The mood at Man United is one of pessimism at present as the Red Devils recover from being dominated by Man City last weekend. 

Erik ten Hag’s men were beaten 3-0 by their rivals in front of a packed Old Trafford on Sunday but it could have been more as City excelled in the second half of the clash.

The defeat leaves Man United eighth in the table having lost half of the matches they have played this campaign, which is well below the pre-season expectations.

Even in the matches United have won, they did not look convincing, and the pressure is starting to heat up on Ten Hag. The mood around the club is not great and journalist Ben Jacobs has given an insight into how things are within the Dutch manager’s squad.

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Writing in his latest exclusive column for CaughtOffside, Jacobs said that the dressing room at Man United is tense but there are players trying to improve it.

“Not all the blame can be placed on Erik ten Hag, who retains the faith of the Manchester hierarchy, but there’s no doubt the dressing room is tense,” the journalist wrote.

“There are players in it, Jadon Sancho included – at least before he was banished from the first team – who feel the Manchester United boss is too much of a taskmaster.

“But there are also leaders, like Harry Maguire, Jonny Evans and Scott McTominay who are positive influences off the field and doing all they can to improve the mood and keep everyone united.”

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Manchester United were beaten 3-0 at Old Trafford by rivals Manchester City, as United struggled to get anything going.

A brace from Erling Haaland and a goal from Phil Foden secured the victory for City, giving United their fifth loss of the Premier League campaign after 10 games.

Read on for our Manchester United player ratings, and who disappointed in the Manchester derby…

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Andre Onana – 6 – Made seven saves, four from inside the box, but of course did concede three therefore can’t be much higher rated.

Victor Lindelof – 5.5 – Had to deal with Foden drifting inside and Walker overlapping down the right flank. Did make two interceptions, one clearance and one block but was beaten on quite a few occasions to let City into dangerous areas down the right flank.

Jonny Evans – 5 – Lost all four of his duels and wasn’t aggressive enough to deal with the likes of Haaland and Alvarez.

Harry Maguire – 6.5 – The more aggressive of the defenders, getting tighter with Haaland, winning all four of his duels and making eight clearances.

Diogo Dalot – 5 – Struggled up against Grealish when isolated in 1v1 areas, did make two tackles, one interception and three clearances, but was beaten down the left on a few occasions and struggled to keep Grealish quiet.

Sofyan Amrabat – 5 – Was subbed after 45 minutes, received a yellow card and was dribbled past once in a central area.

Christian Eriksen – 6 – Tried to get on the ball for United in deeper areas and make things happen, made one key pass and created one big chance. Also completed two out of two long balls.

Marcus Rashford – 4 – Failed to get himself involved enough as the United outlet, the space was there out wide but he didn’t use it. Only managed one shot (off target) and completed only one of his five dribble attempts.

Scott McTominay – 6.5 – Was United’s main threat, having two shots on target, completing his only dribble attempt and his only long ball attempt. Also did his bit defensively with four tackles, one interception, two blocks and two clearances.

Bruno Fernandes – 5 – Head dropped and didn’t look interested. Did make two key passes and two shots (one on target and one off target) but didn’t lead by example as captain and could’ve done a lot more.

Rasmus Hojlund – 5.5 – Gave away the penalty for City’s first goal, but did try to make things happen in attack for United. Made two key passes, completed two out of two dribbles and won four of his seven ground duels.

Subs: Mason Mount 5, Sergio Reguilon 4, Alejandro Garnacho 4, Antony 3, Anthony Martial 4.

The post Manchester United player ratings: Rashford poor as United fall to Manchester rivals appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Whilst Saturday’s fixture at Bramall Lane isn’t quite a must win for Erik ten Hag and Man United, anything less than three points against Sheffield United will be seen as a huge opportunity missed by the Red Devils.

The Dutchman, whilst taking the fixture as seriously as any other, has switched his team around for the Saturday night encounter, with Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay coming into the starting line up.

? Tonight's United XI to face the Blades.#MUFC || #SHUMUN

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 21, 2023

Andre Onana keeps his place in goal, with Maguire partnered by Victor Lindelof and the full-back slots taken by Sofyan Amrabat and Diogo Dalot.

McTominay and Jonny Evans will sit behind a three of Antony, Bruno Fernandes, and Marcus Rashford with Rasmus Hojlund ploughing a lone furrow up front.

Sheffield United are already fighting for their Premier League lives.

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The Blades are rock bottom of the English top-flight with only one point to their name so far. Just six goals scored and 22 conceded hints at the task ahead of the hosts.

