José Mourinho needs to make drastic changes, Rafael Benítez is getting best out of his players and Jordan Ayew is on a missionHaving so meekly allowed Manchester City to claim the Premier League title, a process of rebuilding Manchester United into future champions starts now. The non-inclusion of Marouane Fellaini, Daley Blind, Matteo Darmian and Luke Shaw in José Mourinho’s match‑day 18 for this game at Old Trafford indicated where a long-awaited clear-out of David Moyes and Louis van Gaal recruits is likely to begin. But it will take more than that to revitalise United. The shapeless sludge of this performance against West Brom was no anomaly. Chief among the reasons United have been left in City’s wake is Mourinho’s...
From the 1960 final to the miracle of Istanbul, Europe’s top club competition has provided many moments to rival the drama of Real Madrid’s quarter-final against JuventusThe almost shocking conclusion to what had been a notable Juventus recovery against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu has not only divided opinion – it was a penalty all day long, one could only admire the stealth with which Medhi Benatia administered his shove in the back of Lucas Vázquez and the bravery of Michael Oliver for punishing it – but has also inspired much talk of the evening being one of the most dramatic in the history of the European Cup and Champions League. However the latter stages of the competition have frequently...
Striker was poor in United’s defeat of City in Manchester derby but time may prove he is no ‘flat-track bully’, as it has with many a player – even Cristiano RonaldoIt was a shot heard around the world. First Cristiano Ronaldo leapt, twisted and arched his back, as if performing the Fosbury flop. Then came the crack of boot on ball, lace on leather, delirium and endless dissection.But while Ronaldo’s stunning bicycle kick against Juventus took the breath away, watching him deliver in the Champions League – and again in the Madrid derby on Sunday – came as no surprise. Nowadays he follows the line from Ecclesiastes to the letter: What has been done before will be done again. Related:...
If Liverpool were considering parking the bus in the Champions League second leg on Tuesday, they should reconsiderForget the league title for a moment. This was an object lesson in why Manchester City are going to struggle to keep Liverpool’s players off the scoresheet when the Champions League quarter‑final resumes on Tuesday.At the moment City require four goals to go through – should Liverpool score they will need at least five – and allowing a feeble Manchester United back into this game from a position where they should have been dead and buried will have done nothing for their confidence. Related: Pogba inspires dramatic comeback win as Manchester United spoil City’s party Related: José Mourinho the ultimate party pooper rains on Guardiola’s parade | Jonathan...
Manchester United manager pulls off a great escape to leave the champions elect, Manchester City, blushing after 3-2 home defeatThe ice melts sadly around the unopened champagne. The fireworks remain unfired, the streamers tightly furled. José Mourinho, perhaps the greatest wet blanket in football history, had done it again.Manchester City’s celebrations will come but they are deferred, and that was Mourinho’s primary objective. But he has offered further evidence of this City side’s curious vulnerability, inflicted a trauma that might yet resurface to significant effect in the future and, more even than that, shown that, however much Pep Guardiola wants to make football a game of three-dimensional chess, he can drag him into a bar fight, play the game on...