The sporting director’s exit after only five months is further testing supporters’ faith in direction of travel at Old Trafford

To avoid rot: the characterisation employed by a powerful Manchester United executive to explain Dan Ashworth’s departure. As in: better that he left after five months as sporting director rather than stay and allow festering damage to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s reset of the club.

In play, partly, here was a face‑off between Omar Berrada and Ashworth that had the chief executive emerging as victor. Ratcliffe’s recent interview with the United We Stand fanzine featured profuse praise for Berrada and none for the man now history.

Fulham’s Antonee Robinson shines against Bukayo Saka, Tottenham squander another lead and woe at Old Trafford

There are numerous issues when taking over a team mid-season. One is that a new head coach might not have the right players for his plan and he has very little time to implement what he wants with those he does. Ruben Amorim has arranged his players – in various combinations – into his preferred 3-4-3 formation and it is clear what the strategy is, although there are flaws. The defence is struggling, where the three centre-backs are not performing their main duty of keeping clean sheets. Against Forest every set-piece looked like it might result in a goal. Only Nikola Milenkovic did score from a corner but the others were more farcical as André Onana got confused by Morgan Gibbs-White and a seemingly harmless Chris Wood header was allowed to drop in off the post. Maybe chopping and changing is Amorim’s issue and he needs to back a first-choice back three to allow them to settle and offer a foundation to build on. Will Unwin

• Mutual decision made after just five months in role
• Ashworth arrived from Newcastle after gardening leave

Dan Ashworth is to leave his role as Manchester United’s sporting director after five months.

The club recruited Ashworth to much fanfare and expense from Newcastle but has come to a mutual agreement to part ways. Talks were held between Ashworth and the chief executive, Omar Berrada, after the defeat to Nottingham Forest which left United in 13th in the league, before Sir Jim Ratcliffe signed off on his departure.

• United conceded from early corner in 3-2 defeat to Forest
• Amorim: ‘When this happens it is because I am responsible’

Ruben Amorim refused to blame his defence and instead insisted it was “my fault” after Manchester United conceded Nottingham Forest’s first goal from a corner in the visitors’ 3-2 win at Old Trafford.

Nikola Milenkovic’s second-minute header came after Lisandro Martínez and Matthijs de Ligt failed to challenge the defender, with United’s goalkeeper, André Onana, also stationary.

Manchester United fans expressed their fury at Sir Jim Ratcliffe after minority owner upped cost in mid-season

“When you first walk into that ground at the age of five or 10, you fall in love with that team running out in that red shirt, in that great stadium,” the Bury-born Gary Neville once said. “And it’s an addiction you have for life.”

That sense of allure seems to be failing away outside Old Trafford, where its grandeur and appeal have waned in recent years.

To Ruben Amorim’s recent buzzwords of “suffer” and “storm” Manchester United’s manager can add “defending” after a rearguard horror show culpable for all three Nottingham Forest goals.

As Amorim had mentioned before kick-off, the blustery conditions were no excuse, as the Old Trafford bowl offers protection, while André Onana, Matthijs de Ligt, Lisandro Martínez and Leny Yoro are elite players.

• Premier League updates from the 5.30pm GMT kick-off
• Live scoreboard | Everton v Liverpool off | And mail Barry

Referee: Darren England.

Assistants: Mat Wilkes and Akil Howson.

Fourth official: Josh Smith.

VAR: Paul Tierney.

Assistant VAR: Sian Massey-Ellis.

Premier League supporters are fighting to retain concession prices in the face of clubs’ desire to target ‘tourist fans’

For West Ham supporters it was a sense of values betrayed. “The club should be ashamed that things have come to this,” said Michael, a supporter for 80 years, as he became the 20,000th signatory on a petition calling for the club to maintain all concessionary ticketing. For Spurs fans, a similar shock boiled down to a crystalised slogan – “Save our seniors” – and a pushback on plans related to reduced ticket prices. This month Manchester United supporters took to the streets to protest against concession cuts and price rises. As one banner put it: “Local lad Sir Jim charges £66 for OAPs and juniors. Stop exploiting loyalty.”

At a time when the Premier League is cementing its dominance as the world’s biggest domestic football league, securing a 17% increase in TV rights over the next three-year cycle while their rivals stand still, a spate of seemingly mindless penny-pinching has sparked dissent. The mood, involving supporters up and down the country, is one that hasn’t been seen since the Super League blew up.

