#rashford goal?? against city??

[reijndeers]

laaaa what have i just witnessed??

[killa-trav]

manchester united have had the most var decisions against them so far this season in the premier league yet other fans of certain clubs think they are purposely targeted

[megs-1800]

Come Back to Me

Notes: I really enjoyed writing this one. 2 in one day aren't you guys lucky! Thank you for your support and please as usual please leave feedback and any further requests as it will help with ideas.

This is Part 3 to my previous fics, You can read part 1 (One hell of a hangover here and Part 2 (Then there is hope) here. This is again written from Mason's POV.

Summary: You and Mason finally get the chance to speak about all that happened. Will you be able to forgive him, will you go back to him?

Pairings: Mason Mount x Reader

Word Count: 3.2k

Warnings: Angst, Fluff and Heated make out session.

Mason is stood in the tunnel in old Trafford. His hands are shaking he is so nervous, its such a big game against Man City and United have to win. His brother is here as well as his sister with the girls and obviously his parents but he wished you were here, you were always his lucky charm and he always seems to play better when you were here.

The first half whistle blew and United were loosing 2-0 to City. Mason hadn’t had the best first half hardly touching the ball and when he did he lost the ball causing the first goal which the press were definitely going to mention. Great that’s all he needs right now. The gaffer was doing his half time talk, once he leaves Mason looks down at his phone and saw that there is a notification from you saying you have recently added to your story. Mason set notifications on your socials so every time you posted he was aware, since the break up he had to make sure you were okay. When he opened your Instagram story it showed a picture of you, you were in one of the stands in old Trafford behind the goal, you were stood on the steps looking at the pitch with your back to the camera and you had your Manchester United shirt on with Mount 7 on the back with the caption “Routing on United”. She is here I thought. I cannot believe it she is here. By the picture she is obviously sitting in one of the main stands and not sitting in the area where all the family and WAGs sit, I get that she probably knows my family will be here and doesn’t want to face them just yet.

My mind drifts off to a week ago when I attend your charity event, I asked you to come to this game which you said you would think about. I know the breakup was hard on both of us and I needed you here today, I thought if you came it might mean we have a chance. I messaged you that night after the charity event once I got back to the hotel, after seeing you “It was amazing seeing you tonight, well done again on winning the award and you looked absolutely incredible. Thank you for thinking about coming to the game this weekend it would be great to see you again x”. I got no reply until the following morning which you wrote “Hey Mase, yeah it was great seeing you too. Sorry for the late reply I crashed last night I had too much to drink. But how you doing anyway? x”. We continued talking all day, I got one of the boys to drive home instead so I could spend the whole drive speaking to you. It was so good, I thought maybe seeing eachother last night changed things for you but your non replies the next couple of days obviously proved me wrong. I got fed up of you not replying so I sent “So you just not replying to me now? I cannot believe you are ignoring me”. You gave me a quick response to that “What do you want me to say Mase, we cannot just pretend you didn’t cheat on me and broke my heart I just need you to leave me alone Mase I cannot do this”. I was angry at that reply I know I should of calmed down before I replied but I was just so angry that you gave me hope a couple of days ago when we were talking all day then you took it all away again, “You know what fuck off y/n.” You quickly went to delete the message but you read it before I could, I know I shouldn’t of said that I just let my anger overall me. Great I just blew my chance of getting you back. Rashford pulled me out of my trance “Come on bro, lets go give the fans a show”. I definitely will now knowing she is watching.

What a 2nd half we were all over City, we scored earlier on in the second half which I had an assist and I got the second goal, when I scored I ran over to the net you were standing behind and pointed to the stands That goal was for you baby girl. It was the 95th minute of 5 minutes of added time, City get a corner we just need to defend, it gets headed straight out and I bring it down. I look up the pitch and just start running before I knew it I am in the six yard box as I go to shoot suddenly I am taken out. The ref blows that’s a penalty. Bruno steps up to take it and shoots it straight in the top right corner. Ref blows the whistle for full time. I knew I needed my lucky charm.

I never got ready so quickly to leave, the boys were all celebrating the win, I didn’t care I just wanted to leave so I can see you. I was just hoping that you were still waiting around for me. When I left I was greeted by my family, they congratulated me on the win and my performance. My mum could tell I looked disappointment, I love seeing them but I needed to see you I had to sort things out. Mum looked at me “She didn’t want to hang around, she said this wasn’t the right environment to see eachother again” My heart broke I cannot believe how close I was to seeing you again and that’s it my dreams were shattered again, even my family got to see you and I didn’t. “So I gave her the key to your place I hope that’s okay, she said she will meet you there. At least you two can speak properly that way”. Damn I love my mum she always has my back, I know she is routing for me and y/n she wants us back together as well. I smiled and said goodbye to them all, we are having a roast at theirs tomorrow anyway and I rush home I need to see her.  

As I pull into the drive way I feel that rush of anxiety, I don’t even know what to say. How am I going to make this okay? As I walk through the door I can see you are sat there all curled up on the sofa on your phone. You stand up to come and greet me. “Hey mase.. your mum gave me your key I promise I didn’t break in” We both laugh at that comment “you played amazing today well done, make me so proud to wear your shirt”. I smile I look her up and down, she is  so beautiful. “You look so beautiful wearing my shirt” She gives me a small smile “Just don’t tell my dad that I wore a united shirt he would go mad that I have betrayed (your teams name).” I giggle at that comment we know how much you love your team it took me years for you to wear one of my shirts in public. “Of course not it will be our little secret. United are better then (your teams name) anyway”. I say smiling away, I think I am flirting a little. I don’t know what to say, we used to talk all day everyday and now I don’t know what to say, its like we are strangers.

