Manchester United v Sabah FK UCL match programme, 10.09.26 by Manchester United Football Club

SOUVENIR IS S U E 70 Y EA RS O F EU RO P EA N N IG H T S!

UNITED Review

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OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME VO L 88 / ISSUE 02 KICK-O FF 8P M

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CONTENTS

MANCHESTER UNITED MEN’S TEAM HONOURS LEAGUE TITLES

1908 1957 1994 2000 2008

1911 1965 1996 2001 2009

1952 1967 1997 2003 2011

1956 1993 1999 2007 2013

welcome to

OLD TRAFFORD SEASON 2026/27

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

INSIDE YOUR PROGRAMME...

1968

1999

2008

1909 1983 1996 2024

1948 1985 1999

1963 1990 2004

1977 1994 2016

2006 2023

2009

2010

FA CUP

LEAGUE CUP

1992 2017

FA COMMUNITY SHIELD

Michael Carrick on what this competition means – and the need to build winning momentum

1908 1911 1952 1956 1957 1965* 1967* 1977* 1983 1990* 1993 1994 1996 1997 2003 2007 2008 2010 2011 2013 2016 *Shared

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

2017

UEFA SUPER CUP

Mason Mount shares the Reds’ positivity ahead of our return to the UEFA Champions League

1991

FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP

2008

INTERCONTINENTAL CUP

1999

UEFA CUP WINNERS’ CUP

1991

AND THE REST...

FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION TWO

1936

1975

FA YOUTH CUP

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1953 1957 2003

1954 1964 2011

1955 1992 2022

1956 1995

To mark United’s 300th fixture in this competition, we recall the standout games so far, across eight pages

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Catching up... UEFA Champions League preview European pennants The opposition Story behind the shot Fan section Junior Reds United Foundation Matchday quiz

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MANAGER’S NOTES

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MANAGER’S NOTES

MICHAEL

carrick ood evening and welcome back to Old Trafford for our first UEFA Champions League game of the season. Everyone knows the history of Manchester United in Europe. So we are hugely excited to get going again, but this is just the start. Qualifying for this competition last season was a great step for the team, but we want more. We know where this club needs to be, and competing among the best teams in the world again is a big part of that. We are really frustrated with the draw at Everton but tonight’s match against Sabah FK – the first of three home games in a week – is a chance for us to build momentum. Our form at Old Trafford has been strong throughout 2026 and it’s important we keep that going, showing the togetherness that this great stadium is all about.

“WE KNOW WHERE THIS CLUB NEEDS TO BE, AND COMPETING AMONG THE BEST TEAMS IN THE WORLD AGAIN IS A BIG PART OF THAT” Tonight will be a totally different game than the one on Sunday, and with your fantastic support, we’re confident that we can make a strong return to this incredible competition. We hope you all have a great night.

manchester united football club ltd CO-CHAIRMEN Joel Glazer, Avram Glazer DIRECTORS Bryan Glazer, Kevin Glazer, Edward Glazer, Darcie Glazer Kassewitz, Michael Edelson, Sir Alex Ferguson, David Gill CBE, Omar Berrada, John Reece, Robert Nevin SECRETARY Rebecca Britain HONORARY PRESIDENT Martin Edwards

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M AT C H P R E V I E W

FIVE-POINT PREVIEW European nights are back in M16, with a brand new opponent to kick us off… MANCHESTER UNITED v SABAH FK | OLD TRAFFORD | 8pm

Old Trafford will be lit up tonight as the UEFA Champions League anthem sets the scene for our European opener

The Reds face a fresh opponent in Europe this evening, with Sabah FK becoming our 82nd continental adversary and the first from Azerbaijan. The reaction (inset) to Bayquşlar (‘the Owls’) being drawn against United, Barcelona, Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund in the league phase showed exactly what the occasion means to the club. That is hardly surprising, given they have negotiated four qualifying rounds to reach this point – and were only formed nine years (and two days) ago!

back under the LIGHTS Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League at Old Trafford early into a new season... there’s nowhere else we’d rather be tonight. Michael Carrick’s side earned a place in Europe’s elite club competition with a strong second half of 2025/26 and the reward is eight league-stage matches, with four of them in M16. After this evening’s visit of a new opponent, we’ll welcome AS Roma, RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich by the end of January. So get ready for the buzz of European nights under the floodlights, the Champions League anthem echoing around the ground, and a roar as the Reds push forward against continental opponents once again. C’mon, United!

