• Ratcliffe exploring move as part of cost-cutting measures
• London office deemed too large and expensive

Manchester United are exploring an early termination from a 10-year lease agreement at their London offices in Kensington in the latest cost-cutting measure proposed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

United moved into the Kensington Building less than two years ago after the expiry of a 10-year rental agreement on another office building in Mayfair, but with Ratcliffe deciding that the vast majority of the club’s staff should be based in Manchester, the 23,000-square-foot space has been deemed to be too large and expensive.

What Ruben Amrorim should do now, Danny Welbeck and an unlikely England call, and why Michal Oliver was right

“Pick the kids!” is a frequent cry when a team are playing poorly, and generally speaking it’s an incorrect one: the last thing a young player needs is to be hurled into a mess of the sort Manchester United are in. But sometimes it works – Mikel Arteta, for example, struggling at Arsenal, eventually promoted Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe because he had no other choice, and hasn’t looked back since. Now Ruben Amorim must make a similar call. A lack of alternatives forced him to persevere with Rasmus Højlund, but over the past week Chido Obi-Martin has earned a chance, contributing at Everton before asserting properly against Fulham, on both occasions more dangerous than Højlund, in less time. And, given United’s league season is over – and, given also, their lack of pace in defence – it might be worth seeing what Ayden Heaven can do, seeking to inject momentum and good feeling into a two-month stretch that threatens to be enervating in the extreme. Daniel Harris

Match report: Manchester United 1-1 Fulham (aet, 3-4 pens)

Match report: Newcastle 1-2 Brighton

Match report: Crystal Palace 3-1 Millwall

Match report: Manchester City 3-1 Plymouth Argyle

Match report: Preston 3-0 Burnley

Match report: Bournemouth 1-1 Wolves (aet, B’mouth win 5-4 on pens)

Match report: Aston Villa 2-0 Cardiff City

Manchester United manager’s adherence to formation that worked in Portugal is falling short and everyone knows it

This year, the FA Cup can provide no fig leaf for Manchester United, no veneer to mask a collapse of standards. A fading institution, living off former glories, with no clear plan?

The victorious Fulham manager, Marco Silva, after his 18 months at Everton, ill-starred at the time but superior to what followed under his successors at Goodison, has experience to pass on to Ruben Amorim. The Portuguese’s younger compatriot, in his touchline-crouch special move, went through agonies on the sideline. Though Old Trafford was tough viewing for anyone until the suspense of sudden-death exits and then penalties added a frisson. There, Fulham became worthy passengers to the quarter-finals.

• Manager restates ambition to win Premier League
• ‘I’m not naive, that’s why I’m here’

Ruben Amorim hit back at Wayne Rooney after Manchester United crashed out of the FA Cup, by ­claiming that being the club’s head coach aged 40 showed he was not naive.

Rooney, who is United’s record goalscorer, called Amorim naive for saying after the holders’ elimination from the Cup on penalties by Fulham that the club’s long-term goal is to win the Premier League.

Calvin Bassey gave Fulham the lead and Bruno Fernandes equalised, before Bernd Leno made decisive shoot-out saves from Victor Lindelöf and Joshua Zirkzee

Fulham, meanwhile, will have restored players who were rested for this match. With their Premier League status secure, they’ve no reason not to go all-out for the Cup, and given the teams left, they’ve a decent chance of making something happen. Bassey is exactly the kind of centre-back Hojlund can spend an entire match fruitless fighting; Robinson is a one-man left-flank; and Iwobi has excellent ball-carrying capabilities.

Amorim has little in the way of options. He’ll be devo’d about Dorgu, banned for the first of three games – already, his new signing had made a difference, giving United width, balance and physicality, doing the right things and building a promising partnership with Bruno Fernandes. Mazraoui, though a lovely footballer, offers little attacking threat from wing-back, likewise Diogo Dalot on the other side, while there could scarcely be less pace behind the nominal centre-forward, Rasmus Hojlund, both Eriksen and Joshua Zirzkee looking like they run in a wind-tunnel.

In the squeaky posterior time of this FA Cup fifth-round penalty shootout, Victor Lindelöf and Joshua Zirkzee were the unfortunate ones whose kicks were saved, ending ­Manchester United’s trophy defence.

Fulham won the shootout 4-3 with a kick to spare and the visitors marginally deserved their passage, though this was a slog through 120 minutes of meagre fare that was no advertisement for the world’s ­oldest knockout competition.