“Are you ready to hear me out?” I said hopefully. You nodded and allow me to continue, I can see your hands shaking you are nervous all I want to do is hug you. “I am sorry for everything, I should of never allowed us to argue that night, I never should of got that drunk, I never should of slept with that girl and I never should of kept it from you. I should of told you and been a man about it. Its just that you are the best thing that ever happened to me y/n and I was scared of loosing you. I promise if you give me a chance I will do better”.  I looked into your eyes, I am trying to read your reactions so I know what you are going to say next but its all blank all I can see is the emotion in your eyes.

“Do better?!?! Are you fucking serious Mason. Do better! What do better not to sleep with another women or do better at keeping it from me?!” You are starting to raise your voice, this conversation is going to get heated. Your arguments always go one way or the other, it either ends in crying or shouting and today I was hoping for the crying as I do not have the energy. “I mean do better with us y/n, I will be a better boyfriend, I will be around more, show you how much you mean to me that’s what I mean”.

I can tell that sentence helped defuse the situation as I can see your rage starting to calm down and sadness has started to surface. “The thing is Mason you were the best thing to ever happen to me.. I loved you more then anything else in this world, I live and breathed for you and I saw you as someone who would never hurt me and now after everything you have put me through how can we go back to how we were? All day everyday all I think about is you Mason, you continue to ruin my life and its not fair!” You are now starting to heated again “I went on a date the other day Mason and all I could think about was you. Its not fair you keep messing with my head and my emotions and I came here to tell you to just leave me alone and let me get on with my life!” You screamed the last part.

“You went on a date?”  I questioned hurting. “Are you serious Mason?! That’s all you heard from that sentence is that I went on a date are you freaking kidding me right now Mount?!”. This time you are screaming and using your hands to talk so I know you are pissed. You continued “But to answer your question yes Mason I did go on a date, and I am allowed I have been single for nearly 8 months.” I looked down at the ground, I was so broken after the break up I couldn’t even think about any other girl let alone going on a date with one, I cannot believe you went on one, however at the same time I cannot blame you. You are an amazing girl you cannot be single forever. “What was it like?” I asked sheepishly don’t know if I wanted the answer if I am being honest. “It was good!” You basically spit at me, you then look down and shake your head “It was shit Mase, the whole date I was comparing him to you, I was sitting there thinking Mason wouldn’t do that, or Mason would do this! It was awful Mason because he was a nice guy but nope you gotta fucking ruin it”. You just kept screaming at me you wouldn’t stop, I didn’t know what else to do that’s when I run across the room and put my lips to yours. It was a passionate kiss, it was the only way I could think of to get you to shut up. I went to pull away that’s when you grabbed my neck and pulled me closer. You deepened the kiss and I can feel your tongue in my mouth. I could feel the neediness in the kiss, the desperation, the anger. Your lips are all over mine and I let you control it. You push me down on the sofa and you straddle my hips and continue the kiss. I can feel you grinding on me, Fuck I forgot what you do to me that’s when you moved your lips to my neck and suddenly starting attacking my neck. I can feel you sucking and kissing away. I know you are leaving me a love bite but I love the feeling of you doing it, I put my head back to enjoy it. Fuck you are so sexy. That’s when the realisation hits me, we cannot do this, not like this. You are doing this because you are angry and upset I don’t want you back this way and if we continue this is going to make the situation a 100 times more complicated. “Baby” You don’t stop it just gives you more fuel to continue “Y/n” I try and again nothing. I then try again “Y/n stop!” This time I said pushing you, I didn’t realise how hard I pushed because suddenly you are on the floor.

You look at me with disappointment in your eyes, I was scared I hurt you so I went to give you a hand up which you just rolled your eyes and stood up yourself. “I don’t get you Mason, you came to my charity event and all those texts and calls begging for me to come back and now I am here giving you exactly what you want and you push me away! What the fuck do you want Mason make up your mind?!” She has tears rolling down her face and the anger is back. “I want you y/n.. not just to sleep with I want all of you I want you back to being mine! When we get to have that closeness again I want to make love y/n not just a little fuck, but I want to make sure that you are mine again before that happens because I defiantly will not be able to cope if we sleep together and then you walk away”. This time I can feel the tears rolling down my eyes.

You look so broken, I can see the tears running down your face and the way you are trying to control your breathing to stop from hyperventilating. You just shake your head and make a walk to the front door. You pick your weekend bag up from the floor and put it over your left shoulder and turn around to face me. This all feels too familiar I am having flashbacks of the night you left. “Please don’t go”, It comes out just has a whisper due to the amount of crying its barely even audible I am not sure if you even heard it. You turn back towards the door and stand there, you stand there for about 30 seconds. I wonder what you are doing. You turn to look at me, your eyes are all red and puffy, I just want to take the pain away.

You go to say something but choke so you cough and try again “We can try again, but we are taking it slow Mase. I am not moving back in and we go back to how we were before because I cannot cope with that, I am not giving my whole life up again for you to ruin it. I am staying in my flat in (Your hometown) and we can do the long distance until I know I can trust you again and I can figure out what I can do about my company”. I look at her in disbelief she agreed we can try again, did I hear her right? I just stand there staring at her, I am in shock I have been dreaming of this since you left but I never thought you would take me back. We continue to stand there until she says “are you go to say anything?” I smile at you and I run across the entrance hall and wrap my arms around you. I give you the biggest hug I think we ever had like I will never let you go. You pull away from the hug “so what do you say Mase?” I smile at her, I am so happy right now I want to stay in this moment forever. “Of course, I will do anything y/n to make you mine again, whatever it is we will make it work. Does this mean I have to wait for 2 months of talking and 3 dates before you put out?” I wink at you and you laugh “well that depends on how amazing the dates are”. You wink at me.

