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Football is a fickle game, but the feel-good factor has certainly returned to Manchester United in recent weeks, with Ruben Amorim’s men now in the midst of a rare three-game winning run in the Premier League.

While the prior win at Anfield may have been the cliched ‘statement’ performance, the subsequent display against Brighton provided even greater reason for encouragement.

Like the red arrows – or Sir Alex Ferguson’s beloved geese – United swarmed the Seagulls on Saturday night, with the frontline, in particular, simply proving too hot to handle.

This much-debated 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 set-up has no doubt had its critics, but the weekend triumph showcased what it can look like in full flow, with so many avenues available to hurt the opposition.

If it’s not Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha, it’s Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro making an impact, with even the high press of the backline working to emphatic effect amid Luke Shaw’s involvement in the opening two goals.

Where Amorim’s machine currently looks at its best, however, is on the right flank, making it all the more troubling that the Portuguese will soon be without the dynamic duo of Amad and Bryan Mbeumo.

How many games Amad and Mbeumo could miss due to AFCON

There was a moment on the opening weekend that seemed to illustrate everything wrong with Amorim’s approach, with the left-footed pair of Amad and Mbeumo getting in each other’s way inside the area against Arsenal.

With both men looking to come in onto their favoured left foot, they had been occupying the same areas in the early weeks of the season. That has all changed since Sunderland, however.

There were shades of Yorke and Cole about the two men against the Black Cats, while they also combined again to devastating effect against Liverpool, with opposite number Milos Kerkez enduring a torrid day at the office.

As Amad has himself spoken of, there is a fluidity emerging regarding United’s right-sided duo, with the pair comfortable alternating between a no.10 or right wing-back berth mid-game.

Mbeumo, signed for a total fee of £71m this summer, now boasts five goals already for the Red Devils, while Amad has created two ‘big chances’ and provided one assist in the Premier League thus far, as per Sofascore.

Frustratingly, this developing partnership is set to be halted in the near future, with the upcoming African Cup of Nations set to kick off on 21 December. Amad and Mbeumo will be representing Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon, respectively.

While festive fixtures are yet to be totally confirmed by broadcasters, United currently face Aston Villa (21st), Newcastle United (27th) and Wolverhampton Wanderers (30th) in late December, with further fixtures at risk in January should their nations progress.

Bournemouth

15th December

Aston Villa

21st December

Newcastle*

27 December

Wolves*

30th December

Leeds

3rd Jan

Burnley

7th Jan

FA Cup 3rd round

10th Jan

Man City

17th Jan

There should be no pressure applied for the pair to forego their international commitments, however, with Amorim and co instead needing to find international solutions to help fill that double-barreled void.

How Man Utd can replace Mbeumo and Amad

As per journalist Samuel Luckhurst, the impending departure of the two widemen will likely see United block potential January exits, with the likes of Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee having been tipped to depart in the New Year.

In truth, the club’s attacking options are light as it is following the summer exits of Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho and Antony, with Amorim unable to afford his frontline getting any weaker.

Thankfully, an obvious solution to the Mbeumo absence would be Mason Mount, with the Englishman – who was named on the bench last time out – comfortable either in a left-sided or right-sided number ten role.

That would then leave Cunha and Sesko to complete the attacking trio, with the likes of Zirkzee and Mainoo in reserve – while a surprise chance could emerge for academy sensation, Shea Lacey.

If Amorim is looking for a more natural replacement for either Mbeumo or Amad, however, it might be Patrick Dorgu who he turns to, with the left footer able to provide another “explosive” presence down the right flank – as U23 scout Antonio Mango has described him.

While predominantly deployed on the left flank following his January arrival from Leece, the young Dane has been ousted from that role of late, with Diogo Dalot slotting in at left wing-back in each of the last three victories.

It would seem bizarre to have a right-footer on the left, and a left-footer on the right, although that approach is working currently, ensuring Dorgu might be the man to fill that Amad-Mbeumo-shaped hole.

Indeed, prior to moving to Manchester, the versatile 21-year-old had regularly lined up as a right winger in Italy, with three of his five Serie A goals coming from a right-wing or right midfield berth, as per Transfermarkt.

An impressive ball carrier, like Amad and Mbeumo, Dorgu currently ranks in the top 7% of full-backs in Europe’s top five leagues for progressive carriers per 90, as per FBref, as well as in the top 5% for touches in the attacking penalty area per 90 – highlighting his willingness to get forward.

