“I think it’s stressful to lose games – when we’re fighting for a title it’s not stressful,” Amorim said in reference to United’s midweek need to defend their 3-0 lead against Athletic Club to reach the Europa League final. He made eight changes here, for the third youngest Premier League starting XI on record. He defended his callow selection, saying: “We as a club we need to understand in this moment we have a big responsibility. We have to prepare a squad for different competitions.” United suffered the first-half loss of defender Matthijs de Ligt to what appeared a serious injury “I don’t know,” said his manager of the extent of the issue with Harry Maguire coming on and Luke Shaw going off with the Athletic tie in mind Shaw had to go out because we need players for Thursday.” And despite defeat and being outplayed by Brentford, Amorim said United’s youngsters should have taken plenty from the experience: “You can train a lot with the first team but to have that feeling playing with the players, feeling the players, the speed of the game, I think is the best thing.” A delighted Thomas Frank saw his team revive their hopes of playing European football next season by climbing to ninth. “I think we definitely have momentum,” he said. “The last 13 we’ve had a really good run of games, there’s a flow of playing well. We need to keep that up. The next one is the most important game and that’s Ipswich away. It’s already a good season, let’s see if it can be a good or incredible season.” Kevin Schade has scored 11 goals in all competitions this season Brentford kept their hopes of European qualification alive by coming from behind to beat Manchester United in a 4-3 thriller at the Gtech Community Stadium Mason Mount gave the visitors the lead with just his second goal for the club finishing off a fine cross from winger Alejandro Garnacho Brentford equalised when captain Mikkel Damsgaard saw his cross deflect in off defender Luke Shaw who was captaining a much-changed United side The Bees took the lead six minutes later in controversial fashion when Kevin Schade towered over United defender Tyler Fredricson to power in his 10th goal of the season with a superb header United were furious when play wasn't stopped after defender Matthijs de Ligt went down with an injury earlier in the move Schade wrapped up the three points 20 minutes from time heading in his second of the day from close range from a Bryan Mbeumo cross with the Bees cutting through United's defence to allow Michael Kayode to slip in Yoane Wissa for a fourth of the afternoon Argentina international Garnacho scored a stunning long-range effort eight minutes from time to give United a sliver of hope United then ensured it was a nervy finish for Brentford when second half substitute Amad Diallo scored five minutes into seven added minutes of injury time one point behind eighth-placed Bournemouth Europa League 'papering over the cracks' for Man Utd - Rooney Amorim praises 'young kids' after Brentford defeat Ruben Amorim said the trip to Brentford was about getting the three points to end a run of six matches without a win in the Premier League he would have confessed that coming through the game unscathed and without any injury worries was all that mattered before Thursday's Europa League semi-final second leg against Athletic Bilbao The Portuguese coach made eight changes to his side from the team that beat Bilbao 3-0 on Thursday Manuel Ugarte and Garnacho the only players to retain their spots If Schade putting Brentford ahead with their second goal in six minutes was tough to watch then the image of De Ligt clutching his hamstring and asking to be substituted was even worse The Dutchman pulled up in the move that led to Brentford's winner and remained on the ground as Schade exploited United's lack of aerial presence at the back The 25-year-old was making his first start since missing six matches throughout April with an ankle injury With Bilbao on Thursday and a possible Europa League final on the horizon Amorim was counting on the experience and physicality of De Ligt for the run-in Amorim made a beeline for the defender as he made his way off the pitch to ascertain the severity of the injury and the Dutchman's response couldn't have been good given he headed immediately down the tunnel Amorim said he is "concerned" about De Ligt's injury heading into next season "I'm really concerned - not about Thursday We took off Luke Shaw at half-time to protect and have players for Thursday but I'm more concerned whether it is a small or big injury and thinking about next season," said the Portuguese United are already without Lisandro Martinez who picked up a season-ending injury in February while Diogo Dalot could be out for the rest of the campaign with a calf problem Brentford's Frank 'very happy' with Man Utd win With so much yet to be decided in the final month of the season European qualification is a bit of a moving target There could be as many as 10 English teams in Europe next season Champions League and of course the Premier League It could be that eighth place is enough for a spot in the Europa Conference League will do all they can to finish as high as possible and see where it leaves them If that's the attitude they're taking into the final three games of the season Schade became the third Brentford player to reach 10 goals or more in the Premier League this season No other club has three players on 10 goals or more The 62 goals Brentford have scored in the Premier League is a tally only bettered by Liverpool Fulham and Wolves to come in their final three matches of the season need to win all three if they're to qualify for Europe for the first time since supporters got their passports out for the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1992 After the opportunity to rate players has closed the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users Have your say on Manchester United's display To load Comments you need to enable JavaScript in your browser The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made substituted for Gustavo Nunes at 81 minutesNumber 4 substituted for Thiago at 81 minutesNumber 19 Yoro Match OfficialsReferee: Anthony TaylorVideo Assistant Referee: Matt DonohueAssistant Referee 1: Gary BeswickAssistant Referee 2: Adam NunnFourth Official: Samuel BarrottAssistant VAR Official: Sian Massey-EllisMatch StatsKey Scroll LeftScroll RightBrentford have won just one of their last 12 meetings with Manchester United in all competitions (D2 L9) 10 of Manchester United’s 12 Premier League goals against Brentford have come in the second half of games with three of the last five coming after the 90th minute Manchester United have won just three of their last 21 Premier League away games against London sides (D5 L13) with all three of those victories coming against Fulham Brentford ended a run of eight home Premier League games without a win with a 4-2 victory over Brighton on 19 April It was the fifth time they’d scored four or more goals in a home league game in 2024-25 their most in a season since 1991-92 (also five in the third tier) Manchester United are winless in their last five Premier League matches (D2 L3) their worst run since April/May 2019 (also five) They’ve not gone six without a win since November/December 2015 under Louis van Gaal Brentford have won five of their last seven Premier League matches against teams below them in the table on the day of the game (D1 L1) though four of those five victories did come away from home If only results between the 17 clubs guaranteed to be playing in the Premier League in 2025-26 counted this season picking up just 23 points in 28 games against those other 16 teams (W5 D8 L15) Both Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa have scored 11 Premier League goals on home soil for Brentford this season the joint most by a Bees player in a season along with Ivan Toney in 2022-23 Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes has created the most chances of any player in the Premier League this season (84) including seven last time out at Bournemouth It was the 11th time he’s created 7+ chances in a Premier League game and since 2003-04 only Mesut Özil and Kevin De Bruyne (14 times each) have done so more often Alejandro Garnacho has had 81 shots in the Premier League this season but scored just five goals (6.2% shot conversion) Among Manchester United players to have 80+ shots in a season since 2003-04 only Cristiano Ronaldo in 2004-05 (5 from 123 5.4%) have had a lower conversion ratio than the Argentinian Yoane Wissa (Brentford) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner Christian Nørgaard (Brentford) wins a free kick in the attacking half Amad Diallo (Manchester United) left footed shot from the right side of the box to the centre of the goal Amad Diallo (Manchester United) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked Fourth official has announced 7 minutes of added time Chido Obi (Manchester United) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked Assisted by Christian Eriksen with a cross Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box to the top right corner Yoane Wissa (Brentford) wins a free kick in the defensive half BBC Sport women’s football news reporter at Old TraffordPublished4 May 202587 CommentsMelvine Malard celebrated her equaliser like it was a stoppage-time winner and the Old Trafford crowd gave an outpouring of adulation It reflected the significance of this result for Manchester United Not only did they come from 2-0 down - and with 10 players after Aoife Mannion was sent off - to secure a point against bitter rivals Manchester City it confirmed Champions League football for next season United ended City's own hopes of playing in Europe Marc Skinner's side can now prepare for a new future looking at unique recruitment strategies and eyeing up financial gains while City will assess where it all went wrong Simply put, the 2-2 draw on Sunday was really a victory for United then go down to 10 players and then to see the game out.. it absolutely feels like a win," said manager Skinner "It obviously secured Champions League football so it is a huge moment for this young team They haven't faced many moments like that Man Utd comeback against Man City seals Europe spot Man City 'fall short of standards' to miss out on Europe What's gone wrong for Man City in trophyless season Manchester United will compete in a third successive FA Cup final this month United have been in this position before in 2023 but failed to progress from the qualifying rounds a few months later Women's Super League champions Chelsea will go straight into the group phase of the competition next season while second and third place go into the qualification rounds meaning United will still have to navigate that But they want to go one step further and will attempt to attract the biggest names in Europe to compete in the competition Reaching the group stages of the Women's Champions League means they would receive just over £430,000 as a starting fee and bonus payments on top The next step is that we have to recruit the right way," added Skinner "In order to go into the depths of the Champions League - and from our perspective actually qualify for the group stages - we have to add the quality of depth People want to come to a Champions League team Hopefully it opens that market for us." European football also gives United an elevated status in the women's game They no longer need to rely on the brand of Manchester United as a club - but the success of their performances as a team It is also a boost in their efforts to convince United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his staff that the women's team are worth investing in Skinner added: "The club has a big status but the women's team has a young status We qualified [for Europe] two seasons ago but now we have done it again and that does give us a big status it's always about whether we get to the Champions League - that is what the agents are saying "That status opens up more doors to give us better conversations." While United are planning for bigger things they must prepare well for the crucial transfer window Skinner has constantly referred to United signed World Cup Golden Boot winner Hinata Miyazawa goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce and Brazilian winger Geyse But American Tullis-Joyce did not break into the first team until this season They needed more physicality and experience but the challenge this time around is to recruit players who can make an instant difference "I have not stopped all year to be honest in terms of our recruitment We haven't just waited," said Skinner "We have that moment now to reflect - but it will be a big summer for us How will United make sure it's a successful window The club are developing their own analysis system which looks at data and statistics to help them talent spot the players who are right for them Technical director Jason Wilcox and women's head of recruitment Harvey Bussell are working together to lead the task the strategy route we will go down," added Skinner then we have to look at the budget and how we progress in the market "Those are the little details that we'll have to work through." 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The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. In front of more than 38,000 fans at Old Trafford, Marc Skinner’s side were made to work hard for their place in next year’s Champions League, with goals from Laia Aleixandri and Rebecca Knaak having given City a two-goal lead. United could feel aggrieved though, having had a goal from Elisabeth Terland ruled out prior to City’s double, with the decision, the forward adjudged to have pushed Aleixandri, looking extremely harsh. Read moreThis was unfamiliar territory for United the home team had only conceded three goals in their 10 home games prior to the visit of Nick Cushing’s side – who welcomed back England duo Lauren Hemp and Alex Greenwood to the starting XI for the first time since their respective knee injuries United defender Aoife Mannion’s ball towards the back post turned in by the head of Grace Clinton to reduce the deficit before the end of the half to prevent the final European berth being decided on the final day of the season when Arsenal host United and City play relegated Crystal Palace arrived in the 68th minute – Terland nodded the ball down to Malard and the French forward raced clear and slotted coolly past the onrushing Khiara Keating Skinner’s side were dealt a blow soon after when Mannion exited the pitch after receiving a second yellow for a foul on Brazilian forward Kerolin A furious Ella Toone was withdrawn in place of Dominique Janssen as United looked to hold on to the point they needed to confirm a top-three finish City pushed for a winner as they attempted to salvage the last remaining “prize” from their hugely disappointing season but United clung on to give themselves a boost before they meet Arsenal in their final WSL game and face Chelsea in a third successive FA Cup final appearance Newly-crowned champions Chelsea earned a 1-0 win over Tottenham in north London to maintain their unbeaten league season with one game remaining Catarina Macario’s first-half penalty was the difference between the London teams and helped Chelsea extend their lead over Arsenal to 12 points with the Gunners playing Brighton tomorrow night Free weekly newsletterNo topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women’s football Abbie Larkin’s late goal for Crystal Palace cancelled out what had looked to be a stoppage-time winner for Leicester City from Shannon O’Brien The dramatic end came after Hannah Cain’s opener had given Leicester the lead at the end of the first half before Annabel Blanchard’s penalty put the score at 1-1 going into added time West Ham and Aston Villa traded blows before Chasity Grant’s effort secured a 3-2 win for the Villans Shekiera Martinez’s ninth goal in 10 games cancelled out Ebony Salmon’s goal for Villa before Riko Ueki put the Hammers ahead and Rachel Daly levelled Grant swung the game in favour of the resurgent Villa with four of those coming in their last four games Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Read moreCity will be as pleased with the hard-fought victory inspired by a humorous Neil Warnock team talk at training on Thursday as Wolves are disappointed to leave with nothing They rattled the woodwork twice and were the more dangerous team inside the box but when it comes to critical moments there are few better in world football than De Bruyne as his experience outweighs his physical decline “I am pretty sure it is not easy for him but the goal was massively important for us it lifted our spirits,” Pep Guardiola said What Warnock made of City playing without a conventional striker is up for debate was given freedom to roam in the final third as the hosts looked to dominate possession Ilkay Gündogan and the Belgian rotated who was down the middle while Omar Marmoush and Jérémy Doku attacked the flanks looking to get in behind Wolves’ wing-banks Wolves are very different from the brittle team that started the season under Gary O’Neil They had won six in a row and were not intimidated by City keeping things tight and every man working for everyone else in gold to limit the hosts all over the pitch Wolves also have pace going forward and should have taken the lead when Matheus Cunha slipped a pass through a flat-footed City defence for Jean-Ricner Bellegarde to run on to The winger raced into the box where he was joined by Marshall Munetsi and he needed only to lay it to the Zimbabwean but overhit the pass leaving the midfielder desperately stretching to reach it as the ball dribbled out for a goal kick Kevin De Bruyne tucks home the winner for Manchester City Photograph: Martin Rickett/PACity were living dangerously Rayan Aït-Nouri had two chances to open the scoring first hitting a post and then Josko Gvardiol on the line with the rebound City were enjoying the possession but Wolves looked the more dangerous although Nico O’Reilly eventually tested José á after the half-hour mark with a rising shot De Bruyne made Wolves pay and there was never a more popular scorer pulling the ball for his compatriot mid-slip allowing the City captain to place into the bottom corner and instigated a chorus of “There’s only one Kevin De Bruyne” around the ground There was no new contract offer to De Bruyne and he will leave when his current deal expires in the summer No one doubts that he still has the ability to influence games but Guardiola and City need players who can do so regularly De Bruyne’s body has let him down in recent years but his trademark energy and vigour have returned for his swansong able to offer the bursting runs and skills that have bedevilled opponents over the past decade “A lot of teammates have said that it’s sad I have to go too but that’s just how it goes sometimes in life,” De Bruyne said Wolves have their talisman planning a summer exit but Cunha will be in much higher demand than De Bruyne It was a sign of how dangerous Wolves were despite having to play on the break City were increasingly sloppy in possession allowing the visitors to frequently counter O’Reilly was hooked by Guardiola for repeatedly giving the ball away as Manuel Akanji was brought on to strengthen a susceptible back four while the returning Erling Haaland remained unused Wolves’ fight for parity almost took a huge blow when Aït-Nouri tried to perform a 360 degree turn only to put his studs into Bernardo Silva’s ankle VAR took a lengthy look but it was deemed no further action was required from the referee De Bruyne departed with seven minutes to go giving fans a penultimate opportunity of a standing ovation with Bournemouth’s upcoming visit his curtain call that is likely to include plenty of pomp and ceremony for the departing legend He deserved the latest one for his performance on the night There is still plenty of time for that to come as City prepare to bid farewell to one of their heroes but he will leave with plenty of memories De Bruyne scores as City scrape past Wolves Kevin de Bruyne’s goal was enough for Manchester City to edge past Wolverhampton Wanderers and move up to third in the Premier League The Belgian midfielder finished Jeremy Doku’s cut back in his penultimate match at the Etihad Stadium before leaving this summer when his contract expires hitting the post twice and having one cleared off the line but also arguably got away with a red card decision as Rayan Ait Nouri went in high on Bernardo Silva The Blues are in a good position with three league games to go and are now just three points behind second place Arsenal Here are three things we learned from City’s win over Wolves: This was City’s worst performance in the last few weeks and it was evident that some of their frailties still exist Plenty of players who have been fantastic over the past few weeks weren’t quite on it and were giving the ball away cheaply a lot - namely Nico O’Reilly and struggled to create more than the chance De Bruyne was able to tuck away and can count themselves unfortunate to not have left the Etihad with three points for the time since 2019 But at this stage of the season from City’s perspective Earlier this season they’d have found a way to draw or lose this game - as it was, they dug deep, held on and now you’d