“I am not really sure where I am staying tonight, I didn’t get that far in my plan I just kind of focused on seeing you.. is it okay for me to stay here tonight? Its completely okay if not I will get a hotel”. I bring your chin to look at me as we are still in a full cuddle. “Are you kidding me y/n, you do not need to even ask whenever you want to stay you stay okay, even if I am not here”.  You smiled and pulled away from the hug. “Okay thank you, I am just going to take my bag upstairs then and get changed into something more comfortable. What you cooking me for dinner I am bloody starving?”. I laugh of course always thinking about food, then I remember I really do not have much in at the moment, I haven’t really bothered since you moved out I just got what I wanted on a daily basis never really planned ahead. “You got get changed I will order us something in”. You nod and start walking up the spiral staircase. You stop halfway up “Mase” you caught my attention and I stopped in my tracks “I saw your family today, it was so good to see them! They invited me over for the family roast tomorrow I wanted to make sure if that’s okay? I didn’t want it to be awkward for you” Of course she can come I love how my family have already offered for her to come I love that. “Of course it would be amazing to have you there, they have all missed you especially Summer and Mila they keep asking where auntie y/n/n is”. You giggle at the memories of those girls, you love them like your own nieces. “Great. Your mum said I need to bring the dessert as she wants my baking so I am going to go out tomorrow morning and get the ingredients and make something to go with”. I know how much my family love your baking. At that you run up the rest of the stairs to the landing upstairs.

I go to sit on the sofa in the living room and pull out my phone, I stop at my families group chat. I write “She came back to me guys, she came back. She cannot wait to see you all tomorrow”. I put the phone down and rest my head on the back of the sofa and let the relief overcome me. I cannot believe she has come back to me. My mind wanders to the engagement ring in my bedside table, I brought it a couple of weeks before ‘you know what’ happened, I was going to propose whilst we had our weekend away in Paris but I never got the chance. I never wanted to take it back just in case, it was tailor made to you. I smiled at the thought that I might get to use that again one day. You came back to me.

[player1064]

ahh royghty parenting plss

YESSSS okay so basic premise of this fic:

Gary, Phil, and Tracey are all kids but everyone else is normal age (except Carra but he only shows up later in the fic when Gary's a teenager)

No gnev & carra at Sky means that Roy and Wrighty host MNF together instead

giving u a whole section bc i just really enjoy the whole thing

---

Kelly's eyes stray to something behind the camera and the corner of her mouth ticks up in a poor attempt to smother a smile.This is never a good sign, especially not when a few seconds later Roy hears an excited shout of "DAD!" before he's had any time to brace himself.

They're shooting live, but somehow his charming little brat of a son still manages to slip past the crew and come crashing into Roy, his skinny arms wrapping tight around his waist. Roy looks over at where his husband is stood on the sideline mouthing 'sorry' with an amused expression that suggests he's not really sorry at all.

"Oh? Seems we have a guest for this evening's pitchside chat," Kelly says. "Roy, d'you want to...?"

Roy, because he's got an image to present, rolls his eyes at the camera with a smirk and teases "can't get the help these days, can you?" He nudges Gary, who's sort of half-hiding behind him now that he's aware he's on camera, and he holds his microphone out to him. "You want to introduce yourself?"

Gary looks up at Roy, then he looks at the microphone and leans towards it with a little frown of concentration, and says "Erm, hello. I'm Gary and I play for Manchester United's under-9s."

He nudges Roy's hand to move the mic away from him again and looks back up at him, waiting. Roy gives him a little wink of approval and rests his free hand on his shoulder to give it a squeeze.

To his right, Redders holds out a fist for Gary to bump in greeting, who returns the gesture and then has to cover his mouth to hide his giggles at the stupid little explosion noises Redders makes as he moves his hand back.

"Alright, Gaz?" he asks, "What'd you think of the game?"

More confident now that he's been reminded he's among familiar faces, Gary grabs Roy's wrist to bring the microphone back down to his level. "Um. My dads say that we probably can't catch City this late in the season, but I think it's still good to get a win, erm, especially at home against Liverpool."

Roy takes the mic back. "And your man got two goals, eh?" He turns to Kelly and Redders, tries to switch them all back into Serious Punditry Mode. "I mean, Rashford played brilliantly tonight, didn't he?"

They manage to make it through the last couple of minutes of the segment without incident, and when they call cut he scoops Gary up into his arms, spinning him round while he ignores his laughing protests of "I'm not a baby, Da!"

"You're a menace is what you are," Roy says fondly, carrying him over to Wrighty and plopping him unceremoniously in front of him. It then occurs to him that if Gary's the one crashing live shoots then there's no limit to the kind of trouble his siblings might be causing, so he glances at Wrighty and asks "the twins...?"

"They bullied Shaun into taking them to the Everton game," he says, like it's perfectly normal for two six-year-olds to be able to bully a man in his mid-thirties. "I did text you, don't go lookin' at me like that."

He feels a tug at his sleeve, and he looks down at Gary bouncing around excitedly. "Da. Da, are you nearly ready to go home? Dad said we could have pie and chips for supper. As a treat, like."

"Did he now?"

"He did, I promise. Can I have a whole pie to myself?"

