Manchester United have officially qualified for next season’s Champions League, with manager Erik ten Hag putting them back into Europe’s premier tournament at the first time of asking.
Qualification was secured with a 4-1 win over Chelsea, the joint-most goals they’ve scored in a single game all season and even with conceding a late goal, still the biggest margin they have won by since March in their Europa League game against Real Betis.
However, they will once again be leaving the Europa behind and returning to the UCL after securing a top-four finish on Thursday night and could even end up in third depending on their last game of the season against Fulham and how Newcastle fair in their final Premier League fixture against Chelsea.
In truth, it could have been a different game entirely had Chelsea’s finishing been better, with the Londoners starting as the brighter of the two and creating three big chances early in the first 45 alone. Nevertheless, United went in at half-time 2-0 up and took full control of the game in the second half, but for ten Hag it’s only “job done” and not yet “mission accomplished”.
Job done, but not mission accomplished 👊#MUFC || #MUNCHE
Erik ten Hag says there’s plenty more to do after Man United qualify for the Champions League
The 53-year-old clearly believes there is much further to go before he gets this Man United team where he wants them, stating that “we want to be the best in the world. We have a long way to go but we are [going] in the right direction” and admittedly crediting how far they’ve come since the start of the season.
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They may not have been at their best at times on the night and still managed to give the visitors away a late goal through João Félix, but it was the first conceded at Old Trafford for 11 hours and despite some individual errors this year, David de Gea secured the Golden Glove last weekend with 17 clean sheets.
Casemiro was undoubtedly the star of the show in their penultimate league game, not only grabbing the opening goal but playing a lovely no-look, outside-of-the-boot pass to help set up the second and comfortably earning man of the match.
With an EFL Cup to his name, Champions League qualification and perhaps even a third-place finish overall, that is not a bad first season for the Dutchman.
Now there is simply the matter of going and winning the first-ever Manchester Derby FA Cup final against the newly-crowned champions, Manchester City.
Tickets go live as opening date is announced for Manchester City’s new ‘immersive’ museum experience
Emily Sergeant
Tickets to visit Manchester City’s new ‘immersive’ museum experience have officially gone live ahead of the grand opening.
Set to open in the heart of the £300m Medlock Square entertainment district at Manchester’s Etihad Campus next month, the Manchester City Museum Experience will be spread across 10 distinctive spaces – with visitors invited to take a trip down memory lane with nostalgic environments from throughout the club’s history.
Fans will also be able to take part in interactive media experiences, like posing with all 48 major trophies won by the club’s first teams or trying their hand at football punditry.
The experience will combine the latest immersive technology with physical memorabilia drawn from across the club’s history to do this.
Hidden details and surprising ‘did you know’ facts are set to be embedded across the experience, so that even the most devoted Man City fans will have the chance to discover something new about the club they love.
By combining interactive environments, technology, and authentic artefacts, the experience is aiming to appeal to a wide audience – from lifelong Manchester City supporters, to families and those with a broader interest in football, culture, and the city of Manchester.
“The Museum Experience has been designed as a destination that goes beyond just the pitch,” commented Jeremy Maxton, who is the Director of Visitor Attractions at Manchester City Football Club.
Manchester City releases CGIs and important details of its new ‘immersive’ museum / Credit: Manchester City / Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA)
“Whether you’re a lifelong supporter, visiting Manchester for a weekend, or simply looking for a unique day out, we’ve created an experience that offers something for everyone.
“From the recreated environments and original memorabilia to the interactive elements, there are different ways into the Club’s history throughout the Museum.
“We’ve also built in space for new stories to be added over time, so the experience can continue to evolve. It’s been a huge project to bring together and we’re looking forward to people seeing it for themselves later this year.”
The Manchester City Museum Experience officially opens on 14 December, and you can now book tickets to visit from that date here.
Featured Image – Credit: Manchester City / Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA)
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Danny Jones -
26th May 2023 
