Key events
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HALF TIME: Manchester United 0-0 Rangers
Both teams have had good opportunities to score. United have been the better side, though, so none of their players should worry about their manager forcing them to wear the dressing-room TV like an Elizabethan ruff, or whipping them with the HDMI cable.
45 min +4: Balogun, like Barron before him, is able to continue. For what that’s worth with the half-time whistle looming.
45 min +3: Now Balogun needs some attention from the physio, having been clipped by Zirkzee.
45 min +2: Igamane and Yilmaz bustle as one down the inside-left channel, causing the United defenders to drop back in a panic. They nearly break through the back line, but the ball doesn’t fall Rangers’ way, and then Igamane stands on Martinez’s toe to release the pressure on the hosts. For a nanosecond there, United hearts were in mouths.
45 min +1: The first of three additional minutes trundles by.
45 min: The corner comes in. Dalot heads it harmlessly wide right. Meanwhile here’s James Humphries again: “Never in a month of Sundays is that a foul before the United goal – it’s barely even a jostle! Rangers getting bailed out by the ref again though, standard.
44 min: Barron may have hurt himself in a 50-50 with De Ligt. A jarred knee. But he’s able to get up and walk to the sideline. United to take a corner against ten men.
43 min: Martinez pearls a rising diagonal shot towards the top-right corner. Butland has to extend fully to tip over the bar. Before the resulting corner can be taken, Barron goes down holding his leg. On comes the physio.
42 min: Bayindir is fine to continue.
41 min: Bayindir needs a bit of attention having been whacked upside the head in the process of saving his team from further corner-infused humiliation.
40 min: Tavernier curls the second corner viciously in from the left. It’s heading directly into the top right. Not again for United? But Rangers don’t get to add their name to a list already including Tottenham and Wolves this season, because Bayindir claws out from under the bar. Great save under pressure!
39 min: One corner leads to another.
38 min: … so having said that, Igamane has a whack from distance. He aims for the top right, but the ball deflects off Martinez’s chest and nearly whistles into the bottom left. Bayindir does extremely well to change direction and turn the shot around the post.
37 min: Fernandes and Dalot combine down the left to tee up Zirkzee, just inside the box. His low drive is deflected. United are getting on top now.
36 min: Diallo one-twos elegantly with Eriksen down the right, and suddenly Rangers look exposed. A poor pass infield lets the visitors breathe again. But the hosts come straight back at Rangers, Fernandes slipping a ball down the inside-right channel for Diallo, who finds himself one on one with Butland. He slams his shot straight at the keeper, who nonetheless spread himself well to block.
34 min: Fernandes tries to release Garnacho down the left but makes his intention too obvious and Tavernier steps across to intercept. Frustrated yelps from the home fans.
32 min: Bayindir punches clear. Then it’s Diallo’s turn to bring down a ball with snow on it with a feathered touch. He draws a foul from Yilmaz, who is slightly fortunate not to go into the book. A more pernickety referee might have flashed yellow there.
31 min: The corner comes in. Dalot eyebrows it away from danger. Yoro thinks it’s going out for a goal kick, so ushers it over the line. But it’s another corner, this time to come in from the left courtesy of Tavernier.
30 min: Cerny again down the right. This time he wins a corner off Dalot, Rangers’ first of the evening. Cerny to take it himself.
29 min: Cerny crosses long from the right. Yilmaz takes it down on the byline with an exquisite touch … the only problem being his having been caught offside. Still, a lovely bit of skill to kill a ball coming down from the heavens.
27 min: Garnacho spins and swivels his way down the left and makes enough space to whip a cross through the six-yard box. Really dangerous. But there’s nobody there in red to tap home.
26 min: United go long for Diallo, who worms his way down the right flank to no real effect. The hosts still reeling from having their bubble popped back there.
24 min: VAR doesn’t overturn it. United fuming. Nothing going poor Ruben Amorim’s way at the moment. He stares at the ground ruefully.
23 min: The ball flies in from the right. De Ligt steers in a header at the near post from six yards. He tears off to celebrate the goal, but it’s ruled out by the referee, Yoro ruled to have shoved Propper in the back. It’s soft, but the referee having made the decision, VAR’s not going to overturn it.