Too often, the £30m signing produces a wayward attempt when cutting onto his right foot from the left, with there the chance that he might well benefit from being able to cut in onto his preferred foot instead from the opposite flank.

Noted as a statistically similar player to Amad in this season’s Premier League, as per FBref, Dorgu might well be the man to replace the Ivorian in something of a new role, having only featured on the right a handful of times to date under Amorim – namely on debut against Leicester City.

The ten-cap Denmark international will have big shoes to fill over the Christmas period, but he might just be the international solution that Amorim is in need of.

Not Cunha or Mbeumo: Man Utd gem is becoming one of the "best in the world"

Manchester United have yet another world-class star on their hands under Ruben Amorim.

2 ByEthan Lamb Oct 30, 2025

Enzo Fernandez has been reflecting on how he helped Lionel Messi to complete “unfinished business”, with an “incredible” experience being savoured at the 2022 World Cup. The Albiceleste captured a global crown at that tournament, allowing their talismanic captain to complete his medal collection and emulate the achievements of fellow GOATs Pele and Diego Maradona.

• World Cup win: Messi prevailed in epic final

  Messi headed to Qatar aware that the clock was ticking on efforts to capture the most prestigious of trophies. He suffered final heartache in 2014 and must have wondered whether he would ever get another chance to hoist the World Cup aloft.

  His dreams came true in the Middle East, with Argentina prevailing in an epic showdown with France that saw Messi bag a brace and Kylian Mbappe net a hat-trick before a penalty shootout determined the winner.

  Fernandez played his part in that triumph, with a memorable first goal for his country being recorded in a must-win group stage clash against Mexico – which saw him become Argentina’s second-youngest scorer at a World Cup, behind all-time great Messi.

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• Getty
  

  Fernandez proud of efforts alongside Messi

  The all-action midfielder, who is now plying his club trade in the Premier League with Chelsea, made enough memories in Qatar to last a lifetime. He will forever be proud of delivering the most sought-after of honours for an illustrious countryman.

  Fernandez has told : “Winning the World Cup with Messi was incredible. We were fully motivated because our team grew up watching Leo at home on TV. We’d been fighting for it for many years and Messi had unfinished business.

  “I’m so proud that I was able to share that moment with him and win the World Cup alongside him, knowing what it meant to him and all of us. Of course, we all wanted to do it for him because it was the only sporting achievement missing for him.

  “He’s a great person and I’m so proud to share these moments with him. He’s the greatest of all time, so it’s a privilege to share the dressing room with him. It’s a huge thing for me and I’m really enjoying it. I try to make the most of every moment spent with him.”

• Shock award: Fernandez landed gong he knew nothing about

  Messi walked away with the Golden Ball after lifting the World Cup, while Fernandez was – at 20 years of age – named young player of the tournament. He was unaware that such a prize was even up for grabs, but was delighted to fend off competition from the likes of Jude Bellingham, Goncalo Ramos and Aurelien Tchouameni.

  Fernandez added: “I wasn’t expecting the award. I didn’t even know it existed, so it was a big surprise to receive it after the final.

  “I’m so proud to have won it because the best players take part in the World Cup, including many youngsters. It was a unique moment because they called me up and I didn’t know which trophy I was going to receive. It was so strange for me.

  “I remember the moment when they handed me the award, as they also gave Messi the Golden Ball for the best player at the World Cup and Emi Martínez received the Golden Glove.”

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  World Cup draw: When is it & will Messi grace the tournament?

  Messi, Fernandez and Martinez are now looking to go back-to-back in the World Cup-winning stakes. The countdown is very much on to the next staging of FIFA’s flagship event, with the United States, Canada and Mexico preparing to throw open their doors in the summer of 2026.

  Messi is yet to confirm that he will be taking part in that event, as head coach Lionel Scaloni refuses to pressure his skipper, with the evergreen 38-year-old conceding that playing in MLS for Inter Miami may leave him short of match sharpness.

  The expectation is that he will be involved, with Fernandez among those desperate to line up alongside the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner at another major tournament. Argentina are among the favourites again and will discover their group stage opponents when the 2026 World Cup draw takes place on Friday.

