Manchester United

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Earlier, we asked you who scored Manchester United's first Premier League goal of the 2024-25 season.

The answer is Joshua Zirkzee, who netted in the 1-0 win over Fulham on 16 August.

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Brighton (kick-off 14:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Amorim said his side "didn't play well" against Southampton, but at half-time he felt "some players were tired" and that is what prompted his changes.

• On whether Antony will leave Old Trafford in this transfer window: "I want to keep my players and I'm focused on these players. I don't know what is going to happen this window. We will see."

• He said Rasmus Hojlund's lack of goals is "more a team problem than a Rasmus problem" and added: "We have clearly a lack of goals and a lack of threat."

• On why their performances have differed against the top teams: "It's a team that feels more joy to play, waiting for the play and then in transition creating problems. So it's something that we have to change."

• He said "it's going to be hard until the end of the season" to find consistency in performances because of their lack of time to train at Carrington. He added: "It's going to be a little bit of a rollercoaster."

• On Manuel Ugarte, who is struggling to play back-to-back games: "Ugarte was tired because he did a great job against Liverpool. I think that happens with all players in the Premier League. They can play, but they don't play the same way."

• He said when there is speculation around transfers it is "sometimes harder for the players because they have some information" and that has an effect on the team.

• On conceding goals from set-pieces: "We have to improve in all areas of our game. It was like a simple header [against Southampton] and sometimes when you are in the moment, it feels like everything is against you."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Listen to live commentary of Manchester United v Brighton on BBC Radio 5 Live from 14:00 GMT on Sunday

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The relatively low wages Manchester United pay winger Alejandro Garnacho could offer an opportunity for Napoli to sign him in January, says French football journalist Julien Laurens.

Garnacho has been the subject of speculation about a move away from Old Trafford after reports in Italy claimed his representatives have met with the Italian side.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live's Euro Leagues podcast, he said: "Garnacho is on very low money because he signed a contract with United until 2028. At the time, he was still a young player coming out of the academy going into the first team.

"I think it's a great idea to try and tempt him away from Old Trafford. If we believe what we are told and United want £60m for him and Napoli have only offered £30m for now, you could also see them meeting in the middle somewhere.

"It would help Napoli that Garnacho is on such low wages. If he was on Marcis Rashford's wages, there would no way they could afford him. "

Despite being linked with a move away, United boss Ruben Amorim said on Thursday, Garnacho has a future at Old Trafford and Spanish Football journalist and BBC columnist Guillerm Balague believes the 20-year-old is entering a key stage of his development.

"Garnacho thinks he's very, very good which he is sometimes but not always," Balague said.

"When he isn't very good, it doesn't seem to be his fault. I don't think he's dealing with the next step that he must give in his career in keeping working, being consistent and not blaming everyone else if things don't work.

"He is in a key part of his career. He can become a consistent top player but in my eyes, he hasn't done it yet."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Who scored Manchester United's first Premier League goal of the 2024-25 season?

Answer will be revealed at 17:00 GMT

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We asked for your thoughts after Thursday's Premier League game between Manchester United and Southampton.

Here are some of your comments:

United fans

Sean: Amad Diallo just saved us from embarrassment. We didn't deserve the win but individual brilliance has got us over the line.

Steve: Let's credit Southampton first but for United, it's a win. Yes, it was terrible for 80 minutes of the game, but we are trying to compete with players that are tactically inept. Let's just get through this season and the real work starts in the summer, when I would imagine not many will survive the cull. Credit to Joshua Zirkzee for his impact by the way.

Nigel: Poor performance again, no creativity or threat for most of the game until Amad came alive. I feel sorry for Ruben Amorim - Sir Jim Ratcliffe needs to support him big time in the summer if we are to try and compete again. It's going to take time and I hope that Ruben sticks with it.

Rahim: Very poor performance overall masked by a wonderful player. Thought Zirkzee made a significant contribution when he came on. Southampton can consider themselves unfortunate not to have been out of sight by half-time.

Saints fans

Alan: Saints played their best football this season, but just couldn't score a second. They should take heart from this display. Some great performances.

