Manchester United failed to top their Europa League group despite a 1-0 win on Thursday night, but the main takeaway from the match was youngster Alejandro Garnacho’s first goal for the club.
However, while fans and his teammates are no doubt elated for the teen finally getting minutes and a first goal to show for it, captain Bruno Fernandes had more to say on why he hasn’t been used more thus far.
While youngster Rico Lewis broke his own record over on the other side of Manchester the day prior and was praised for his hard work by Pep Guardiola, it would seem that Garnacho’s breakthrough into the first team has perhaps been more of a struggle.
Speaking to BT Sport after full-time, the ‘Portuguese Magnifico’ told reporter Becky Ives that the Spanish-born Argentinian youth “didn’t have the best attitude” at the beginning of the season and, as a result, has had to wait for game time.
"At the beginning he didn't have the best attitude"
"Now he's changed that, he's starting to get his chances!"
Bruno Fernandes claims we're only beginning to see more of Alejandro Garnacho now due to his poor attitude at the start of the season! 👀
As Fernandes goes on to explain, he and others at the club felt the 18-year-old didn’t apply himself in the right way on the pre-season tour but has since changed that, adding that “he’s getting his chances now because he trains better… has a different attitude and is now he’s deserving his chances”.
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Conversely, former player turned pundit Chris Sutton slammed the comments on BT, labelling them “totally unnecessary” and insisting that he “could’ve used different language” given manager Erik ten Hag is trying to create the impression that the club is “harmonious.”
He wasn’t the only one either as former Liverpool and Villa striker Dean Saunders said the midfielder’s comments were “bang out of order” and he should focus on his own attitude.
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😡 “It’s bang out of order!”
🤨 “Sort your own attitude out! Fernandes has a habit of saying things like that.”
❌ “He’s an 18 year old lad, he’s just scored…you don’t say that on the TV!”
Many fans have also agreed, with several commenting along the lines of, “Who does this guy think he is?” and “talk about throwing a young kid under a bus.”
On the other hand, doesn’t know what’s going on behind the scenes and the Dutch coach himself has already revealed that he wasn’t happy with fast forward earlier in the season, citing one incident involving untied shoelaces, specifically.
Regardless, it seems like Garnacho is now breaking into the team and bagging his first goal by breaking the record for the club’s youngest non-English scorer in European football certainly won’t have hurt.
Garnacho beat the one and only George Best by netting against Real Sociedad, aged just 18 years and 125 days. One of the legendary United trinity, Best’s record had stood since 1964.
Once again, United failed to top the group as intended – requiring two goals on the night to do so – and will now have to face one of seven teams eliminated from the Champions League in a playoff round to progress in the competition.
The teams they could face following the draw on Monday, 7 November are Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus; RB Salzburg, Sevilla, Shakhtar Donetsk; Sporting Lisbon and none other than the ten Hag’s former club Ajax.
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You can just see the narrative playing out already.
Jürgen Klopp reveals the main reason he turned down the Manchester United job
Danny Jones
Former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has revealed one of the main reasons he turned down the Manchester United job more than a decade ago.
The ex-Borussia Dortmund boss turned Merseyside hero spent nine years at Anfield, going on to win a Champions League, Premier League, and a collection of cups.
It’s also worth noting that this all came in the years following the departure of legendary Man United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, but there could have been an alternate reality where Klopp carried on where ‘Fergie’ left off, as the now 58-year-old says the club spoke to him during that time.
With Sir Alex leaving in 2013 after the best part of 30 years, Klopp told Steven Bartlett on his most recent Diary of A CEO episode that “of course, they were interested.”
OUT NOW!
💥Jürgen Klopp on The Diary Of A CEO
Some of the topics we cover:
•His surprise at Liverpool’s £450m transfer window and why he didn’t get the same money
•He says a return to Liverpool is possible – but he couldn’t ask for just one year off
Admitting that the interest was mutual “at one point”, the prospect of joining Liverpool‘s historic rivals clearly appealed to him.
Noting that he was flourishing as an up-and-coming coach (aged 46 back then) in charge of an impressive Dortmund team – adding that even some of his then future players to be at Liverpool flew to watch them play in the Champions League – it’s clear he had plenty of suitors.
