The Independent
·26 December 2024
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·26 December 2024
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Ruben Amorim responds to Marcus Rashford comments over Manchester United future
Wolves welcome Manchester United to Molineux on Boxing Day as two newly-arrived Portuguese managers look to instigate a turnaround in fortunes for their sides.
The Vitor Pereira era got off to a fine start on Sunday as Wolves produced one of their best performances of the season, a 3-0 dispatching of Leicester clearing up much of the chaos that had led to Gary O’Neil’s exit. The veteran manager has waited more than a decade for another Premier League opportunity having narrowly missed out on the Everton job in 2013 and is desperate to make the most of it, with victory here lifting the club out of the relegation zone with Leicester not in action until later.
The visitors, meanwhile, concluded their efforts before Christmas with a poor showing against Bournemouth. A seventh defeat of the season leaves Manchester United languishing in the bottom half and with tough fixtures against Liverpool and Newcastle to come over the next few days, Ruben Amorim may need a result here to generate some momentum heading into the back half of the season.
Follow all of the latest updates from Molineux in our live blog below:
Having won three of their first five Premier League home games against Man Utd (L2), Wolves are now winless in their last five, losing the last four in a row (D1).
United have won seven of their last eight Premier League games against Wolves, with the exception being a 1-0 home defeat in January 2022.
Chris Wilson26 December 2024 17:00
Ruben Amorim vowed to address Manchester United’s issues dealing with set-pieces and setbacks after nerves got the better of his side in Sunday’s 3-0 home humbling by high-flying Bournemouth.
A week after the memorable comeback derby win at rivals Manchester City, boos greeted the final whistle following a loss that left the Red Devils marooned in 13th place in the Premier League.
The head coach’s press conference was then briefly interrupted by a leak from the media-room ceiling.
Manchester United will spend Christmas in the bottom half for the first time since 1989 as Bournemouth won 3-0 at Old Trafford
Chris Wilson26 December 2024 16:55
Ruben Amorim has lost three of his first six Premier League games in charge of Manchester United after Sunday’s humbling against Bournemouth.
Here, the PA news agency compares his record to his recent predecessors at Old Trafford, from Sir Alex Ferguson to Jose Mourinho and Erik ten Hag.
United go into Christmas in the bottom half of the table – 13th – for the first time in the Premier League era.
Chris Wilson26 December 2024 16:35
The line-ups should be released in the next five minutes, so here’s a reminder of the early team news.
Wolves will welcome back Rayan ait-Nouri after he served his suspension in the win over Leicester, while Mario Lemina could also come back after suffering a calf strain. Boubacar Traore and Pablo Sarabia are unlikely to be back before the New Year, while long-term absentees Yerson Mosquera, Enso Gonzalez Medina and Sasa Kalajdzic remain unavailable.
For United, there are no new injury concerns after the loss to Bournemouth, with Luke Shaw, Mason Mount and Victor Lindelof out. Matthijs de Ligt has missed the last two matches with an unspecified illness, so he could make a return at centre-back.
Chris Wilson26 December 2024 16:10
Wolves boss Vitor Pereira admitted even he was surprised by his team’s display after his first game at the helm ended in a 3-0 triumph at fellow strugglers Leicester.
Goncalo Guedes, Rodrigo Gomes and Matheus Cunha were all on target in the first half to get Pereira, who arrived from Al Shabab on Thursday to replace the sacked Gary O’Neil, off to the perfect start.
“For a short time of work, what the team did in the game was a surprise for me,” said the Portuguese, whose 18th-placed team moved within two points of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Foxes. “We showed true spirit, the confidence and tactically I think we were intelligent.”
The Portuguese arrived on Thursday to take over the Wolves reins from the sacked Gary O’Neil.
Chris Wilson26 December 2024 16:05
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has reiterated the need for a “cultural overhaul” at the club after Ruben Amorim’s side fell to another humbling defeat at the weekend.
Speaking on his podcast on Sky Sports, Neville said that United “are a mile away in every single way”, with several players who are “all very mediocre”.
United lost 3-0 at home to Bournemouth on Sunday, with a disjointed performance that was defensively poor and often lacking in attacking threat.
Ruben Amorim’s side struggled once again and fell to a 3-0 loss to Bournemouth
Chris Wilson26 December 2024 15:55
Ruben Amorim has questioned the “choices” of people surrounding Marcus Rashford while offering his support to the Manchester Unitedstriker.
Rashford sat out a third successive game on Sunday as United crashed to a 3-0 Premier League home defeat to Bournemouth, the 27-year-old having also been omitted for a 2-1 derby win at Manchester City and Thursday’s 4-3 Carabao Cup quarter-final loss at Tottenham.
Two days before that Spurs defeat, Rashford had said in an eye-catching interview that he was “ready for a new challenge and the next steps” of a career which began in the United academy.
Chris Wilson