Tag: Man United

Manchester United loosened Arsenal’s grip on the Premier League title race with a 3-2 win in north London thanks to stunning second-half goals by Patrick Dorgu and Matheus Cunha.

Victory would have restored Arsenal’s seven-point lead over chasers Manchester City and Aston Villa, both of whom won this weekend, but Mikel Arteta’s side instead left the door open as they lost at home for the first time this season.

United’s win, their first in the league at Arsenal since 2017, lifted them to fourth, and while they are not in the title equation themselves, it fuelled the new-found optimism sweeping the club since Michael Carrick stepped in as interim coach.

“It was absolutely massive,” United defender Harry Maguire told Sky Sports. “Michael’s come in, he’s been brilliant with us, he’s brought a fresh energy, the group’s really galvanized.”

Everything was going to plan for Arsenal when they took the lead in the 29^th  minute with a Lisandro Martinez own goal. But a terrible mistake by Martin Zubimendi in the 37^th  minute gifted United an equaliser for Bryan Mbeumo.

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Dorgu then rifled in a volley in the 50^th  minute and United’s confidence was soaring until substitute Mikel Merino prodded the hosts level from a corner.

United were not finished though and substitute Cunha was allowed to advance towards Arsenal’s goal before curling a low shot past the dive of David Raya from 25 metres to spark wild celebrations amongst the visiting fans.

Arsenal are now winless in three league games after two 0-0 draws but with 50 points from 23 games are still in a strong position, despite the boos of some fans at the end.

City and Villa are on 46 points with United fourth on 38.

United’s win made it a dream start for former midfielder Carrick in his second spell as the club’s interim manager, following a 2-0 defeat of Manchester City last weekend.

While they now target a return to the Champions League with a top-four finish, the nerves are clearly starting to show at Arsenal as they seek their first league title since 2004.

Even after Martinez got his legs in a tangle and deflected Martin Odegaard’s shot past his own keeper, Arsenal never looked completely at ease and slowly lost control.

The omens still looked bad for United at that stage with Arsenal having won their last 15 Premier League games in which they had taken the lead.

But when William Saliba casually passed to Zubimendi who in turn gifted the ball straight to Mbeumo to score in style, the visitors sensed an opportunity.

“We gave them the goal, that shifted the energy,” Arteta said. “The game became a little bit open without the dominance of the first half. They had two brilliant goals.”

Things took a dark turn for Arsenal five minutes after the interval. Again their defence was hesitant as Dorgu was allowed to control a bouncing ball before thumping a left-foot volley in off the crossbar past a stunned Raya.

Arteta reacted by making four substitutions, sending on Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze, Mikel Merino and Ben White while Noni Madueke also joined the fray later from a stacked bench.

There was huge relief when United failed to deal with a corner and Merino pounced from close range — the ball being adjudged to have crossed the line after a brief delay.

It looked as though Arsenal had got out of jail and might even snatch a win but United’s belief was unwavering as Cunha delivered a gift to City and Villa.

Casemiro will leave Manchester United at the end of the season following the expiry of his contract, according to the Premier League club.

The Brazil international arrived from Real Madrid in 2022 for a fee of £70 million ($94 million) and has so far played 146 games for the club, scoring 21 goals.

“A serial winner, we thank Case for his contributions in red so far and hope to finish his time at the club on a high together,” United said on X.

Casemiro said in a club statement that he would “carry Manchester United with me throughout my entire life”.

“From the first day that I walked out at this beautiful stadium, I felt the passion of Old Trafford and the love that I now share with our supporters for this special club,” he said.

“It is not time to say goodbye – there are many more memories to create during the next four months.”

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The midfielder, 33, forged his reputation at Real Madrid, where he won five Champions League titles.

Casemiro scored the opening goal in United’s League Cup final win against Newcastle in 2023 as the club finished third in the league.

But he did not feature in the club’s FA Cup final win against Manchester City the following year.

Casemiro, one of the highest earners at old Trafford, said on his personal Instagram account that he would be “forever” a Red Devil.

 “Knowing when to say goodbye when you feel that you will be remembered and respected forever,” he posted.

“Four months to give my all for this badge and for our goal. Eternal respect and affection for Manchester United and its wonderful fans.”

United are fifth in the Premier League ahead of Sunday’s trip to leaders Arsenal.

Manchester United have fallen to their lowest position in the annual Deloitte Football Money League rankings, which have been topped by Real Madrid.

Madrid generated a record €1.2 billion ($1.4 billion) in revenue, with the top 20 teams represented clearing €12.4 billion ($14.5 billion) when combined, also a record.

The €12.4 billion figure represents an 11 percent increase in total revenue over the previous Money League season.

United fell to eighth place Money League, with Liverpool the highest-earning English club for the first time in fifth place. Barcelona were second, up from fifth, Bayern Munich third and Paris Saint-Germain fourth to round out the top five.