say they’re more likely to finish second than outside the UEFA Champions League places It’s easy to say that City wouldn’t have won yesterday without Doku and it was his skill and trickery that allowed him to beat Matt Doherty and he picked out exactly the right ball to De Bruyne on the edge of the box The Belgian winger should’ve got another assist too but his cross from the left hand side would hit the first man or he’d make the wrong decision offering little else other than the ability to pick the ball up and dribble past the right back nor does he get into the box and score goals at the back post like Raheem Sterling used to Doku has impressed against Everton and Aston Villa off the bench recently and I have always been a fan of his trickery and energy as I think it’s much more effective against tired legs I think City’s attack looks blunter and much more predictable whenever Doku starts and for the rest of the season at least I’d only use him from the bench it’s great that Erling Haaland has recovered quicker than expected from injury The 24-year-old striker went off injured against Bournemouth five weeks ago this Sunday but made the bench against Wolves despite Pep Guardiola saying he probably wouldn’t be fit Haaland didn’t come on but warmed up in front of a warm reception, and with the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace in two weeks time the aim will be to get the Norwegian fit enough to start that game BBC Sport takes a look back at the former Manchester United and England great's life in photos David Beckham was one of Manchester United's 'Class of '92' - players who won the 1992 FA Youth Cup before going on to win the Treble of the Premier League FA Cup and Champions League titles in 1999 Beckham scored from the halfway line against Wimbledon in the last minute of the opening day of the 1996-97 season - perhaps his most famous goal and the one that launched his career more commonly known as Posh Spice from girlband the Spice Girls They announced their engagement in 1998 and married the following year in an Irish castle ceremony featuring golden thrones Beckham has four children - sons Brooklyn (pictured) Beckham was sent off after kicking out at Argentina's Diego Simeone only the second player to be sent off for England at a World Cup after Ray Wilkins received a red card in 1986 Beckham delivered both corners from which Manchester United scored twice in injury time to beat Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final although only caretaker manager for one game gave Beckham the England captaincy in 2000 In perhaps his most iconic moment on the pitch Beckham scored a 93rd-minute free-kick against Greece at Old Trafford in 2001 to send England to the 2002 World Cup finals The Beckhams appeared on Sir Michael Parkinson's self-titled chat show in 2001 a famous interview in which Victoria let slip her 'Golden Balls' nickname for her husband David Beckham and Kirsty Howard presented the Jubilee Baton to Queen Elizabeth II during the Manchester Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in 2002 Kirsty was born with a rare heart defect and was given just weeks to live at the age of four but lived until she was 20 and raised more than £7.5m for Manchester's Francis House Children's Hospice Beckham redeemed himself four years later at the 2002 World Cup his goal from the penalty spot sealing a 1-0 win for England against Simeone's Argentina David Beckham and the England squad met Nelson Mandela before a friendly against South Africa in 2003 Beckham later said he regretted having cornrows when he met the former South Africa president Beckham was left with a cut eyebrow after he was hit by a boot kicked by Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson in the dressing room after a 2-0 FA Cup defeat by Arsenal in 2003 Beckham joined Real Madrid's 'Galacticos' in 2003 Because forward Raul already wore Beckham's famous number seven shirt the England captain chose the number 23 instead because of his admiration for basketball great Michael Jordan Beckham left Real Madrid for LA Galaxy in 2007 a move which transformed the profile of Major League Soccer (MLS) After a Champions League defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford Beckham draped a green and gold scarf - symbolic of United fans' protests against the Glazer family's ownership of the club - around his neck He later said he wasn't aware of the scarf's association with the anti-Glazer campaign Having been part of the successful bid to bring the 2012 Olympics to London Beckham played his part in the memorable opening ceremony driving the speedboat that carried the Olympic flame down the River Thames to the stadium Beckham joined Paris St-Germain in January 2013 and it was there he played the final match of his career four months later He was in tears as he was substituted in the 80th minute against Brest departing the pitch to a standing ovation from fans it was announced that Beckham had exercised his option to buy a MLS expansion team for $25m - part of the contract he signed with LA Galaxy Inter Miami made its MLS debut in 2020 and signed Argentine great Lionel Messi in 2023 Listen to the latest Football Daily podcast Get football news sent straight to your phone Top storiesHis stats are better BBC Sport looks back at some of his best goals in the Premier League.","thumbnailUrl":["https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1920x1080/p0l7x544.jpg","https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1232x1232/p0l7x544.jpg","https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/688xn/p0l7x544.jpg","https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/400xn/p0l7x544.jpg"],"uploadDate":"2025-05-02T13:26:08.599Z","duration":"PT2M30S"}Watch Beckham's best goals as Man Utd great turns 50There was an error As former England and Manchester United midfielder David Beckham celebrates his 50th birthday BBC Sport looks back at some of his best goals in the Premier League READ MORE: In pictures: Beckham at 50 Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRead descriptionEditor's recommendationsWatch Beckham's best goals as Man Utd great turns 50 00:02:30Watch Beckham's best goals as Man Utd great turns 50 2:30Up Next Messi 'does stuff that normal humans can't do' Video 00:02:26Messi 'does stuff that normal humans can't do' 2:26Was this the greatest transfer window of all time 00:01:41Was this the greatest transfer window of all time 1:41Watch: Fan catches ball while daughter covers his eyes 00:00:19Watch: Fan catches ball while daughter covers his eyes 0:19'It's hard to watch' - Solskjaer discusses Man Utd woes 00:02:02'It's hard to watch' - Solskjaer discusses Man Utd woes 2:02Moyes & Pickford share favourite Goodison Park memories 00:01:06Moyes & Pickford share favourite Goodison Park memories 1:06Five things to know before Miami Grand Prix 00:01:51Five things to know before Miami Grand Prix 1:51Nobody expected this - Amorim on first-leg win in Bilbao 00:01:34Nobody expected this - Amorim on first-leg win in Bilbao 1:34Maresca praises 16-year-old Chelsea debutant Walsh 00:01:08Maresca praises 16-year-old Chelsea debutant Walsh 1:08Beckham at 50: His first taste of Man Utd 00:01:28Beckham at 50: His first taste of Man Utd 1:28'He's quite fussy!' - meet the craftsman who makes O'Sullivan's cues Video 00:02:09'He's quite fussy!' - meet the craftsman who makes O'Sullivan's cues 2:09Yamal is a genius Brentford beat a yet more underpowered United selection than is normal, even for this season of historic mediocrity. A deserved home victory was secured via a fine headed double from Kevin Schade and Yoane Wissa’s tap-in following a first goal gifted by the comically lax defending that has been a regular feature of United’s season. focus was understandably on midweek and the Europa League Senior players selected were for reasons of match fitness Luke Shaw and Matthijs de Ligt forming a three-man defence with Tyler Fredricson With an average age of 22 years and 270 days Manchester United’s starting XI became the third-youngest Premier League selection making a second successive start for the first time since February 2024 nodded back a hopeful Brentford punt to Altay Bayindir only to find the Turk had lost the flight of the ball Then came chances for Schade with Bryan Mbeumo linked on Sunday with a summer move to Old Trafford Brentford also had Europe in mind. Though kicking off in 11th, a path to the continent next season remains open. They ended the day in ninth. United had been embarrassed at the Gtech before, a pre-match video reminding everyone of the August 2022 4-0 crushing that no longer seems like a freak result “Every game in the Premier League is difficult “We were in complete control from minute one,” said Thomas Frank Kobbie Mainoo sent away Alejandro Garnacho and Mason Mount made the type of decisive run into the box trademarked at Chelsea but unseen since joining United in 2023 one of many lost souls in the Marie Celeste that is the club’s recruitment policy with whom Mount collected the 2021 Champions League was watching on; Mount’s last England appearance was the 2022 World Cup quarter-final “He’s getting there,” said his club manager The outstanding Michael Kayode’s aggressive winning of a second ball which smashed off Shaw and beyond the rooted Bayindir Kevin Schade scores his second goal of the match for Brentford Photograph: John Walton/PAHopes of avoiding injury were dashed in the moments preceding Brentford’s second De Ligt damaged himself tackling Wissa and as he called for attention Christian Nørgaard was played in by Kayode the cross stood up for the back post for Schade “He’s grown a lot this season,” said Frank; all three of his forwards have scored 10 goals or more this season I don’t know.” The jinking wing wizard of San Mamés was soon put through his defensive paces Free daily newsletterKick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football Shaw was withdrawn as a precaution for Thursday while Amad Diallo talismanic during his manager’s early weeks in charge beyond a couple of Mount efforts finding him unable to repeat his previous proficiency Home fans entertained themselves with Bayindir’s discomfort as a ball-playing keeper and either booing or applauding Christian Eriksen when the former Bee became United’s latest arrival came when Damsgaard played in Mbeumo to supply his partner was already due to be subbed off; a smiling Frank was apologetic supplied by the still-rampaging Kayode who made it four “He was very strong,” said Frank of the Fiorentina loanee Up in the away corner, United’s fans did what their team have been doing for months, and concentrated on Europe, singing of going back to Bilbao. Their team’s Premier League season has become far too gruesome to consider Garnacho’s long-range strike barely broke their choruses though Diallo’s injury-time strike raised hopes of a comeback Amorim’s confounding team remain capable of This content is from an external website which may store cookies you have not consented to Site designed & built by Other Media, powered by Clubcast Ruben Amorim handed injury scare ahead of Europa League semi-final second leg Sport | Football All eyes are on Europe for Manchester United after another frustrating weekend in the Premier League Ruben Amorim’s side were beaten 4-3 by Brentford on Sunday and they sit 15th in the table but the focus was clear when the United boss made eight changes ahead of Thursday night’s second leg against Athletic Bilbao There was still an injury problem for Amorim, when Matthijs de Ligt was forced off and that is a fresh concern for him as he looks to ensure United do not surrender the three-goal aggregate lead they hold in the semi-final tie Amad Diallo is now back to fitness, but the likes of Diogo Dalot, Ayden Heaven and Joshua Zirkzee remain out Here is the latest on Manchester United injuries.. Matthijs de Ligt is facing another blow on the injury front The centre-back made his return off the bench in the first leg against Athletic Bilbao and then started against Brentford on Sunday but was forced off in the first-half with a fresh injury Potential return date: Unknown It remains to be seen whether Diogo Dalot plays again this season The full-back has missed United’s last three matches with a calf injury and he is in a race against time to feature before the end of the campaign Why isn't Brentford vs Man Utd live on TV in UK today Man Utd XI vs Brentford: Starting lineup and confirmed team news Meal2Deal: on a mission to make food poverty history "We don't know how long he's going to be out,” Amorim said last month "There is that possibility [he could miss the rest of the season] but I don't know There has been no new update provided on Ayden Heaven’s fitness The defender is believed to have suffered a setback after returning to the squad against Newcastle last month and he once again missed out for the trip to Brentford Amorim has said only that Heaven is “not ready” with the severity of the injury still uncerain who will not play again this season due to a hamstring injury The forward came off against Newcastle last month after a burst forward and his focus is not on returning to fitness in time for pre-season Amorim said: “He’s not going to play more this season I think he’s improving in all aspects of the game but this is football and he has to be ready now to recover." Toby Collyer is believed to be closing in on a return to action The midfielder has been out since Amorim said he picked up a “small issue” a month ago but Collyer returned to individual training on the Carrington pitches ahead of the first leg against Athletic Bilbao He did not make the squad for that match or the clash with Brentford Potential return date: Sunday May 11 vs West Ham (H) Lisandro Martinez suffered an ACL injury in February and underwent successful surgery He is now on the long road back to fitness with the defender facing a battle just to be back in time for the start of next season Prince Louis steals the show at VE Day parade as he keeps dad William looking sharp and mimics brother George Prince Louis steals show with sweet antics at VE parade Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in major blow for Putin ahead of Victory Day celebrations Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in blow for Putin VE Day 2025 fashion: best looks from the day VE Day 2025 fashion: Princess of Wales to Lady Victoria Starmer New visa crackdown as Home Office plans to restrict applications from nationalities most likely to overstay New visa crackdown as Home Office plans to restrict applications Stacey Solomon 'regrets doing reality show with Joe Swash' for tough reason Stacey Solomon 'regrets reality show with Joe Swash' for tough reason The Champions League race is alive with possibility including Arsenal failing to qualify and Brentford reaching Europe after shaming Manchester United That is pertinent because of a run-in which features the visit of Aston Villa and a trip to Manchester City neither of which should hold any trepidation for a group which has already won at the Emirates Old Trafford at St James’ Park this season Bournemouth have already broken club records for points and wins in a Premier League campaign with the bars for goals scored and conceded both almost certain to be beaten Combine all that by securing their highest-ever finish of eighth and potentially The feeling persists that Iraola might not be able to replicate this success on the shakier foundations which come higher up the ladder with less time and patience but it remains an entirely tantalising prospect we must one day witness It is impressive how the Spaniard seems able to contort himself into fitting numerous different job specifications. When the Spurs links started to formalise he wisely embarked on a winless run which included exiting a cup competition to show his suitability before undoing Arsenal with set-piece mastery to plant some possible post-Arteta seeds Their previous Premier League victory over any of Arsenal Liverpool or Manchester City was so long ago that Thomas Tuchel was the manager Romelu Lukaku the opening scorer and Roman Abramovich the owner It was fair to doubt whether Enzo Maresca and his players had the minerals for this Champions League race but three wins on the bounce is a fair riposte the Italy youth international has found his stride Three Premier League starts have coincided with Brentford’s first run of three consecutive Premier League wins of the season and his stated aim of “helping them reach European competitions next season” is alive It was Kayode ugly for Manchester United but beautiful to watch a 20-year-old acclimatise so seamlessly to the league misplacing one pass and completing more than twice as many dribbles as any other player at the Gtech Brentford have muddled through without a proper right-back for long enough January and February could yet prove catastrophic to those hopes and it will require a slip or two from some of those above but Villa are in as good form as anyone and primed to capitalise if an opening presents itself If only Ollie Watkins started to turn up Kevin de Bruyne bowing out from the club with a fine impression of his former unparalleled self should not shake the foundations of what is the fair decision to allow his contract to expire This form and fitness might be sustainable and a post-Etihad career flourish could make Manchester City look foolish But it is not a gamble even the impossibly rich should overthink if there is to be any sort of emphasis on building for the future His final gift has been to hold Manchester City’s hand into the Champions League after this campaign’s substantial scare simultaneously displaying himself in the shop window for those interested in parting with a ludicrous signing-on fee and wage Bernardo Silva said that “a little bit of the soul of this team is going” with De Bruyne and it reinforces the belief that despite the Portuguese’s own personal struggles, he should be persuaded to stay for yet another year before his own deal expires in 2026 Pep Guardiola would surely prefer not to lose the two most-used players in his entire managerial career over the course of one summer with decisions to come soon enough on Ilkay Gundogan and Mateo Kovacic too The manager recently admitted his reluctance to use the club’s inexperienced academy graduates in this season’s more difficult moments was a mistake like Nico O’Reilly further embedding himself in a side anchored by that spine containing four 30-something midfield pass masters who have helped Manchester City rediscover their identity before they make necessary moves to update and improve it Almost 300 players have played 1,000 minutes in the Premier League this season and Enciso ranks first of those for shots per 90 (4.12) Those numbers are skewed only slightly by a productive first half of the season at Brighton; the Paraguayan’s shots per 90 for Ipswich sandwich him between Mo Salah and Alexander Isak as an outlier among the league’s biggest strugglers It would be no surprise to see Ipswich and McKenna learn from this season’s harsh lessons to return to this level soon; far more shocking would be if Enciso isn’t back immediately shooting from ridiculous positions and earning weirdly respectful handshakes from a beaten Jordan Pickford Newcastle had made a decent fist of that balance by simply winning 20 of their last 26 matches and losing the rest That all-or-nothing approach ended their trophy drought and made Champions League qualification a live possibility Only 11 teams in Premier League history had ever gone longer without a draw than Newcastle who finally made sure they followed their manager’s advice and didn’t lose on one of the increasingly rare occasions when victory was not possible A first draw for five months in any competition could be crucial keeping the Magpies above Chelsea and Nottingham Forest regardless of their results in this tireless race Avoiding a ruinous seasonal hat-trick of losses in the Yankuba Minteh/Dan Burn/James Milner/Chris Wood/Aaron Hughes/Tim Krul/Dan Ashworth derby was just a welcome bonus The good news is that Vitor Pereira and Wolves are on track to win the actual title by 2030 going basically full-strength to build momentum The potentially season-shattering risk of an avoidable belief-shattering defeat to an excellent side was the trade-off and while PSG themselves were beaten at the weekend by Strasbourg they made ten changes to the starting XI which conquered the Emirates and will be fresh at the Parc des Princes Arteta can only try to harness this and it might be that the “rage frustration and a bad feeling in the tummy” is actually what Arsenal need to pull them through and into the Champions League final Yet the Gunners have not looked so vulnerable in as many different areas in some time, from set-piece defending to lead-squandering The very real and very funny prospect of Arsenal failing to qualify for the Champions League while Liverpool Chelsea and one of Manchester United or Spurs all win a trophy and reach the European Promised Land is on and it starts with Nottingham Forest beating Crystal Palace on Monday night It is a perfect summary of the fine margins Silva relies on that Fulham have had 18 games decided either way by a single goal in the Premier League this season and they have won nine and lost nine of them While it guarantees safety – which is an achievement a