Long before the end at Old Trafford last night, thoughts had drifted to Manchester United’s little local difficulty in the Premier League this weekend. Progression to the Champions League knockout stages was secured, for the first time in four seasons, with little fuss — and as group winners, with five wins from six games — but José Mourinho knows their season could be defined by their result against Manchester City on Sunday. With that in mind, the United manager will be relieved that his decision to select both Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford in his starting line-up — in a match they could have lost by six goals and still qualified for the next round — was rewarded as both of them rediscovered their scoring touch.…

Source: The Times December 05, 2017 22:18 UTC