22 min: Dalot busies himself down the left and cuts back to … nobody in particular. But the ball pings off a blue shirt and into the road of Garnacho, who shoots from 12 yards. His rising effort flies off Raskin’s head for a corner. From which …
21 min: Igamane slips a pass down the inside right for Bajrami, who attempts to find Cerny with a cutback. Intercepted, but United’s back line was cut through too easily there.
20 min: Zirkzee advances down the left but his low cross is easily dealt with by Propper, who clears his lines without drama. In lieu of which, here’s Motherwell fan James Humphries: “It does occur to me that if Rangers do somehow jam a win, then via the age-old principle of footballing transitivity we’re better than Man United, which I don’t think has been a thing you can say of Motherwell since about the 1930s.”
18 min: Fernandes hasn’t seen much of the ball, but now he gets on it and takes aim for the top-left corner. That’s high and wide too. United beginning to reassert themselves.
17 min: De Ligt plays a careless backpass that Igamane should intercept. He doesn’t, though. Had he managed to do so, he’d have been clean through. Yoro mops up to do his team-mate a favour.
16 min: Garnacho cuts in from the left and has a dig from distance. Wide and high. Butland yet to be tested.
15 min: Diallo thinks about a dribble down the right. There’s a light touch on the back of his shirt from Jefte, so he stops, waiting for the whistle to blow. But there’s no free kick forthcoming. United come again, though, Collyer winning the first corner of the game down the same flank. Diallo swings it in, and Igamane heads clear. This doesn’t feel like a game destined to end goalless.
13 min: … but because of those two chances, Rangers suddenly look a lot more comfortable and composed. A period of calm possession for them at the back.
11 min: Another big chance for Rangers! A ball looped down the inside-left channel for Yilmaz, who enters the box and larrups goalwards. Bayindir parries. United already looking shaky at the back. Rangers really should be leading.
9 min: Rangers should be leading. Collyer has his pocket picked 30 yards from goal. Igamane slips a pass down the middle to release Raskin, who finds himself one on one with Bayindir. He tries to round the keeper on the left, only for the ball to get stuck under his feet, allowing Bayindir to block. Huge chance.
8 min: Butland launches long. Igamane picks up possession in the midfield and spins into space, only to then lash a wild pass into the stand on the left. Even so, it’s another moment for Rangers in United territory, and after their slow start it should give them hope of gaining a foothold.
7 min: Diallo bombs down the right and nearly gets the better of Jefte. Not quite. Then Rangers take up possession, Cerny racing down the Rangers right at speed. He can’t find Igamane with his pass infield, but that’s the first showing of Rangers in attack.
5 min: Eriksen makes good down the right and fizzes a low cross into the mixer. Balogun does the work for Rangers again, hooking clear under pressure from Zirkzee.
4 min: Dalot flicks Garnacho into space down the left. Garnacho enters the box and prepares to cross, only for Balogun to slide in and block with a perfectly timed tackle.
3 min: Garnacho dribbles in from the left, in the old-fashioned jinking Scottish style, and has a whack. Straight at Butland. Meanwhile up in the stand, the one-time Rangers starlet Alex Ferguson watches on.
2 min: United are immediately on the front foot. Garnacho and Dalot probe down the left. Then a look for the one-time Rangers starlet Diallo on the right. Rangers yet to have a significant touch.
The latest Battle of Britain is go, Rangers kicking off. They’ll be kicking towards the Stretford End in this first half.
The teams are out! United in red, Rangers in blue, the away end is bouncing, the home fans too. A huge banner in the Stretford End celebrating the life of the legendary Denis Law. The King. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes. “I’d suggest that the TV in the United dressing room just show reruns of Coronation Street,” writes Justin Kavanagh. “It’s Mancunian soap at its best, before the American imports like Dynasty got their grubby mitts on British sport and telly.”