Man United may just have turned the corner with Scott McTominay’s late, late show against Brentford, and if they can get the three points things start looking a lot brighter for ten Hag and the squad.

The manner of the performance is always important to the Red Devils, though getting the result on Saturday, however it comes, is paramount.

The post Man United team news: Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay start against Sheffield United appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Jonny Evans has done it again as the defender produced an incredible pass for a goal in Northern Ireland’s clash with San Marino, only for it to be disallowed. 

Northern Ireland were 3-0 winners of their EURO 2024 qualifying match on Saturday but the goal of the day was chalked off for an offside offence. Jonny Evans produced a wonderful pass for Paul Smyth, who finished with a lovely lob, but the QPR star strayed just offside.

The pass from the Man United star was similar to the one he produced in the Manchester club’s clash with Burnley last month, which resulted in an incredible goal from Bruno Fernandes.

?? "Oh, genius! Absolutely genius!"@QPR's Paul Smyth with yet another very special finish for @NorthernIreland ?@ManUtd's Jonny Evans with a wonderful ball over the top ?

But it gets disallowed… ????#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/aQGlytacVk

— Viaplay Sports UK (@ViaplaySportsUK) October 14, 2023

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The post Video: Man United’s Jonny Evans produces another incredible pass similar to Bruno Fernandes goal appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Hello and welcome to my latest exclusive transfer news for CaughtOffside’s the Daily Briefing – click here to subscribe for more content from myself, Ben Jacobs, Neil Jones, Jonathan Johnson and Christian Falk!

Chelsea snubbed forward approaches

We saw Armando Broja return to the squad after injury and he could have an important role to play this season. There were verbal approaches from AC Milan, West Ham and one more club this summer for Broja…FULL STORY HERE

Manchester United happy with Sergio Reguilon and Jonny Evans signings

Manchester United finally got back to winning ways with an important 1-0 victory away to Burnley. Sergio Reguilon started the game and the club are very happy with the way he’s settled since joining on loan from Tottenham. He’s got a good understanding with his teammates, a good understanding of what Erik ten Hag wants, so it will be interesting to look at what happens with him in the long term.

For now, there is no buy option for Man United, and there is also the option to end the loan in January.

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Jonny Evans is another slightly surprising signing who’s doing well. The possibility to return to Man United came early in the window so he was never in talks with other clubs, he only wanted to follow this United dream and fight for his place…FULL STORY HERE

Arsenal in for Brentford’s Aaron Hickey?

Finally, there’s been speculation about Arsenal and other clubs keeping tabs on Brentford full-back Aaron Hickey. I’m not aware of anything concrete yet, I think it’s just a case of scouting players but clubs like Arsenal, Man Utd and Liverpool scout like 100 players around the world.

I think Hickey is very talented, he was already an excellent full-back at Bologna and a very professional guy so I’m not surprised that there’s now speculation about him…FULL STORY HERE

The post Transfer news: Chelsea rejected forward offers, Man Utd happy with two signings, Arsenal links with PL ace & more appeared first on CaughtOffside.

The latest Premier League team of the week is in, with BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks serving up his selection of this weekend’s top performers.

As usual, it’s in a slightly puzzling formation, with Crooks going for a 4-4-2 with one or two players in unusual roles, making it look like a 4-3-3 would probably have been the better fit.

Still, it’s hard to argue with the players involved as Son Heung-min and Yves Bissouma impressed for Tottenham as they came from behind to claim a draw away to Arsenal, while Manchester United were also good value for their win at Burnley…

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Bruno Fernandes and Jonny Evans shone for the Red Devils, combining for their winning goal, so it seems only fair that those two got the nod. Elsewhere, Manchester City duo Kyle Walker and Phil Foden were the stand-out performers in their win over Nottingham Forest, while Newcastle United might feel aggrieved only to have two players in this line up after their remarkable 8-0 win away to Sheffield United.

The post Premier League team of the week: Man United duo join North London Derby stars in BBC line up appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Jonny Evans is having a fine impact at Manchester United since his slightly surprising summer transfer, according to Fabrizio Romano in his exclusive column for the Daily Briefing.

The Northern Irishman returned to Man Utd for a second spell this summer, having become a free agent after leaving relegated Leicester City, and it’s fair to say he’s proven a pretty astute piece of business for the club so far.

Although most Red Devils fans won’t have been that excited by the signing of Evans, it seems Erik ten Hag rates the 35-year-old highly, both for what he does on the pitch, and his role as a leader off it.

