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Pogba, Fernandes Out With Bum Shoulders

United's top two midfielders both left Sunday's game early due to shoulder injuries

By Felix Short | October 25, 2021, 7:41 AM EST

Paul Pogba was forced to leave Sunday's game early after a collision with Virgil van Dijk. (Michael Bradley/Manchester Guardian)

Manchester, England – Manchester United will be without two of their star midfielders following Sunday’s epic draw with Liverpool at Old Trafford, as both Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba suffered shoulder injuries that will cost them games. Initial indications suggest both will be out about a week.

“It will be tough to be without both of those guys,” said Manager Thomas Walker, “They’re both world class players who bring a tremendous amount to the team. They’re at the heart of a lot of the things we do, so it’ll be rough sledding to be without them for the next few days.”

Bruno Fernandes came up grasping his shoulder in the eighth minute after colliding with Roberto Firminho. He was replaced by Pogba, who Walker determined should start on the bench. Early in the second half, it was Pogba’s turn to land awkwardly after a nasty collision with Liverpool lockdown back Virgil van Dijk. Pogba needed to be immediately replaced by Edinson Cavani, who has taken on a bigger role in the midfield this season.

Bruno Fernandes has made eleven starts for Thomas Walker’s side this season, scoring two goals and recording two assists. He is one of the few players that hasn’t yet fully adapted to Thomas Walker’s system. Pogba has also started eleven games, and has recorded four goals and five assists, in what is beginning to look like is his last year at Manchester United.

Manchester United have a rematch with Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday in the EFL Cup 4th Round. Without Pogba and Fernandes, Edinson Cavani and Donny van de Beek seem to be in a great position for more minutes for the next few games.


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Round Two Delivers Another Epic

Manchester United got the better of Liverpool at Anfield to Advance in EFL Cup

By Felix Short | October 27, 2021, 11:59 PM EST

Down two in the first half, Cristiano Ronaldo put the team on his back. (Michael Bradley/Manchester Guardian)

Liverpool, England – Manchester United and Liverpool, perhaps the greatest rivalry in English soccer, was renewed this past Sunday to amazement across the nation, as the two battled to a thrilling 3-3 draw. That earned each team one point in the Premier League table. Since then, both teams made the short to Liverpool, where they once again lined up to face each other Wednesday night, in another thrilling contest, with advancement to the EFL Cup Quarterfinals at stake.

Fresh off a devastating last second goal from Liverpool, United seemingly limped into this game without either star midfielder Paul Pogba or Bruno Fernandes and failed to make an early impression. Liverpool dominated the early portion of the game and were able to open the scoring in the 17th minute when Roberto Firminho beat Harry Maguire to the center of the box, and received the pass from Jordan Henderson, spun and put the ball in the back of the net. Liverpool doubled down in the 33rd minute when Raphaël Varane was blindsided by a Liverpool attacker, and Harry Maguire was unable to man mark effectively. Jordan Henderson took advantage and gave Liverpool a 2-0 lead.

United manager Thomas Walker had realized that his formation wasn’t effective, and switched to a wider one, which allowed United a sense of self following Henderson’s goal. It paid dividends when United his Liverpool on the counterattack, where Edinson Cavani was able to find a streaking Donny van de Beek, who found Cristiano Ronaldo for the goal in the 39th minute. United was able to complete the comeback in the first half, again on the counterattack, when Jesse Lingard strode past the defense down the right flank, and was able to put in a beautiful cross over the Liverpool defenders, off the head of Cristiano Ronaldo and into the back of the net in the 44th minute. The game entered the break, and was living up to Sunday’s masterpiece in Manchester.

After the break, the two sides burrowed in for war, and the action that came was physical and indecisive. Edinson Cavani was forced to leave the game after a collision with Virgil van Dijk in the 50th minute. No foul called on that played allowed Liverpool the counter, which found Mo Salah, that took his chance, only to be stopped by United Goalie Dean Henderson. In the 52nd minute, Anthony Elanga, who had just replaced Edinson Cavani, broke through. A beautiful pass by Alex Telles forced Liverpool defender Joe Gomez to make a tackle to stop the play. Unfortunately for Gomez, he missed his target, fouled Elanga, and was given a Red Card for stopping an opponent with a goal scoring chance. Still the game remained back-and-forth with very few indications of momentum. That is, until the 84th minute, when, again on the counter, United hit pay dirt. A pass forward to Cristiano Ronaldo disorganized the Liverpool defense. Ronaldo drew Liverpool defender Joël Matip out of the center. Virgil van Dijk followed Anthony Martial, and Andrew Robertson marked Amad to the corner, leaving a gaping hole for the streaking Donny van de Beek to break through. Ronaldo found him, and United took the 3-2 lead. Unlike over the weekend, United would not have trouble closing out the game as they advanced in the EFL Cup with the 3-2 win at Anfield.