Two new teams entered the top 20, with Bundesliga side Stuttgart coming in at 18th with €296.3 million ($345 million) in revenue, and Portuguese club Benfica generating €283.4 million ($330 million) to finish 19th. Among the three sources of revenue, the Deloitte report assigned commercial revenue as the main source of income (43 percent of the total). However, matchday revenue was the fastest-growing source (16 percent year-over-year, accounting for 19 percent of the total).

The remaining 38 percent comes from broadcasting rights revenue, which also grew by 10 percent. The 10 teams involved in the Club World Cup last summer saw their broadcast revenues rise 17 percent.

United were once regarded as the blueprint for commercial success in football and have topped the Money League in 10 of its 29 editions, most recently in 2017.

However, United are down in eighth in the 2026 table, in part due to broadcast revenue dropping from €258 million ($301 million) to €206 million ($240 million) because of their absence from the Champions League in 2024-25.

The club is set to generate even less matchday revenue in the current season due to their total absence from European competition, and their failure to go past the first hurdle in either domestic cup means they will play only 20 competitive fixtures at Old Trafford in 2025-26.

Tim Bridge, the Sports Business Group Leader at Deloitte, told the Press Association: “The clubs with the biggest football club brands and position in the market have an opportunity to broaden their reach and offer more to fans on a matchday, offer more to fans on a non-matchday, and become a more 365-days-a-year touch point. United are probably only just starting that journey now, because of the reported stadium development.

“If you went back 10 or 15 years, and you looked at Manchester United’s matchday revenue it was the industry leader. If you looked at their ability to generate commercial revenue, it was the benchmark by which everybody then went to market and set their strategy. I don’t think that remains the case.

“The opportunity remains for Manchester United. They are arguably still the biggest global football club brand, and therefore they have the opportunity to maximise that in a way that is only possible for a select few.

“But to do that requires fit-for-purpose facilities. As the industry evolves, clubs should ask themselves whether there is a need to rethink how they engage with fans and how that relationship works. With reports of the new stadium, it is clear they have started to do some of that, so it’s very clear they’re thinking in that way. Their timing of making that change is behind Real Madrid and Barcelona, but the opportunity remains.”

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United are the fourth-placed English club in the 2026 Money League behind Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal, who are fifth, sixth and seventh overall, respectively.

Liverpool’s return to the Champions League in 2024-25 helped them to a seven percent increase in commercial revenue from non-matchday events at Anfield.

It is the first time there has not been an English team in the Money League top four, with Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern and PSG all benefiting from going deep in the newly-expanded Champions League and the expanded FIFA Club World Cup in the summer.

Premier League teams may expect to fare better generally in the 2027 Money League, which will be the first to reflect the new broadcast deal which runs to 2029, but Bridge said the best-performing clubs would continue to be those who match on-field success with diversification off it.

“The trick to staying [in the top five] is maintaining both of those. It used to be you only had to maintain one of them. Now, in 2026, we’re at a point where the highest revenue generating clubs are probably broader than football,” he said.

Manchester City’s sixth place was their lowest since the Covid-19-impacted season of 2019-20.

In all, nine Premier League clubs made it into the top 20 of the Money League, with Tottenham (ninth), Chelsea (10^th ), Aston Villa (14^th ), Newcastle (17^th ) and West Ham (20^th ) all represented.

Managerless Manchester United completed an unwanted cup double as former striker Danny Welbeck helped Brighton send them crashing out of the FA Cup at Old Trafford.

In front of his old boss Sir Alex Ferguson and with former team-mate Darren Fletcher in interim charge at his old club, Welbeck belted home Brighton’s second to send them into the fourth round.

It was the 35-year-old’s eighth goal against United and his sixth visiting the stadium he used to call home.

The thunderous drive into the roof of Senne Lammens’ goal doubled a lead given to Brighton by Brajan Gruda’s first-half opener.

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Benjamin Sesko’s header five minutes from time breathed life into the home side but 18-year-old home substitute Shea Lacey was sent off in the final minute and Brighton held on for their first ever FA Cup victory against the 13-time winners at the seventh attempt.

For United, this defeat followed up the embarrassing EFL Cup second-round exit at League Two Grimsby, meaning they had exited both domestic cup competitions at the earliest possible stage for the first time since 1981-82.

It also means Fletcher’s two-game stint as interim boss contributed a disappointing Premier League draw against Burnley and this home defeat to a campaign that is beginning to unravel.

United have now won once in their last seven games, with title contenders Manchester City and Arsenal their next two opponents.

Within the next 48 hours, the club are due to name who will replace Ruben Amorim until the end of the season, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick viewed as the frontrunners.

BBC

FIFA has announced that the release date for players to travel to Africa Cup of Nations has been delayed, giving the vast majority of players an extra week of club action before joining up with their national teams.

Players had previously been expected to join up with their teams beginning from Dec. 8, but the new date will now allow for players across Europe’s major leagues to take part in games across the weekend of Dec. 13 and Dec. 14.

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Under FIFA’s rules, which have been modelled on those used for the winter 2022 World Cup, players must report to their respective national sides within seven days of their opening game.