A NEW NAME...

three in a row

Mbeumo and Sesko both scored in our draw at the Hill Dickinson Stadium and will look for more goals in a big week

Sabah’s visit is the first of three home games in a week for the Reds, with the Manchester derby here on Sunday, then Brighton – our Carabao Cup opponents – next Wednesday. That provides an opportunity to quickly put the frustration of Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Everton behind us, after United were twice ahead on Merseyside, and seconds away from a win, only to be denied by a stunning strike from Ainsley Maitland-Niles. How did Sabah get on? They beat Ziba 5-0 at home.

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M AT C H P R E V I E W

Ultimate challenge With many new faces in the squad since our last UEFA Champions League tie – against Bayern Munich (h) in December 2023 – the Reds could have any number of UCL debutants this evening. The likes of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo joined for nights like this, as did Leny Yoro, a year earlier, who described the competition as “magic” when interviewed for the latest United magazine (left, with its theme of ‘Europe’). The Frenchman spoke BL A Z I NG A excitedly about the T R AI L challenge ahead, saying: “All the players in the world want to play in this competition. The Champions League is just different – it’s just the best you can have.” AUG – OCT 2026 ISSUE 03

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OUR EUROPEAN CUP/ UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE HOME RECORD WINS 102

2008, 2017 / 1968, 1991, 1999, / THE TRIUMPHS: – THE EPIC STORY MOMENTS EVER UNITED IN EUROPE / OUR TOP 10 EURO THE PIONEER YEARS MATT BUSBY AND

STATS

Sabah FK’s road to M16

Sabah have enjoyed an incredible Champions League qualifying journey to be here at Old Trafford this evening

TONIGHT’S OFFICIALS Referee Willy Delajod (France) Assistants Erwan Finjean (France), Valentin Evrard (France) Fourth official Mathieu Vernice (France) VAR Jerome Brisard (France)

You can read all about the short history of the Azerbaijani champions, their recent form and standout stars on p22-27, but here’s a quick recap of how they’ve got here. Sabah have already played eight matches since early July, overcoming Welsh champions New Saints 4-1 on aggregate, then Finland’s Kuopion Palloseura (3-0), Danish champions AGF (5-2), before eventually seeing off Israel’s Hapoel Be’er Sheva 6-4 over two legs. The Owls have come a long way in a short time, in more ways than one, and should not be underestimated.

That’s how many matches we have played in the competition since game no.1 in 1956/57, including qualifiers, ahead of tonight. For more, turn to p34.

545

Number of goals United have scored across our 299 games in Europe’s elite club competition, 331 of which have come at home. Goals conceded? 299 – spooky! This matchday one fixture will be Michael Carrick’s second UEFA Champions League game in charge of the Reds, having overseen our 2-0 win at Villarreal as caretaker boss in November 2021.

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AROUND THE CLUB

CATCHING UP THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW FROM AROUND THE CLUB

HE SAID… “YOU ONLY GET OLDER, YOU DON’T GET YOUNGER. TIME GOES PAST AND YOU NEED TO MAKE THE MOST OF IT WHILE YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE” – BRUNO FERNANDES, ON THE INSIDE CARRINGTON PODCAST A stunning hat-trick in our opening fixture at Old Trafford helped earn the skipper the first of this season’s monthly Player of the Month awards

BRUNO AGAIN! The newly crowned PFA Players’ Player of the Year has started this season like he finished the last one: by picking up the club’s official Player of the Month award. The Portuguese took our August prize after a sensational hat-trick in the 5-2 win over Ipswich in our last home match here in M16 – a game in which he also provided a trademark assist with a gorgeous pass for Bryan Mbeumo. Fernandes won this award three times last season, in September, March and May, and was of course the winner of our Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award, which goes to the outstanding Red in each season. Bruno has now claimed that accolade five times – more than any other player in the award’s history. Well done, skipper!