• ‘We need to respect religion of Mazraoui,’ says manager
• ‘Group decision’ addressed ‘hard issue in a good way’

Ruben Amorim has said the Manchester United team’s decision to show solidarity with Noussair Mazraoui by collectively electing not to wear rainbow-themed jackets to support the LGBTQ+ community should be respected.

The players were supposed to walk on to the pitch in the garments before their match with Everton on Sunday but Mazraoui refused on grounds of his Muslim faith and his teammates followed suit, resulting in criticism from the Rainbow Devils, the club’s LGBTQ+ supporters’ group, which said the decision was a “great disappointment”.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Troy Townsend and Jordan Jarrett-Bryan to discuss all the midweek Premier League games

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.

On the podcast today, the panel covers all of the midweek Premier League action, including a thrilling game at St James’ Park as Newcastle and Liverpool deliver one of the season's best games thus far. Fabien Schär’s last-minute equaliser salvaged a point after a Mo Salah brace nearly sealed it for the Reds. What does this mean for Liverpool in the title race?

Arsenal reduced Liverpool’s lead at the top of the Premier League to seven points with a crucial win against Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium.

After Fabian Schär’s late equaliser denied Liverpool victory at St James’ Park, Mikel Arteta’s team were offered the chance to inch closer to the summit.

Defender declines to wear jacket supporting LGBTQ+ community on the grounds of his Muslim faith

Manchester United shelved plans to wear pride-themed rainbow jackets supporting the LGBTQ+ community after a player refused to take part, citing his religious beliefs.

Plans to wear the Adidas tops as they walked onto the pitch during last Sunday’s Premier League match against Everton were abandoned after defender Noussair Mazraoui said he would not be able to wear the jacket on the grounds of his Muslim faith, according to The Athletic.

• Manager unbeaten before trip to Emirates Stadium
• Shaw set to miss a few weeks after new injury setback

Ruben Amorim has warned his Manchester United players “the storm will come” and there will be difficult times ahead despite a promising start to his tenure, as his team prepare to face Arsenal. The 39-year-old is unbeaten in his opening three matches as head coach, winning twice, but the trip to the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night pro­mises to be a tougher challenge.

“The storm will come,” Amorim said. “We are going to have difficult moments and we will be found out in some games. And I know that because I know my players and I know football and I follow football.

Underused by Erik ten Hag, the youngster has been hugely impressive in the early stages of Ruben Amorim’s tenure

By Ben McAleer for WhoScored

There are a number of Manchester United players benefiting from a change in head coach. Erik ten Hag’s October dismissal was a long time coming, with the FA Cup triumph against Manchester City in May affording the Dutchman a reprieve. It is now up to Ruben Amorim to restore United to their former glory.

The Portuguese manager has made a solid start to life at Old Trafford, overseeing home wins against Bodø/Glimt and Everton along with a commendable draw at Ipswich in his first match in the job. Marcus Rashford is back among the goals, while Joshua Zirkzee netted twice against Everton on Sunday, scoring for the first time since the opening-day win against Fulham.

• Defender picked up injury in pre-season friendly
• Ruben Amorim says Yoro could play against Arsenal

Ruben Amorim has revealed “special talent” Leny Yoro could make his Manchester United debut at Arsenal on Wednesday evening. The teenage centre-back has not featured for United since breaking his foot in pre-season after moving from Lille for £52m.

The 19-year-old was, ironically, injured in a friendly against Arsenal during a tour to America, nine days after joining the club. “I feel that now is a good moment,” Amorim said. “I think he’s a special talent, you have to be careful in this first moment, because we didn’t have too many training [sessions] together.

• Dutchman wants to steer club out of relegation trouble
• Former striker is not ‘romantic type of manager’

Ruud van Nistelrooy has stressed he will prioritise results over style in his bid to pull Leicester City clear of relegation trouble, with the Dutchman insisting he is not “the romantic type of manager”. Van Nistelrooy said he was “astonished” by the reaction to his impressive spell in interim charge of Manchester United, which prompted job offers both in England and abroad.

Van Nistelrooy took charge of four United games after Erik ten Hag was sacked, winning three, two of which were against Leicester, one in the Carabao Cup. “It was a good period, short and intense, but I was happy to help, to steady the ship,” said the former United striker. “I really enjoyed creating a connection with the team, with the supporters and turning the momentum for the club for a little bit. That is our job and that felt great to do and it just got better – now I am in the position to do it again.”