recently promoted club should not take for granted – it also places a ceiling on what Fulham can do It inhibits them as much as it enhances them That is why Fulham’s longest winning run matches their worst losing streak of two games why they have had consecutive Premier League victories only once since November why they can beat the distant champions and by far worst team in the division in between four defeats to clubs in the Premier League’s hard-boiled centre It is also quite weird that Fulham have now ended two games this season with ten men despite not having someone sent off with an injury suffered after all their substitutes were made Not sure Emi Martinez can be blamed for that But the idea that Manchester United can actively sacrifice their Premier League season without severe censure feels doubly cowardly. It’s as if they think them giving up on it meaning anything in a material sense pre-emptively counteracts criticism or scrutiny. And when ruthless redundancies are being made, the haemorrhaging of potential prize money is an absolutely atrocious look a ludicrously expensive squad and coach should be able to hold their own and at the very least have an identifiable style Never allow Manchester United being this abysmal to be normalised It does feel as though the second wedding’s honeymoon is over that the bloom is off the rose somewhat and Everton have slipped back into their worst habits And when their worst habits were established at the start of the season as proving 2-0 to indeed be the most dangerous lead Their relative ease in sweeping into a two-goal lead over Ipswich underlined how much better than the bottom three they are but the implosion to hand Ipswich their first points from a losing position since November emphasised the work that needs to be done to steer Everton in the right direction next season Moyes has earned the opportunity to oversee these steps into a brave new era but he will know that performance and more generally the last few weeks have not really been good enough Sean Dyche was sacked for a run of two wins seven draws and four defeats; Moyes is currently on two wins seven draws and three defeats and saying “we controlled the game” after being outshot eight to 12 at home to a relegated team sounds eerily like his predecessor Four sides share the honour of having lost 29 games in a Premier League season Southampton are on 28 and have just had the league double done over them by the next-worst team © Planet Sport Limited 2025 • All Rights Reserved US EditionUK EditionScottish SunIrish SunSearchMy Account Chido Obi-Martin set a new club record by making his first Premier League start for Manchester United The teenage striker was named in the starting line-up by Ruben Amorim for Sunday's 4-3 defeat to Brentford It came at 17 years and 156 days old for Obi-Martin making him the youngest-ever player to start a Premier League match for United The youngster was also making his seventh appearance for the Red Devils first-team since arriving at Old Trafford Obi-Martin completed a move from Arsenal back in October to link up with the United academy He was handed his Premier League debut in February, appearing as a substitute against Fulham Despite that, he has already scored 12 times in just 10 appearances for their Under-18s. Explaining his decision to hand Obi-Martin his first league start, Amorim told Sky Sports: "We need to focus a lot on our young players. "For me, it is not a massive game for Chido. I know it's important for Chido, but I don't want a lot of pressure on Chido. I feel he is ready to cope with the demands of the Premier League." he added: "It is really hard because we want to improve in the table In this moment I think everyone can understand our choice." Amorim made a string of changes from Thursday's win over Athletic Bilbao for the clash with the Bees academy starlets Harry Amass and Tyler Fredricson were also included in the starting line-up The Portuguese's XI had an average age of just 22 years and 270 days It is the third youngest starting line-up in Premier League history and the youngest since 2009 Middlesbrough set the current record of 20 years and 181 days against Fulham back in May 2006 The Red Devils took a giant leap towards the Europa League final in midweek Their victory in Spain means they will defend a 3-0 lead in this week's second leg a win at Brentford on Sunday would lift them up to 13th in the table Thomas Frank named an unchanged starting XI from the 2-0 success against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Thursday evening Igor Thiago returned to the matchday squad for the first time since December's 4-2 win against Newcastle United Brentford almost took the lead in bizarre fashion inside the opening three minutes. Keane Lewis-Potter sent a dangerous ball over the top of United's defence with Schade the target unaware that Altay Bayındır had come out to try and claim the ball got his head on the dropping ball and it fell narrowly wide of the post Schade got on the end of a whipped Yehor Yarmoliuk cross from the right side but he couldn't keep his effort down United opened the scoring on 14 minutes with what was their first chance of the match Garnacho played a one-two with Kobbie Mainoo to make some space down the left wing before delivering a low cross into the box who was also on target in the same fixture last term arrived at the right time to slot past Mark Flekken from close range The Bees had threatened through the long throws of Michael Kayode and his third of the game led to the equaliser the Italy Under-21s international chased down the bouncing ball and nodded it inside to Mikkel Damsgaard who saw his prodded volley deflect off Shaw and into the top corner Six minutes after restoring parity, Brentford turned the match on its head. After Wissa won the ball in a challenge with Matthijs de Ligt who stayed down following the 50/50 and was replaced by Harry Maguire after the goal a slick interchange between Christian Nørgaard and Kayode freed the Danish midfielder close to the right corner flag He hung up an inch-perfect cross to the back post where Schade met it with a towering header into the back of the net Schade was causing all sorts of problems down the left flank and he went close to adding his second and the Bees' third shortly afterwards After collecting Lewis-Potter's long ball over the top on the corner of the box he beat Tyler Fredricson and saw a well-struck effort palmed away by Bayındır The Turkish keeper saved his side again moments later. Nørgaard nodded a Damsgaard free-kick awarded for a cynical foul on the lively Kayode but the Red Devils' no.1 somehow got his body in the way of it It quite easily could have been level at 2-2 following a big chance for the visitors late in the half Mount turned provider as he pulled the ball back from the right side to the middle of the box to Garnacho but the Argentinian mishit his shot and was crowded out The first opening of the second period went the way of United Mount had two bites of the cherry from the edge of the area seeing low shots blocked by Nathan Collins then collected by Flekken Brentford responded with a chance of their own at the other end. Sepp van den Berg flicked on the latest Kayode long throw but it was just out of the reach of Wissa at the back post as the Congolese striker couldn't turn it back on goal United kept on probing for an equaliser as first Amad and then Garnacho saw shots blocked by a Bees backline that was standing firm Brentford opened up a two-goal cushion on 70 minutes. Following a sustained period of pressure, and with bodies over on the right side, Damsgaard played a short pass to Mbeumo who delivered a teasing ball from the corner of the box which Schade nodded in at the back post Mathias Jensen sliced the defence open with a sublime pass for Kayode who unselfishly squared for Wissa to pass into the back of the net from six yards for his 18th goal of the season Garnacho pulled one back for the visitors against the run of play with just under 10 minutes remaining He exchanged passes with former Bee Christian Eriksen before curling an impressive effort into the top corner from 25 yards Chido Obi saw his low shot turned away by a superb van den Berg block in the final minute of regulation time Amad cut inside from the right wing and squeezed a shot past van den Berg and underneath Flekken in stoppage-time too late for United as Brentford claimed the three points The result saw the Bees leapfrog Fulham and Brighton and move into ninth place Manchester United: Bayındır; Fredricson (Lindelöf 76) Brentford head coach passed on his congratulations to Brentford Women who secured the title and promotion on Sunday afternoon and assessed his side's 4-3 win against Manchester United Karleigh [Osborne] and his staff and the players on a big achievement," said Frank he added: "I'm very happy with a very good performance it was close to being a complete performance; dominating being on top of the game throughout until that moment scoring four great goals and giving basically nothing away we're a bit annoyed with the last two goals but it's the Premier League it's a very good team with very good players "Having three players on 10 or more [goals] and being the only team to have that in the division is incredible It was two top goals from Kevin Schade today; two great crosses and two great finishes." Kevin Schade reacted to his goals and Brentford's 4-3 victory against Manchester United at Gtech Community Stadium "It was two good goals and something we work on in training," said the German "It was a good chip from Nørgaard and from a position like this The second goal was a lovely cross from Bryan [Mbeumo] and a bit lucky because I think it got deflected." The win moves the Bees up two places to ninth one point and one place behind Bournemouth in eighth a position that could be enough to qualify for the UEFA Conference League next season "We want to play in Europe," Schade added but it's a positive pressure to have something you can keep playing for." just as the previous system – Financial Fair Play – made football’s ecosystem anything but fair The system in its current form isn’t working for anyone. Man United had their accountants operating at full throttle to dodge a PSR breach in 2023-24 and sales are needed to fund a root-and-branch revamp of the squad this summer It’s a familiar story for an increasing contingent of Premier League clubs Everton and Nottingham Forest are so far the only sides to have been penalised for breaching PSR while Leicester City escaped on a technicality earlier this season Aston Villa and – despite some very creative accounting making them seem bullet-proof – Chelsea have had to revise their business plans because of Profit and Sustainability Rules In football finance retail therapy simply isn’t what it used to be As far as Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazers are concerned, the sentiment towards PSR at Old Trafford is mixed Ratcliffe has called plans to introduce an anchoring system wherein clubs would be limited to spending a multiple of what the Premier League’s bottom-placed club earns in TV money “absurd.” As a free marketeer, Brexit advocate and resident of tax-free Monaco, the Ineos billionaire’s reflex is to champion less regulation, not more. See also: the 72-year-old’s positions on the proposed independent watchdog for English football, Manchester City’s challenge to the Premier League’s APT rules and the internecine lawfare that is currently dominating the domestic game while a more libertarian approach to PSR might be in United’s short-term interests it’s almost certainly a case of better the devil you know for the Red Devils Yes, it’s frustrating being constrained in the transfer market and banking on a backdoor route to Champions League qualification via the Europa League to comply with nebulous spending rules but it would be a whole lot worse if spending was not indexed to profit and revenue United would be overwhelmed by competitors rolling in sovereign wealth and private equity money The Glazers and Ratcliffe are worth about £25bn collectively. Setting aside the fact that the Glazer family aren’t interested in putting their own cash into the club that’s the kind of money that the Saudi Public Investment Fund (Newcastle) Silver Lake (Manchester City) or Clearlake (Chelsea) barely bother getting out of bed for With plans to build a new stadium to replace Old Trafford and a peerless commercial brand the club will – in time – have more PSR headroom than just about anyone else But the macroeconomic realities of football and hypothetical financial modelling aren’t of any concern to Ruben Amorim at the moment – he’s got a super tanker to turn around loophole exploitation – whatever you want to call it it’s rife among clubs desperate to carve out breathing space under PSR used ultra-long contracts to amortise signing fees over an extended period Ahead of last summer’s PSR deadline when the monitoring period rolled over they were also among the teams to use quasi-swap deals with players traded between clubs in separate transactions for roughly equivalent fees so as to create a short-term player trading profit they have moved onto intra-company asset sales – effectively taking money out of one pocket and putting it in the other and a portion of their training ground to sister companies to create artificial PSR profits worth £100m-plus in recent years The Blues banked an artificial PSR profit of £200m by selling the Women’s team to themselves in the last financial year which allowed them to turn a profit in 2023-24 and meet Premier League spending rules despite gigantic United may consider doing the same to get within the £105m allowable loss threshold next season suggests that United have likely escaped a breach under Premier League and UEFA rules this season But next season’s compliance could rest entirely on whether United, who beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 night in San Mames last night ‘PSR, however, would undoubtedly be a challenge if United have no Europe at all in 25/26. Sir Jim Ratcliffe may well be looking at the sale of the Women’s team in that scenario,’ he writes REVEALED: The clubs at risk of 24/25 PSR and UEFA FFP issuesPreparations are underway for the first transfer deadline of the Summer window – the much maligned 30 June accounting year end While the Premier League is yet to close the intra-company sales loophole United wouldn’t have carte blanche to sell the Women’s team to themselves at whatever price they like The Premier League is assessing the Chelsea sale for fair market value a provision which is designed to prevent clubs from striking artificially inflated deals with owners to subsidise squad spending but Chelsea are currently in talks with a potential buyer of a minority stake whose investment they hope will justify the valuation United’s Women’s team has been nowhere near as successful as Chelsea’s victory over United Women at Leigh Sports Village last Sunday delivered a sixth successive Women’s Super League title for the Blues A tough one to take.#MUWomen || #WSL United Women won the FA Cup last season and are on course to finish 3rd in the WSL in 2024-25 though Ratcliffe has been accused of leaving them behind since his part-takeover in February last year “There’s only so much that you can do and our focus has been on the men’s team you get spread too thinly,” he said last year “We need to sort out the main issue – the men’s team Women’s football is growing really quickly in popularity and size.” Even if they are some way off the Blues on the pitch and in terms of investment the United brand means that the Women’s team would be worth a similar amount as far as the fair market value assessment is concerned The business generated around £7m last year You have reached ESPN's UK edition. Stay on current site or go to US version playAmorim: Brentford loss 'a reflection of our season' for Man United (1:43)Ruben Amorim assesses Manchester United's performance during their 4-3 loss to Brentford and praises the young players that featured saying the club's focus is entirely on their Europa League campaign United fell to a club record 16th Premier League defeat with a starting lineup that had an average age of just 22 to remain in 15th place while the victory boosted Brentford's European hopes as they moved up to ninth United cannot finish in the top half of the table anymore but Amorim said he rested his senior players for Thursday's Europa League semi-final second leg "We as a club we need to understand in this moment we have a big responsibility We have to prepare a squad for different competitions," Amorim said in a post-match interview "I have no doubt that we are playing better At this moment we are losing games in the Premier League We are fighting for the Europa League and Thursday is the most important game for us "It is good for the players that everyone is playing United have put all their eggs in the Europa League basket as winning the competition is their only chance of qualifying for the Champions League Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim left a number of senior players on the bench in their loss to Brentford Sunday. Getty ImagesBut Amorim said his squad is not yet ready to compete next season "We are not ready to play Premier League competitively and be in the Champions League but we need to win and we need to win this competition to give something to our fans," he added "Then we will have time to prepare the team to cope with those two competitions." Midfielder Mason Mount said winning the Europa League was the "most important thing" as the campaign draws to a close "The season we've had in the Premier League is something we need to look at massively," he said "But if we can get into the final and win that Information from Reuters was used in this story '#' : location.hash;window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery = location.search === '' && location.href.slice(0 location.href.length - window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash.length).indexOf('?') !== -1 '?' : location.search;if (window.history && window.history.replaceState) {var ogU = location.pathname + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash;history.replaceState(null "\/news\/eds-academy\/aston-villa-man-city-fa-youth-cup-tv-listings-63882029?__cf_chl_rt_tk=A.X9__lO2YcR2UnH8gOhmiTyYDM8F.nQs94eh5vNtpo-1746519099-1.0.1.1-vdaq7vugClQBViVVcB52GO.GsH4YKKcuLCEDVEQS274" + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash);cpo.onload = function() {history.replaceState(null ogU);}}document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(cpo);}()); 'We cannot do this anymore' - Amorim says squad must 'understand' weight of Man Utd shirt Highlights: Fernandes and Man Utd silence San Mames with three-goal first half blitz AdvertisementHow was your experience today Newcastle secured a point at Brighton as they look to secure Champions League football while Brentford and Manchester United played out a classic The final report is in, and it comes in courtesy of Jonathan Wilson from the Amex. Updated at 17.05 CEST2d ago16.59 CEST“Did autofill substitute ‘supposed’ for ‘surprise’, or is this some British irony I don’t get as a dumb Midwesterner?” writes Joe Pearson. It was a weird game that never seemed like being particularly thrilling. Large parts were pedestrian. But who can complain about seven goals? 2d ago16.58 CESTFull time: Brighton 1-1 NewcastleNote a bad point overall for Newcastle but with Champions League football on the line, the two dropped could prove key. Updated at 17.07 CEST2d ago16.56 CESTFull time! Brentford 4-3 Manchester UnitedThe Bees with a supposed seven-goal thriller. 2d ago16.55 CESTBrentford 4-3 Manchester United: Bayindir produces a fine save to stop Wissa from sealing the win. 2d ago16.54 CESTFull time! West Ham 1-1 TottenhamThe points are shared. 2d ago16.54 CESTBrighton 1-1 Newcastle: WHAT A SAVE! Wilson ping a shot from eight yards and Verbruggen tips it over. 2d ago16.54 CESTGOAL Brentford 4-3 Manchester United (Diallo 90+4)GAME ON 2d ago16.51 CESTBrighton 1-1 Newcastle: Veltman cleans out Gordon on the left wing to give Newcastle a free-kick in a dangerous position. It comes to nothing. 2d ago16.49 CESTBrentford 4-2 Manchester United: SEVEN ADDED ON! (THIS MATTERS LESS) 2d ago16.49 CESTBrighton 1-1 Newcastle: NINE MINUTES ADDED ON! Updated at 16.50 CEST2d ago16.47 CESTGOAL! Brighton 1-1 Newcastle (Isak, pen, 89)Isak steps up … and sends the keeper the wrong way. Then fights Verbruggen to get the ball back. 2d ago16.46 CESTBrighton 1-0 Newcastle: A long look … AND A PENALTY IS GIVEN! Third time lucky for Newcastle. 2d ago16.45 CESTBrighton 1-0 Newcastle: VAR is having a look … 2d ago16.45 CESTBrighton 1-0 Newcastle: PENALTY The visitors have a free-kick in a very dangerous position on the edge of the box … Schar lines it up it breaks through the wall off Ayari’s arm 2d ago16.41 CESTGOAL Brentford 4-2 Manchester United (Garnacho 81)The Argentinian produces a stunner into the top corner plays a one-two with Eriksen and whips it into the top corner 2d ago16.38 CESTBrighton 1-0 Newcastle: O’Reilly is penalised for a foul on Tonali in the Newcastle box. 2d ago16.38 CESTWest Ham 1-1 Tottenham: Paqueta is booked for trip the young lad Moore. 