KNOW...? DID YOUERS WITH MOST UEFA

D PLAY NCE WITHIN THE UNITE UE EXPERIE G E A E L S N ATTHIJS D CHAMPIO UAD ARE M Q VE S A T H N O E R H R OUI, W A THE CU R Z A M IR OUSSA H IN LIGT AND N TIMES EAC PLAYED 50 N IO IT ET THIS COMP

SCAN TO CHECK OUT THE FULL EPISODE

BRYAN IS BEST Our Goal of the Month prize for August was taken by Bryan Mbeumo’s first goal of the campaign, which was also scored in that exciting win over Ipswich. The forward latched onto Bruno’s clipped aerial ball and guided an expertly looping finish over opposition goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen – the tallest-ever player in the Premier League, no less! – to the delight of the Stretford End. For good measure, Mbeumo (right) scored again in our following Premier League game at Everton, with another classic that will no doubt challenge strongly for September’s best-goal award. Nice one, Bry.

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AROUND THE CLUB

The latest logo on our kit features on the sleeve following the partnership with financial tech company SumUp

DID YO

U KNOW.. MARCUS R .? ASHFORD IS THE LEA SCORER IN DING THE UCL F ROM OUR CURRENT SQ 17 GOALS F UAD, HAVING NETTE D ROM 48 MA TCHES (12 UNITED, FIV FOR E FOR BAR CELONA)

LOAN MOVE FOR CHIDO

welcoming new sponsors On Tuesday, the club announced a new official shirt-sleeve sponsor: the financial technology company SumUp. The agreement will see the British company’s name and logo adorn our shirts across men’s, women’s and Academy games, and starts with tonight’s Champions League opener. Keep an eye out for SumUp’s name on matchdays at Old Trafford and the Progress With Unity Stadium in the coming months, plus exclusive giveaways, competitions and experiences for fans.

revised WSL DATES Five of the six October fixtures for new signing Andrea Medina and her MUW team-mates feature North West opponents

Three of United Women’s October fixtures in the Women’s Super League have been changed to accommodate TV schedules. The Reds’ match with Liverpool has been brought forward to 1.30pm on Saturday 3 October, while the Manchester derby will now start at the later time of 6pm on Sunday 25 October. The final change is to the trip to Everton’s Goodison Park the following weekend: that match will now kick off at the earlier time of 12.30pm on Saturday 31 October. United’s away game at Charlton Athletic remains unchanged at 2pm on Sunday 14 October. If you are interested in attending any of the matches, head to tickets.manutd.com.

Young United striker Chido Obi has joined Willem II on a season-long loan, and he made his Eredivisie debut at the weekend. The Danish youth international, who became United’s youngest Premier League starter in May 2025, came on for the final eight minutes of his new club’s defeat to Excelsior. We wish the 18-year-old (right) all the best for the season ahead, as he works to gain more senior experience to add to his eight first-team appearances for United.

INTERVIEW

THE BIG INTERVIEW

MASON MOUNT

A former UEFA Champions League winner, Mount was one of United’s standout performers in pre-season and is raring to get going on our return to Europe’s biggest stage...

INTERVIEW

Mason, Champions League nights are back at Old Trafford! What did it mean to secure qualification last term? It’s obviously a great achievement. I think as a squad, as a team, as a club, we expect to be in the Champions League. We want to play in all of the competitions available. We had a really strong end to the season, and I thought the lads did really well, so it was an important finish. We had that in mind from the start of the season, right the way to the end. Obviously, we had a few games at the end of last season where we’d already secured it, and it was good to have that. But yeah, we’re obviously really excited, ready to go. A lot of games, but we can’t wait! It must have been a hot topic of discussion in the dressing room… Yeah, it definitely is a talking point. As I said, all the lads want to be playing in all of the competitions available. Having 40 games last season is not what we expect, and it’s not what we want, as footballers,

“YOU WANT TO PLAY IN THE BIG GAMES AND WE’RE ABLE TO DO THAT THIS SEASON. WE SET HIGH STANDARDS ON OURSELVES TO REALLY PUSH AND DO WELL IN EVERY SINGLE COMPETITION THAT WE’RE IN”

