Lopetegui said: "We have to improve. I believe in my players. But it is not about one or two players. It is a team task. If we have more chances, we may score more." The availability of loan signing Matheus Cunha for Wednesday's West Midlands derby at Aston Villa cannot come soon enough for a side who struggle so badly to turn impressive approach play into goals. Manchester United arrived at the Etihad fuelled by the optimism of four successive league wins but were brought down to earth by their rampant neighbours.

Despite matching United's bid, Chelsea were not willing to match the fees Lukaku's agent Mino Raiola will earn from the move to Old Trafford. Lukaku in stats On Jadon Sancho's impact: "I'm very happy for him. Of course also for the team because it's all about that. But it will encourage him and motivate him further. He is in the right direction and if he keeps going with that process he can do even more to really help us to achieve our goals." With no European fixtures to play, van Gaal's debut season was a purely domestic affair. In the Barclays Premier League, the first objective was achieved as the Reds finished the campaign in the top four and therefore qualified for a return to the Champions League. Further reinforcements for van Gaal's squad came in the summer transfer window of 2015, with the most exciting of the lot arriving in the shape of Anthony Martial, the young French forward from Monaco. But perhaps the most important deal was the new one signed by first-choice keeper David De Gea, who had been pursued by Real Madrid for months prior to his move falling through at the eleventh hour on deadline day.

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Once he calms down from such injustices, Lopetegui will know - as he always has - the answer to Wolves' problems comes through finding the net. They did at least have the game's outstanding player in the superb Moises Caicedo, but that will be no consolation after a cruel defeat. City were clearly potent before the arrival of Haaland but he has put them on a different level, delivering the one thing they were arguably missing as he increases the ratio of chances they take with his ruthless finishing. Evidently, United were not in a strong bargaining position and the eventual price - the fourth highest sum ever paid by a Premier League club - is accepted by most to be significantly inflated. United's goal poked City into action with Antony's fine strike merely the catalyst for another onslaught, as Haaland scored the record-breaking third. Abject Man Utd put in their place

Indeed, the 4-0 victory over Millwall on August 24, 1974, was reflective of the first two months of 1974-75 as United notched up comfortable home wins while on their travels huge travelling support, infused with a sizeable hooligan element, bore witness to victories and crowd violence. One match that epitomised the new Busby Babes era was against Arsenal at Highbury on 1 February 1958. In front of a crowd of 63,578 the Reds beat the Gunners in a nine-goal thriller with goals from Edwards, Taylor (2), Bobby Charltonand Dennis Viollet. United looked out of their depth within seconds of the start, surviving three goal-line clearances in the same incident before Foden set the tone for the afternoon when he flashed Silva's cross past a helpless David de Gea. It was Rashford's first Premier League double since December 2020, helping lift them to fifth in the table.

Those who remained, however, became involved in a year-on-year struggle to recapture former glories, the onus falling increasingly on Best to galvanise a frequently disjointed and under-performing team.