• ‘Sometimes you need to lose to grow,’ says manager
• Manchester United face Fulham in FA Cup on Sunday

Ruben Amorim has said the challenges faced in his turbulent first three months in charge of Manchester United have made him a “more complete manager”. The Portuguese took over in November and has overseen five victories in 16 Premier League matches, leaving them 14th.

One of those wins was at Fulham, who visit Old Trafford on Sunday in the FA Cup fifth round. The holders face a crucial week with a last-16 first leg trip to Real Sociedad in the Europa League on Thursday with redundancies off the pitch and poor performances on it.

• Player left pitch area after being taken off against Ipswich
• Amorim: ‘The perception in a big club is really important’

Ruben Amorim has said Alejandro Garnacho will “pay for a dinner” for his Manchester United teammates to say sorry for heading straight to the tunnel on being substituted in Wednesday’s 3-2 win over Ipswich at Old Trafford.

After Patrick Dorgu was sent off Amorim sacrificed Garnacho and brought on the defender Noussair Mazraoui, prompting the winger to head straight for the dressing room. On Thursday Garnacho sought Amorim out to address his reaction.

Squad containing 15- and 16-year-olds will have stadium experience in FA Youth Cup tie against Manchester United

‘The players are on the floor in the changing room but youth football is never make or break,” Jack Wilshere reflected. “It’s important that they continue to develop but whether they can make it to the first team will be down to them.”

It has not been two years since Arsenal’s Under-18s were thrashed 5-1 by West Ham at the Emirates in the FA Youth Cup final but the former England midfielder’s prediction has come true. Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly were two of the players who had to be consoled that night by their manager, Wilshere, and both are established as first-team regulars even though they are still eligible to play in the competition that has served as a springboard for so many young stars.

VAR is back (to save us all), Plymouth are plotting another upset and Cardiff’s Anwar El Ghazi returns to Villa Park

The trip to Aston Villa looks tricky for Cardiff City, whose main focus is avoiding relegation to League One. Anwar El Ghazi, at least, was delighted with the draw. The Dutchman spent four years at Villa, clinching promotion at Wembley at the end of a loan season in 2018-19 before a permanent move from Lille. El Ghazi scored Villa’s first goal in a playoff final victory over Derby, with John McGinn and Tyrone Mings the only survivors from that team. Both clubs’ futures hinged on that game under the arch: Derby spiralled and faced administration before dropping into the third tier. El Ghazi can count on a hero’s welcome at Villa Park on Friday. Villa, who will visit Club Brugge for a Champions League last 16 first-leg tie on Tuesday, hope to advance to the FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time since ending as runners-up to Arsenal 10 years ago. Ben Fisher

Aston Villa v Cardiff, Friday 8pm (all times GMT)

Crystal Palace v Millwall, Saturday 12.15pm

Bournemouth v Wolves, Saturday 3pm

Manchester City v Plymouth, Saturday 5.45pm

• United winger stomps down tunnel against Ipswich
• ‘We have to choose someone to go out … it was Garnacho’

Ruben Amorim will talk to Alejandro Garnacho after the winger stomped down the tunnel on being sacrificed by the head coach following Patrick Dorgu’s red card in Manchester United’s 3-2 win against Ipswich.

Darren England sent the wing-back Dorgu off for a 43rd-minute stamp on Omari Hutchinson after the referee consulted the pitchside screen. This prompted Amorim to introduce Noussair Mazraoui for Garnacho but the latter’s upset at the decision moved him to head straight for the dressing room. It is unclear if Garnacho reappeared for the second half.

This riveting affair took in the pantomime of Ipswich Town’s goals, Patrick Dorgu’s early bath for an industrial challenge and a trio of set-piece Manchester United finishes to deliver three points that lifts Ruben Amorim’s charges to 14th.

Ipswich departed as they arrived – in third-bottom – and the United soap opera now moves on to Fulham’s FA Cup fifth-round visit on Sunday.

• Dutchman admits ‘more tact and more love’ needed
• Ten Hag enjoyed Manchester United spell ‘very much’

Erik ten Hag says the current generation of players “usually find it difficult to deal with criticism” and that the one he grew up as part of had “much thicker skin”.

The 55-year-old Dutchman’s time as Manchester United manager, which came to an end with his sacking in October, saw some high-profile cases of his players expressing unhappiness at their treatment.