It means, for example, that Liverpool will be able to feature Mohamed Salah when they host Brighton on Dec. 13 and Manchester United will have Bryan Mbuemo and Amad Diallo available when they face Bournemouth on Dec. 15.

FIFA added that it encourages clubs who still have any scheduling issues to engage in talks with national sides “in good faith to find appropriate individual solutions.”

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has revealed that he has stepped away from television punditry in order to care for his 20-year-old autistic son Aiden.

Scholes, who won 25 trophies during his 20-year playing career with United before retiring in 2013, had been a regular pundit for TNT Sports but has not featured for the broadcaster since the Europa League final in May.

The former England midfielder, who split with his wife Claire in 2020 after 27 years together, says he has stepped back from his television work in order to help provide around-the-clock care for Aiden, who was diagnosed as having non-verbal autism when he was a young child.

“I just made the decision this year because of Aiden, obviously with his special needs and stuff, all the work I do now is just around his routines, because he has quite a strict routine every single day, so I just decided everything I’m going to do, it is around Aiden,” Scholes said on The Overlap.

“Well, me and Claire are obviously not together any more. We have him three nights each and Claire’s mum has him on a Friday night but we’ll always do the same things with him.

“He doesn’t know what day of the week it is or time. But he’ll know from what we’re doing what day it is.

 “I pick him up every Tuesday from his day-care place he goes to for four hours and we go swimming. Loves swimming, then we get his pizza on the way home. Thursday pick him up, we’ll go for something to eat, go home.

 “Sunday, I pick him up from Claire’s house and we go to Tesco where he buys a trolley full of chocolate. So, he doesn’t know what day or time the is, he knows from what we’re doing what day it is. He’ll be 21 in December.

“He’s non-verbal, when I say he can’t speak, I think he understands a lot more than we think, if you says something to him he will understand.

“He has sounds, but it’s only people that are close to him that will know what he’s saying.”

Scholes rarely shared details of his private life during his playing career at United but now regularly updates his 1.1 million followers on Instagram with his moments alongside Aiden.

“I did it one or two times, I only show the good bits, obviously there are some bits that aren’t great, and it was just the response I had from people, parents who had the same, that’s why I carried on doing it,” Scholes said.

“I will reply to people on Instagram because it’s hard, especially when they’re young because there’s the harm, the attacking people, I only put the nice stuff on.

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“I do sometimes think about putting stuff on where he’s not too happy, when he might go for you, try to bite you, I do think about it but think that’s probably not the right thing to do.”

Scholes also revealed that he struggled to balance his playing career alongside caring for Aiden.

“You never got a break from it,” Scholes said.

“It was very hard in those days, it feels like it was years ago, I don’t think they diagnosed it until they were two-and-a-half [years old]. But you knew early something was wrong but then you get the diagnosis of autism, and I’d never heard of it. Then all of a sudden you start seeing everything, I don’t know if it just consciously happens, I don’t know.

“I remember the first time after we were playing Derby away and I just didn’t want to be there. I remember the manager [Sir Alex Ferguson] dropped me the week after actually, and I hadn’t told anyone, I ended up telling them a few weeks later, I think as it was quite hard.’

Scholes also recalled a moment last year when he struggled to understand that Aiden had been suffering from a toothache.

 “Don’t get me wrong, he can be so happy it’s untrue, and it gives you great pleasure and joy, it’s not all bad,’ Scholes said. “There was a time last year I took him away and he kept feeling his mouth and not sleeping and I had no idea what was wrong with him.

“He kept doing it and doing it, so I put numbing gel on his lips because  he can’t tell you what’s wrong or got pain anywhere and he won’t go to a dentist. He won’t sit there and have someone open his mouth, he just can’t do it.

“We got him to a special needs dentist and they had to put him to sleep with gas. He had to have a filling and all sorts then had an operation because his mouth was a mess. But he can’t tell you what pain he’s in. That must have been going on eight-to-nine months, imagine having toothache for nine months?”

Manchester United skipper Bruno Fernandes kept his nerve to convert an injury-time penalty, giving Ruben Amorim’s side a priceless victory against Burnley at Old Trafford.

United’s continuing goalkeeping woes looked set to cost them three points after another blunder from Altay Bayindir gifted Jaidon Anthony a second equaliser of the day for the Clarets.

But Anthony went from hero to villain for Scott Parker’s men as the contest entered stoppage time.

Trying to halt Amad’s run into the penalty area, Anthony grabbed the Ivorian’s shirt. At first, the contact was outside the box, but it continued as Amad ran into it.

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Although referee Sam Barrott initially waved away the penalty claims, video assistant referee (VAR) Stuart Attwell asked for the official to review his decision.

It took Barrott four minutes to give the penalty, announce his decision to the crowd, and clear the penalty area of Burnley players.

Fernandes – who missed from the spot at Fulham six days earlier – kept his cool before taking a deep breath and finding the bottom corner.