2d ago16.35 CESTBrighton 1-0 Newcastle: “I loathe VAR, but at least it’s doing its job today,” says Paul (a bitter Boro fan). “Two dodgy penalties to Newcastle? Sounds about right. I’ve long thought St. James Park is the Bermuda Triangle of football. A place where normal laws of football apply only to the away team.” 2d ago16.35 CESTGOAL Brentford 4-1 Manchester United (Wissa 74)Jensen slips a pass through to Kayode who crosses for Wissa to tap home from close range There is a check for offside … and it is eventually given 2d ago16.32 CESTBrighton 1-0 Newcastle: Wilson is being prepared for Newcastle. 2d ago16.31 CESTBrighton 1-0 Newcastle: NO PENALTY Fair play to Pawson for admitting a second error A decent effort by Willock but not good enough Brentford 3-1 Manchester United (Schade 70)Mbeumo crosses and Schade does the rest 2d ago16.27 CESTBrighton 1-0 Newcastle: Ayari and Veltman on for Brighton, Hinshelwood and Adringa off. 2d ago16.26 CESTBrighton 1-0 Newcastle: Barnes beats the defender, gets to the byline and pulls the ball back to Isak who does what he can, sending a backheel towards goal but Verbruggen deals with it. 2d ago16.24 CESTWest Ham 1-1 Tottenham: All quite end of season on the other side of London, where Spurs win their first corner of the matchin the 61st minute. 2d ago16.23 CESTBrentford 2-1 Manchester United: Jensen is preparing to come on for the Bees. 2d ago16.23 CESTBrentford 2-1 Manchester United: It is all quite slow in west London. Are both teams very tired? 2d ago16.22 CESTBrighton 1-0 Newcastle: Barnes is on the right now and cuts in to fire a shot with his left but it’s straight at the keeper. 2d ago16.17 CESTBrighton 1-0 Newcastle: OVERTURNED 2d ago16.16 CESTBrighton 1-0 Newcastle: PENALTY? Lamptey kicks Gordon just outside the box but a penalty is given. Will it be overturned? 2d ago16.15 CESTBrentford 2-1 Manchester United: Former Bees man Eriksen is brought on for Mount. 2d ago16.14 CESTBrighton 1-0 Newcastle: That is the final action for Murphy, who is replaced by Gordon. 2d ago16.13 CESTBrighton 1-0 Newcastle: Murphy takes aim from 20 yards but his shot is very wayward. 2d ago16.12 CESTBrighton 1-0 Newcastle: Wieffer is replaced by Lamptey. No point in taking the risk with him as Brighton do not want to go down to 10. 2d ago16.10 CESTBrentford 2-1 Manchester United: Garnacho is booked for moaning about being penalised for a soft foul. 2d ago16.10 CESTBrighton 1-0 Newcastle: Wieffer slides in on Tonali He is on a booking but Pawson does not think it is worthy of a second Man Utd secure European spot in derby showdown BBC Sport women’s football news reporter at Old TraffordManchester United secured their place in next season's Women's Champions League after coming from behind to draw with rivals Manchester City in a thrilling showdown at Old Trafford Marc Skinner's side needed just a point to secure their spot in Europe and Melvine Malard delivered the crucial equalising goal after coming off the bench United were 2-0 down after conceding goals from Laia Aleixandri and Rebecca Knaak in the first half but responded through Grace Clinton and Malard who scored five minutes after she was introduced in the second half lapped up the adulation from home fans in the Stretford End as she ran off to celebrate It was a chaotic few minutes as fellow substitute Aoife Mannion - brought on for the injured Jayde Riviere in the first half - was sent off for a second booking leaving United to finish the game with 10 players But they held on to inflict a crushing blow to rivals City who had to win at Old Trafford and hope United dropped points in their final game to stand a chance of qualifying for the Champions League themselves boosted by the return of England internationals Alex Greenwood and Lauren Hemp who started their first games since undergoing knee surgeries - but it was not enough It is just the second time United have secured a Champions League spot though they failed to progress from the qualifying rounds in 2023 so will look to go one better in the competition next season City's campaign has been one to forget and this rubs salt into the wounds of a season without a trophy Melvine Malard scored five minutes after coming on as a substitute What are Man Utd's next steps after sealing European spot Malard's equaliser felt like a stoppage-time winner as the stands erupted into celebration aware of the significance a point would provide But knowing that was all they needed before the game kicked off United were scrappy in the first half and took time to settle into the match with Elisabeth Terland's disallowed goal shaking City's defence but it only seemed to spark a response from the visitors Moments later Greenwood curled in a cross for Kerolin but her first-time effort was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce who dived low to her left it was City who played the better football coming close through Knaak and Kerstin Casparij before Aleixandri eventually broke the deadlock Kerolin was a constant threat and had rolled away from defender Millie Turner in the build-up to the opener Knaak's header put City 2-0 up and gave them a strong lead It did not flatter them but United were given a lifeline when Clinton got in front of Casparij to halve the deficit two minutes and 27 seconds later with another powerful header That meant United ended the first half with momentum on their side and they lifted their level in the second half putting pressure on City and searching for the crucial equaliser United were primed to push on but had to defend nervously for over 20 minutes after Mannion's sending off sent them down to 10 players The crowd whistled and cheered as each sliding challenge came in and roared on their players as they attempted to slow the game down and spoil City's rhythm even sending up goalkeeper Khiara Keating and bringing on midfielder Jill Roord to play as a number nine Cushing's interim spell has been a difficult one with injuries impacting their ability to compete - but ultimately it has been a poor season which they must improve on next year United are looking ahead to bigger and better things and are planning for a significant summer of recruitment to build their squad depth for a European challenge Yamashita Match OfficialsReferee: Emily HeaslipMatch StatsKey Gracie Prior (Manchester City Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half Foul by Elisabeth Terland (Manchester United Women) Anna Sandberg (Manchester United Women) is shown the yellow card Khiara Keating (Manchester City Women) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul Foul by Khiara Keating (Manchester City Women) Grace Clinton (Manchester United Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half Aoba Fujino (Manchester City Women) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked Fourth official has announced 5 minutes of added time Kerolin (Manchester City Women) right footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right Laura Blindkilde Brown replaces Laura Coombs Kerolin (Manchester City Women) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left following a corner Jill Roord (Manchester City Women) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked Laura Coombs (Manchester City Women) right footed shot from outside the box is too high Laia Aleixandri (Manchester City Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half Ruben Amorim has rotated heavily for Premier League clash Ruben Amorim has made eight changes to his Manchester United team against Brentford after admitting the focus is on the Europa League United’s game in west London is sandwiched in between the two legs of their Europa League semi-final tie against Athletic Bilbao with the Red Devils having eased to a commanding 3-0 victory at San Mames on Thursday night CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW BRENTFORD VS MAN UNITED LIVE! Amorim admitted after the win in Spain that some of his players had reached their physical limit with a number of changes now expected Alejandro Garnacho and Manuel Ugarte the three to keep their places from midweek Amorim was boosted in Bilbao by Amad Diallo and Matthijs de Ligt both returning from injury off the bench Ayden Heaven and Toby Collyer remain sidelined along with long-term absentees Lisandro Martinez Fredricson features again after playing 90 minutes in defence against Wolves last month Amorim provides De Ligt update as Man United handed fresh injury scare Meet the entrepreneur turning plastic waste into something wonderful Manchester United rallied to grab a point through Rasmus Højlund and dent their 10-man hosts’ European hopes Ha. It’s certainly striking what has happened when Amorim has ditched the dogma. In the frantic final acts when he has switched to a back four, United now have two mini-wins and a mini-draw: it was 0-0 at Forest, 2-0 v Lyon and 1-0 here. In the same games, the back three was losing every time – 0-1, 3-4 and 0-1 again. 27 Apr 202517.11 CEST“That red card,” says Andy Flintoff, “was similar to one for Fernandes earlier in the season, which was reduced on appeal as he slipped too. It doesn’t help Bournemouth now, of course.” 27 Apr 202517.05 CEST“The glower of Sir Jim Ratcliffe,” says Eric Peterson, “gives him an uncanny resemblance to Roger Waters, as if he’s thinking about all those times the other jerks in Pink Floyd had the nerve to have musical thoughts of their own.” 27 Apr 202517.05 CEST“If Liverpool had stopped playing at Christmas,” says Marie Meyer in Santa Fe, “they’d still have more points than Man United.” Ha. According to Whoscored.com, it would actually be a tie – 39 all. But point taken. 27 Apr 202516.57 CEST90+9 min Obi goes down just inside the box, but it’s just a collision. Corner to United… they try something too elaborate, which ends with Shaw overhitting a cross. 27 Apr 202516.56 CEST90+7 min Iraola replaces Ouattara with Jebbison, probably to kill time. 27 Apr 202516.55 CESTGOAL Bournemouth 1-1 United (Hojlund 90+6)They’ve found the net Hojlund adds a flick to someone else’s shot 27 Apr 202516.52 CEST90+3 min Chances for Garnacho, Eriksen and Fernandes! The first two were scrappy but Fernandes had a clear sight of goal. His shot from distance was curled artfully but not quite sharply enough. 27 Apr 202516.50 CEST90+2 min Final United sub: Dorgu is replaced by Eriksen, who takes over from Fernandes on corner duty. 27 Apr 202516.49 CEST90+1 min Chance for Obi! Sent through by Shaw, he does well to keep his balance and shoot for the top corner, where Kepa paws it out. 27 Apr 202516.48 CEST90 min There will be NINE more minutes Dorgu’s cut-back reaches him near the penalty spot 27 Apr 202516.44 CEST86 min Shaw wins a corner with a classy cross. He’s still got it. 27 Apr 202516.43 CEST85 min Bournemouth sub: Senesi for Semenyo as Iraola shores up his defence. Exit Semenyo, pursued by a big hand. 27 Apr 202516.37 CEST78 min United on the prowl again. Garnacho’s cut'-back can’t find a team-mate. As Bournemouth threaten to counter, Shaw takes one for the team. 27 Apr 202516.35 CEST77 min Chance for Obi! Shaw, now at left-back, executes a model overlap and cut-back, but Obi can’t quite sort his feet out in time to put any power into his shot. 27 Apr 202516.34 CEST76 min Amorim sends on a fourth sub, and it’s a bold one: Chido Obi, the teenage centre-forward, for Mazraoui, the seasoned odd-job man. 27 Apr 202516.33 CEST75 min And Bournemouth can still be a danger on the break. Some good work from Tavernier wins them a corner, which they can’t turn into a chance. 27 Apr 202516.29 CEST71 min Bournemouth subs: Tavernier for Kluivert, Cook for Scott. 27 Apr 202516.29 CESTRED CARD! EvanilsonBankes had given a yellow, but now he brandishes a red. And the VAR, much to Alan Smith’s disgust, has not mentioned the possibility of a slip. “Dumbfounded about that one… It’s a total accident.” 1174 CommentsManchester United and Tottenham Hotspur both took huge strides towards reaching the Europa League final with convincing semi-final first-leg wins on Thursday United won 3-0 at Athletic Bilbao, who host the final on 21 May, while Tottenham saw off Bodo/Glimt 3-1 in London Statisticians Opta give United a 97% chance of reaching the final - with 91% for Spurs - meaning an 88% likelihood of both being there That would create just a sixth all-English final in any major European competition - with half of them involving Spurs It would also mean six English teams in next season's Champions League The race for Europe - watch The Football News Show Opta's data gives only a 12% chance of it not being an all-English final was hugely impressive - and they will hope home advantage next week means they will get over the line Spurs may feel like the job is not quite as complete especially with fresh injury scares surrounding James Maddison and Dominic Solanke Norwegian Arctic side Glimt's win rate at home in the Europa League since 2022-23 is 70% compared to 9% on the road - and they have key players returning for the second leg Manchester United and Tottenham's unusually poor domestic seasons mean that if both teams reach the Europa League final next week and stay in their current Premier League positions the winner would be the lowest-ranked domestic side to win the competition in the past 15 years Opta data shows that since the Europa League was rebranded in 2009-10 no team finishing lower than 12th has competed in the final or won it while Fulham (12th) lost the final in 2010 And this is also the first season with new league phase formats in Europe - previously teams who finished third in their Champions League groups would drop into the Europa League in theory making the competition harder to win When West Ham won the Conference League in 2023 they finished 14th in the Premier League that same season Neither Manchester United nor Tottenham have any hope of finishing anywhere near the domestic European places The winners of the Europa League go into the following season's Champions League regardless of where they finish domestically So a United v Spurs final would guarantee them a return to the mega-riches of European football's top table That rule is handy for United - who sit 14th - and Spurs - who are 16th - both more than 20 points behind fifth place Without winning the Europa League, neither of them will be in any European competition next season It would not have any knock-on effect on any other English teams - with the top five guaranteed a Champions League spot through the league That fifth spot came as a result of English clubs' performances in Europe this season Why more than £100m rests on Man Utd winning Europa League No country's teams have ever won the Champions League Europa League and Conference League in the same season (albeit the latter is only in its fourth year) But it could yet happen for England this term - with teams in all the semis The smallest chance (12.1% say Opta) is for Arsenal who lost 1-0 at home to Paris St-Germain in the Champions League first leg on Tuesday In the Conference League, Chelsea have looked like likely winners all season. They won 4-1 at Djurgarden in their semi-final first leg. It may just be a snapshot in time - especially given Arsenal could be out of the Champions League by Wednesday night. But, alongside England's four potential European finalists this season, the Premier League could feasibly have around nine or 10 clubs in Europe again next season, depending on permutations. Liverpool head coach Arne Slot, asked about the strength of the Premier League on Friday, said: "The number 14 and 16 in the Premier League have so much more funds than the number one in Holland, for example. "It is not a surprise that English teams go all the way into Europe, especially in the Europa League and Conference League, because they are in a different league when it comes to money compared to other teams. "The Champions League is more balanced so it's a big achievement from Arsenal that they are still in the semi-final. "It tells you how much money there is in this league and how strong this league is, but we all knew this. We didn't need this season to know that the Premier League is by far the most competitive league in the world." Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes English success in Europe is closely correlated to budgets. He said: "Premier League clubs in total generate twice as much money than clubs in La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and probably about five times as much revenue as Ligue 1. "Therefore it is not a surprise to see 'middle tier' clubs from England having vastly higher budgets than clubs against which they're competing. "They can turn this into success in European competitions through being able to recruit and retain some of the best talent in Europe that isn't deemed good enough to play for the truly elite clubs in Europe such as PSG, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich." Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Tottenham won the 1972 Uefa Cup and lost the 2019 Champions League final against English teams The first Uefa Cup in 1971-72 was between Tottenham and Wolves in a two-legged final. Spurs won the first leg 2-1 at Molineux, with Martin Chivers scoring twice, and drew 1-1 at White Hart Lane two weeks later. It would take 36 years for the next all-English final, which was in the 2007-08 Champions League as Manchester United beat Chelsea on penalties in Moscow. Cristiano Ronaldo and Frank Lampard traded goals before a shootout that is best remembered for John Terry's miss after slipping. There were two all-English finals in 2018-19. Liverpool beat Tottenham 2-0 in the Champions League in Madrid, with goals from Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi. And Chelsea saw off Arsenal 4-1 in Baku in the Europa League, with Eden Hazard netting twice in his final game for the club. Two years later Chelsea beat Manchester City 1-0 in the Champions League, with Kai Havertz scoring the only goal in Porto. View comments | 1174Top storiesHis stats are better Chief football news reporterManchester United dragged their season out of the ashes in quite extraordinary fashion as they scored twice in the final minute of extra time to complete a staggering comeback from 4-2 down against 10-man Lyon at Old Trafford United appeared to be heading out of the competition in the worst possible manner as they tossed away a two-goal lead in the space of seven minutes before conceding twice in extra time Supporters were streaming for the exits in their droves but Bruno Fernandes breathed new life into United when he converted a penalty six minutes from time after a video assistant referee intervention for a foul on Casemiro that had initially gone unpunished Kobbie Mainoo somehow kept his cool to curl an equaliser into the corner of the Lyon goal as the tie entered its final minute But there was no inclination to settle for penalties from the hosts In front of legendary former manager Sir Alex Ferguson United produced an ending right out of his 1999 Champions League-winning playbook as Casemiro lifted the ball into the penalty area and makeshift centre-forward Harry Maguire rose to send it arcing into the corner the substituted and anyone else who could get there joined in the celebrations It was up there with the most famous games this stadium has ever seen and means Ruben Amorim's side now face a semi-final with Athletic Bilbao 'More than a miracle' - how Man Utd won in remarkable extra time Amorim 'inspired' by 1999 for United comeback Man Utd begin to show never-say-die DNA' it is pointless trying to make sense of this game Bloody Hell' comment after the 1999 Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich which featured two injury-time goals to win it sprang to mind as Maguire headed off down the tunnel at the end of the game Amorim responded to his goal by chasing off down the touchline just as Jose Mourinho famously did when Porto won in this stadium in 2004 was shown jumping up and down with delight United still have a semi-final to play - and an all-English final with Tottenham - before they can claim a Champions League place by winning the Europa League and grabbing some silverware to at least make this desperate campaign a success But it will be a while before the memories of what happened fade that is over 100 years old and has played host to the Busby Babes - the only other United side to win a game by a 5-4 scoreline when they beat Arsenal in the match before the Munich tragedy - the Holy Trinity of George Best But this single game stands alongside any those illustrious predecessors produced as one of the very best It is Amorim's job to piece through the ridiculous events that unfolded at Old Trafford United produced arguably their best performance under him as Manuel Ugarte and Diogo Dalot put them within touching distance of a place in the last four But they were made to pay for the failure to take one of numerous chances to score a tie-sealing third and then simply tossed away their advantage The start of their unravelling was a straightforward free-kick into the box Former Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette got a flick on and Corentin Tolisso nipped ahead of Leny Yoro to head home The goal seemed to suck all the certainty and purpose out of the home side Substitute Malick Fofana began to threaten and Thiago Almada skied an excellent chance over from the edge of the area But United were rocking and they were unable to stabilise themselves before the French visitors levelled This time there was an English