However, the retired German footballer turned ‘Gegenpressing’ tactician goes on to explain that despite United trying to poach him from the Bundesliga, it was “the wrong time, wrong moment for me.”
Crucially, he says that some aspects of the conversations between him and the club at the time proved to be a turn-off rather than an incentive, citing talk of ‘the biggest club in the world’ and supposedly “signing any player we want.”
In short, Klopp says that, crucially, it didn’t sound like it would have been his project, drawing parallels to the board wanting to bring back players like Paul Pogba, with arguably similar ‘mistakes’ being made with the return of Cristiano Ronaldo. In his eyes, looking backwards simply “never helps”.
You can see the clip in full here:
Had he not turned down the offer, do you think Klopp could have helped rebuild Man United?
According to Klopp, after negotiations seemed to revolve primarily around the kind of players they were going to bring in, he decided the opportunity wasn’t for him.
Nevertheless, it looked like things worked out for Merseyside’s biggest club, at least, as he went on to become one of the most successful managers in the Premier League, managing to break up the long period of dominance overseen by both Manchester United and, most recently, Man City.
As for the red half of Manchester, they at the very least had a good weekend as they finally ended their long wait for a win away against Liverpool.
In case you missed it, you can watch the highlights – including another big clutch goal from Harry Maguire – down below.
A 5k charity event where runners dress up as Pitbull is coming to Manchester city centre
Danny Jones
Yep, you read it right the first time – a regular 5k charity run returns to Manchester this month, only this time, those taking part will be dressed up as Pitbull for some reason…
Don’t ask us, we just thought it was funny and it’s for a good cause, so why the hell not?
For a little context, this is the latest idea from Slow Run Club: a local running organisation that takes place weekly at three different locations across Greater Manchester.
We know ‘Mr Worldwide’ himself has been and gone, having played a couple of nights in Manchester earlier this year, but these lot have decided two nights of yelling ‘Timberrrr’ still wasn’t quite enough and asking those joining the October fundraising 5k to dress up like the one and only Pitbull.
In case you missed it when ‘Dale’ fever took over the city streets this past summer, bald caps, sunglasses, black felt goatees and drawn-on moustaches descended upon central Manchester as they have been all over the UK and beyond for his live shows.
Was it utterly daft? Yes. Was it still one of THE best gig crowds we’ve seen in yonks? Absolutely.
The 44-year-old Floridian rapper and resurgent pop star played multiple nights at the Co-op Live, and they were brilliant, but we’re not going to pretend that the best wasn’t seeing the sea of shiny bald heads and shades in suits and ties.
It’s rare that you see such a shared moment of abandoning inhibitions and embracing the silliness; it was genuinely so great to see, and it’s that same energy that these guys are trying to tap into. Put simply, it’s about letting go and dancing like no one’s watching.
Teaming up with fellow charity-focused running group, Run The Streets MCR, Slow Run Club (SRC)’s Pitbull fancy-dress-themed run is just the latest in a growing trend of alternative ways to get some exercise in.
After you’ve gone all ‘305’ at the Pitbull run, these Manchester runners are worth looking into as well.
Having done everything from the regular fancy dress Halloween runs to Oasis, Sabrina Carpenter, ABBA-themed runs, and many more, you’d be surprised how much you don’t care about what people think when you’re running around and dancing to tunes – especially when it’s for charity.
Once again, the Slow Run Club x Run The Streets MCR ‘Pitbull Edition’ 5k charity run takes place this month on Wednesday, 22 October, from 6:30pm onwards outside The Tap House on Circle Square, just off the Oxford Road Corridor, before setting off at a laid-back social pace.
This is the same place and time you’ll find SRC’s city centre regular meet-up every week; speaking to The Manc, founder Holly Spiers said: “We run from The Taphouse every Wednesday (just not usually dressed as Pitbull) and offer an inclusive pace as well as rest stops.”
Speaking of fancy dress, if you haven’t seen the group of four mates who made history at the 2025 Manchester Half, stop what you’re doing and read this:
These legends set an incredibly fun, wholesome and amusing world record at this year's @ManchesterHalf – all whilst raising money for @andysmanclubuk. 👏
Danny Jones -
4th November 2022 
