Marcus Rashford could not bring himself to watch Manchester City lift the Champions League – but the Manchester United star says club rivalries are left at the door with England thanks to the group’s “strong bond”.
Erik ten Hag’s arrival sparked a marked improvement in the red half of Manchester this season, with February’s Carabao Cup triumph followed up by a third-placed finish in the Premier League.
But City stopped United ending their campaign on a high at Wembley by winning the first all-Manchester FA Cup final as they stayed on track to replicate their rivals’ historic 1999 treble triumph.
Pep Guardiola’s men did just that by beating Inter Milan in Saturday’s Champions League final – a match Rashford watched on TV, although there was only so much he could stomach.
Put to the forward that Trent Alexander-Arnold turned off the TV when United won the FA Cup as he could not bear to watch Liverpool’s rivals lift silverware, Rashford said: “It’s exactly the same.
“I like watching football, I like watching the best games so that’s what I did.
“But after they win the game, I don’t need to watch them celebrating and all that stuff, so yeah, TV off!”
City’s treble understandably sticks in the craw but there appears little chance of club rivalries impacting England like they did with previous generations.
“It is going to be funny,” Rashford said of the conversations he was expecting with the quintet on international duty.
“But, like I said, it’s congratulations to them and, for me, they deserved it, they played the best football this year.
“There’s not much more to say about it, really. The talking’s done on the pitch and they did really well this year.”
Asked if it is a strength of the England squad to go from bantering about club matters to playing well together, Rashford said: “Yeah, I think definitely that’s a part of it.
“But there’s a strong bond in this squad and there has been regardless of which players come in and that’s down to the environment.
“There’s not much more I can put it down to, so we’re looking forward to having them back here.
“They’re obviously all really good players and we need them if we want our squad to be as strong as possible.”
While club allegiances will not put a spoke in England’s wheel, Rashford does not hide from questions about United’s place in the pecking order.
For so long the dominant force in English football, the 20-time league champions are now playing second fiddle in their own city.
On the desire to be top dogs once more, Rashford said: “I think that was always the aim regardless of their success this year or the previous years.
“Let’s be honest, it’s not anything new – the only thing that’s new is that they managed to win all three.
“They are a very good team and it’s not just us that are trying to catch up to them, it’s pretty much every team as well.
“Is it a challenge? Yeah, but we can’t shy away from it. We have to face it and do our best next season.”
Rashford says United’s players and staff spoke in the dressing room after the FA Cup final about the need to kick on again as the 2023-24 campaign quickly comes into focus.
There are only 23 days between Rashford, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw playing in England’s final June qualifier against North Macedonia at Old Trafford on Monday and United playing their first pre-season match.
It is a far cry from the full summer of preparation Rashford enjoyed last year, which provided a platform for him to bounce back from the most challenging campaign of his career.
The rejuvenated 25-year-old went onto score a career best 30 goals in all competitions under Ten Hag, who the United forward credits for changing the mindset of the group and helping him find his fire again.
“He came in and he wanted to win,” Rashford said. “I feel like at times we have lacked that ambition, as I’ve said before.
“He wasn’t caring about getting into the top four, doing any of that – he just wanted to win trophies and when you strive for the best sometimes you are going to fall short as we did in areas this season.
“But you have to look at the outcome. We managed to win a trophy and get back into the Champions League spots, get to another final and it’s definitely a progression from the previous year, or couple of years before.
“He just managed to motivate me and just relight the flame that was missing.”
Ten Hag’s United have put things in place to close the gap to City next season, but the interminable takeover saga continues to provide a dark, uncertain cloud over the Old Trafford giants.
Asked if it is easy to block out the constant noise about it, Rashford said: “For me, yeah, because I am here with the national team, like I don’t want to be worrying about what’s going on in Manchester and stuff like that.
“For me, it’s just the importance on these next two games and getting the job done while also doing it as well as we can.”
Guardiola: Time for Man City's Tottenham hoodoo to end
Pep Guardiola knows Manchester City have no choice but to end their Premier League hoodoo at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday, saying anything but a win will hand Arsenal the title.
Following Arsenal's 1-0 win at Manchester United on Sunday, City are one point behind the Gunners at the summit with a game in hand.
Arsenal are now in the unenviable position of needing a favour from their North London rivals, as a City win will ensure they enter this weekend's final set of fixtures with the title race in their hands.
However, City have lost on all four of their visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League without scoring, though they did manage a 1-0 FA Cup win there in January.
Only Birmingham City (seven at Old Trafford) have played more Premier League games at a specific stadium without finding the net.
Asked about the importance of ending that record, Guardiola said: "It's obvious, I would say. We have just one option, win the game. We will go from there.
"We played really well there many times but weren't able to score or win games. We are trying to do something special, so we have to do that this time.
"This is the time to do it, otherwise Arsenal will be champions."
Some Tottenham fans have expressed unease about the prospect of helping their old enemies end their 20-year wait to be crowned champions of England, but Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has hit out at those questioning his team's motivation.
"What do you think we're going to do as a team? Like any team on this planet, aren't we just going to try and win? It's a simple, basic premise," Postecoglou said.