Alastair Cook has urged England to keep faith with Ollie Pope at No. 3 for the Ashes, rather than taking a “gamble” on Jacob Bethell.England’s first-choice top seven has been unchanged for over a year, but Bethell’s emergence in New Zealand last November when Jamie Smith was on paternity leave put significant pressure on Pope’s position at No. 3. Pope responded with hundreds against Zimbabwe and India at the start of the 2025 summer, but only made one half-century in his next eight innings.Bethell made 6 and 5 in his only Test appearance of the summer, deputising for the injured Ben Stokes at The Oval, but scored half-centuries in each of his first three Tests last year. He will have the chance to push his case in six white-ball fixtures against New Zealand from Saturday, but Cook believes that sticking with Pope for the Ashes should be an “easy” decision.Related

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“I would bat Ollie Pope at No. 3,” Cook said on Tuesday, at the launch of TNT Sports’ Ashes coverage. “I think it’s quite an easy decision on this, actually. You’ve got someone who’s been part of this build-up for three or four years, he’s captained the side, he’s played some extraordinary innings for England and he’s a hundred-maker.”If you get rid of him now, I think that changes the whole dynamic of what they’ve built up over the last year, how settled they’ll feel for that top seven… If it doesn’t work out, do you then move back to somebody you just got rid of, confidence-wise? I think it’s easy to go the other way, and I think that would be the sensible thing.”Cook, who was player of the series when England last won the Ashes in Australia 15 years ago, described Bethell as an “incredibly talented player” but said that it would be a “big, big gamble” to pick him primarily on his performances against the white ball: “They’ve invested so much in people like Pope and Crawley that it’d be such a strange thing to change it now.”Brendon McCullum’s decision to replace Pope as vice-captain with Harry Brook has furthered the sense that England might move away from him. Rob Key, England’s managing director, denied last month that it formed part of an “elaborate scheme” to drop Pope, but said that a final decision would only be taken in the days leading up to the first Test in Perth on November 21.Jacob Bethell is waiting in the wings•Getty Images

Cook believes that the change in vice-captaincy will liberate Pope, rather than damaging his confidence or his standing in the England dressing-room. “I think that will just take the pressure off Ollie Pope,” he said. “I’m sure it will have hurt him, because any time you get taken off a leadership [position], it wouldn’t be ideal. But I don’t think it undermines him.”He also believes that Australia will be wary of Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley’s opening partnership, and their ability to score at an unusually quick tempo. “Australia will be so respectful of Crawley and Duckett, and what they can do to impact the game,” Cook said.”Crawley is a different opening batter to what history says you need: a guy who is very inconsistent and averages 30 but, on his day, plays an innings which I don’t think anyone else in the world can play at the top of the order… Against bowling which suits him – he prefers the ball coming on at a good pace on good, true wickets – he is a real danger for Australia.”It has to line up well…. He’s not like this consistent machine who scores runs, but they’re definitely fearful of that, without a shadow of a doubt. Because an hour of Duckett and Crawley playing well, or an hour and a half on that first morning, England will build huge momentum and it starts the series well.”Watch live exclusive coverage of The Ashes on TNT Sports and discovery+.

Captain attracted criticism for bowling first but is now 1-0 up after another memorable victory

Matt Roller24-Jun-20251:53

Did we see a refined version of Bazball?

Ben Stokes had the last laugh at Headingley. “It’s a good job Test cricket is played over five days, isn’t it?” he said with a smile, when asked if he had ever doubted his decision to bowl first on winning the toss was the right one as India raced to 430 for 3 in their first innings. “Imagine thinking that way at the end of day one, before we’ve even had a chance to bat.”His decision paid off in style: while England had anticipated more assistance from the surface on the first morning, Stokes’ call was also informed by the characteristics of the venue and his team’s own success in run-chases. The result was a cruise to victory with 14 overs to spare and five wickets in hand on the fifth day, making light work of a 371-run target.England became kings of the fourth innings during the heady winning run in their 2022 home summer. They successfully hauled in targets of 250-plus in Stokes’ first four Tests as full-time captain, culminating in his declaration that England would “have a chase” when winning the toss against India at Edgbaston and then watching his batters reach 378 with seven wickets in hand.Related