element as Ainsley Maitland-Niles let fly with cross-shot that fizzed to Nicolas Tagliafico at the far post the Argentina defender scuffed his effort but Andre Onana could not prevent the ball crossing the line It was a seven-minute spell that summed up everything that is bad about Amorim's team with substitute Mainoo operating as a false nine and Mason Mount in support not even after Tolisso had been unluckily dismissed for accidently tripping Yoro there was greater purpose about Lyon and it was no real surprise when man of the match Rayan Cherki put the visitors ahead from the edge of the area in the first period of extra time The jubilation that followed that goal was nothing compared to the celebrations after Lacazette sent Onana the wrong way from the spot after Yoro and Luke Shaw had combined to upend Fofana inside the penalty area There was going to be no European football next season for only the second time since English clubs returned to Europe in 1990 following the Heysel tragedy The financial cost of missing out on the Champions League is immense Manchester United defenders Noussair Mazraoui and Victor Lindelof had to leave Old Trafford to attend urgent family issues Mazraoui did not appear for the second half after starting the game while Lindelof appeared to be getting ready to come on but in the end Both issues were independent of each other and United sources said both players were fine substituted for Abner at 107 minutesSubstitutesNumber 40 Yellow Card at 120 minutes plus 1Number 55 Ćaleta-Car Match OfficialsReferee: Sandro SchärerVideo Assistant Referee: Fedayi SanAssistant Referee 1: Stéphane De AlmeidaAssistant Referee 2: Jonas ErniFourth Official: Lionel TschudiAssistant VAR Official: Christian DingertMatch StatsKey Scroll LeftScroll RightThis will be the third time that Manchester United have faced Lyon in European competition at Old Trafford with the Red Devils winning both prior meetings (2-1 in November 2004 & 1-0 in March 2008) Lyon have lost just one of their last nine European games against sides from England (W4 D4) a 3-0 defeat to West Ham during the 2021-22 UEFA Europa League Manchester United have lost each of their last two home European games against sides from France (2-0 & 3-1 vs PSG in February 2019 and December 2020) after remaining unbeaten across their prior 14 matches between 1965 and 2017 (W10 D4) Lyon are unbeaten across their last 12 away UEFA Europa League games (W9 D3) since a 1-0 defeat to Atalanta in December 2017 Manchester United remain unbeaten across their 11 UEFA Europa League games this season (W6 D5) The last time the Red Devils began a European campaign unbeaten across their opening 11 matches they eventually went on to lose 3-1 in the 2010-11 UEFA Champions League final against Barcelona Across major European competition when drawing the first leg of a knockout clash on home soil Lyon have failed to progress from all nine of their prior ties between 1964 and 2019 Rasmus Højlund has recorded 12 goal contributions for Manchester United across European competition (10 goals Amongst Premier League players to have recorded 10 or more in that time only Mohamed Salah (80) and Bukayo Saka (88) have a better minutes per goal contribution ratio than the Danish international (96) After netting Lyon’s equaliser in the first leg Rayan Cherki has now recorded 11 goals contributions across his 11 UEFA Europa League games this season (3 goals That’s the highest tally in the competition this season whilst no player has ever recorded more assists in a single UEFL campaign (also Diego in 2011-12) Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the attacking half Moussa Niakhaté (Lyon) wins a free kick in the defensive half Delay in match because of an injury André Onana (Manchester United) Mason Mount (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half Abner Vinícius (Lyon) is shown the yellow card Harry Maguire (Manchester United) header from the right side of the six yard box to the bottom left corner Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United) right footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom right corner Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right Delay in match because of an injury Lucas Perri (Lyon) Duje Caleta-Car replaces Nicolás Tagliafico Manchester United have one foot in the final after a commanding display against 10-man Bilbao 4d ago23.06 CESTHarry Maguire speaks to TNT Sports but the early stages looked promising for Athletic Club Iñaki Williams headed over wastefully from close range; Alex Berenguer had one shot turned around the bar by André Onana and another cleared off the line by Victor Lindelöf Harry ‘Harrincha’ Maguire set up Casemiro’s opener with some inspired wingplay (!) Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty after Daniel Vivian was sent packing for a tug on Rasmus Højlund Fernandes added another against reeling opponents just before the break United controlled the second half against ten men perfectly but a three-goal lead to take back to Old Trafford is beyond their wildest dreams As a reward for their best performance to date under Ruben Amorim they should be coming back to San Mamés in three weeks’ time for the final Updated at 23.01 CEST4d ago22.56 CEST90 min +5: Djaló goes direct, and it’s easy for Onana. That’ll be that. 4d ago22.55 CEST90 min +4: Sannadi is brought down by Casemiro, 25 yards from the United goal. Maybe 30. Probably a bit too far for a direct shot? But whatever, it’ll be the last chance for Bilbao to snatch a glimmer of hope for the second leg. 4d ago22.54 CEST90 min +2: Jaureguizar hoicks a cross in from the right. Gomez deflects the ball harmlessly over the bar. Yoro is booked for some indiscretion or other. 4d ago22.53 CEST90 min +1: Djaló dribbles excitingly into the United box down the left, but he’s soon swarmed and can’t get a shot away. 4d ago22.51 CEST90 min: Diallo wins a free kick out on the left. Shaw hits it long for De Ligt, who wins a corner. Diallo trots over to take. He tries something intricate with Fernandes that doesn’t pay dividend. There will be four added minutes. 4d ago22.49 CEST88 min: United continue to press for their fourth. Fernandes crosses from the right. Hojlund flashes a header over the bar. 4d ago22.48 CEST87 min: Iñaki Williams joins his brother on the bench, making way for Álvaro Djaló. 4d ago22.47 CEST86 min: United are looking for the fourth that would put this semi-final beyond any doubt. Shaw again cuts back from the left, this time for Fernandes, who flays a poor shot over the crossbar from just inside the box. He should have hit the target at least. 4d ago22.46 CEST84 min: Shaw reaches the byline down the left and cuts back for Garnacho, who opens his body and sidefoots powerfully towards the top left. Agirrezabala parries. That’s Garnacho’s last contribution to an impressive evening’s body of work, as he’s replaced by Mainoo. Dorgu meanwhile makes way for Diallo. 4d ago22.43 CEST82 min: Hojlund draws a foul out on the left. Fernandes pulls the free kick across the face of the box for Dorgu, who can’t force his shot through a thicket of players. Athletic clear. 4d ago22.43 CEST81 min: A pocket of space for Fernandes, 25 yards out. He aims for the bottom right. Agirrezabala palms it away. Dorgu retrieves on the right and cuts back for Casemiro, who swings towards the far post. Garnacho, rushing in, can’t quite connect with a telescopic leg. 4d ago22.41 CEST80 min: Nico Williams, out on the right, crosses long to … nobody at all. When the ball sails out for a throw, he’s hooked for Gomez. 4d ago22.39 CEST78 min: Garnacho dribbles with purpose down the left and wins a corner. Fernandes loops it straight down Agirrezabala’s throat. 4d ago22.38 CEST77 min: Mount is booked for a cynical tap on Sannadi’s ankle. The home fans cheer in irony. 4d ago22.37 CEST75 min: Dorgu slips a pass down the right for Mount, who has team-mates in the middle but can’t force a cross beyond Paredes, who hooks clear. A good opportunity passes by. United can probably afford it. 4d ago22.35 CEST74 min: Mazraoui makes way for Shaw. 4d ago22.34 CEST73 min: Iñaki Williams takes on Dorgu in a footrace down the right. He can’t get a cross in, though. The ball is worked back to Sannadi, who loops a harmless cross into Onana’s arms. The United keeper, that one early save from Berenguer apart, has had nothing to do. 4d ago22.32 CEST71 min: Nico Williams attempts to turn on the jets down the left but there’s little in the tank. Lindelof picks his pocket with contemptuous ease. 4d ago22.31 CEST69 min: Sannadi has a rare run at the United back line but runs slap-bang into De Ligt and Yoro. 4d ago22.30 CEST68 min: Nico Williams dribbles infield from the left but slips when he enters the box 4d ago22.27 CEST65 min: United make their first changes of the evening, swapping out Ugarte and Maguire for De Ligt and Mount. “Harrincha,” offers our pal Rob Smyth. “Doesn’t quite work, does it? Shame, as it’s tickled me, the big galoot!” 4d ago22.25 CEST64 min: Fernandes whips the corner towards the near stick, where Casemiro whacks a firm header off the right-hand upright and out for a goal kick. A bit more of a glance and that was beating Agirrezabala, who hadn’t reacted in time. If it wasn’t for the woodwork, United would have scored five. Updated at 22.25 CEST4d ago22.24 CEST63 min: Now it’s Casemiro’s turn to take a shy from distance. He goes top right as well, and forces Agirrezabala to tip over the bar. 4d ago22.23 CEST62 min: A bit of space for Ugarte, 25 yards out. He aims towards the top right but it’s easy for Agirrezabala. 4d ago22.22 CEST61 min: Garnacho fights to retain possession in the middle of the park and is cleaned out by Álvarez, who goes into the book. San Mamés is a pressure cooker now. 4d ago22.21 CEST60 min: That’s got the crowd going, if nothing else. 4d ago22.19 CEST57 min: Iñaki Williams rolls a pass down the right for Sannadi, who looks to have beaten Maguire in a footrace. The pair come together. Maguire with his arm around the striker. Sannadi goes down. VAR to check for a potential red card for the denial of a goalscoring opportunity! 4d ago22.17 CEST55 min: Bilbao may have got away with one there, you know. Yuri was a bit hands on from behind and there was a tangle of feet as well. Ruben Amorim made his claim, but not with too much vigour. 4d ago22.14 CEST53 min: Fernandes slips a pass down the left for Dorgu, who whistles a low cross through the Bilbao box. Hojlund goes over again under defensive pressure, but this time a little too easily, and neither referee nor VAR show any interest in awarding a penalty. 4d ago22.12 CEST51 min: For the first time this evening, San Mamés has fallen quiet. United have done a proper number on everyone in Bilbao tonight. 4d ago22.11 CEST49 min: No fast start to the second half from the home side. United look calm and in control. They’ve gone into back-five mode, their attacking work here tonight as good as done. Anything on the counter a bonus. 4d ago22.09 CEST47 min: A reminder that Bilbao have only shipped ten goals at home in La Liga all season. 4d ago22.06 CESTBilbao get their party the second half started. They’ve made another change, replacing Ruiz De Galarreta with Prados. 4d ago22.04 CESTHalf-time postbag. “Athletic apparently going to avoid the pain of a humiliating upset loss in a European final to a Premier League club who had no right to be there in the first place, by doing it in the semi-finals instead” – David Howell “It seems that Amorim has finally come up with a Plan B: to get Maguire out onto the wing and deliver Beckham-like crosses. Man Utd have been remarkably clinical” – Steven Crawford Grundy “Until the first goal, Athletic were by far the better side. This may be my neutral’s hope that the tie isn’t over speaking, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the ten Basques can shut up shop and maybe nick a goal late on. United can easily let a two goal lead slip at Old Trafford, where they seem more nervous than on their travels. It isn’t over, yet” – Kári Tulinius 5d ago21.57 CESTBreaking news! The crossbar hit by Mazraoui has just stopped rattling. 5d ago21.55 CESTHalf-time entertainment. Last night’s European action wasn’t too shabby either. Relive it with Max, Barry et al. 5d ago21.51 CEST45 min +4: Ugarte cushions a pass into the Bilbao box for Hojlund, who can’t get a shot away but forces a corner. And from the set piece, Mazraoui sends a fierce, curling, rising drive towards the top-left corner … and off the face of the crossbar! So nearly four! 5d ago21.50 CEST45 min +3: There’s still a lot of noise being made by the San Mamés faithful, who are still four-square behind their team. 5d ago21.49 CEST45 min +1: The first of four additional minutes comes and goes. 5d ago21.48 CESTGOAL Athletic Club 0-3 Manchester United (Fernandes 45)United are flying Ugarte splits the home defence with a backheel down the middle and lifts the ball into the right-hand portion of the net 5d ago21.45 CEST43 min: Nothing comes of the corner. “Maguire transformed into Garrincha—it could only happen in the land of Picasso and Dalí,” observes our new culture correspondent Justin Kavanagh. “Maybe the bus stopped off at the Guggenheim for inspiration this evening!” 5d ago21.44 CEST42 min: Dorgu wins a corner down the left. Before it can be taken, Bilbao make a double change. De Marcos and Berenguer are sacrificed for Gorosabel and Paredes. 5d ago21.42 CEST40 min: The corner’s worked back to Iñaki Williams, who aims for the top-right corner but gets nowhere near the goal. The home fans holler in impotent fury. 5d ago21.41 CEST39 min: Bilbao need something. United by contrast need to keep it simple. But Lindelof, not for the first time this evening, gifts possession to Nico Williams, who bears down on the United box and takes a shot that’s deflected wide right. Corner. 5d ago21.39 CESTGOAL Athletic Club 0-2 Manchester United (Fernandes 37 pen)Fernandes waits for Agirrezabala to commit and Yuri goes into the book for saying his piece too The ball might have hit Garnacho’s hand in the build-up but it’s not clear so he’s been given the benefit of the on-field decision The 1-0 victory, secured by a 74th-minute Lucy Bronze header from a corner, was greeted by jubilant scenes of celebration in the away end and means Sonia Bompastor’s team remain on course to complete an entire league campaign unbeaten, a feat that has not been achieved by any team since the WSL expanded to be a 12-team division. Read moreIt also ensured the English champions bounced straight back after the desperately disappointing manner of their exit from Europe just three days earlier, and kept them on course for a potential domestic treble of major trophies this term in Bompastor’s first season in English football, having already lifted the League Cup in March Marc Skinner’s Manchester United remain third in the table but missed the chance to mathematically guarantee a place in the Champions League He offered his congratulations to Chelsea and I don’t think they’re a million miles [ahead] there’s always a chance to get them and catch them And you’ve got to try and topple that dynasty.” If Chelsea had needed a morale boost after their humbling 8-2 aggregate defeat against Barcelona it came in the form of score updates from Villa Park while they were arriving at a sun-kissed Leigh Sports Village as news of goal after goal after goal continued to trickle up the M6 until it turned into something of a flood of bewilderment needing a win to keep their own faint title hopes alive had conceded five goals to statistically one of the worst teams in the league offering a storyline scarcely anybody with an ounce of sanity would have predicted ShowArsenal's faint Women's Super League title hopes ended after they were stunned 5-2 by Aston Villa before Chelsea won at Manchester Un ited Defeat at Villa Park was only the Gunners' third in the WSL this season but they were left nine points adrift of Chelsea who later clinched a sixth successive crown with a 1-0 win at Leigh Sports Village came back to haunt her old side after rounding off a swift counterattack on the half-hour mark before Kirsty Hanson doubled their advantage on the cusp of half-time with a stunning strike Chasity Grant and Rachel Daly piled misery on the Champions League finalists after the break before two goals in three minutes by Stina Blackstenius and then Alessia Russo cut the deficit But Grant added her second to wrap up a third straight league victory for Villa "That wasn't the performance we expect of ourselves," said Arsenal's Kim Little "We expect higher standards than that and we're just disappointed in the result "It's over now so we have to move on but we'll regroup .. We’ve got two more league games left and a Champions League final." PA Media and Guardian sport Chelsea knew they needed just one more point to clinch the title They were up against a Manchester United side with aspirations of qualifying for Europe and Skinner’s team began the game purposefully A first half played at a good intensity by both teams saw the world-record signing Naomi Girma produce a block worthy of her high price tag to instinctively prevent Grace Clinton from scoring on the rebound after Melvine Malard’s initial shot had been saved by Hannah Hampton Both goalkeepers were forced into superb saves early in the second half and United began to build up a spell of pressure, as they chased a winning goal for themselves that would have lifted them up to second, before two of Chelsea’s summer signings from 2024 combined to wrap up the title. Sandy Baltimore’s inswinging corner was met by Bronze at the near post and she ran to celebrate in front of the delirious Chelsea fans. It is Chelsea’s eighth WSL title since 2015 and their 17th major trophy in those past 10 years, and they will hope to add another to that tally when these two teams meet again at Wembley in May’s Women’s FA Cup final. Highlights: Nottingham Forest 0-2 Manchester City BBC Sport football news reporter Published27 April 2025693 CommentsBoss Pep Guardiola has told Manchester City they cannot get "confused" this season has been a success after reaching the FA Cup final Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol were on target as City beat Nottingham Forest to book a date with Crystal Palace on Saturday It will be their third straight FA Cup final and the chance of an eighth success in the competition while Palace have never won a major trophy The competition is also City's only chance of major silverware this season as their run of four straight Premier League titles ended with Liverpool officially crowned champions on Sunday and reaching next season's Champions League with a top-five finish will not be enough to mask a disappointing campaign this season has not been good - Guardiola after reaching FA Cup final It's not going to confuse [that] the season has been good "We are a thousand million points behind Liverpool I said many times the season hasn't been good because we define if the season is good or not with the Premier League at the same time we tried to avoid the damage Lewis' second-minute goal put City in control with the England international impressing in midfield having been pushed up from his regular full-back role The 20-year-old believes his side are now moving in the right direction after their faltering mid-season form proved costly in domestic and European competitions "We can go on about excuses but it wasn't good enough at the start of the season and now we're picking ourselves back up and we've got momentum," said Lewis "We've got the chance of a trophy now and hopefully be in the top four to take into next season It's not been smooth sailing but we have picked ourselves up and shown we are a top team "We have top players and we can get through tough situations Now we are on the up we can take it into next season." Qualifying for the Champions League is the most important thing - Guardiola After starting the season with a 13-game unbeaten run City won just once in their next 13 in all competitions They had slipped to seventh place on Boxing Day after a 1-1 draw with Everton but have managed to climb back into Champions League contention Guardiola's side also suffered their earliest exit from the Champions League for 12 years after losing to Real Madrid in the knockout play-offs in February. They continued to stutter, thrashed 5-1 at Arsenal in February while Forest beat them 1-0 at the City Ground in March But City have won six of their last seven games, including their last-gasp 2-1 success over top-five rivals Aston Villa on Tuesday Midfielder Mateo Kovacic added: "We found ourselves again "When we are all back we are a strong team but we are in another FA Cup final and in the top four." The only season Pep Guardiola won no trophies with Manchester City was 2016-17 - his first season in charge Lewis' early opener silenced the 35,000 Forest fans behind the goal and Nuno Espirito Santo's side failed to land a blow on City before the break Substitute Anthony Elanga should have made it 1-1 firing wide a minute after coming on at the start of the second half but Gvardiol's 51st-minute header put the game beyond reach Gibbs-White smacked the bar from the edge of the area with an audacious volley before hitting the post from a tight angle after rounding City keeper Stefan Ortega following Gvardiol's mistake Taiwo Awoniyi also hit the woodwork with an instinctive effort