David: I'm gutted. Saints were so much better than we have been all season and should have had a couple in the first half. Kamaldeen Sulemana had a cracking game but the lack of a good bench cost us. Will Smallbone was poor when he was on, Kyle Walker-Peters was tiring at the end and Diallo sensed it. Just when our luck nearly changed. We'll go down but this performance gives hope.

Simon: We lost, as expected ,but that was such an improved display. I know we had chances - we've had them all season - but across the whole team, we were much sharper.

David: A fantastic performance from Saints until Mateus Fernandes was taken off. We have no threat coming off the bench. Hopefully during the transfer window, we will get another attacking player in. Sulemana was outstanding.

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Friday's back pages all feature Manchester United's hat-trick hero Amad Diallo, who rescued three points for Ruben Amorim's men against Southampton.

Only Mohamed Salah (20) and Alexander Isak (17) have more Premier League goal involvements since the start of November than Diallo's five goals and five assists.

Little wonder then that United officials have tied him to a contract that runs to 2030.

Image source, Mirror and I

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United have rebuffed initial Napoli interest in winger Alejandro Garnacho.

Napoli have made Garnacho their primary target with the money raised from Kvicha Kvaratskhelia's impeding move to Paris St-Germain.

United had already made it clear they were not encouraging bids for Garnacho or England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo.

However, Napoli think they can do a deal. It is not known the precise nature of the communication but it is thought the figure mentioned was around £40m.

That is way below United's valuation of the Argentina forward.

It has been felt the Old Trafford outfit might be willing to sell one of their homegrown stars in order to help fund Ruben Amorim's squad building.

It is not known whether Garnacho, who played the full 90 minutes in United's 3-1 Premier League win over Southampton on Thursday, would be offloaded for a big offer, but United have made it clear their valuation is higher than the sums Napoli are presently talking about.

Borussia Dortmund have joined AC Milan in wanting to sign Manchester United and England forward Marcus Rashford, 27. (Florian Plettenberg, Sky Germany), external

Manchester United will move for Wolves' 23-year-old Algeria defender Rayan Ait-Nouri if their Netherlands defender Tyrell Malacia, 25, moves to Juventus. (Caught Offside), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

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Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim, speaking to TNT Sports: "In the end it is good. A very difficult game, a game of two halves.

"They did a very good job Southampton. Creating space in-between the lines. Number 20 [Kamaldeen Sulemana] with a lot of space. We had a lot of difficulty to stop that player.

"When they lose their physicality, we find the space to use. The feeling is we have so much to do - the team is really tired.

"It was a win, it was good - let's continue."

On Amad Diallo: "Even in the first half, every time Amad gets the ball he can push the ball.

"He pushes the other team into the final third - that is really important. We didn't have a good game, but at this moment, winning is the most important thing."

On lack of enthusiasm: "It seems like a lack of enthusiasm. [Manuel] Ugarte is late and [Kobbie] Mainoo is late, Bruno Fernandes going outside when the ball is inside.

"One transition and Yoro cannot catch the guy - small things push the team behind, and then we get nervous.

"Today was not a lack of enthusiasm, it was a lack of control in the game."

On players suited to his system: "They are not suited to playing like that. With the ball, you saw, we had some patterns."

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Only Wayne Rooney (21y 4d v Bolton in October 2006) has scored a Premier League hat-trick for Manchester United at a younger age than Amad Diallo against Southampton (22y 189d).

Diallo is now the Red Devils' youngest Old Trafford hat-trick scorer in the Premier League.

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Manchester United's Amad Diallo speaking to TNT after scoring a 12-minute hat-trick: "In football you have to believe. We believed until the end and are very happy to win this game. We drew with Arsenal and Liverpool so the confidence was there. We are very happy."

On where this week ranks after scoring his first senior hat-trick and signing a new contract: "Maybe one of the best weeks in my life. I am very happy for this win. This team deserved to win this game so I am very happy."