Pre-match postbag. “On a purely selfish basis (is there any other for a football supporter?), given that Fulham are playing Man Utd on Sunday, I’m hoping for a proper Battle of Britain, with no prisoners taken and full of Things No One Wants To See” – Richard Hirst
“As far as I know Oasis are a Man City band but based on recent pronouncements, might Ruben Amorim’s favourite album be Definitely Maybe?” – Peter Oh
“A manager in the Premier League cannot be inflexible. Amorim stated he is not changing his approach and placement of players. He will not solve Man Utd’s issues” – Jeff Sax
“Oddly enough, there was mention of Radio Rentals and DER on another fitba’ thread the other day. My folks were diehard DER-ers, so not to be outdone…” – Scott Blair
Hey, the end of that DER jingle had to be somewhere in the back of Craig Ferguson’s mind when he was penning his theme tune, surely. Had to be. Altogether now: ♬ D-E-R … tomorrow’s just your future yesterday. ♪♫
Rangers boss Philippe Clement speaks to TNT. “It’s a very big one … the players have worked really hard to get in a good position in the Europa League … this is one of the most iconic places to go to in football … really special … I don’t want them to come here to collect shirts or be happy to be here … they come here to perform and do something special … defend really well … compact … aggressive without getting cards … be brave on the ball … we have not come to park the bus … to believe in ourselves … find the right spaces … the system is really clear how Man U is playing so we need to find the right spaces in between.”
Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim talks to TNT. “It’s always good to be back on the field … we’d like to have more practice … that would be important for the games … but this is my job … to try to help my players to win games so I am really happy to have the opportunity … the players know me … it is easier for them to recognise what I am saying than other people … I don’t control what other people think and say … but it was a little bit my fault to create all that … it is in the past … the next game is today … really important … we need to win … time to train and escape the play-offs … and have that feeling of winning at home … it is impossible to be competitive in Premier League and in Europe, especially in Europa League … it is much harder than the Champions League … not the opponents of course but the time to recover … the players have to be prepared for every game … I expect a very tough match … very British with a lot of duels … I want to see improvement … improve with the ball … be more relaxed … I will try to help them outside the pitch a little bit more.”
Manchester United make five changes after the 3-1 home loss in the Premier League to Brighton & Hove Albion. Altay Bayındır, Christian Eriksen, Toby Collyer, Alejandro Garnacho and Lisandro Martínez are in for André Onana, Harry Maguire, Noussair Mazraoui, Manuel Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo, all of whom drop to the bench. Still no involvement for Marcus Rashford.
Rangers make six changes to the side sent out to beat Fraserburgh 5-0 in the Scottish Cup at the weekend. Jack Butland, Leon Balogun, Nicolas Raskin, Rıdvan Yılmaz, Václav Černý and Hamza Igamane come in for Mason Munn, Clinton Nsiala, Mohamed Diomande, Ross McCausland, Zak Lovelace and Cyriel Dessers.
The teams
Manchester United: Bayindir, Yoro, de Ligt, Martinez, Diallo, Collyer, Eriksen, Dalot, Garnacho, Fernandes, Zirkzee.
Subs: Heaton, Onana, Maguire, Hojlund, Malacia, Casemiro, Antony, Ugarte, Mainoo.
Rangers: Butland, Propper, Balogun, Yilmaz, Tavernier, Cerny, Raskin, Barron, Jefte, Bajrami, Igamane.
Subs: Kelly, Munn, Dessers, Lawrence, Dowell, King, McCausland, Rice, Lovelace, Curtis, Hutton, Nsio.
Referee: Erik Lambrechts (Belgium).
Preamble
It’s the worst Manchester United team in history, some say. Ruben Amorim shouldn’t worry too much about that, however, because it’s not as though the current Rangers team is of classic vintage either. Both sides are in decent form in the Europa League, mind. It’s eighth versus ninth, with United unbeaten and Rangers coming off the back of a 4-1 win in Nice and an Ibrox draw with Tottenham Hotspur. Kick-off is at 8pm GMT. In the meantime, Amorim will be giving his players the usual pre-match pep-talk, issuing beneficial advice with the help of visual aids such as chalkboard, tactics table, and … oh yes, he’ll need one of those as well, won’t he. We recommend these guys. Great service, great sets, and their parent company has great brand recognition in the Manchester area.
