Talk of the Devils: The Athletic FC's Manchester United show

When Brighton fought back from an early two-nil deficit at Old Trafford on Wednesday night they were the first team to achieve that feat in fifty years but the mood around the game and the performance felt much more recent. We try to shake off the deja vu of it all and work out why the spark wasn't there despite Shea Lacey's cracking early goal.
Michael Carrick has now lost two consecutive games for the first time as manager. Out of the EFL Cup and with just Fulham to play in the league before a lengthy international break, it feels like there is a growing list of issues for the coaching team to contend with... not all of them fix-able with a Carlos Baleba.
Adding insult to insult, club executives are also having to deal with the potential exit of youth team star JJ Gabriel in a very public way. The 15 year-old has asked to have his registration annulled with interest from major clubs in Europe and it looks likely he will leave... what does that mean for the United academy?
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Not the result we wanted for our first ever post-match livestream, not by a long stretch.
What started off as a normal derby flipped its energy dramatically when Phil Foden was sent off for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes; but, if you thought that decision would be the controversy of the day, you were wrong. Erling Haaland gave Manchester City the lead despite a VAR review and the failure to call for an on-pitch review has prompted a statement from the Professional Referees Organisation calling it an 'error of judgement'.
Ultimately, though, the team have little justification in blaming referees for the defeat; a lacklustre performance saw them create very few good chances against ten men and those they did were squandered. It's now officially a disappointing start to the season and there is significant pressure to get results against Brighton in the League Cup and Fulham in the league before the international break.
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Champions League football returned to Old Trafford on Thursday night and it was... well, it was a routine win against a Sabah team that passed neatly and competed for half an hour but, ultimately, didn't have enough to trouble Manchester United.
Instead, we'll concentrate primarily on this Sunday's Manchester derby. It's one of the more hotly anticipated renewals with plenty of interest and intrigue in both red and blue camps. Enzo Maresca will choose from an expensively assembled set of summer signings... but will City have the same vulnerabilities as they did for Michael Carrick's first game back in the manager's job in January?
United's team selection will be interesting as well; Matheus Cunha scored his first Champions League goal on Thursday night, but will he get the nod ahead of Rashford or Sesko? It seems unlikely. Further back it could be a big game for Lisandro Martinez who gave a good account of himself in the last derby.
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“It isn't the Premier League start anyone wanted. One win and just four points from what looked like three of the season's less challenging fixtures sees fan anxiety threatening to creep in.
There were positives at Everton, excellent goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko and the continuation of very encouraging signs on the left side through Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford.
Two late equalisers conceded, though, whatever you make of the defending, does leave a sense of stalled momentum after Ipswich. Thursday's game against Champions League newcomers will now hopefully see some of that restored going into derby weekend.”
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A complete rebuild of the Manchester United midfield had already been done when the UK's transfer deadline day arrived this week so the focus switched to players who could deputise for Luke Shaw at left back and Benjamin Sesko as a target-man centre forward.
In the end, despite exploring the viability of several targets, the club's decision makers opted not to buy. We take a look at squad depth and try to assess how much of a gamble it was to 'keep the powder dry'. Meanwhile, this weekend's opposition Everton are a potential powder keg after the sale of Iliam Ndiaye and an unsuccessful eleventh-hour bid for Josh Zirkzee.
Joining us to look ahead to that Everton game and the start of United's WSL campaign is Cerys Jones who is now working on The Athletic's Manchester United coverage. The WSL campaign may be tough for Eva Olid and her squad after high profile departures. The opening fixtures, including Friday's trip to star-studded London City Lionesses, represent a baptism of fire for the new manager.
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