following more Forest pressure It took time to feel comfortable and adjust," said Nuno "The first half was difficult and in the second half the momentum changed a little bit We had a couple of chances which could put the game in a different story Forest next host Brentford in the Premier League on Thursday sitting sixth in the table but knowing victory will return them to third place and maintain their push for a Champions League spot "It's a sad day," added Nuno but when we wake up and the sadness is gone we know we have big things ahead of us to fight for "It can only bring us more energy for the last moments of the season." Midfielder Gibbs-White also looked to lift Forest who beat relegation on the final day of last season He said: "We've got to put this behind us now and focus on the league we are going to give it our absolute everything and hope for the best." View comments | 693Top storiesHis stats are better Manchester City have won 13 major trophies under Pep Guardiola Pep Guardiola says he will take a break from management after he leaves Manchester City though he does not know when he will retire Guardiola signed a two-year contract extension in November extending his stay at the club until June 2027 By that time the 54-year-old will have been at City for 11 years - he spent four years as Barcelona manager before taking charge of Bayern Munich for three "After my contract with City, I'm going to stop. I'm sure," Guardiola told ESPN, external "I don't know if I'm going to retire Guardiola clarified that he won't necessarily leave City at the end of his current contract "I didn't say I'm leaving now or at the end of season or the end of contract," he said "I won't retire but I will take a break What I am saying is when I am finished here I will take a break," Guardiola has overseen the most successful period in City's history with his side winning six of the past nine Premier League titles as well as the club's first Champions League as part of a Treble in 2022-23 This season City have failed to reach their previous heights and are currently fourth in the table with four games left to play "I want people to remember me however they want "All coaches want to win so we can have a memorable job Bayern Munich and City had fun watching my teams play "I don't think we should ever live thinking about whether we're going to be remembered our families cry for two or three days and then that's it - you're forgotten the important thing is that the good ones are remembered for longer." City could still finish the season with silverware as they face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final on 17 May Get Manchester City news sent straight to your phone Ruben Amorim named the youngest Manchester United starting XI in Premier League history to prepare for a crucial European game Leeds would ordinarily be entirely reluctant to sacrifice a game of such magnitude against a bitter rival but finding it sandwiched between Champions League first group stage games against Besiktas in Turkey and at home Barcelona three days either side Manchester United fully punished that insolence with a comfortable enough win at Old Trafford which featured an own goal from 20-year-old Matt Jones But Leeds will not have regretted their decision as two draws in Europe helped them reach the second group stage from which they would also advance before a valiant fall in the semi-finals They even qualified for Europe again the next season – albeit the UEFA Cup – by finishing fourth in the league READ MORE: The five greatest Premier League teams never to win a trophy, inspired by Pochettino’s Spurs and 19-year-old Theo Walcott scored the only goal of the game As an aside, of the 11 youngest starting XIs in Premier League history, Arsene Wenger and Arsenal account for four. No other manager has named more than one, and Manchester United and Everton are the only other clubs to account for as many as two There wasn’t even a specific reason for him to name such a young side for this match; he just did it for the love of the game Starting XI: Lukasz Fabianski; Emmanuel Eboue Harrop scored and Angel Gomes came on as a late substitute to become the youngest player in Manchester United’s Premier League history There was, of course, an ulterior motive. Wayne Rooney, at 31, was the babysitter as United cruised to a 2-0 victory, with the Europa League final just three days later. A few of the more experienced players were called upon to conquer Ajax as “humble” Jose schooled those “poets” Starting XI: Joel Pereira; Timothy Fosu-Mensah History has repeated itself under Ruben Amorim but it should be pointed out that an embarrassing Premier League campaign for Manchester United was once considered to be finishing 6th and not particularly far from the Champions League places rather than scrapping with Wolves and Spurs to see who can come 13th or 14th rather than 15th The Portuguese was justified in rotating between Europa League semi-final first legs, particularly after the accomplished vanquishing of Athletic Bilbao in Spain But Matthijs de Ligt suffering an early injury was a setback and Alejandro Garnacho and Amad the forwards aged 20 and 22 often tasked with carrying the team in an attacking sense pride and momentum even still in defeat was not ideal preparation Brentford beat a side which started with an average age of 22 years and 270 days and there is every chance that bar is lowered in the build-up to a Europa final Starting XI: Altay Bayindir; Tyler Fredricson Few would have seen Andrey Arshavin’s pre-pubescent looks and expected him to be the oldest member of this starting XI whose average age was 22 years and 237 days struck twice against Portsmouth at Fratton Park while a 20-year-old Carlos Vela also found a way past David James the former England international was over double the age of 18-year-old Aaron Ramsey Seven of the players named in that callow starting line-up against Sunderland in May 2008 popped up against to beat Portsmouth in May 2009 although this time it was at least to help get ready to be beaten by Manchester United in a Champions League semi-final second leg at the Emirates Starting XI: Lukasz Fabianksi; Bacary Sagna If Mourinho inevitably thought that the Premier League held his United side back in terms of their Europa League arrangements he should have tried walking a day in Shteve’s shoes United played six games in 21 days leading up to their date with Ajax; Boro faced seven in 21 ahead of their clash with Sevilla Both teams played 64 games throughout the whole season Boro also had three games in between their final Premier League game and the UEFA Cup final and McClaren chose to name a starting XI with an average age of 20 years and 181 days against Fulham Seven teenagers were joined by a 20-year-old Danny Graham was more than twice as old as seven starters The performance by the young players was incredible,” said McClaren managing his final domestic Boro game after confirmation arrived earlier in the week that he was to be appointed Sven Goran-Eriksson’s replacement as England coach then 39 and more than twice as old as seven starters READ NEXT: Brentford and Thomas Frank: the genuinely ridiculous statistics which embarrass Man Utd Amorim has insisted that the Europa League is his overwhelming priority after a 16th league defeat of the campaign I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Ruben Amorim said Manchester United’s Europa League semi-final second leg on Thursday is what is important after a 4-3 Premier League defeat at Brentford on Sunday The Red Devils’ winless run in the league was extended to six matches despite a late comeback that saw Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo score consolation goals However, after their 3-0 first-leg win over Athletic Bilbao last Thursday United know they have the chance to qualify for the Champions League by winning the Europa League When we’re fighting for a title it’s not stressful,” said Amorim “I have no doubts that we are playing better and we are understanding the way we play “So we have to take all the hits in this moment but we are fighting for the Europa League so we need to accept that and to think about now Thursday which is the most important game for us.” Kevin Schade’s brace, a Luke Shaw own goal and Yoane Wissa’s 18th of the campaign helped Brentford to victory at the Gtech Community Stadium, after Mason Mount had opened the scoring “We, as a club, need to understand in this moment that we have a big responsibility (to win the Europa League). We have to prepare a squad for different competitions,” Amorim said on the eight changes he made to his starting XI. we are preparing more than one game but it’s hard we struggled a lot during these 90 minutes We have to think about the next game and then the Premier League It’s really hard but we are doing the best we can to try to manage (the situation) and try to risk in some games.” Thomas Frank’s Bees capitalised on an injury to Matthijs de Ligt by using the extra man to score their first goal. The Dutch defender was substituted and is a doubt for Thursday’s European tie. “Yeah, I definitely have sympathy about De Ligt and, you know, it’s clear that they struggle in many ways,” boss Frank said. “When you are in football, the struggles are part of football but you just know it is not nice. Of course, it’s a tricky situation so I hope De Ligt is OK.” Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies and we are looking forward to playing on Sunday “It’s all about recovery from the final whistle last night [Thursday] until basically two hours before the game on Sunday As reported on Wednesday, Aaron Hickey and Igor Thiago have returned to full training. Full-back Hickey (hamstring) has been unavailable since October 2023 while striker Thiago (knee) has been restricted to four appearances since his move from Club Brugge in the summer with the most recent of those coming against Newcastle United in December One player who will not feature again this term is midfielder Vitaly Janelt, who recently had surgery to address an issue in his heel. Fábio Carvalho (shoulder) is also unlikely to feature again this campaign while Josh Dasilva (knee) remains sidelined Sunday’s opponents Manchester United are 14th in the Premier League table three places and 10 points worse off than the Bees but Frank believes that Ruben Amorim’s side have deserved more points from their performances “It’s a team that is very structured; they know what they want to do offensively and defensively,” he said “The performances in Europe show that there is potential and actually in the Premier League they have not got what they have played to “There are a lot of games with high expected goals and chances it’s one of the biggest clubs in the world They will put a very competitive team out there on Sunday.” It is unfair for Premier League clubs to compete in European competition against such financially inferior teams On Thursday night we had three of the English clubs who have feasted on the bones of football and are still rubbish playing in the Europa League and Conference League against financially inferior clubs Spurs and Manchester United’s resources dwarf those of Bodo/Glimt and Athletic Bilbao and if having money means anything both are in one-sided ties and they should walk them without praise Bodo/Glimt’s best valued player is worth €6m; Spurs have 26 worth the same amount or more in their squad Tottenham’s stadium capacity is higher than the town of Bodo’s population Athletic are better off but still have just three players valued over €40m, all of whom United will probably try and fail to sign this summer because they aren’t attractive enough for players like Nico Williams Ruben Amorim has nine players valued over €40m and four more over €30m Todd’s Insane Clown Posse is even more of a circus act who don’t have a player valued at more than €2m in their squad even at the semi-final stage of the competitions totally invalidates them as a contest and would justify Premier League teams being excluded for reasons of fairness And when one of them scores it’s treated like a goal against an equal or better The English exceptionalism is relentless to the point that in each game the European team is almost verbally bullied and patronised But should any of the English teams win their tournament it’ll be barely any achievement at all in the same way Spurs beating Port Vale to win the FA Cup wouldn’t be much to shout about In the awful morally and sportingly shrivelled world of Premier League sides it’s more of an embarrassment to everyone that they’re even allowed to be involved at all as the proverbial bull in a china shop European football would appreciate them being excluded It’s all very tiresome. The bias, the inequality, the sh*te and absolutely unbearable co-comms for all games I’m not being overly critical or precious The basic disingenuous nature of how these games are presented – I really I love watching football most days but not this farcical spectacle I did enjoy Real Betis v Fiorentina instead more even contest with Antony now free of the Manchester United voodoo with another superb winning goal Last Saturday’s football begins with a decidedly not anticipated Chelsea v Everton game TNT are off and running at 11am for a 12.30 kick off from outside the ground Still sticking with flashing pointless tweets on-screen like it’s 2008 Because the game alone won’t hold the attention they have to talk about everything else from Liverpool to Jamie Vardy Chelsea’s women’s team and more There’s a constant self-awareness that it might be lapsing into tedium and almost everything they do is fluff Their advert for Serie A accidentally has the effect of putting the Premier League coverage in the shade They all do their best but it’s a lot of time to fill Chelsea won a poor game to wide-scale disinterest. The ‘tension’ of which European competition Chelsea might qualify for failed to stir the neutral’s blood – or even the fans’ blood it seemed whose Saturday programme stimulates the parts others can’t reach with an excellent discussion about managers not liking vocal senior players because they are scared of them And a discussion about Chelsea being rigid It’s like a degree discussion compared to what we used to call CSE level on TV 5 Live on a Saturday is like sitting down with a big book of football when you’re a kid Celtic won a 55th title at Dundee United on Sky but only Celtic fans so much as the feeling of the inevitability of it is somewhat irrelevant to our football lives You basically ignore the first two in the league I don’t know what the solution is but it’s going to be like this forever unless something is done as Celtic get ever richer Maybe no-one cares but the Premiership does feel dysfunctional and that rather lets the game down The irony is the rest of Scottish football is a superb contest with the best attended per capita crowds in Europe to prove it The highlights on BBC Scotland all but said that the battle for third between Aberdeen and Hibs is the most exciting aspect of the league with three teams within three points of each other He’s got a good attitude and likes to find humour if he can black eyes of an assassin and he basically blames the players for their poor attitude as Rangers draw with St honest football from the heart of multiple communities Great spot to see the Palace fan with an arm in a sling applauding by slapping his head Then Super Sunday meant Daniel Sturridge looking like an R&B star Do you watch Liverpool play some people in Spurs shirts or the FA Cup on ITV as I always avoid City if I can and with Inter v Roma on my laptop which meant I had to keep flipping over to the Women’s Champions League semi-final second legs This is the trouble with opposing channels all broadcasting football simultaneously I should mention how good Steve Crossman is on the radio on Sundays Of course VAR had to walk in and take a dump on proceedings at Anfield the lull from which didn’t stop Peter Drury going quiet then loudly bursting a tonsil when it was given as a goal which sounded more ridiculous for its forced I muted him in favour of Ian Dennis’ less on and off I just don’t like Drury’s shouting and silence style and find he intrusively ruins almost every moment of high drama Liverpool’s second goal was an excellent example a great goal diminished by the “and now you’ve got to believe them” comment bellowed at volume You’d think it was the second coming Of course there’s the shouting of names loudly just in case it’s going to be a moment Sky clip up and use in an advert It results in an overreaction to a non-incident he said “sunshine and champagne” which just means nothing and had obviously been written down to use in advance and he duly got his linguistic crowbar out and forced it in in the 40 minutes I listened there wasn’t a single mention of the other big games happening though pre-written presumably with thought with their people’ and such cod sociology walking all over the occasion in an attempt at profundity Meanwhile, Scott McTominay is playing out of his skin and humiliating Manchester United for being unable to accommodate him scoring twice against Torino on TNT in an excellent Napoli game For the Leeds game it strikes me how Michael Bridges gives off strong Waddler vibes and that Jobi McAnuff has the kind eyes of a well-meaning vicar It’s a tricky task to talk up the game with dirty Leeds so much better than almost everyone Bristol City are never in it as Leeds relentlessly steamroller them from the first minute and win 4-0 but they are good to watch I realised Arteta has a strong Captain Black dimension – not to say unlikeable Michael is a puppet Prime opts to have the same pundits as the other channels like someone who hasn’t an original thought and just copies your homework You’d think they’d want to have something uniquely theirs They appear to want to be the same as everyone else plus Clarence Seedorf Alex Aljoe in a pale pink suit is the presentation star for the channel She seems charismatic and can conduct interviews in Italian and Spanish as well as English Sturridge appears to be wearing a suit made out of a duvet cover or a pair of curtains The build up is obviously very pro Arsenal The human mirror ball bit was out of keeping with everything else the whole thing looks a bit like a video game and not quite real Maybe that reflects the nature of the occasion Something to do with the digital picture and colour saturation surely just put on to draw at least some audience away the trees around the stadium newly in leaf proof not everything revolves around the big Champions League game but I love the charm of lower-league games as opposed to big football’s money-obsessed landscape brand management VAR hysteria and oh so serious “If we don’t have the ball It ends in a draw and going back to Prime I find everyone excusing Arsenal for losing to such a degree you’d think they hadn’t lost at all and did you know There’s some hopeful slavering about Thomas Partey Wayne Rooney at least is honest in showing doubt about Arsenal the TV approach and style puts me off the whole thing and with the fact they’re playing an autocratic nation state-funded club doesn’t exactly dampen your underwear I’d forgotten about her to be honest and what a warm it’s all less one-eyed and blow-hardish and much better for that proving my theory that it’s always worse when English clubs are involved probably because they feel the need to cater in block capitals for the tourists who only watch English clubs Everything is more reasoned and even sophisticated Non-English football seems to force better more intelligent responses out of almost everyone In one of the games of the decade, the football between Inter and Barcelona was absolutely pulsating, brilliant fun which inevitably VAR ruined by calling a knee offside Governing football by what we can’t actually see is an insanity Hansi Flick looks like he bosses a prison side How some lesser managers have blagged five times as much wages from their idiot board for achieving almost nothing and yet still get defended by their fans is embarrassing Here's everything you need to know ahead of another big game in west London Brentford will be looking to take advantage of Manchester United's Europa League focus when the Red Devils visit the Gtech on Sunday Despite the Bees enjoying that big 4-0 win over United early in the 2022/23 season, results have generally gone against Thomas Frank's team in previous meetings United have won five of the seven between the two in the Premier League with one other ending in a draw – although considering some of the performances the west London side perhaps deserve a better record This will be a perfect opportunity to tip the scales back in Brentford's favour considering that United have made it clear where their priorities lie for the rest of the season Ruben Amorim's outfit will be back from a 3-0 Europa League semi-final win over Athletic Bilbao with one eye on getting the job done at Old Trafford next week United are like two different teams depending on the competition they've scored 39 goals compared to the 31 goals they've netted in just 13 Europa League games where they remain the only team undefeated in European competition this season With United's forward line misfiring in the league the danger for Brentford this weekend will likely come from one man: Bruno Fernandes Fernandes is United's