According to Romano, the deal for Evans came about quite early, so it seems he didn’t really have a number of other offers to turn down before deciding to accept the chance to move back to Old Trafford.

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Discussing the Evans deal and his impact so far, Romano said: “Jonny Evans is another slightly surprising signing who’s doing well.

“The possibility to return to Man United came early in the window so he was never in talks with other clubs, he only wanted to follow this United dream and fight for his place.

“The impact has been excellent, he’s also appreciated off the pitch as Ten Hag rates him highly for his experience and leadership to help other players.”

The post Exclusive: Fabrizio Romano explains how “excellent” and “surprising” Man United signing came about appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Man United managed to overcome a battling Burnley side at Turf Moor on Saturday, and manager, Erik ten Hag, was especially keen to pay tribute to one player who was ill but still insisted on playing.

The match was won thanks to an exquisite volley from Red Devils captain, Bruno Fernandes, made possible by a Jonny Evans pass that took the entire Clarets back line out of the game.

Three points were much needed given that prior to the match United had only won two of their opening five matches and were languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

A battling and professional performance was required, and that’s exactly what United provided.

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“Reguilon was ill,” ten Hag said to TNT Sports (h/t FourFourTwo) after the game.

“And that says a lot about the character and the spirit that this team wants to show. He wanted to play. He wanted to support and contribute to the team.”

It seems clear that once Luke Shaw returns from injury, that Reguilon will leave the club, however, his manager is clearly impressed with his commitment and that could translate into a possible permanent offer in due course.

It’s been shown just how short United are in certain areas when injuries bite, so it would appear to be a sensible option to keep the Spaniard on the books either if that’s only as a back-up to Shaw – assuming the player himself might be happy with such an arrangement.

The post Erik ten Hag highlights character and spirit of unwell Man United ace appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Man United manager, Erik ten Hag, has been under intense pressure of late, owing to the Red Devils worst English top-flight start in decades.

Before the win against Burnley, courtesy of an exquisite Bruno Fernandes volley, United had last three of their opening five matches, and even in the two that they had won, they looked far from comfortable.

The Dutchman has shown that he isn’t cowed by the pressure and will continue doing things the right way until his stars are, eventually, able to play the style he craves.

The win over the Clarets was much needed and was more comprehensive than the 1-0 scoreline suggests.

Fernandes took his volley brilliantly but the pass to set him up by Jonny Evans was just as good, and it was the 35-year-old’s influence that ten Hag was keen to espouse during his post-match press conference.

“He comes in, he is calm, he is composed, he has a good skillset and if and when you have things against you you can bounce back and you have to have character in the team to do that,” he was quoted as saying by the Manchester Evening News.

“We have seen [his influence] in the training. When he was in the summer, it was to train with the under-23s, I said to Fletch, ‘come and bring him to the first team, maybe he can help us’.

“I already saw in pre-season, the problems in the numbers in the squad. We decided to sign him because I think he can really contribute to the squad and today you see how massively important he can be.”

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As the season continues, it will be interesting to note how often ten Hag uses the defender as a first-choice.

Injuries to key players have clearly contributed to Evans’ renaissance, however, he in no way disgraced himself at Turf Moor, and therefore it’s arguable as to whether he’s played himself into the manager’s thoughts for more regular employment at the heart of the United defence.

The post “Massively important” – Erik ten Hag hails the influence of experienced Man United ace appeared first on CaughtOffside.

Man United have taken the lead in their Premier League clash with Burnley at Turf Moor courtesy of a stunning Bruno Fernandes goal. 

The home side have been the better of the two teams throughout the first half but have not been able to take their chances.

Jonny Evans had the ball in the net earlier in the half but the goal was ruled out after a VAR check. However, the 35-year-old was involved later on in giving Man United the lead as his long pass was met sweetly on the volley by Fernandes to help Erik ten Hag’s side go into the break 1-0 ahead.

WHAT A FINISH FROM BRUNO FERNANDES! ?

Manchester United take the lead against Burnley thanks to a brilliant assist from Jonny Evans and an even better finish from Bruno! pic.twitter.com/qMdAxzZGwO

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 23, 2023

Bruno Fernandes has the breakthrough for Manchester United! ?

? @peacock pic.twitter.com/JoN6sxT37r

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) September 23, 2023

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The post Video: Jonny Evans assists Bruno Fernandes for goal of the season contender appeared first on CaughtOffside.