Manchester United

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United might be having their problems this season but young midfielder Toby Collyer is living the dream.

Collyer stated his first European game for United in their victory against Rangers.

The 21-year-old joined the club from Brighton in 2022 and has featured in the last four games under Ruben Amorim and has caught the eye with the energy he brings in the centre of the pitch.

"It is an unbelievable feeling," Collyer said after the 2-1 win. "These are the nights you dream of as a kid."

Not every United player has found it easy to adapt to head coach Amorim's training methods.

However, if they can cement a place in the Europa League top eight, they will avoid the need for play-offs in February, which will create some space in the calendar.

And Collyer feels that will be a major benefit.

"Training is really intense," he said. "He (Amorim) demands a lot from everyone, which is really good. It means we can improve as individuals and as a team.

"We haven't had many sessions but the more we have, the better we will get."

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We asked for your thoughts after Thursday's Europa League etc game between Rangers and Manchester United.

Here are some of your comments:

Steve: Manchester United won by the skin of their teeth. Their performance was underwhelming, they play too many sideways passes and must be more direct - moving the ball quickly forces opponents to make mistakes. Regretfully, a long way to go to be the United we want to see every game.

Barry: Another uninspiring, error-strewn performance that once again made the opposition look better than they were. Still playing like a group of individuals and still making the individual mistakes. Could have lost the lead and game at any time, and very nearly did. Each game seems to highlight players who did OK in the previous match, only to look amateurish in the next. All this against a team thrown together consisting of teenagers and inexperienced young players. Scraped a win - just.

Stephen: We won, but Ruben Amorim needs to understand his system does not work with players he has. One clean sheet since he came and it's not like we're scoring goals.

Adam: Surely Alejandro Garnacho has to stay? Great performance and fans chanting his name. Classy Eriksen was another bright light in a somewhat dull performance. Lucky win in the end, but someone needs to look at these dodgy referee decisions - never a disallowed goal in the first half!

Anthony: I feel for the United manager. The players he has are average and many are so overpaid. It will probably take a few years to put the club in a place where it will compete for the top four.

Ben: All the narrow wins in the world can't disguise that United put themselves in these positions game after game. We were found out against Brighton after the Southampton result, as expected, and nearly blew it again. In truth, we really weren't good, and Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo keep digging us out of holes. But honestly, right now I'll take wins, no matter how close.

This Premier League pursuit becomes a lot easier if you take your chances.

BBC Sport has checked in on some data comparing goals versus expected goals this season.

You can see from the bar graph some teams aren't finding the goals (yellow) to outstrip the expected goals they should score (black).

Tottenham, Manchester City, Arsenal, Brentford, Newcastle, Brighton, Fulham, Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Leicester have all scored more than expected.

Wolves in particular have found the net 32 times from an expected 23.56 - a significant overperformance.

League leaders Liverpool are pretty much bang on in returning what they should, while Arsenal have outperformed, with 43 goals from an expected 37.78.

Bournemouth - 36 goals from an expected 43 - are leaving opportunities on the table.

Borussia Dortmund have stepped back from the race to sign forward Marcus Rashford, with the Manchester United player's £350,000-per-week wages proving a stumbling block. (Mail), external

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

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Rene Meulensteen
Former Manchester United coach on BBC Radio 5 Live

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Manchester United only had themselves to blame. The game should have been put to bed much, much earlier.

They were dominating and with the changes that Rangers had to make they didn't really carry much threat going forwards.

I don't think [Harry] Maguire covered himself in glory [for Rangers' goal], but [Cyriel] Dessers had a great touch and certainly you think Rangers are going to come away with a point.

But as we have seen so often, Manchester United can still click into a different gear. It was a great cross from [Lisandro] Martinez and fantastic finish [from Bruno Fernandes] trough Butland's legs.

It is all about the result, all about winning for United to put a bit of a smile back on faces.

It puts a bit more confidence back in them too.

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Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim, speaking to TNT Sports: "We did well. We played better with the ball. I think we started well and then we lost control of the game because of some bad decisions but the lads did well.

"We are so near the second goal with so many chances, it's so hard but they recover.

"We are not playing our best but we regrouped from the last game. I know the opponent is different. It wasn't as fast. You can see the connections. I think we need to be more clinical in the right moments because that can help us a lot.

On finishing in top eight: "It's two weeks free to prepare for the Premier League so it's really important to stay in this position.

On De Ligt's injury: "He felt something in his leg. Also, Leny [Yoro] so we cannot risk anything. We have to win but we have to protect the players and show that everyone matters in this moment.

"We started the game scoring first, that is important. You can see that in Europe, it is quite different. We scored the first one and in the Premier League, it is not a foul.

On transfer window: "I don't know what will happen, let's focus on the games and focus on the team. Anything can happen."

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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes, speaking to TNT Sports: "I know how much it means for the fans to win games. You really want to win games.

"We are a little bit frustrated because we started the year well here with two great games against Liverpool and Arsenal, then Southampton we had good resilience but didn't play good football. We had the game with Brighton which didn't go for us.

"We want to get through the Europa League and get to the final in Bilbao. We want to get top eight so we don't have to play two more games.

