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.”
Conte hopes for Ranieri's success at Roma after Napoli clash
Antonio Conte hopes that everything will go well for Claudio Ranieri after he came out of retirement to take charge of Roma, but only after their Serie A clash this weekend.
Ranieri was tempted back into management by a return to where he began as a player. His third spell at Roma comes after the club sacked two coaches already this season and with the team 12th in the standings.
A trip to leaders Napoli is Ranieri's first task, and Conte is looking forward to meeting up with the 73-year-old.
"I am pleased to see Claudio, I have great esteem for him and there is also friendship," Conte told reporters ahead of Sunday's game.
"I am happy with the chance he has been given. It will be a tough game, for us and for them. Last year, Roma finished ahead of Napoli, they are in the Europa League and had a good transfer window.
"They are not performing according to expectations and I hope for Claudio that everything starts to work after Sunday's game."
The arrival of Ranieri in place of Ivan Juric brings with it not just the danger of the 'new manager bounce' but also upsets Conte's plans for the game.
"When a team changes coach there is an important input on a nervous level," Conte said.
"They are at the third change on the bench. It's inevitable that, if Juric had remained, we knew what kind of team we were going to face.
"Now it's an enigma, we don't have much information nor do we know how they will deal with us. So let's think about ourselves, there is a desire and enthusiasm to continue this path."
After a streak of 21 consecutive home wins in Serie A, Conte lost his last home league match (0-3 against Atalanta). Only once in his career has he recorded two consecutive home defeats in the competition: in November 2009, when he was in charge of Atalanta (against Juventus and Roma).
Napoli are top of the table, but Conte knows it is still early, and with just two points separating the top six clubs, which includes the likes of Atalanta, Fiorentina and Lazio, for now, it is a different title race than usual.
"Only 12 games have passed and there are many teams within very few points," he said.
"We are doing well, but so are the others. There isn't one team which has distanced the others. Perhaps there is a little amazement in seeing some teams in those positions in the standings."
'Right guy at the right time' - Amorim confident of changing Man Utd's fortunes
Ruben Amorim believes he is the "right guy at the right time" to turn Manchester United's fortunes around.
The 39-year-old signed a two-and-a-half-year deal earlier this month to keep him at Old Trafford until June 2027, replacing Erik ten Hag after he was sacked in October.
Amorim is the sixth permanent United manager since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, having left Sporting CP to take charge during the international break.
He won two Primeira Liga titles as Sporting head coach as well as two Taca da Liga trophies, while he led the club to a perfect start in the league this season, winning all 11 of their games.
United sit 13th in the Premier League table ahead of their trip to Ipswich Town on 15 points, though they are just four points behind Chelsea in third.
Amorim recognised the size of the task ahead of him in Manchester but is confident he can make a change.
"I'm a little bit of a dreamer and I believe in myself, and I believe in the club," he said during his first press conference.
"I think we have the same idea, the same mindset and that can help.
"I truly believe in the players; I know you don't believe a lot, but I do. I want to try new things. You guys don't think it's possible, I do.
"Call me naive, but I believe I am the right guy at the right time. I truly believe I am the right guy."
Aged 39 years and 302 days, Amorim will be the youngest to take charge of his first match for the Red Devils since Wilf McGuinness in August 1969 (31y 288d).
United have won just four of their 11 league games so far this season, and have struggled in front of goal, netting just 12 times so far.
Expected to implement his favoured 3-4-3 formation, Amorim admitted it would take time for the club to adapt and has asked for patience as the players get used to his tactics.
"I know at Manchester United we have to win games. We need a lot of time because it's a tough league, we have to improve a lot to try to win the title," he added.
"We have to change the physical aspect of the team. I don't know how long it will take."
'It's a shame' - Alonso confirms Leverkusen's Boniface out with thigh injury
Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso confirmed that Victor Boniface will be sidelined for some time after picking up a thigh injury on international duty with Nigeria.
Boniface, who has scored eight goals in 15 appearances in all competitions this season, was replaced late on in the Super Eagles' 2-1 defeat to Rwanda on Monday.
It is another blow for Leverkusen, who have managed 17 points from 10 games so far this season, the worst start to a league campaign in 12 years by a defending champion.
Only Omar Marmoush and Harry Kane (both 11) have scored more goals in the league than Boniface this term (six).
Alonso revealed that the 23-year-old will miss Saturday's Bundesliga encounter against Heidenheim and their Champions League tie against RB Salzburg next week.
"We will have to see how long he will be out. It is a shame," Alonso told a press conference.
"He has a thigh injury. For tomorrow, for Salzburg and maybe a bit longer. We will have to wait and see.
"It is too early to say but we hope he can still play this year. We have to see with the recovery and improvement but it is not a matter of six or eight weeks."
Leverkusen have dropped points in six Bundesliga games already this season (D5, L1), as often as they did during the entirety of their 2023-24 title-winning campaign (D6).
They come into this weekend's fixture against Heidenheim on a three-game winless run in the Bundesliga (D3), the first time they have gone this long without a victory since between April and May 2023 (five games).
Leverkusen sit fourth in the Bundesliga, already nine points behind leaders Bayern Munich as the busy festive schedule kickstarts on Saturday.
Alonso's side have eight games in just under a month, including a DFB-Pokal round of 16 clash with Bayern at the start of December.
"Eight games in four weeks. It is nothing new for us," Alonso said. "An intense phase is coming up for us and it starts tomorrow.
"We have clear goals for the Bundesliga, the Champions League and the German Cup."
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