[seedlessmuffins]

aren’t you a new football fan? celebrating like you’ve won the fucking world cup after one arsenal win lmfao. i’m not a city fan but don’t get used to assna wins when you lot lose the league to city again. embarrassing behaviour

hi anon! let's clear the air, yeah?

first of all, yes! i am a new football fan, i just started watching seriously after the world cup, and i am also a new arsenal fan. however, i still care very deeply about the sport and my team's successes in said sport! that is what being a fan is all about <3 just because i didn't grow up watching european football doesn't mean that i have less of a right to enjoy it then you do! also, it is the most popular sport in the world with billions and billions of fans globally, and out of the entire sport, the english premier league is the most viewed league in the world. of football, but also of any sport. so you can't really gatekeep it, sorry!

second of all, i'm aware that this was only a regular matchweek, not the world cup. but there are two important caveats to that those being:

who we were playing

and

the fashion in which we won

for who we were playing, it's not a secret that outside of the spurs and the north london derby, manchester united is one of arsenal's biggest rivals and has been since the start of the premier league when they were competing against each other for titles and trophies. i won't go into premier league history with you, i am just a new fan who knows nothing after all, but you should know that beating a rival is always exciting, especially when you are competing against them for points and jockeying for the title to compete with man city. every win is important, and winning is better when it is against a historical rival team.

for the fashion in which we won, it was a close game until the very end. rashford scoring in the 27th minute, and odegaard answering back 35 seconds later. the teams were trading chances and possession, there were good chances and var calls that went either way, it was a close game where the teams were fighting hard. and then, in the 95th minute, rice scores an absolute screamer and it was truly scenes at the emirates. gabi jesus caps it off with a 101st minute beaut, and arsenal win the game. winning in the last 3 minutes of regulation time, with a bonus goal over 100 minutes into the game is exciting! it was thrilling to watch, and seeing a team that i support win that emphatically in that dramatic of a manner was so much fun. its an exciting thing to watch and its ok to be excited when there's a win like that!

it also isn't just one win, this has just been our best win this season (imo)! we have only played four games, and we have won three and drawn one. so that is three wins actually, i am just celebrating this one the most, again, because of who we won against, how we won, and how we played to secure the win.

if the bit about "not getting used to arsenal wins" (i don't think you can call them assna when they came second in the premier league last season, and this season they haven't lost and they're in the champions league, right? but what do i know i'm just a new footy fan <3) is about the post where i said i forgot how good it feels to watch my team win, i don't think you understand what i have been through in the past 12 years as a sports fan. my hockey team has been on a losing streak almost this whole time, and we have been one of the flops of the league for awhile. just take a look at these gorgeous statistics from my favourite hockey team (that i have been a fan of since i was two, thank you very much)

do you want to talk losing? i know about losing. i know about losing for a long time, in an embarrassing manner. if you want more examples from football, from january to april 2023 i watched psg play every week. that was embarrassing losing in football for real. i might be new to football but i'm not new to sports, and i have to be perfectly honest: coming second is not losing. and what happened today wasn't a loss at all! in fact, it was the opposite! it was a win!

idk about losing the league to manchester city, it seems to me that arsenal has a good system with talented players that can ball out. we will see what comes, as the season is long and there are many other competitions for arsenal to compete in, but i have faith in the gunners and i believe that they can win! (and ill let you in on a little secret: that's what being a fan is all about <3)

i'm not sure if the embarrassing behaviour at the end is for my behaviour or arsenal's behaviour, however i am not being embarrassing, i am just being a fan, and arsenal certainly wasn't embarrassing with their performance today. idk what you're seeing, but bestie i think you might be blind <3

thanks for coming into my inbox anon, hope this cleared everything up for you! next time, let's let people enjoy things yeah? i try my best to be positive on here, i'm hardly ever a hater and i like to spread joy. why don't you take some of that energy alright? alright. hope you enjoyed your stay <3

ps: arsenal definitely are winning the world cup :)

[unitedbydevils]

Match Review: Manchester United 5-2 Leicester City

Well, that was a bit of fun, wasn't it?

This could potentially be Ruud's only game in charge of Manchester United, but it was a proper spectacle and a right old ding-dong of a cup tie.

Two goals from Casemiro (one absolute worldie), one for Garnacho, and two for Bruno Fernandes (one being a massively deflected free-kick) puts United through to the Quarter Finals of the cup, with Chelsea, Aston Villa and Manchester City all out of contention.

Something I have wanted to see was Casemiro as more of an 8 alongside Ugarte as the 6. Tonight we got that, and both players were immense. Based on goals it's hard not to give Player of the Match to the Brazilian, but Manuel Ugarte had a stormer of a game and his best performance in a United shirt to date.

Statistically, Ugarte had a 90% pass accuracy, 9 ball recoveries, 4/4 tackles, 2/2 aerial duels, and 2 interceptions. Beast Mode.

Leicester did score two cheeky goals through Bilal El Khannouss and Conor Coady, and it's worth flagging the how: a poor punch from backup keeper Altay Bayindir allowed the first, and calamatous defending failed to clear the ball for the second. Sloppy.

Aside these fumbles, United did dominate play and possession. 57% with United, 87% pass accuracy, 23 shots and 9 on target. United could have been a little more clinical with the shooting but that's a work in progress. The exciting thing was seeing United be more direct under Ruud Van Nistelrooy than under Erik Ten Hag - a style that seemed to really liberate Garnacho (stellar game), Bruno, Rashford and Dalot.

Garnacho is, on paper, on fire - not bad for the turmoil we see at the club. Today he had an 85% pass accuracy, 9 touches in the opposition’s box, 5 chances created, and bagged a goal and an assist. A very productive evening.

It should also be highlighted how Garnacho on the left, Rashford on the right led to Marcus moving to the LCF position and Zirkzee right, before rotating back. A little tactical tweak to allow the left+left overload, ala Brentford. Interesting to see, and possibly more likely to see again until a natural LB returns.