top Premier League goalscorer this season with eight goals while also having assisted nine in the league Fernandes has 35 goal involvements (19 goals 16 assists) which is his second-best season for the club behind the 2020/21 campaign (28 goals And while Fernandes has had to take on much of the goal-scoring burden it will be important for Brentford to prevent him from creating The 30-year-old has made 84 key passes in the league this season which ranks him first in the Premier League and also first in the top five European leagues his 27 through balls see him ranked first domestically and second in Europe Through balls are a big source of his creation but should he be forced out wide then Brentford need to be aware that Fernandes is also third for crosses this season (172 in total) All of this adds up to 169 shot-creating actions in the Premier League The fact that these don't translate to him appearing in the top 10 for goal-creating actions tells its own story One man who is up there for that though is Amad Diallo who returned from injury on Thursday night Only Bukayo Saka ranks higher for goal-creating actions per 90 (1.36) than Amad (0.9) Brentford will want to think about going forward Only four Premier League players have made more errors that have led to an opposition goal than goalkeeper André Onana international (three in total) The Bees are also strong at set-pieces and they'll be facing a team that has conceded 13 times from those situations this season only Southampton (18) and Wolverhampton Wanderers (19) have fared worse Most thought last season was a struggle for Manchester United the only high point in a campaign that ended with their lowest-ever Premier League finish in eighth You can guarantee they would snap your hand off to be in a similar position this time around it was clear this was not going to be a straightforward season for United they had picked up 11 points from their first nine matches and were sat down in 14th Erik ten Hag’s future had been the topic of much speculation already but the final nail in the Dutchman’s coffin was a 2-1 defeat to West Ham United on 27 October the luck is definitely not on our side,” he said afterwards Club legend Ruud van Nistelrooy took the reins in the interim overseeing a 1-1 draw with Chelsea and a 3-0 win over Leicester in the Premier League and an emphatic 5-2 victory over the Foxes in the Carabao Cup Ruben Amorim replaced ten Hag on 11 November The former Portugal international had put Sporting CP on the path to defending their Primeira Liga title and reportedly wanted to join the club in the summer but United wanted him to take over immediately - and the job of a lifetime would not wait for him there has been little improvement in the outlook for United over the six-month period since There was the very public exiling of Marcus Rashford who Amorim said did not have the attitude of someone “giving the maximum every day.” where the Red Devils lost five of their seven Premier League games - drawing a blank in four of those - and the Carabao Cup quarter-final exit at Tottenham Hotspur They have not risen above 12th in 2025 so far having picked up just 17 of the 45 points on offer in that time After the 3-1 loss to Brighton on 19 January maybe in the history of Manchester United,” he said but I am saying that because we have to acknowledge that and to change that.” The sole source of hope has been in the Europa League where they went unbeaten in 12 games on a run to the semi-final United face Athletic Bilbao for a place in the final they completed the most remarkable comeback against Lyon The trip to west London comes in the middle of the two semi-final legs where they have a final chance to salvage something from a season they will otherwise want to forget about as quickly as possible Lisbon-born Ruben Amorim started out in the academy of Benfica as a youngster without having found a way to the first team and made his senior debut against Alverca in the Primeira Liga in December 2003 and progressed through the age groups for Portugal he signed a four-year deal to return to Benfica in 2008 where he was a regular for the first two seasons During his nine years there - which included two spells on loan at Braga and one at Al-Wakrah in Qatar - he was part of the squads that won three league titles five Portuguese League Cups and one Portuguese Super Cup He also progressed to the senior Portugal team during that time and earned 14 caps between 2010 and 2014 - and was part of the squads for both the South Africa and Brazil World Cups Amorim retired at the age of 32 in April 2017 and started in management the following season with Casa Pia in the Portuguese third tier until January 2019 He then returned to Braga to take charge of the B team Sporting won the Primeira Liga for the first time in two decades and completed a double by lifting the Portuguese League Cup Amorim's side won the league title again in 2023/24 and they were top when he left to replace Erik ten Hag at Manchester United in November The 40-year-old’s contract at Old Trafford runs until the summer of 2027 senior football writer at Manchester Evening News explains how Ruben Amorim is likely to set up his side at the Gtech "Brentford fans should expect 3-4-2-1 Amorim barely ever changes it," said Marshall "Even if he plays 11 kids against Brentford easy for the opposition to know what they are going to play against "Thomas Frank and his analysts will know full well what to expect from United "I think he was dramatising it for effect but he has played this formation constantly the system and beliefs will not change." Last starting XI v Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League (3-4-2-1): Onana; Lindelöf Read our full interview with Tyrone Marshall here Head coach Thomas Frank provided an injury update during his pre-match press conference on Friday As reported on Wednesday, Aaron Hickey and Igor Thiago have returned to full training. Full-back Hickey (hamstring) has been unavailable since October 2023 while Josh Dasilva (knee) is also sidelined Anthony Taylor is set to referee his second Brentford game of the season on Sunday, having been the man in the middle for the Bees' 2-2 draw with Manchester City in January Taylor has taken charge of 42 games this season Brentford beat Manchester United 4-0 in their first home game of the 2022/23 Premier League season Ben Mee and Bryan Mbeumo all found the net during a sensational first half at the Gtech Community Stadium It was the Bees’ first win over United since February 1938 and it was achieved in some style Manchester United are growing increasingly optimistic a deal for Matheus Cunha can soon be announced with the player’s father dropping a significant hint – and now Fabrizio Romano has rated the prospects of the Red Devils also adding Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo being signed to play alongside the Brazilian Despite being on the cusp of reaching the Europa League final, Manchester United‘s form in the Premier League this season has not been good enough and portrays a side well behind the English game’s elite clubs Ruben Amorim faces a huge summer rebuild to try and sign a squad of players capable of bringing his 3-4-2-1 formation to life and helping elevate the club back among the major forces of English football with United’s tally of 42 goals in their 35 matches played in the Premier League some 39 short of the division’s top scorers But with Amorim in a rush to fix those issues – the club are working hard behind the scenes to wrap up a deal for Cunha and also hope to sign a new No.9 this summer – reports in the Daily Telegraph on Sunday revealed that United are exploring a possible move for the £60m-rated Brentford forward Mbeumo who has contributed 18 goals and seven assists from 39 appearances across all competitions this season However, as per Romano, United are not currently planning a move to sign Mbeumo, though as the transfer guru hints, there remains the strong possibility that the £60m-rated Cameroon international will leave Brentford this summer after what was labelled an ‘open race’ Playing down talk of a United approach, Romano told Givemesport: “As far as I know DON’T MISS 👉 Man Utd outcast Antony ‘gives his word’ to next club as bizarre Arsenal links emerge Mbeumo has posted career-best figures under Thomas Frank this season But with Mbeumo’s deal at the Gtech Stadium runs to summer 2026 – and while the Bees do have the option to extend that by a year – his electric form this season means hefty offers for his services are likely to arrive Newcastle are also understood to be among his suitors while Liverpool are also looking at the 22-times capped star as a possible long-term successor to Mo Salah However, with Romano ruling out a move to Old Trafford as a possibility, United will instead put their energies into wrapping up the signing of Cunha as quickly as possible To that end, United have a strong optimism that a deal is close to getting over the finishing line, with the player giving the move his green light and with the Brazilian set to sign a bumper contract at Old Trafford Now the player’s father has also dropped a strong hint that a move is edging closer after liking a comment on the social media platform Instagram from a supporter which read ‘Welcome to United’ after Cunha snr had posted a pic of the player relaxing alongside Joao Gomes Meanwhile, United’s hopes of generating additional income from their clause in Mason Greenwood’s Marseille contract are growing, amid claims the forward is pushing for a shock return to the Premier League and with two factors forcing his exit from the Ligue 1 giants Elsewhere, United midfielder Mason Mount has strongly criticised the team’s performance against the Bees on Sunday while head coach Amorim is in despair over the injury to Matthijs de Ligt And finally, United are reportedly close to launching an official offer to sign a top-notch Brazilian midfielder with Amorim’s plans to pair him up with Manuel Ugarte in the engine room now coming to light Bees survive late drama to hold on against Man United Brentford vs Man United - LIVE Kevin Schade was at the double as Brentford beat Manchester United 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller to further their hunt for European qualification in the Premier League United failed to replicate their impressive 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao in the week despite Mason Mount's first goal of the season giving their much-changed team the lead at the Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday But a Luke Shaw own-goal and Schade's first before half-time turned things around before the German forward who scored in Brentford's 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Thursday Yoane Wissa's 18th goal of the season came made it 4-1 only for two excellent strikes by Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo set up a tense finish The Bees held firm in the final stages to hold on for victory lifting themselves up to ninth in the table and just a point behind the eighth position that could earn a spot in the Conference League Brentford up to ninth in the Premier League now Every chance that the team finishing in eighth will earn a spot in the Conference League next season far more difficult for them than it should have been Man United threatened to snatch a late point 90+6 mins: Brentford win a free-kick and they are taking their sweet time lashes a strike straight at Flekken and the goalkeeper lets it through 90+3 mins: Brentford fans are audibly nervous loses it to Ugarte and there are groans are the stadium as Obi has a strike brilliantly blocked by Van den Berg 88 mins: No surprise that Brentford are content to keep the ball and slow things down Don’t want to leave themselves vulnerable to a grandstand finish 85 mins: United suddenly playing with some confidence again Garnacho looks like he wants to do it all by himself Garnacho skips inside and bends a sensational goal into the top corner from outside the area any sort of decent pass and he’s clean through Too much on it though and Bayindir can charge out to boot the ball away De Ligt had only just returned to action after injury but could face another setback Ruben Amorim admitted he is “really concerned” as Manchester United face a nervous wait over the fitness of Matthijs de Ligt The United boss made eight changes as his side were beaten 4-3 by Brentford with the match coming in the middle of the Europa League semi-final tie against Athletic Bilbao having made his return from injury in the first leg in Bilbao on Thursday but he was forced off in the first-half after he lunged to close down Yoanne Wissa The centre-back went straight down and signalled to the bench that he needed to come off as Brentford played on and scored their second goal through Kevin Schade De Ligt was immediately replaced as Harry Maguire came on and Luke Shaw then came off at half-time as Amorim looked to avoid further injury concerns Asked for an update on De Ligt after the match Amorim said: “I don't know so I'm really concerned - not about Thursday Brentford vs Man United: Premier League result and reaction - LIVE Brentford survive major scare to earn thrilling win over Man United Past AXA Startup Angel winners share their tips “We took off Luke Shaw at half-time to protect and have players for Thursday but I'm more concerned whether it is a small or big injury and thinking about next season.” United sit 15th in the table after their latest Premier League defeat in what has been a miserable season on the domestic front heaving favourites to reach the Europa League final after a 3-0 win in Spain last week and they could well end up playing Tottenham in an all-English showdown for the trophy The winner of the competition will earn a place in the Champions League and Amorim insisted he is seeing signs his side can do so despite a run of two wins in 12 league matches "I have no doubt that we are playing better and we are understanding the way we play,” he said in this moment we are losing games in the Premier League “We are fighting for the Europa League and we need to accept that to think about Thursday is the most important game for us." The ad-free version is ready for purchase on iOS mobile app today we couldn't find that page";var n=e.querySelector("h2");return n&&n.remove(),{staticContent:e,title:t}},d=function(e){var t=document.createElement("button");return t.innerText=e,t.classList.add("error-page-button"),t},f=function(e){var t=document.createElement("div");t.id="recirculation-404",t.classList.add("brand-hint-bg");var n="\n \n \n Tick here if you would like us to send you the author’s response Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “These were two major operations that reflect some of the biggest counter state threat and counter terrorism operations that we have seen in recent years.” Asked about possible links to the Iranian state she said: “These are major operations that have taken place and the ongoing investigation is immensely important and of course it involves Iranian nationals in both investigations and we are supporting the police and the security agencies in the investigations that they are taking and the security assessments that they are doing “But this reflects the complexity of the kinds of challenges to our national security that we continue to face that we have set out and that is why protecting our national security including supporting these extremely professional operations and investigations remains our top priority.” Head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command said: “This is a fast-moving investigation and we are working closely with those at the affected site to keep them updated “The investigation is still in its early stages and we are exploring various lines of enquiry to establish any potential motivation as well as to identify whether there may be any further risk to the public linked to this matter “We understand the public may be concerned and as always I would ask them to remain vigilant and if they see or hear anything that concerns them “We are working closely with local officers in the areas where we have made arrests today and I’d like to thank police colleagues around the country for their ongoing support.” The Met Police's head of Counter Terrorism Command 5 MAY 2025Bookmark (Image: JMG Press)Four remain in custody after being arrested across Greater Manchester and elsewhere in the UK following a series of dramatic counter terrorism raids linked to a 'plot to target specific premises' Armed counter terrorism police - supported by troops from the elite SAS - swooped on a house in Rochdale on Saturday evening (May 3) Neighbours reported hearing a 'bang' before a man was seen being led out by officers - with the other arrests taking place in Stockport and Manchester as well as further afield in London and Swindon Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE remain in custody after police were given more time to question them The man arrested in Manchester was released on bail On Monday evening counter-terrorism police carried out another raid in Hyde. Two people are understood to have been arrested. We will be bringing you the latest in the live blog below.. That concludes our live reporting for today Terrorism police have carried out a further raid in Hyde. Two people are understood to have been arrested. It is unclear if this incident is linked to the arrests on Saturday. Soldiers from the elite SAS are understood to have assisted with the three arrests in Greater Manchester on Saturday The Manchester Evening News also understands that the unnamed 'specific premises' that was allegedly being targeted is highly likely to be a venue outside of Greater Manchester including the three arrested in Manchester Rochdale and Stockport and one each in Swindon and London the four suspects held on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act and remain in police custody for questioning with the magistrates today granting detectives warrants of further detention allowing all four to be held until May 10 who was held under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act in the 'Manchester area' was released on bail A man has been led out in handcuffs following the raid in Hyde Our reporter remains at the scene in Hyde this evening following another raid by counter-terrorism police. People living in the area have described hearing 'a lot of shouting' from around 7pm. Latest updates on that incident here. Another counter-terrorism raid has taken place in Hyde this evening. Updates here. officers are also carrying out searches at a number of addresses in the Greater Manchester It comes as the Counter Terrorism Policing investigation led by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command is continuing following the arrest of five Iranian nationals on suspicion of terrorism offences READ HERE head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command said: “Our officers and staff are progressing what is a significant and highly complex investigation and we still have searches and activity underway at multiple addresses across the country with public safety at the forefront of our ongoing efforts We believe that a specific premises was the target of this suspected plot and Counter Terrorism Policing officers remain in close contact with the affected premises we will not be providing further information about the suspected target for reasons of operational security and public safety "I would like to ask people to support my officers in this and not to speculate or share information that has not been confirmed by Counter Terrorism Policing We have clear and critical reasons not to provide more detail at this time I would ask the public to remain vigilant and if they see or hear anything that concerns them then to contact us.