INTERVIEW

and footballers at this club. You want to play in the big games and we’re able to do that this season. We set high standards on ourselves to really push and do well in every single competition that we’re in. You, of course, became a Champions League winner with Chelsea back in 2021. What can you tell us about that night in Porto? Yeah, it was a very special night. A night that I will remember for the whole of my career. It’s such a crazy thing, because you remember little bits, but it all goes by so quickly. We were actually there for a few days, and then we played the game, and then we flew back. And then the next minute, you’re back in pre-season for the new season – it was a bit of a rollercoaster journey! We didn’t get to fully celebrate it,

Having enjoyed encounters with some of Europe’s top teams during our pre-season schedule, Mason is relishing the chance to show what United are capable of as we rejoin the continent’s big stage tonight

because it was around Covid time. But it was an unbelievable game to be involved in, the build-up to the game, the pressure on it. Yeah, they’re the games, as I said before, that you want to play in and strive to play in. We continue to set that goal and set that target to be there. How do you deal with the pressure on a game like that? It must be intense… I think you still go into the game with the same mentality as every other game, you prepare the same. If you’ve not been there before, you don’t really know how it feels to play in that magnitude of game. For me, it was just staying focused on what I needed to do, and what we had spoken about before the game, just being ready for the start of the game, and starting quick. That was all that was in my head.

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UCL PREVIEW

A look at what’s in store as the Reds get our home campaign up and running… As Europe’s elite club competition enters its 72nd season, we assess the matchday one action, starting with the other teams playing tonight… As well as the main event here at Old Trafford, there are five other UEFA Champions League games being played this evening that will wrap up the league-phase’s intriguing matchday one. Two of those games were 5.45pm kick-offs, so possibly done and dusted by the time you are reading this. In Turkey, Fenerbahce – who battled through three stages of qualifying to reach this juncture – get a first taste of their reward with a home tie against Roma. The Italians finished third in Serie A last season under Gian Piero Gasperini, and given they are in their 100th season this term and celebrate a centenary in 2027, would dearly love to go deep into this competition. The other early kick-off pitted PSV Eindhoven against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Netherlands – a battle between reigning Dutch and Ukrainian champions respectively. Second on the bill for many neutrals at 8pm UK time this evening would be the tie in which Bayern Munich host Bodo/Glimt. The Bavarian giants breezed through the league phase last year during a run that took them as far as a narrow semi-final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. They can expect game opponents in the Allianz Arena first up, though, in the shape of the Norwegian side that captured the imagination and took some notable scalps, including that of Inter Milan, as they reached the last-16 stage last season before a heartbreaking defeat to Sporting Lisbon, having held a three-goal advantage. Talking of breaking new ground, over in northern Italy Como play their first ever game in the UEFA Champions League tonight. After a fourth-place

Fenerbahce, who began their Champions League campaign back in July, kick off their league phase by taking on Roma in Turkey

Beaten semi-finalists last year, Harry Kane and his Bayern Munich team-mates will be aiming for a winning start to this year’s European campaign as Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt arrive at the Allianz Arena

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UCL PREVIEW

Former Manchester City midfielder Maximo Perrone will join his Como team-mates on their first-ever Champions League venture, which gets under way against RB Leipzig tonight

Having experienced contrasting starts to their Premier League campaigns, Arsenal and Aston Villa – now fortified with the arrival of striker Nicolas Jackson (below) – headed into their midweek UEFA Champions League openers away to Napoli and Club Brugge respectively with hopes for successful European adventures

finish in Serie A under Cesc Fabregas last term, I Lariana’s exciting journey begins with a home tie against RB Leipzig, themselves making a welcome UEFA Champions League return, after a fallow European year in 2025/26, courtesy of a third-place Bundesliga finish last season.