The only big concern of the game bar Bayindir being an obvious 2nd choice keeper and Lindelof being an obvious 5th choice CB was Joshua Zirkzee. He looked good in patches but still a bit lost at sea. It's the first season, so it will take time in the tumult that is Manchester United being shite and changing manager AGAIN but a goal tonight would have done him the world of good. Ah well.

The Carabao Cup draw has put United against Tottenham Hotspur away in the quarters; potentially a chance for Ruud or whoever succeeds him to get revenge for the shite 3-0 defeat in the league.

Next up is a tough tie against Chelsea on Sunday. Will tonight's big win against Premier League opposition be the catalyst for a good game at the weekend?

[bongaboi]

Manchester United: 2023-24 FA Cup Winners

Manchester United pulled off a thrilling Emirates FA Cup triumph as teenage sensations Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo inspired a 2-1 win against rivals Manchester City.

Garnacho took advantage of a City mistake to put United ahead on the half-hour before Mainoo calmly doubled their lead, as the Red Devils stunned Pep Guardiola’s domestic double hopefuls in the first half.

City laid siege to United’s goal after half-time and hit the cross-bar through Erling Haaland, before substitute Jeremy Doku set-up a grandstand finish with a low shot into the bottom corner in the 87th minute.

However, United held firm to win the 13th Emirates FA Cup in their history, moving to within one of Arsenal’s record, and book their place in next season’s Europa League.

This marks their second trophy under manager Erik ten Hag and comes at the end of a wild Emirates FA Cup journey. United required extra-time to beat rivals Liverpool 4-3 in a pulsating quarter-final and then penalties to see off Coventry City in the semi-finals following a sensational 3-3 draw.

While this did not quite match those matches for drama, it was a nail-biting final and a fine way to end a difficult season for United that saw them finish eighth in the Premier League, 31 points behind champions City in the table.

City have the Premier League trophy to show for another excellent campaign but missed out on the chance to become the first side in English history to win back-to-back league and cup doubles.

Last year’s Emirates FA Cup triumph came against the very same opponents and this marked the first repeat final since 1885. That day, City scored after just 12 seconds – Ilkay Gundogan’s spectacular volley sending them on the way to a 2-1 win – and this match threatened an equally explosive start.

First, a long United pass forward sent Marcus Rashford through on goal but City captain Kyle Walker raced back to deny him a shot inside the box. Seconds later at the other end, Lisandro Martinez barged Haaland over in the penalty area, prompting claims for a City spot-kick.

United were content to sit back and pin their hopes to the counter-attack, and that almost bore fruit in the eighth minute when Bruno Fernandes found Garnacho inside the penalty area, but the winger shot straight at Stefan Ortega.

While that was a difficult opportunity, his next was gift-wrapped by some slack City defending.

Diogo Dalot sent a long and high ball upfield for Garnacho to chase, though City seemed to have it covered with Josko Gvardiol in front of the winger and Ortega rushing out of his goal. However, a lack of communication resulted in a costly error, as Gvardiol headed the ball over Ortega’s head and left opportunist Garnacho a simple tap-in.

With that, the mood changed. United were suddenly alive to every ball and confident enough to press City higher up the pitch, and, with the defending champions a touch off their best, it paid dividends.

Garnacho escaped City’s defence again and crossed for Rashford to tap into an empty net, sparking wild celebrations in the east stand that quickly were cut short by an offside flag. Nonetheless, City were warned, but – much to Guardiola’s frustration - they failed to listen.

Two minutes later, United cut City open with a scything move from left to right. It started with Rashford’s pin-point cross-field pass to Garnacho, who had time and space to pick a pass to Fernandes, unaccompanied on the edge of the box.

City defenders rushed to close down a potential shot, but the United captain brilliantly flicked the ball on to an unmarked Mainoo, who shot low and hard across Ortega and into the bottom corner. Suddenly, United were in firm control and City desperately playing catch up.

In response, Guardiola wasted no time in re-setting his team at half-time, sending the pacey winger Doku on in place of midfielder Mateo Kovacic in an attacking substitute.

The Belgian’s direct dribbling added an instant threat he twice went close to an assist with a pair of slippery cut-backs, first for Phil Foden, who scuffed his shot, before another later found Erling Haaland, whose vicious shot smacked the cross-bar.

Those 30 all-action seconds transformed the mood, with City - and their vocal fans behind the goal - growing in belief.

Walker reacted with a howitzer of a shot from 30 yards that forced Andre Onana into a sensational save, before another City substitute – Julian Alvarez – shot narrowly over the bar when well-placed inside the box. United were on the ropes.

Alvarez then wasted another fine opportunity, as he raced on to a sublime Foden pass inside the box but slid his shot wide of Onana’s right-hand post from just 10 yards out.

Walker forced Onana into another save with a snarling long-range shot, but City’s charged started to flatline as full-time approached.

However, Doku sparked a nail-biting finale when he drifted onto his right foot on the left wing and beat Onana at his near-post with a low shot from the edge of the box.

But they failed to create another major opportunity and United survived to the final whistle, sparking jubilant celebrations in the red halves of Wembley and Manchester.

[cryingforcrocodiles]

now that united's season is over i'm going to be rating how dick hardening some of matches were. thanks for sticking around. here's my season journey through slideshows n reaction memes bascially. this is the first 9.

this is a lot words so i expect no one to read these. this slide are poor quality but atp ... just enjoy the experience. vibe twin jst vibe

the first prem match of the season. united loves disappointment as per usual so i feel like... most of us were like "ha okay this is a disgrace but wow i knew it this would happen deep down." but not this bad holy shit. but [gestures to picture] i think own goals are amazing when we're not the own getting goaled so i had a little fun with this one. also "Erik ten Hag is the first Manchester United manager to lose his first Premier League game in charge since Louis van Gaal in August 2014 against Swansea City." is an amazing way to sum up the season in a whole. breaking real records...

i had to sedate myself. and the kits were ugly.