“We are working closely with local officers in the areas where we made arrests on Saturday and I’d like to thank police colleagues around the country for their ongoing support.” Counter terrorism cops who swooped across Greater Manchester have been been given warrants of further detention to allow them to continue to question four of the five suspects held on Saturday Armed counter terrorism police swooped on a house in Rochdale on Saturday evening (May 3) Neighbours reported hearing a 'bang' before a shirtless man was led out by officers The Metropolitan Police confirmed a 40-year-old man was arrested in Rochdale.The Rochdale raid was one of three carried out in the region on Saturday. A 29-year-old man was arrested in Stockport and a man was arrested in the Manchester area Searches were also carried out in London and Swindon in connection to the plot with a 29-year-old man arrested in the Swindon area and a 46-year-old man arrested in west London All five suspects were held on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act and Iranian nationals Today the Met Police confirmed it had released the 24-year-old man arrested in the Manchester area on bail It has been granted warrants of further detention allowing officers to continue to question the four other suspects including the man held at an address in Rochdale said in October that authorities had stopped 20 state-backed plots hatched by Iran in the UK since 2022 He warned of an “unprecedented pace and scale” of plots posing “potentially lethal threats” to British citizens and UK residents Iran was the first foreign power to be listed on the enhanced tier of the foreign influence registration scheme (Firs) aimed at protecting the UK from malign foreign influence It means anyone who is directed by Iran to carry out activities in the UK must declare it or face five years in prison The scheme is due to come into force in July Eight men have been arrested in two separate counter-terrorism police investigations that both involved Iranian nationals The Home Secretary said they reflect the biggest counter state threat and counter terrorism operations in recent years were arrested at locations across England on Saturday on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act after a suspected plot “to target a single premises” was uncovered The force confirmed a further three Iranian men were arrested on Saturday as part of a separate operation the head of counter terrorism at the Met Police said one was a terrorist plot for an attack against a specific premises while the other was a national security arrest He said the force made all the arrests they are seeking to – but several hundred officers are still working on the investigations The Met arrested eight men in two seperate counter-terror operations This graphic shows the locations of the arrests head of counter terrorism at the Met Police said the force made all the arrests they are seeking to Hundreds of officers are working on both terrorism investigations Watch footage from the scene of the arrest in Rochdale in our video below Police have responded after a teenage boy was mistakenly arrested during a counter-terrorism operation The Met said the boy was one of three people arrested 'to ensure public safety' but then released Here is the full story The Met has launched a second counter-terrorism investigation which the force said is not linked to the probe where arrests took place in Greater Manchester were in arrested in west London on Saturday and detained under section 27 of the National Security Act 2023 We have asked the Met for further information about the investigation but were told there are no further updates currently Neighbours reported hearing a 'loud bang' moments before officers stormed the home on Saturday evening Up to 15 police vans and cars were seen around the area a lone officer can be seen standing guard on the street An officer has been seen entering the house with a laptop A window in the property appears to have been smashed The Met said that searches are ongoing at locations connected with the investigation Images sent in from our photographer show that police remain at the scene on East Street in Rochdale this morning A 40-year-old man was arrested there on Saturday as part of a Met police operation This was the moment a man was marched outside in his underwear after counter-terrorism police raided a home in Rochdale on Saturday Read the full story here This was the scene in Rochdale yesterday as the investigation continued A further three Iranian men were arrested on Saturday as part of a separate operation Police are not treating the two cases as linked Our reporters have been speaking to eyewitnesses who saw the counter terrorism raids play out A mum recalled how her son told her not to go to the park after seeing 'men with guns' A woman told how she heard a 'massive bang' before a man was led out of a house While a dad of 14-year-old boy who claims he had a gun 'pointed at his face' after he was mistakenly arrested during a series of counter-terrorism raids has demanded an apology The Met said the probe relates to a 'suspected plot to target a specific premises' Their statement said: "Officers have been in contact with the affected site to make them aware and provide relevant advice and support we are not able to provide further information at this time." They were all arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act contrary to section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006 have been confirmed to be Iranian nationals Five men were arrested on on Saturday as part of a pre-planned operation by the Met police's Counter Terrorism Command unit Three of the arrests occurred in Greater Manchester A 29-year-old man was arrested in Stockport a 40-year-old man was arrested in Rochdale and a man The nature of the investigation was confirmed by the Met yesterday which follows a dramatic series of arrests by counter terrorism police across Greater Manchester over the weekend We will continue to bring you the latest updates as the investigation continues Thank you for following our live coverage today Live reporting has now concluded for the day We will bring you further updates when they become available Video footage shows the moment a man was marched out of a house by counter-terrorism police in his underwear in Rochdale A property on East Street was raided on Saturday evening (May 4) as part of an investigation into a suspected terror plot was arrested in connection with the suspected plot He was among two other men also arrested in Greater Manchester; in Stockport and Manchester respectively Two others in Swindon and West London were also arrested The five suspects were taken into custody on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act contrary to section 5 of the Terrorism Act (TACT) Police said four of the men were Iranian nationals Alex Shafiq says his son Zak had a 'gun pointed to his head' during the terrifying incident. More here. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “These were two major operations that reflect some of the biggest counter state threat and counter terrorism operations that we have seen in recent years.” Mason Mount opened the scoring for the Red Devils inside 15 minutes before Manchester United conceded after Luke Shaw put the ball in his own net Kevin Schade put Brentford 2-1 up against United in the 33rd minute and the Bees held onto their advantage until the half-time whistle in the Premier League clash Thomas Frank’s men put United on the back foot after Kevin Schade completed his brace in the 70th minute before Yoane Wissa added Brentford’s fourth of the tie United fought back against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium and Alejandro Garnacho pulled one back in the 82nd minute with a stunning strike Big week, Reds — and we're all in this together 💪#MUFC pic.twitter.com/VMoEstkz21 Amad Diallo climbed off the bench in the second half and the 22-year-old Ivorian winger netted United’s third against Brentford deep into injury time However, Ruben Amorim’s men were unable to find an equaliser and Thomas Frank’s side sealed all three Premier League points in their 4-3 win United languish in 15th place in the Premier League table and the Red Devils have only three league matches remaining in their disastrous 2024-25 league campaign READ MORE: Man Utd fans all in agreement about Ruben Amorim’s player who showed major weakness vs Brentford, ‘no two ways about it’ Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim rotated his squad for the defeat to Brentford and youngster Tyler Fredricson came into the Red Devils defence Tyler Fredricson started as the right-sided centre-back in Amorim’s tactical system for United and the 20-year-old defender picked up valuable first-team minutes The United centre-back played 76 minutes on Sunday afternoon and Amorim withdrew him and replaced him with Victor Lindelof in the 4-3 defeat Fredricson has come through the United youth academy and the United talent has been brought into the Red Devils first team under Amorim this season. Speaking after the result at the Gtech Community Stadium, Amorim said that Amad Diallo needed to help Fredricson out after Kevin Schade scored Brentford’s third. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Manchester United (@manchesterunited) “It’s really important. They have to understand in this season, this season is really important, and also to understand that we cannot do this anymore,” he explained, as per Manchester United’s official website They need to understand what it is to play for Manchester United but then they have to play 90 minutes because we have to change some other players to save them for Thursday “And I think we can help even more the young kids He did quite well but for the third goal he needs more help from Amad with these small things I think we can help them more but I’m really happy with the performance of the young kids.” READ MORE: Man Utd fans all saying same thing about Chido Obi after performance vs Brentford, ‘true taste’ point is so perfect Amorim admitted that he once again spotted United’s failure to ‘control’ the pace of the match against Brentford and they were exposed by throw-ins and set pieces “I think it’s a little bit of a reflection of our season,” he said “We suffer a lot with the throw-ins and set pieces but we already knew that our team would struggle against this team because we didn’t have the height [that] will be necessary for this kind of game “They score twice in these kind of moments even with Matta [Matthijs de Ligt] on the floor but we didn’t have the time to do better.” United have now suffered 16 league defeats from 35 matches and the Red Devils will end the season with their worst finish in the table in the Premier League era Brentford’s recent upturn in form will be tested by the Europa League semi-finalists Brentford will look to maintain their recent good form when they host Manchester United in the Premier League this afternoon The Bees have responded well to defeat at Newcastle by putting together a four-game unbeaten run which includes draws with Chelsea as well as Arsenal and an impressive win away at Nottingham Forest three days ago Last time out at the Gtech Community Stadium Brentford beat Brighton in a six-goal thriller to record their first home win in any competition in 2025 Now the aim for Thomas Frank’s side - who are eying Conference League qualification - is a rare win over Man Utd The Red Devils are expected to be much changed in west London today as Ruben Amorim priorities the Europa League with his side on course to reach the final following a 3-0 semi-final first leg win over Athletic Club Despite this fixture usually promising goals supporters in the UK will not be able to watch the game on TV The game is being played at 2pm BST on Sunday so does not fall within the blackout rules imposed across English football on a Saturday at 3pm Chelsea vs Liverpool LIVE: Premier League latest score and updates But it has not been selected for live coverage by Sky Sports who are instead showing Brighton vs Newcastle and then Chelsea welcoming recently crowned Premier League champions Liverpool to Stamford Bridge TV channel: The game will not be broadcast in the UK will show highlights when it airs at 10.30pm BST tonight on BBC One LIVE coverage: Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s dedicated match blog! Ruben Amorim keeps telling us how bad things are at Manchester United - and a new stat has certainly proved his point The Red Devils lost 4-3 away at Brentford to ensure their worst-ever Premier League season continues towards its drab conclusion that they’re now on a six-game winless run - something they haven’t achieved in ten years The run, which has seen four defeats, is the worst since United did the same under Louis van Gaal in December 2015 On that occasion, Van Gaal stopped the slide at the seven-game mark with a win over Swansea, where he would go on to finish the season with an FA Cup title Amorim could still have similar success, but will hope for a different outcome as Van Gaal was sacked shortly after his triumph to make way for Jose Mourinho Amorim only joined the club in November and was hired by the current Jim Ratcliffe-led regime, meaning there’s surely little threat over a sacking. However, Van Gaal was ruthlessly sacked after finishing fifth in the Premier League, whereas the Portuguese is on course for 15th. A worst-ever season is already confirmed for United, in fact they’ve been so bad they made sure of that three games ago at the start of April. Yet despite finishing so much lower than Van Gaal Amorim’s title win could prove to be far more valuable Victory in the Europa League final against either Tottenham Hotspur or Bodo/Glimt would book a place in next season’s Champions League and the riches that come with it So clear is it that Europe is where the club’s focus lies that even Amorim admitted it before the defeat to Brentford “At the moment we have to be clear that our focus is more on saving players and trying to be competitive [in Europe],” he explained “We’re in the final games of the season and some of the players are playing all the time and we have to prepare the present and also the future.” Asked about the Europa after the Brentford defeat “All the suffering that we’ve had in these last games in the Premier League By JACK GAUGHAN Manchester City are back in the FA Youth Cup final for the second year in a row and ready to retain their title after thrashing Leeds 4-0 last season The four-time winners are one of the most dominant academies in English football, producing a raft of England players and world-class talents for Pep Guardiola's first team The likes of Cole Palmer Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Daniel Sturridge have played in this game for Manchester City before being capped for their countries and it is a stage where the great talents can announce themselves to the world So as City line up to face Aston Villa in Monday's final at Villa Park who are the six biggest stars to keep an eye on Our Manchester City expert JACK GAUGHAN picks out the gems from the vaunted setup to remember the names for the future The youngest member of last summer’s pre-season tour to the United States training with the likes of Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland defender Stephen Mfuni is strong in duels and has impressed coaches with his reading of situations Mfuni only turned 17 in February but is already a regular in Will Antwi’s England Under 19s squad He only turned 17 in February but is already a regular in Will Antwi’s England Under 19s squad Very impressive when stepping out with possession and is being developed quickly during training sessions with Pep Guardiola’s first team the defender is strong in duels and has impressed coaches with his reading of situations to go with them to America ahead of other people – crazy,’ Mfuni told Mail Sport If I take that into games I am way ahead of everyone – two steps ahead Mukasa was part of the squad that won the Youth Cup last season Divine Mukasa has become the lynchpin of City’s teams and acted as a crucial part of their progression to the Uefa Youth League quarter-finals Probably the star of the show for City’s Under 18s this season Sixteen goals and 15 assists in the league campaign are ridiculous numbers leading head coach Oliver Reiss to describe the Londoner as ‘brilliant' It’s hard to argue with those descriptions at the end of a stellar campaign that has brought six assists in the Youth Cup too driving forward while remaining languid and possessing an eye for a final pass he’s become the lynchpin of City’s teams and acted as a crucial part of their progression to the Uefa Youth League quarter-finals but did miss one without a run up in a defeat by AZ Alkmaar Son of ex-England striker Emile and has an older brother Reigan Heskey probably hasn’t earned the international recognition he deserves yet – only a first Under 17s cap last September – and can be overlooked for Mukasa at club level with 36 goal involvements in 37 matches across six competitions for different age groups Heskey probably hasn’t earned the international recognition he deserves yet – only a first Under 17s cap last September – and can be overlooked for Mukasa when plaudits are handed out at club level with 36 goal involvements in 37 matches across six competitions for different age groups Eighteen goals in the league make him City’s leading scorer He has previously undergone sessions with an individual coach utilised by Marcus Rashford Jesse Lingard and Bruno Fernandes – but is one benefitting from a new regime at City where there is an additional emphasis on one-to-one coaching twice a week Signed from Chelsea last summer and his first season has gone better than expected Had been operating in central areas at Chelsea but City have used McAidoo solely as a wide man and he is thriving he started the Uefa Youth League quarter-final defeat at AZ Alkmaar and was the brightest spark on the night He scored a 20-minute hat-trick against Feyenoord in an earlier round and is studying Jeremy Doku and Savinho Ryan McAidoo crossed for Matty Warhurst to score City’s winner at Watford in the semi-finals of the Youth Cup McAidoo signed from Chelsea last summer and his first season has gone better than expected Five appearances for the Under 21s suggests that the England Under 17s international will likely find a more permanent home up with Ben Wilkinson’s older group next year Mail Sport asked McAidoo about whether the strides he’d been expecting to take giant strides this term – called up to train with Guardiola on one occasion too ‘I’d planned it to go well but not this well I’m not always going to be allowed to dribble so sometimes a little one-two or even recycling to the other side is the better option ‘Most of my goals going into the next few games is crossing the ball a lot more If I can cross the ball more then I can add more skills to when I don’t choose to McAidoo was speaking a couple of weeks before crossing for Matty Warhurst to score City’s winner at Watford in the last four of the Youth Cup Oliver Whatmuff started as a central defender when playing in Blackburn before joining City at the age of eight Whatmuff started as a central defender when playing in Blackburn before joining City at the age of eight Whatmuff plays up an age group so has been sharing the gloves with Max Hudson at this level but is expected to start the final A strong shot stopper with 13 clean sheets from 28 games across five competitions this season the Lancaster-born teenager is also typically decent with his feet after years watching Ederson at City His relaxed demeanour away from the sticks has shades of Aaron Ramsdale in his youth FINLAY GORMAN (central midfielder/right winger Finlay Gorman's seven goals and eight assists in an Under 18s team to top the Premier League is a decent return for the year but there should be more to come A lot of talk around Gorman after City secured a record seven-figure deal to sign him from Leeds United last year The 16-year-old has been instrumental in the run to another Youth Cup final scoring four goals – including a hat-trick at West Brom his style may prompt comparisons with some others to have worn the blue of City Academy bosses will hope he kicks on next season and becomes a star man when he moves up to featuring for the Under 19s in European competition Seven goals and eight assists in an Under 18s team to top the Premier League is a decent return for the year but there should be more to come By posting your comment you agree to our house rules Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group #UpTheVilla Residents at street parties highlight importance of commemorating those who died in second world war It is one of 20 street parties happening across the city on bank holiday Monday to mark the day when the allies formally accepted Germany’s surrender in 1945. If you can ignore the sound of Lady Gaga in the background the sight of children running freely on the road in between tables laid out with cake and red-white-and-blue flags is reminiscent of spring 1945. Carol Wilkinson, 67, sporting a dress with union jacks, spent the morning cooking for the party. She believes the celebration is particularly significant in teaching young people about the sacrifice made by those in the war. She says: “You’ve got to remember we wouldn’t be here if those people had not done what they’ve done for us. And I think unfortunately with the younger generation, it’s not something they’re really taught a lot about in school. I know they learn about world wars, but they don’t really know about the sacrifice people made.” a retired butcher who has lived on the street for 50 years He says: “It’s so important to remember all the people that have fought for this country whose father was in the Black Watch regiment added: “I think everyone should think about everyone believes occasions like this are becoming more important as time goes on He says: “Now it’s getting older I’m realising we are going to get to a stage now where there won’t be anyone left from world war two “I was born in 1980 – 35 years after world war two So it’s a bit of a crazy thing to think it was that close to when I was born but these people laid down their lives for people to be free today Free daily newsletterOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day telling you what’s happening and why it matters a colourful collection of flags from all over the world are hung across a marquee was inspired to host a party to commemorate black service personnel who lost their lives in the war It is part of the war’s history that she feels is often neglected I believe black people have not been recognised in the war but this gave me an opportunity to say: ‘You know what here’s my people and what they died for.’ Let’s go out and celebrate that day the families and everything that happened with them.”