United boss Thomas Walker was given a lot of credit after the game for his decision to focus on his defense and break out on the counter attack.

“After Sunday, we all really wanted this game,” Walker said after the game, “Everyone was determined and we did what we had to do.”

With Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba out, the United midfield relied on Donny van de Beek, who has had his struggles so far this season, and van de Beek delivered, with the game winning goal and beautiful touch-and-go play to earn the assist to help Untied get back in the game.

“It feels good to make an impact for the team,” van de Beek said after the game, “I always train hard and keep my focus so its really fun when that pays off.”

Manchester United will advance to the quarterfinals of the EFL Cup next month. They will find out their opponent tomorrow.

In the meantime, they will prepare for a Premier League contest at Tottenham on Saturday. Liverpool will host Brighton.


Liverpool: 2
Goal Scorers: Roberto Firminho (17'), Jordan Henderson (33'); Assists: Jordan Henderson

Manchester United: 3
Goal Scorers: Cristiano Ronaldo (39'), Cristiano Ronaldo (44'), Donny van de Beek (84'); Assists: Donny van de Beek, Jesse Lingard, Cristiano Ronaldo

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United Draw Chelsea in EFL Cup Quarter Finals

Manchester United will travel to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea on December 22nd

By Felix Short | October 28, 2021, 7:41 AM EST

Romelu Lukaku has proven worthy of his price tag for Chelsea. (Michael Bradley/Manchester Guardian)

Manchester, England – Manchester United has drawn Chelsea for a Quarter Final Matchup in the EFL Cup in tonight’s lottery. The game will be played December 22nd at Stamford Bridge, where United will have its first road trip of the League Cup, and Chelsea will host for the first time.

These two teams are slated to meet next month for their first Premier League clash. That game will take place on November 28th and will also be at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea won at Leicester City to open the tournament before handling Wolves 3-0 at Molineaux last night. Ben Chilwell has scored four of Chelsea’s five goals in the opening rounds of the tournament.

Manchester United, for their part, have scored ten goals, seven in their round three win against Portsmouth, and another three in last night’s thrilling win at Anfield, over Liverpool.

Chelsea has dominated the Premier League thus far remaining unbeaten in league play. The squad is still riding high after winning last years’ Champions League Final and seem poised to capture the Premier League crown this year. In league, they are led by scorers Christian Pulisic and Romelu Lukaku, who have combined for fifteen goals this season. They’ll have to face Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored twice in last night’s comeback against Liverpool.


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Kane, Son Carry Tottenham Past United

Tottenham Carried the Day at Home, Closing Out October with a Win

By Felix Short | October 30, 2021, 11:59 PM EST

Harry Kane took the lead in Premier League Goals Scored with two against United. (Michael Bradley/Manchester Guardian)

London, England – Antonio Conte and his Tottenham squad defended their home turf today, defeating Manchester United 4-1 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. United and Tottenham stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane led the hype machine for this game as the two all-time goal scorers currently lead the Premier League with eight and seven goals respectively. Only one of those would score today, and it was he who carried the day.

In fact, Cristiano Ronaldo found himself on the bench to start the game. United were also without Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba and Raphaël Varane due to injury and minute management, but that didn’t hamper them out of the gate. United and Spurs battled in a slow-paced environment for much of the first half with neither team making their mark. This tempo led both teams to enter half without a score.

The action picked up in the second half however, and the game saw its first goal in the 51st minute when Giovani Lo Celso found Harry Kane for an acrobatic slam past David De Gea to give Tottenham the 1-0 lead. This immediately prompted United coach Thomas Walker to turn to his superstar, as Cristiano Ronaldo came in in the 53rd minute. It didn’t help as Chrstian Romero found Heung min Son for Tottenham’s second goal in the 56th minute. Down a pair, Ronaldo and the beleaguered United side steadied the ship, and cut the lead to one in the 74th minute when United’s high pressure defense led to a steal by Ronaldo, who caught Anthony Elanga streaking toward goal, who put the ball in the back of the net. Down one, the last fifteen minutes were tense, and United had their opportunities. In the 87th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo broke free and got a legitimate shot on goal off, but just missed the target, which prevented United from tying the game.