🔥🔥🔥🔥 NO LINEUP BC WE DOMINATED AND DON'T HAVE TO DEMEAN OURSELVES. 🔥🔥🔥🔥 ARENT WE THE BEST CLUB IN THE WORLD??? SANCHO ON THE SCORESHEET 🔥🔥🔥 NO ONE CAN BEAT US (UNLESS YOU'RE OUTSIDE THE BIG SIX) 🔥🔥🔥.

not much to say about this one tbh. j-ward is going to hell. not for anything he did this match but i'm just letting yk. 3 points! onechester united.

sancho said "these niggas are so boring" and finally snuck a goal. thank you sancho i live and breathe you. onechester united x2

THREECHESTER UNITED. saka gives arsenal hope but rashy crushes it. rashford brace 💖 ... all rashford fcers were having the time of their life (I WAS SO FUCKING HAPPY!!). rashford had 3 goals at this point. 3 points.

i like watching penalties even if its against me. adrenaline Mhm. but otherwise whatever it's the groupstage n first one. so. i didn't rlly care. spanish teams beat and own our ass so. another day! moving on.

i meant to put FC in there but i forgot. so it's just "the sancho" except "the sancho fc" well. yes sancho goals make the planet go round and round. that's why the world stopped after fulham match.

4 bc the goals were nice ig. but getting hattricked by a norwegian and the devil himself was enough to get some tears out of me. you'd get teary jerky too. also streak ended but 🔥🔥🔥 manchester is still red

[rashfordxbruno]

Matchday! The final game of Ruud van Nistelrooy's spell as interim head coach, pending Ruben Amorim's arrival as Manchester United boss, takes place today.

Leicester City are our opponents once again, as they were for the first of Ruud's matches in charge, the 5-2 triumph in the Carabao Cup.

This time, it's Premier League points at stake, as the Reds look to head into the international break in upbeat fashion by beating Steve Cooper's men for a second time in as many weeks at Old Trafford.

The 5-2 victory last month was our 71st of all time against the Foxes, who were promoted back to the top flight this year.

We did the double over Leicester in 2022/23, thanks to Jadon Sancho scoring the only goal at the King Power Stadium. The winger, now on loan at Chelsea, netted again in a 3-0 success in the reverse fixture, with Marcus Rashford bagging the other two.

Let's end Ruud's interim spell with a W, lads. Come on United! 🔴

[doux-amer]

Loveeee watching a match against Utd and seeing Mo own them. :') Some Mo stats from today, most of which come from OptaJoe:

Ten goals in nine appearances at Old Trafford for Liverpool in all competitions

Second player to score 10+ goals at a single away ground for a Premier League club since 1992–93 after Alan Shearer (let's see him break that record this season, please)

Top goalscorer against Utd in Premier League history

Most goals by an opposing player at Old Trafford in Premier League history (he already had this record at 6 goals so he beat his own record today with his 7th)

Fifth in most goals scored at Old Trafford in all competitions since January 2021 behind Rashford, Fernandes, CR7, and McTominay lmao

Either scored (10) or assisted (6) 16 of Liverpool's last 22 PL goals against Utd

He just lovesssss scoring against Utd (and City!)

[thefreedomlake]

Joao Pedro gives Brighton a point and puts Manchester United in dire straits

2024/08/25 01:52

Joao Pedro gives Brighton a point and puts Manchester United in dire straits

New owners (partially), new players, new atmosphere, but it was a familiar story for Manchester United. Joao Pedro scored the winner five minutes into added time and United will lament a ridiculous offside penalty that denied them the lead late on, but Brighton looked set to score for all but ten minutes of the second half. For United, it was a performance that may have been better than last season's equivalent, but still not good enough.

The winning goal came after sustained pressure. Simon Adingla finally dropped the ball at the back post, with three Brighton players lined up to finish it off. United may have taken quiet courage from the way they pressed Brighton, from their sense of shape and structure, but they lacked conviction and ruthlessness. And fundamentally, there is a baffling inability to get the simple things right. Where were the markers? Why was half the six-yard box empty in the ninth minute?

The first goal was no different. In the 32nd minute, the ball was played to João Pedro on the right and everyone stood back from him. He had time to bend a dangerous ball across the six-yard box and nobody touched it, but it found its way to Mitoma Kaoru just beyond the far post, who slotted it in behind Nousser Mazraoui. As he smashed a low ball across goal, Harry Maguire couldn't reach it - "I didn't see the ball," he explained lamentingly to Casemiro - and Danny Welbeck tucked it in.

Welbeck was once United's future, a local lad with a knack for scoring goals. He left the club in 2014. Two years earlier, another local lad with a knack for scoring goals, Marcus Rashford, had arrived. Rashford, too, was beginning to look like a player who would never fulfil his potential at Old Trafford. It was Rashford who intercepted Billy Gilmour's pass intended for Bruno Fernandes on the opener against Brighton.

Rashford finished last season in dismal form and has struggled this season - he missed two chances in the Community Shield against Manchester City and featured spasmodically at best against Fulham last week - and he comes across as a player lacking self-confidence and out of step with the world.

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A quick attempt to take a free kick just before half-time but losing the ball for nothing was a classic example. His sense of urgency has given way to a tendency to rush things and take chances. On a number of occasions he has run a little too early and been offside. He looks frustrated. Perhaps he just needs a goal to get going again but at the moment it feels like a rest, if not a transfer, is in order.

