought, especially, for the goalkeeping coaches.Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford has responded to his recent non-selection by telling journalist Henry Winter that he is now looking for a 'new challenge'. But, many questions remain unanswered.It's Bournemouth next; we're not scared of re-emphasising exactly how tricky that game could be against an eminently 'decent' side. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amad Diallo flipped a dismal derby on its head in the final ten minutes as Manchester United came from behind to win at the Etihad Stadium.Ruben Amorim took a sizeable gamble by leaving Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho out of the squad and, with Mason Mount injured after fifteen minutes, it looked to have backfired.However, the young Ivorian won a penalty which his captain put away and then latched onto a Lisandro Martinez through-ball to finish from an acute angle. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Czech town of Plzen created a special beer to celebrate the visit of Manchester United, but after Andre Onana sold Matthijs De Ligt short, the Reds needed a Rasmus Hojlund double to round off the night.After a turgid first half Hojlund, along with Ruben Amorim's other substitutes, injected pace and purpose bringing United level almost immediately and sealing the win late on.To win away in Europe for the first time since March 2023 puts another positive spin on Sunday's derby at the Etihad Stadium against an ailing City side... but we're not getting carried away! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a tumultuous, albeit entirely precedented, weekend at Manchester United football club we break down two huge exclusives involving the team.On Sunday The Athletic's David Ornstein, Adam Crafton, and Laurie Whitwell combined to reveal that Sporting Director Dan Ashworth would leave after just five months in the job. Meanwhile, Andy Mitten published a lengthy and wide-ranging conversation with club minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.We also take time, as everyone at Old Trafford did before the defeat to Nottingham Forest, to share tributes to the club's longest-serving staff member (perhaps ever), the much-loved Kath Phipps.We just about found time to talk about some football, much of which wasn't great; but was it all that bad? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wednesday night's fixture at the Emirates stadium went roughly as expected, including the method of scoring, but was no less disappointing as a result.Ruben Amorim made six changes to his starting line-up, with more alterations in-game, but he loses his impressive personal unbeaten run in the league.Forest are no pushovers this season, we look at the threat they pose, and discuss a story from Adam Crafton about how and why the players abandoned a plan to wear jackets in support of the Premier League's Rainbow Laces campaign. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Manchester United four, Everton nil. It's the type of result that shouldn't be as rare as it has become but we're happy with the scoreline and delighted with the performance of the team, despite a fairly unspectacular opening period.Amad Diallo was the man of the match, a 'professional pest' and provider of the fourth goal. That was scored by Joshua Zirkzee, who himself put in possible his best showing at the club so far.There was more unrest at ticket price hikes, including chants against Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and we reflect on your reaction to the news, plus a preview of Arsenal away (that's the league fixture, not the FA Cup third round!). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ruben Amorim's first home match in charge of Manchester United started with a bang and ended with a win over Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt.But, it wasn't all plain sailing; the visitors fought back to lead 2-1 after Garnacho's super-early strike (even quicker than Rashford v Ipswich) and the result wasn't assured until the final whistle blew.A major talking point among those attending the game was the club's decision to disallow any concessions on tickets remaining for sale this season. This was taken without fan consultation, contrary to an agreed protocol between the club and fan representative groups, and has provoked significant anger. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.