Tottenham was able to put it away just a moment later, on the counter attack as Heung min Son found his mate Harry Kane to give Kane the brace, and Tottenham the win in the 89th minute. Tottenham put an emphasis on their win in the 96th minute when Heung min Son found the net for the fourth and final goal, in a game that wasn’t nearly as lopsided as it appeared.

“This is a tough stadium to play in,” said United coach Thomas Walker after the game, “We were down, but I feel like we were resilient and showed a lot today in terms of how we can fight back when we have turbulence.”

With two goals today, Harry Kane took the lead for most goals in the Premier League this season with nine. After the game, Ronaldo and Kane shared congratulations to each other.

“It’s just special to be able to play at this level,” said Tottenham star Harry Kane after the game, “getting to battle guys like Cristiano, it’s just really the best of the best and it’s an honor to be able to do it.”

United fans will be disappointed in the result, but there was more to like in this game than they would acknowledge in the immediate aftermath. To begin, Anthony Elanga came off the bench and made an impact, and the 19-year-old is really starting to make a difference for this team. This was his third goal of the season, and Thomas Walker’s investment in him seem to really be paying off.

United fans will also take solace in the fact that both Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba are expected to return for United’s mid-week game.

With the win, Tottenham rises to seventh in the Premier League with 16 points. United drop to 11th with their 14 points in hand.

Manchester United will host Young Boys during the week as they seek to clinch a Champions League Group Stage birth.


Tottenham: 4
Goal Scorers: Harry Kane (51'), Heung min Son (56'), Harry Kane (89'), Heung min Son (96');
Assists: Giovani Lo Celso, Christian Romero, Heung min Son

Manchester United: 1
Goal Scorers: Anthony Elanga (74'); Assists: n/a

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What I'm Hearing: Iqbal, Hanssen, Mellor

There is a lot of excitement about the crop of youngsters that make up the Under-23 squad

By Logan Plant / @plantlounited / October 31, 2021, 7:30 AM EST

Zidane Iqbal has been one of the key midfielders for United's Under-23 Squad this season (Michael Bradley/Manchester Guardian)

What I’m Hearing – Manchester United has one of the most celebrated youth academies in world soccer, having produced some of the legends of the game including the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Sir Bobby Charlton, Ryan Giggs and Phil Neville. Today, the youth academy is still an integral part of the lifeblood of United’s identity. With that in mind, here are some things I’m hearing about the youngsters.

Zidane Iqbal – Midfielder Zidane Iqbal has continued to impress for the U-23 squad and seems likely to receive his first senior team action at some point in this campaign. He has been a steady force for the United Youth Squad, providing solid box-to-box play. Under Thomas Walker’s new program, Iqbal has impressed with his improved work rate on both offense and defense. Iqbal was born in Manchester but has confirmed he will represent Iraq at the International Level. That opportunity may be coming soon as there are rumors that he will be called up by the Iraqi national team before much longer. 2022 is shaping up to be a big year for the Manchester United U-23 midfielder.

Daniel Hanssen – Less impressive has been United big summer youth signing, Daniel Hanssen. The Norwegian came to United with a £4.2 million price tag, yet he’s failed to show the true potential that many saw when he was with the Norwegian Youth Teams or at his previous academy, Lillestrøm. There could be very good reasons for this. Hanssen is still only 16 and won’t turn 17 until January. He’s now facing players that are 19-20-21 years old in the Premier League 2. He’s also away from home, and although United is now also the home to his older brother Ove, it must be a big transition. Still, he's failed to shine as a center-forward thus far, and United has moved him around a bit to other attacking positions. They feel good about the progress he’s made with his work rates, but they feel he still has a ways to go defensively. Hanssen has also yet to make a mark on the score sheet, failing to put the ball in the back of the net. He’s competing for minutes at the center-forward position with Charlie McNeill, Mateo Mejia, Julian Hahn, Nadir Naji and Adán Osorio, so Hanssen’s lack of production becomes more apparent with other options available.

D'Mani Mellor – One of those other options is D’Mani Mellor. Mellor was billed as a center-forward for much of his youth career, but he now finds himself as the older player on Manchester United’s Under-23 side. The 21-year-old must know that his chances of breaking in with United’s first team are slim at this point, and I’m told that he will be looking to move on from United during the January Transfer Window. Mellor did make one senior team appearance in the Europa league in 2019 but has yet to make it back. He’s also seen the number of attacking players with better potential eat into his minutes for the senior squad. The Manchester-native will likely need to look down to the League Two level or lower if he wants to continue his professional career.

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Manchester United @ManUtd - 3h

Congratulations to Cristiano Ronaldo, #MUFC October Player of the Month!



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