• Manager says recruitment and team needs to improve
• Return of Luke Shaw and Mason Mount unknown

Ruben Amorim believes ­Manchester United employees made ­redundant are “paying the price” for poor on‑field performance and that recruitment has to improve to address the problem.

Omar Berrada, United’s chief ­exe­cutive, confirmed on Monday that Sir Jim Ratcliffe is to cut up to another 200 jobs after 250 people were made unemployed last year. Amorim was asked how the ­remaining staff and fans could be confident this will help the club to prosper.

• Sir Jim Ratcliffe also trims food offering at training base
• CEO apologises over U-turn on further redundancies

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is to close the staff canteen at Old Trafford and replace the free lunches currently on offer with fruit.

The club’s largest single minority shareholder is also set to implement a similar move at United’s Carrington training base, with only players receiving lunch as gratis. The remainder of staff there will be offered soup and bread.

Gunners lose their heads while Mohamed Salah outperforms Kevin De Bruyne in Liverpool’s triumph

• Premier League top scorers | Latest table | Full fixtures

Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah have mirrored each other as leading men in the Premier League. They even share the status of being discarded by Chelsea, but Sunday’s match may be where their paths finally diverge. Salah delivered a goal and an assist while De Bruyne was a shock selection, unused by Manchester City in Madrid. On Friday Pep Guardiola hinted the Belgian’s time at the club was done. If Sunday was a last hurrah, De Bruyne misfiring passes and chasing shadows was a brutal reminder of how time catches up with even the very best. Where the Belgian exhibits physical decline from sheer miles on the clock, Salah, just a year younger, played to his peak, often buzz-sawing into midfield areas De Bruyne once commanded. The Egyptian king’s contract situation remains at an impasse, the sense being he awaits the right offer from Liverpool. De Bruyne may now be reduced to mere cameos as Guardiola rebuilds, a sad coda. John Brewin

Match report: Manchester City 0-2 Liverpool

Match report: Arsenal 0-1 West Ham

Match report: Everton 2-2 Manchester United

Match report: Aston Villa 2-1 Chelsea

A rousing fightback does not camouflage the extent to which Ruben Amorim and Manchester United were reprieved at Goodison Park. The visitors recovered from two goals down to salvage a point against in-form Everton, but only after a penalty awarded to David Moyes’ team was controversially overturned in the 96th minute.

Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte, the latter with his first United goal, appeared to have rescued Amorim’s team from a dire first-half performance in which Beto and Abdoulaye Doucouré gave Everton a merited lead. Moyes’ side were comfortable until Fernandes converted a free-kick in the 72nd minute but were given the chance to regain the lead in stoppage time. After André Onana had saved from Idrissa Gueye, Ashley Young appeared to be impeded by both Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire before he could reach the rebound. Referee Andrew Madley immediately awarded a spot-kick but overturned his decision after being sent to the pitchside monitor by VAR. It was a huge and debatable let-off for United.

• Full minute-by-minute coverage (12.30pm GMT KO)
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Referee: Andy Madley

Assistants: Mat Wilkes and Craig Taylor.

Fourth official: Anthony Taylor.

VAR: Matt Donohue.

Assistant VAR: Derek Eaton.

• Scot is preparing Everton to face his former club
• Moyes says he is ‘a bit calmer’ now than earlier in career

David Moyes has said he wanted to “fight the world” when he first joined Everton and Manchester United but his calmer demeanour today should not be mistaken for a drop in passion.

The Everton manager insists it will be just another game when he faces United at Goodison Park on Saturday having competed against his former club several times with West Ham. Moyes was sacked only 10 months after succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford and described the setback as “part of life as a football manager. You have to find a way back and that’s what I had to do after the disappointment of losing my job at Manchester United.”

• Everton host United at Goodison Park on Saturday
• Ruben Amorim ‘frustrated and angry’ by run of poor form

Ruben Amorim’s succinct explanation for why Everton have enjoyed the kind of new manager bounce which has eluded him at Manchester United was that “David Moyes is doing a better job” than him.

Amorim, who has overseen just four wins from his 14 league games in charge, takes United to Goodison Park on Saturday. Everton have picked up 13 points from a possible 18 since Moyes, the former United manager, replaced Sean Dyche in mid-January. It has been a far less seamless transition at United with Amorim struggling to implement his tactics amid a litany of problems on and off the pitch.