The visit of Lens – runners-up in France’s Ligue 1 last campaign – to Czech champions Slavia Prague completes tonight’s set of fixtures and the matchday one schedule. Over the previous two nights this midweek, 24 other sides have embarked

on their league-phase campaigns. On Premier League watch, Aston Villa began away at Club Brugge and Manchester City travelled to Porto, both on Tuesday evening. And last night, Liverpool got under way with an enticing home match against Atletico

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UCL PREVIEW

Madrid, while Arsenal – losing finalists to PSG in May – visited Napoli for another attractive-looking clash. Holders PSG – embarking now on a quest for three UEFA Champions League triumphs in a row – hosted Slovan Bratislava, while Barcelona faced Feyenoord in the Nou Camp and, in surely one of the picks of the round, Real Madrid welcomed Inter Milan to the Bernabeu. This is the third season in which the remodelled league phase is in operation, where all 36 teams compete within a single league, playing eight matches in total against a range of opponents split equally between each of the four ‘pots’ of teams

dictated by UEFA’s coefficient rankings. With three-dozen teams on the start line this midweek, the goal come the end of January is to finish either in the top eight (guaranteeing a place in the round of 16) or, if not, in the next 16 positions (nine to 24) – those teams going up against each other in the knockout phase play-off round, with a last-16 position the prize. Those sides who finish in the final 12 places in the league after eight matches – positions 25 to 36 – are eliminated. So the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League is go – with all efforts on reaching the final, to be held in early June at Atletico Madrid’s Estadio Metropolitano.

Back-to-back Champions League winners PSG are favourites to make it three in a row

DATES FOR THE DIARY

First league-phase fixtures and the full competition schedule… ALL MATCHDAY ONE FIXTURES: (Tuesday) AEK Athens v LASK Club Brugge v Aston Villa Borussia Dortmund v Villarreal Lille v Real Betis Porto v Manchester City Real Madrid v Inter Milan (Wednesday) Barcelona v Feyenoord Stuttgart v Viking Liverpool v Atletico Madrid Napoli v Arsenal Paris Saint-Germain v Slovan Bratislava Sporting Lisbon v Galatasaray (Tonight) Fenerbahce v Roma PSV v Shakhtar Donetsk Bayern Munich v Bodo/Glimt Como v RB Leipzig Manchester United v Sabah Slavia Prague v Lens

All eyes were on the Bernabeu two nights ago as Real Madrid took on fellow European heavyweights Inter Milan

Quarter-finalists last season, Lamine Yamal and his Barça team-mates will be looking to go further this term

FUTURE FIXTURE DATES: League phase: MD2 – 13/14 October MD3 – 20/21 October MD4 – 3/4 November MD5 – 24/25 November MD6 – 8/9 December MD7 – 19/20 January MD8 – 27 January Knockout phase play-offs: 16/17 and 23/24 February Round of 16: 9/10 and 16/17 March Quarter-finals: 6/7 and 13/14 April Semi-finals: 27/28 April and 4/5 May Final: 5 June (Estadio Metropolitano, Madrid)

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EUROPEAN

SPECIAL

SEVEN DECADES OF CONTINENTAL COMPETITION | EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS: LENY YORO & FRIDOLINA ROLFO | OUR TOP 10 GREATEST NIGHTS | UNSEEN PHOTOS, CHERISHED MOMENTS, AND SO MUCH MORE... AVAILABLE TO BUY FROM THE BOOTHS AROUND OLD TRAFFORD, IN THE MEGASTORE, FROM SELECTED STOCKISTS AND ONLINE...

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ManUtd.com /magazine

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CLUB PENNANTS

TWO CAPTAINS, ONE TRADITION

As United mark 70 years of European football, we explore an established matchday custom from the club’s earliest continental adventures… the unknown, but our great manager You’ve probably seen the eye-catching knew that club football played beyond cover (right) of tonight’s special-edition programme, which is UR’s way of marking borders was the future. Indeed, as if to underline his prescience, tonight’s the 70 years since Manchester United first entered European competition. fixture is our 437th European game. Yep, it really is seven decades since the Football has altered much since our Reds were continental pioneers for English inaugural European match, but one football back in 1956/57 – heading off to constant of United’s 70 years involved Brussels to take on the Belgian champions in continental competition has been the swapping of pennants. This exchange Anderlecht in the European Cup and of club emblems prior to the coin toss winning 2-0 thanks to goals from Dennis Viollet and Tommy Taylor. is one of the game’s longest-standing traditions, a visible show of respect and United embarked on that journey against the wishes of the Football League, friendship between two sporting rivals. It’s a custom dating back well over but encouraged by the huge excitement of our fans and intense intrigue from the a century and is thought to have its wider British football public. Matt Busby’s roots in the etiquette of Britain’s public English champions – nicknamed the schools exchanging mementos ahead ‘Babes’ due to the number of youngsters of notable sporting contests. The design in the side – took a risk by stepping into of the pennants is thought to have even older origins, resembling the military and heraldic banners used in ancient and medieval times to identify armies on the battlefield. The Manchester United Museum has a vast collection of pennants from all over the world, swapped ahead of friendlies, finals and European games. Among them is the one pictured opposite. Our archives have older examples from friendlies, but this is from one of our two-legged meetings with Germany’s Borussia Dortmund in October and November 1956 Roger Byrne exchanges pennants with Real Madrid’s Miguel Munoz ahead of our 1957 (our third and fourth European ties) and European Cup semi-final tie at the Bernabeu the oldest for a competitive Reds’ match.