As per usual, Erik ten Hag changed the shape at half-time, introducing Joshua Zergzee, and the victim was Mason Mount, arguably the biggest player in the Premier League since Tom Huddlestone (curiously, Huddlestone left the United coaching staff in the summer to take up the role with the England national team; perhaps Carrington was literally too big for both of them). He couldn't stop gliding like a giant on water, and perhaps a smaller man would have been better off when he inadvertently kneed Alejandro Garnacho's goal-bound shot over the line and was ruled out for offside.

New owners (partially), new signings, new atmosphere, but it was a familiar story for Manchester United. Joao Pedro scored the winner in the fifth minute of added time. United will bemoan a ridiculous offside late on that denied them the lead, but for all but ten minutes of the second half Brighton looked like they were going to score . For United, it was a performance that may have been better than the equivalent game last season, but still not good enough.

The winner came after sustained pressure. Simon Adingla finally dropped the ball at the back post with three Brighton players waiting to finish it off. United may have taken quiet courage from the way they pressed Brighton, from their sense of shape and structure, but they lacked conviction and ruthlessness. And fundamentally, there is a baffling inability to get the simple things right. Where were the markers? Why was half the six-yard box empty in the 95th minute?

Brighton v Manchester United: Premier League – For real

Read moreThe first goal was similar: in the 32nd minute, the ball was played to Joao Pedro on the right and everyone kept their distance from him. He had time to curl a dangerous ball across the six-yard box and nobody touched it, but it sailed past the far post to Mitoma Kaoru, who slotted it past Nosair Mazraoui.

Zirkzee scored the winner against Fulham and made a noticeable difference to United's attacking prowess at least. Defensively, there still looked to be holes. James Milner's shot was cleared on the goal-line and Welbeck headed the ball against the bar late on after Mazraoui fed Amad Diallo . He got inside Jack Hinshelwood. Defenders will one day realise that the Ivorian only shoots with his left foot. His shot was deflected wide by Jan-Paul van Hecke past Jason Steele.

It was a back-and-forth affair after that but by added time the home side were in enough control that victory felt close. Brighton are shaping up to be a very entertaining team this season. United may still fear they won't be, for entirely different reasons.

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[killa-trav]

i forgot to do the post match analysis so here it is a day late as per:

honestly what a win, deffo up there for one of our best performance of the season but not the best because my god was that first half scrappy. thank fuck for david de gea and he fr silenced the haters and showed why he is still one of the best gks in the prem. i can’t analyse the first half too much bc i listened to the majority of it on the radio so i didn’t really see much play

i did see all 3 goals and it’s a shame rashford didn’t get a hatrick but two is better than nothing. it’s so nice to see sancho on the score sheet and for him to score against leicester at home and away. wout weghorst mate idk what u have done to the team bc literally everyone was trying to get u to score but it just wasn’t meant to be for whatever reason. the licha header was close but dalot bro u should’ve banged ur chance in had u used ur left foot.

in terms of overall play, the second half was far better and united were in control of the game. i still think garnacho is better when he comes off the bench but if we don’t start him, he won’t improve and he’s young too like i’m not ripping in to him, he’s a phenomenal player but he makes way more difference coming off the bench than he does starting and that’s just bc of the speed of play and how different the game is at the start vs the end

last thing is the title race. i’ve been saying for quite some time now i still don’t think despite the results, united are capable of winning the league bc yes we are playing phenomenal, yes we are only 5 points behind arsenal and 3 behind city but unlike them two, we are still in 4 competitions and we lack the squad depth city and arsenal have. as in if any of our midfield gets injured we will have to turn to mainoo and iqbal to step up bc we don’t have anyone else. top 4 and carabao cup are still what i want from this season and anything else is literally a really nice extra surprise. i think we could come close but this squad is far from the finished product and when we get the players we need maybe then we can talk about title races and that

overall a solid 8.7/10 would be higher but the first half was just far too poor apart from rashy’s goal and david de gea’s saves

next up: the return leg for barcelona in the europa league at home up the reds!

[jfbuckley]

A fantastic article. Worthy of journalism of the year award in my humble opinion.

—————

hi - sport like life has its ups and downs - for united fans 2023/24 was the biggest roller coaster of a season that fans of my vintage (58 years of supporting) have ever experienced

in the summer of '23 those that left united included de gea and fred - those that arrived included mount, hojlund, amrabat, onana and old red evans - onana was the direct replacement for de gea - de gea was an old style keeper who made great saves but wasn't rated as being able to play out with his feet - onana was trumpeted as excelling as a footballing keeper - manager ten hag talked of playing on the front foot - hojlund was an exciting young striker - it all sounded quite exciting though pre season games were a tad underwhelming - the proposed take over was rumbling in the background and was finally resolved in january '24

united kicked off with a scrappy home win over wolves who should have had a late penalty after a reckless challenge by onana - onana made a poor first impression in early games as he didn't come over as a great shot stopper - defeat at tottenham was followed by a home game to forest where united found themselves 2 down after 4 minutes - united fought back to win 3 - 2 but the defensive concerns were there - bayern scored 4 and galatasaray 3 as united made a disastrous start in the champions league - both arsenal and brighton also hit 3 as united mooched around in mid table mediocrity - sancho was 'excommunicated' for insubordination and martinez disappeared for another foot operation - a 3rd successive home league defeat was only averted by 2 injury time goals by mctominay against brentford

as autumn morphed into winter 22/23's 30 goal hero rashford had scored just once - hojlund hadn't scored any - newcastle gained revenge for the carabao cup final by dumping out united at old trafford and in the league city cruised to 3 points and 3 goals - the champions league provided no comfort