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They had only once chased 250-plus in the intervening years, a three-wicket win over Australia, also at Headingley in 2023, and have fallen to some big defeats when set even bigger totals – for example, by 434 runs in Rajkot last year. But their win in Leeds this week was their sixth successful chase of 250-plus since Stokes took over; no other team has more than two.It was vindication for Stokes’ decision to field first, a choice he has already made more often than any other England captain. This was the 11th time that Stokes has opted to bowl first, and England have won eight of those games; they have lost only twice, a narrow defeat at Lord’s in the 2023 Ashes and a 423-run hammering in Hamilton late last year.Their record owes in no small part to the nature of English Test surfaces: all six 250-plus chases have been at home, and this week’s pitch laid bare how much things have changed. The trend at Headingley for nearly a decade now has been for scores to go up and up with each innings; rather than deteriorating, the Leeds pitches seem only to flatten out as each match wears on.The flak that Stokes received on the first day reflected the truism that batting first is invariably the best option at the toss, with captains who decide otherwise generally criticised far more than their bowling attacks: it was two decades ago that Ricky Ponting chose to bowl at Edgbaston, and even longer since Nasser Hussain did at Brisbane, yet neither man can escape association with those calls.ESPNcricinfo LtdStokes did seem to admit that things had not quite gone as he had anticipated when asked to elaborate on his toss decision: he said that it was informed more by a desire to exploit the “top moisture” in the first session than the expectation of setting up a run-chase. But his logic made sense: his inexperienced attack needed all the help they could get from the pitch.He also believes that England’s early success in run-chases under his and Brendon McCullum’s leadership has helped his team stay calmer in the fourth innings. “We’re a very simple-minded pair,” Stokes said. “Everyone knows what cricket’s about: it’s about scoring more runs than your opposition, when you strip it all back.”When you’re chasing down totals like that, how you are in the dressing room is very important because lads have got jobs to go out and do. Keeping the calm, relaxed vibe as much as we can is so important for the mindset… Cricket’s about taking wickets and scoring runs, but also the mindset you’re able to get your players into.”Stokes’ public indifference towards the draw has also provided clarity: there has never been any prospect of England dropping anchor and looking to block out a stalemate. “Everyone goes out there with a pretty clear mind about what we are trying to do,” he said. “Time wasn’t really an issue. It was pretty simple yesterday: if we bat the overs left in this game, we will win this game, just because of how quick the ground has been for scoring.”2:38

Is Stokes’ bowling workload a worry?

Ben Duckett’s 149 provided England with the perfect platform for their run-chase, and also reflected the best of their method with the bat under Stokes: soaking up pressure when facing Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj’s new-ball spell under thick clouds, and then putting it back onto Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja when England were on top.Duckett was not part of England’s run of successful chases in 2022, but said that he and his team-mates never panicked on the final day at Headingley. “It felt really calm in the dressing room,” he said, before paying tribute to another common thread of England’s fourth-innings success: “It’s pretty easy to be calm when Rooty [Joe Root] is at the crease.”It was Jamie Smith who hit the winning runs off Jadeja, but Root’s unbeaten half-century was hugely valuable and took him past Alastair Cook to become England’s leading scorer in successful chases. Under Stokes’ leadership, he has walked off unbeaten in six out of the eight fourth-innings wins that he has batted in, and with at least 50 runs to his name on five of those occasions.But whether the primary reason for this is pitches, mindsets, or individual brilliance, one thing is clear: England’s fourth-innings successes over the last three years mean that Stokes deserves the benefit of the doubt the next time he wins the toss and chooses to bowl.

He surpassed Dravid, Kallis, Ponting all in one innings at Old Trafford

Matt Roller25-Jul-2025

Joe Root had a banner day in Manchester•Associated Press

Joe Root has become the second-highest run-scorer in Test history, climbing three places in the all-time list during his century against India in Manchester. Root became England’s highest-ever run-scorer in October when he overtook Alastair Cook and went past three more batters on Thursday, leaving him second only to Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 15,921 runs.Root resumed his innings on 11 on the third morning and overtook Rahul Dravid when he reached 30 with a dab to deep third. He went past Jacques Kallis off his very next ball with a single through cover, and surpassed Ricky Ponting when he steered Anshul Kamboj to deep point for a single to reach 120.Root smiled sheepishly as the crowd gave him a standing ovation for his achievement, while India’s captain Shubman Gill also applauded him. Ponting was at Emirates Old Trafford commentating for Sky Sports to witness Root overtake him, and paid tribute to Root’s hunger for runs.Related

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“Congratulations, Joe Root. Magnificent,” Ponting said. “Second on the table, 120 not out. This crowd at the ground, this very knowledgeable crowd here at Old Trafford, stands as one… Just the one more to go now. About 2,500 runs behind [Tendulkar], but the way that his career has gone over the last four or five years, there’s absolutely no reason why not.”Ponting added: “He’s been a wonderful player through those 157 Test matches. He’s been such a consistent player, hasn’t he? You don’t really remember a long period of time where he’s had a lean run.

The moment.

And he's not done yet… pic.twitter.com/retSKGgBsV

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 25, 2025