Van Nistelrooy, who has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract at Leicester, takes charge of his new side for the first time at home to West Ham on Tuesday. Van Nistelrooy took training for the first time on Sunday, hours after watching their 4-1 defeat at Brentford from the stands in west London. The 2015-16 champions currently sit 16th, one point above the relegation zone.

Van Nistelrooy twice flew into London to hold talks with Leicester’s chairman, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, and the club’s director of football, Jon Rudkin, to discuss the job, his first No 1 post since leaving PSV at the end of 2022-23.

Asked about what supporters can expect from Leicester under his leadership, Van Nistelrooy replied: “I’m thinking of one thing before any game I prepare, and that’s winning. When you play top teams in the Premier League, mid-table teams or lower-ranked teams, it sometimes requires a different approach. The style of play is adjusted on: ‘How can we win here?’ I’m not the romantic type of manager who puts style in front of results.

“I love style, I love having the ball, I love creating lots of opportunities, pressing a team high, because you have more of the ball, but we are facing opponents here and we’re not the dominant side in this league. We approach every game in this league to win.”

Van Nistelrooy will manage Jamie Vardy, who broke his goalscoring record in 2015 when he became the first player to score in 11 successive Premier League matches. “It’s a problem, of course, that he broke my record … I told him straightaway, ‘we have a big issue we need to get out of the way before we can even start together,’” Van Nistelrooy joked. “I think I beat him to it. Back in the day I made a tweet about breaking the record and wishing him well and then nine years later I am here. It’s weird how things go sometimes.”

Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández hits form, Newcastle have lost their shooting boots and Brighton rue a chance missed

Late-2024 Liverpool are reminiscent of the late-2019 team that eventually won the club’s first league title in 30 years. Back then, a 3-1 home win against Manchester City put Jürgen Klopp’s side eight points above second place, and nine above City. In 2024, they are nine points above second and 11 above City – with, we hope, no pandemic to interrupt the season. There are eight players from that squad still at Liverpool, and if the football is more measured under Arne Slot, Sunday’s potential knockout blow was achieved in the heavy-metal fashion of a Klopp team. “I knew Jürgen left the team in a very good place,” said the diplomatic Dutchman afterwards.

Match report: Liverpool 2-0 Manchester City

Match report: West Ham 2-5 Arsenal

Match report: Chelsea 3-0 Aston Villa

Match report: Manchester United 4-0 Everton

Hundreds of Manchester United fans gathered in front of Old Trafford to protest against a recent increase in matchday ticket prices. Prices, which previously started at £40 for adults and £25 for children, were raised to £66 per game, with no concessions for children or pensioners. The move comes as part of the co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s efforts to make United more financially sustainable in the face of losses.

Fans outside the ground called the move 'unethical' and directed a number of chants at the ownership. Some Everton supporters also joined their United counterparts while Manchester City and Liverpool fans staged their own protest at Anfield in solidarity to support the Football Supporters' Association's 'Stop Exploiting Loyalty' campaign.

• Manchester United raise member ticket prices to £66 and remove concessions

• Manager wants to focus on performance not results
• Amorim says Rashford ‘can play so much better’

Rúben Amorim has said he will be judged on Manchester United’s finishing position after Sunday’s 4-0 defeat of Everton lifted them to 19 points.

Two goals each from Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee gave the Portuguese victory in his first home league match and afterwards he was asked if Champions League qualification is realistic.

“Ruben Amorim, Ruben Amorim, nananaanananaaa” chorused the jubilant Manchester United fans following the impressive Joshua Zirkzee’s second goal. Sung to the melody of KC and the Sunshine Band’s Give It Up, this was the last thing the new manager’s players did: fail to go after any apparent lost cause just in case gold could be mined.

It was how Zirkzee struck United’s fourth. From deep in his area the replacement Luke Shaw headed out. The ball came to Amad Diallo who rolled it along the right wing into space. Over thundered Marcus Rashford who failed to connect but, when the ball was passed back to James Tarkowski, there was Diallo harrying. Everton’s captain dawdled, the right wingback pilfered possession, sprinted ahead, squared left to United’s centre-forward, and he rammed home.