nothing more typified united than 2 home games in december - chelsea were beaten as a mctominay double capped a vibrant display - a few days later bournemouth strolled to a 3 goal win in what was arguably the worst united showing i have had the misfortune to witness - then after yet another comeback win at home to villa united fell at forest - up and down, up and down - finishing bottom of their champions league group united could put their passports away for another year - as we raised a toast to the new year we could always hope for a cup run

united seemed revived in the early months of '24 - cup banana skins were safely negotiated and 4 league games were won in a row - the highlight was west ham at old trafford where young guns hojlund, mainoo and garnacho posed for an iconic photo on the back of a 3 - 0 win - united were 6th with forward momentum - then suddenly form disappeared and momentum came to a dead stop

fulham grabbed a last minute winner at OT which triggered a run of 1 win in 6 - united blew 4 points by conceding injury time goals at brentford and chelsea - in the midst of this liverpool came to old trafford in the cup to finish united's season off - liverpool were riding high at the time and were clearly the better team but somehow united equalised late on to force extra time and in the 120th minute fashioned a thrilling winner from amad - we didn't know it but this was the start of liverpools gradual fading away from the battle for honours

injury hit united were now in the semi finals and faced coventry - united found themselves 3 up with 20 minutes left but contrived to completely squander the advantage as the match moved into extra time - united's world came crashing down when they conceded the winner with the last kick of the game - all was lost and united's followers sat in stunned silence as they tried to understand what they had witnessed - then came the miracle - VAR - the eye in the sky judged that there was a marginal offside and the goal was disallowed - a short time later united won a penalty shoot out but drained reds hardly felt like celebrating

united had 6 league games to play before the cup final - the nadir was a 4 goal beating at crystal palace but the last 2 were won as united trailed in 8th to cap a poor league season - it was ironic that united were about to play city in a replay of last season's cup final in the year when the FA decided to scrap replays altogether

on cup final day most of united's squad were fit for selection - city were champions again and very few pundits gave united much of a chance - yet on the day united were up for the fight - defensively strong, tactically adept and quick on the break united led 2 - 0 at half time - city pressed in the 2nd half but united held on for a famous win which means the europa league and thursday night footy at OT - big cheer everyone

a few statistics to mull over - united were involved in 5 games that ended 4 - 3 - they conceded at least 3 in another 9 games - 14 games and over 40 goals conceded - clearly not defensively secure - they conceded 2 more than they scored and lost 14 league games -  a major explanation might be that of united's defence only onana and dalot played more than 30 games - the maximum the rest played was in the high teens - of the left backs shaw started 12 and malacia none - united were involved in just one goalless draw (Liverpool away)

up front 58 league goals is not a recipe for success - rashford had a poor season scoring just 7 as opposed to last years 30 - hojlund showed promise but could do with a bit of support - it didn't come from the departing martial who made just 5 starts and 1 goal

worthy of praise are dalot, fernandes, garnacho and mainoo who looks destined for a stellar career - it promises to be a busy summer of ins and outs as sir jim ratcliffe's lieutenants prepare for their first transfer window

one issue that has been resolved is that ten hag will continue as manager - INEOS were perfectly entitled to conduct a season review - Ten hag was appointed by the previous regime and INEOS may have had another manager in mind but in the end despite unfounded press reports Ten Hag has been retained - for what it is worth this correspondent is pleased - changing manager every 2 or 3 years does not bring success - Ten hag and INEOS working together might just be a winning combination

bye

[ghanashowbizonline]

Sports News - ‘Not a lot of people do that’ – Man United star praised by Thierry Henry

Ghana Sports Today; bringing you all trending sports news as it happens. Get daily comprehensive summary of the recent sports – football news that have rocked the online scene. Check out the news below. Thierry Henry has given Bruno Fernandes high marks for his performance against Manchester City last weekend and for setting up Marcus Rashford’s goal. Since Thierry Henry is regarded as one of…

[mariachastain]

Manchester Derby

I rarely say this, but Manchester United had some periods of playing well today. Of course, when you are playing against Man City that really doesn't mean much. I know there were four goals scored in this match, but Marcus Rashford had the best one by far, so it's too bad that they gave up two goals to Phil Foden (and then awful goal that was the Amrabat error that resulted in a Haaland goal...yikes....) and lost the game in the end. But overall, I was pleased. It was a good game to watch. Since there is only one point separating Liverpool and Man City, it sets it up nicely for the big game next Sunday. I will be rooting for Liverpool. Who will you be rooting for?

[unitedbydevils]

Match Review: Liverpool 3-0 Manchester United

Whatever.

This one will be a quick one because I only managed to watch the highlights. Did we deserve to lose? Yes. Were we dramatically outplayed? No.

The positives - More minutes in the tank for players and fitness ahead of the new season. Notably so for Amad and Mason Mount, who will hopefully have big parts to play in this season. Rashford is also looking a lot sharper than last season, as is Casemiro (who also looks slimmer).

The negatives - United were not clinical. More chances than Liverpool, no goals. Casemiro also had a howler moment, which exposed Toby Collyer, and the half team split (front 5/back 5) thing was apparent yet again. Hopefully something being worked on by the new coaching staff, and that just showed based on who was available (still a bunch of internationals back at Carrington).

No Hojlund and Zirkzee makes a difference up top, but I do feel Wheatley should have been started at CF over Sancho. He's a makeshift and didn't do well. He's much better at link up play and being a clever, tricky bastard. I get why him central over Marcus, because that experiment has been tried and proven ineffective, but still. Wheatley is a solid third choice striker for a few mins here and there this season. Why deprive him of a rare start?

Anyway, tour over. Back home we go. Prep for next Saturday's Community Shield derby against City is underway and hopefully we can go two games, two wins, two trophies against the noisy neighbours. Doubtful, but not impossible.