"Now how that makes people feel, I'm not really fussed. I don't really care."
Touching on City's hunt for an unprecedented fourth straight English top-flight title, he added: "Sometimes people think once you win it once it becomes easier, but it becomes harder.
"It's a testament not just to Pep but the whole organisation and how they want to achieve success."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Tottenham – Dejan Kulusevski
Kulsevski has been directly involved in five goals in his four Premier League games against City, more than he has versus any other opponent in the competition (three goals, two assists).
The Swede scored a last-minute equaliser as the sides played out a thrilling 3-3 draw in December's reverse fixture, but he has failed to net in any of his last 11 Premier League matches.
Manchester City – Phil Foden
Foden and Jack Grealish both scored in City's reverse fixture against Spurs. The only previous players to score home and away against Tottenham in a Premier League season for the Citizens are Sergio Aguero (2013-14 and 2014-15), Ilkay Gundogan (2017-18) and Raheem Sterling (2017-18).
Foden netted his 25th goal of the campaign across all competitions in City's 4-0 rout of Fulham on Saturday, and the Player of the Season candidate will play a key role here.
MATCH PREDICTION – MANCHESTER CITY WIN
Arsenal supporters may not feel great about having to cheer on their old rivals, but history suggests Tottenham have a chance of providing a twist in the title race – regardless of how their own fans feel about that prospect.
Indeed, City have lost more Premier League games against Tottenham under Guardiola (six), than they have against any other side.
The champions, however, are in ominous form, going unbeaten through their last 21 Premier League matches (17 wins, four draws).
Only once have they enjoyed a longer run in the competition, going 30 without losing between April 2017 and January 2018.
They have also won their last four away league games, the last three of them by an aggregate score of 10-0. Only once in their league history have they won four in a row on the road without conceding, doing so as a second-tier club between March and April 1903.
Regardless of their terrible record on this ground, it is difficult to see the champions slipping up.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Tottenham – 20.1%
Manchester City – 54.8%
Draw – 25.1%
Spurs will not 'roll out red carpet' for Man City - Postecoglou
Ange Postecoglou does not believe the Tottenham fans want their side to lose and insists his side will not "roll out the red carpet" for Manchester City.
The Premier League title race will go down to the final day after Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday, but it is yet to be decided who will go into the last match on top of the table.
City sit one point behind the Gunners, and if they win their game in hand over Spurs on Tuesday, they will reclaim top spot.
However, an Aston Villa win over Liverpool on Monday would end Spurs’ chances of Champions League qualification, meaning they would have nothing to play for against the title holders.
Arsenal need a favour from their North London rivals if they want to win their first Premier League title since 2004, but Postecoglou says he does not believe that will affect what result the fans want.
He said: "You think the majority of our fans are not going to want us to win?
"I don't see it that way. I think the majority of our fans will create the atmosphere they always create at our games. We've got a game of football to win and that's what we'll try to do.
"City haven't won it yet and if you think they have, then it becomes an issue because we're rolling out a red carpet for them, and I'm not going to do that.
"I'm not just going to sit there and watch them win. That doesn't sit comfortably with me."
Pressed on if a proportion of fans would be against a positive result, Postecoglou added: "A proportion of our fans? What does that mean? What proportion? 50 per cent? 20 per cent? One per cent?
"That's fine, people are allowed to feel the way they do.
"But I think I've been consistent and really strong in my beliefs that it's important for this football club not to look for silver bullets to get to where we want to; it's hard work, it's resilience, it's quality, not to fall for any false dawns - and know what real success looks like: trophies.
"Anything else in between, bragging rights, whatever it is, is absolutely meaningless to me or anyone involved with me. We've got a game we want to win."
Southgate: Man United speculation 'a complete irrelevance'
Gareth Southgate says speculation linking him with the Manchester United job is "a complete irrelevance" as his entire focus is on England's Euro 2024 campaign.
The England manager has been tipped as a contender to succeed Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford should United part ways with the Dutchman at the end of the season.
Southgate is due to be out of contract later this year, with suggestions that the upcoming European Championship finals will be his last tournament as Three Lions chief.
However, amid the talk over where he could end up later this year, the 53-year-old is not looking beyond the Euros.
"I've got one thing to focus on, and that's having as successful a tournament with England as possible," he told ITV News.
"Everything else outside of that is a complete irrelevance to me."
Asked specifically about the United links in a separate interview with BBC Sport, Southgate said: "There will always be speculation about managers.
"If you lose a couple of games, you're in trouble - you win a couple of games and it is a different agenda.
"But for me, [Euro 2024] is a brilliant opportunity. We're looking forward to the tournament. My focus is on how do we go a step further than we went in the last Euros."
Southgate has been England boss since 2016 and previously hinted he contemplated stepping down after the World Cup quarter-final loss to France in December 2022.
Despite the fact his deal expires in the next six months, Southgate insists that is not a concern ahead of the Euros in Germany.
"It's not an issue and never has been," Southgate said. "I have to deliver a successful tournament for England and there's enough work involved in that.
"I think everybody would expect that's where my focus should be."
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