"It's not about the character. We have to prove that in the 90 minutes, we can't bring that out when we concede a goal. We concede a late goal and we have to score a late goal.

"At this club, you need to win every game. You know that if you don't win games here, it will be difficult. I hope our fans never get used to losing games. I hope they believe in this team to win games."

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Manchester United scored a 90th minute winning goal for the eighth time in major European competition - more often than any other English side (Arsenal and Chelsea with seven each).

Meanwhile, Ruben Amorim is the third United manager to win each of their first three games in charge in major European competition after Matt Busby in 1956 and Alex Ferguson in 1990.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Man Utd's performance

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

Two English teams are taking part in the Europa League on Thursday.

• Hoffenheim v Tottenham - kick-off 17:45 GMT

• Manchester United v Rangers - kick-off 20:00 GMT - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Chelsea's reported interest in Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho is serious.

The 20-year-old is available on the market, but a high £70m asking price has slowed any further developments from suitors.

The Blues are battling with Napoli in their interest, as the Italian club look to replace now-Paris Saint-Germain winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia while competing for the Serie A title.

Napoli have been in negotiations with United but Chelsea have quietly been kept informed of the situation without making any offers.

Garnacho's agents Carlos Cambeiro and Quique De Lucas were both seen at Stamford Bridge on Monday for the match at home to Wolves.

Representatives of England forward Marcus Rashford met with Barcelona executives on Tuesday as the 27-year-old looks for a route out of Manchester United. (Sky Sports, external)

Meanwhile, United winger Alejandro Garnacho favours a move to Chelsea rather than Napoli, who have had a bid for the 20-year-old Argentina international rejected. (TyC Sports, via Metro, external)

Manchester United are considering whether to make an improved bid for Lecce left-back Patrick Dorgu after having an initial bid for the 20-year-old Danish international rejected. (Star, external)

But Napoli are hoping to beat Manchester United to the signature of Dorgu. (Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian, external)

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

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

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Rangers defender James Tavernier says he was "always convinced" that Amad Diallo would become a good player.

Tavernier played alongside Diallo during the Manchester United forward's short loan spell at Ibrox in 2021-22.

The 22-year-old struggled for consistent game time under then Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst and ended the season with three goals in 13 games.

He had a more fruitful time the following campaign during his season-long loan with Sunderland, scoring 14 goals and registering four assists during his 42 appearances.

However, in a difficult season so far for United, Diallo has been a standout player and will hope to have the chance to continue his good form when Rangers visit Old Trafford in the Europa League on Thursday.

"I was always convinced [Diallo would do well]. He showed really good signs at Rangers," Tavernier said.

"He was in and out the team and then had a really bright spell at Sunderland on loan. He has continued that now at Manchester United and he is really showcasing his talent.

"You obviously get tested in an Old Firm game, or you can go away to places where they only have a few fans, so it is a different learning curve [playing in Scotland]. It would have taught him something and he has really progressed since then.

"He will be a dangerman we will have to be aware of on Thursday as he is really in form, but I'm looking forward to playing against him."

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Manchester United defender Harry Maguire says the players have "got to stop looking for excuses and blaming things" after Sunday's home defeat by Brighton.

Maguire said on Wednesday that "players have to take responsibility" for the poor results that led to Ruben Amorim calling them "maybe the worst" United side ever.

"I go home and think about where we want to get back to," he said. "We're not playing well enough as a team.

"We have to stop giving away the first goal. You have to be mentally ready to win a match. At the moment we are not getting the small margins because we are not mentally focused."

The former captain also insisted his form has not been affected by being stripped of the role for Bruno Fernandes.

"I wouldn't put it down to that," he added. "Whether I'm captain or not, I see myself as a leader in this group of players.

"There are so many ups and downs. In every game you lose, there's a lot of scrutiny - that's part and parcel of playing for this club.

"I look at previous players, and the likes of David Beckham and Wayne Rooney had a lot of scrutiny. If it can happen to them, it can happen to anyone."

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Europa League game against Rangers at Old Trafford (kick-off 20:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On calling them "maybe the worst" United side ever: "I was talking more for myself than for my players because it is hard to find a coach who has lost seven games in their first 10. It is more for me."

• He said he is "frustrated and "sometimes it is really hard to hide the frustration", but added: "The good thing is I said the same things in the dressing room five minutes before."

• In response to how his players reacted: "The response was normal because I am really blunt with my players. They have trained well and they are ready for this game."

• On whether he tried to use his post-match comments to take away responsibility from the players: "You have to look really hard to find a Manchester United team that in 10 games lost seven of them, and that is on me. It is the same players doing worse with a new coach. That is my only concern at the moment."

• He said his players "are too nervous with the ball" but the responsibility falls to him as manager because "we are performing really badly and our results are really bad".

• He said his players "are really anxious playing at home and it is getting harder to play at Old Trafford" because they have lost four out of the past five games.

• On whether saying the team are "nervous" is helpful for the players: "If you want I can be delusional and say different things. I say it as I see it. I said it to the players and I said it to you - I think it's a good thing to be really honest."

• He chose not to respond to transfer talk around Alejandro Garnacho and insisted the focus was on Rangers in the Europa League.

Follow the rest of Wednesday's football news