On why United left it so late to click into gear: "We know we have quality players in this team. We need sometimes to be more hungry in the final third. Today we showed at the end we were the best team. I am so happy for the win today because this team deserves it.

"I am ready to play every position where the manager likes to put me. I am ready to fight for this club. I am so happy to play where the manager wants me to play and I am so happy to score a hat-trick."

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Man Utd's performance

What did you make of Southampton's display?

Come back to this page on Friday to find a selection of your replies

There are two Premier League fixtures on Thursday and we will bring you every moment.

• Ipswich v Brighton (19:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Man Utd v Southampton (20:00) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Follow all the action and reaction here

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

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Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho has been the subject of speculation about a move away from Old Trafford during the current transfer window after reports in Italy claimed his representatives have met with Napoli.

United officials have dismissed talk of a €60m (£50.58m) transfer fee, clearly in the belief it would take a much higher sum to persuade them to sell the Argentina forward despite their tight financial position.

And, speaking ahead of tonight's Premier League encounter with bottom club Southampton at Old Trafford, United head coach Ruben Amorim said he sees Garnacho as part of his plans for the future.

"That is clear," he said. "He has talent."

And the positive is Amorim feels Garnacho is adapting to his system, that uses inside forwards rather than the wide attacking players, which the 20-year-old has previously been used as.

"I think he changed the way he sees himself," said Amorim.

"He's finding the best way to play in this system and is improving during training.

"He improves a lot in the recovering position when he doesn't have the ball. But doing that, sometimes he's not in the right place to make transitions like he was in the past."

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Manchester United faced Liverpool and Arsenal in the space of a week and looked good in both games.

But they are inconsistent and question remain over why they can perform against some of the bigger teams and not against the ones in the middle or at the bottom of the table.

It seems to me that they prefer to play as underdogs. There was little expectation of them getting a result at Anfield and it is like the players prefer to go out and play when there is less pressure. This was the same at Arsenal on Sunday.

Since Ruben Amorim's arrival, they have been defensively stronger and Lenny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt have bedded in. De Ligt in particular made several key blocks to deny the Gunners.

Yoro is also only 19 years old and I think he is doing well considering he has moved to the Premier League, suffered an injury and then had to navigate his way back into the squad.

They are well supported by the experienced Harry Maguire. It has been a difficult few seasons for Maguire but he is showing real leadership and solidity at the back under Amorim.

That is huge for United going forward, given they have triggered his one-year contract extension.

They just need to be scoring more and that is not just down to the strikers. Goals have to come from all over the pitch.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

I have a lot of admiration for Manchester United's performance in their FA Cup win against Arsenal, especially to grind it out with 10 men for an hour after Diogo Dalot was sent off.

But these next three games, at home against Southampton, Brighton and then Rangers, are a very different test for them compared to their trips to Emirates Stadium and Anfield in the past week.

I do not want to devalue what United did against Arsenal or Liverpool but they were games where the expectation was not on them to get results.

We know United are good on the counter-attack away from home, but against Saints at Old Trafford the onus is on them to take the game to the opposition.

That is exactly where they have been struggling recently and, like I said on 606 on Sunday night, it would be just like Manchester United to be flat, find things difficult, and drop more points.

Southampton under Ivan Juric are very different to the way they played under previous boss Russell Martin because most of the time they just lump it forward now, and they are far more direct.

Saints may come into this game with a bit of confidence after beating Championship side Swansea in the FA Cup, ending a run of 12 games without a victory that went back to the start of November.

I still think United will find a way to win, but I am not so sure it will be a completely routine one.

I loved the way they defended against Arsenal and I thought it was quite pointed from Ruben Amorim when he came out afterwards and talked about that desire aspect.

He was speaking about traits which you would hope were pretty basic traits for any team to have - that ability to fight and scrap for a result.

United have shown they can do that part. Now they have to show their quality too.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

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Manchester United are unbeaten in their past 15 Premier League games against Southampton since a 1-0 home loss in January 2016.

Saints lost 13 of their first 14 Premier League away games against United but have since lost on just three of their past 10 league visits to Old Trafford.