SOU V EN I R ISSU E 70 Y EARS OF EU ROPEAN N IG HTS!

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OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME VOL 88 / ISSUE 02 KICK-OFF 8PM

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United captain Roger Byrne was presented with this by Dortmund skipper Alfred Preissler, ahead of either our 3-2 victory at Maine Road – where the Reds’ home leg was played, due to Old Trafford not yet having floodlights – or the goalless second-leg draw at the Rote Erde Stadion. Tonight, one of our two cover stars, Sabah club captain Stas Pokatilov (if fit and selected), will become the latest opposition skipper, and the first from an Azerbaijani club, to exchange a pennant with his United counterpart. That pennant won’t look like the one we’ve imagined on our front page, but it will continue a tradition that has accompanied every step of United’s proud European journey.

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CLUB PENNANTS

Tonight, Sabah’s captain will become the latest opposition skipper, and the first from an Azerbaijani club, to exchange a pennant with his United counterpart

Left: One of the earliest pennants to be exchanged with the Reds, and one of many contained within the club museum archives, this item comes from German side Borussia Dortmund – second only to Anderlecht as the Reds’ earliest European opponents – and was gifted during one of our European Cup meetings in late 1956 Across the season, we’ll continue to find artefacts with stories behind them but you can visit the museum and see for yourself. Scan this code for more information:

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INTERVIEW

THE BIG INTERVIEW

MASON MOUNT

A former UEFA Champions League winner, Mount was one of United’s standout performers in pre-season and is raring to get going on our return to Europe’s biggest stage...

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INTERVIEW

“YOU WANT TO PLAY IN THE BIG GAMES AND WE’RE ABLE TO DO THAT THIS SEASON. WE SET HIGH STANDARDS ON OURSELVES TO REALLY PUSH AND DO WELL IN EVERY SINGLE COMPETITION THAT WE’RE IN”

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INTERVIEW

How much fire does that experience give you to come and replicate the same thing with United now? Yeah, of course. When you taste that victory, and win something like that, of that magnitude, instantly you want to do it again. You want to replicate that and keep winning. I know the first game against Hull didn’t go to plan, but it’s now about bouncing back and showing our mentality and moving forward in the season. Learning from the game, learning where we can improve, and really keep kicking on, because as I said before, I think we’ve got the squad for it. We’re together, and it’s now about our performance on the pitch.

MASON MOUNT MIDFIELDER

NATIONALITY: ENGLISH AGE: 27 SQUAD #: 7

GAMES GOALS 72

A summer 2023 signing from Chelsea, where he assisted Kai Havertz’s winning goal in the 2021 Champions League final against Manchester City, Mount quickly became a respected voice in United’s dressing room. Injuries have been a factor in his Reds career to date, but our no.7 has battled back each time to show his immense strength of character. A strong pre-season was cut short by injury, but there are high hopes he can have a big campaign for Carrick’s side.

We’ll have some members of the squad who’ll be experiencing the competition for the first time. Do you think your experience from that 2021 triumph can help? Yeah, I think so. I think there’s also a lot of experienced players within the team, that have been through similar. There’s plenty of experience, plenty of leadership, to point us in the right direction. We all know what we need to do and what the goal is, to keep improving every single game, and to really set the bar high, set it as high as we can, and keep trying to perform. That’s all we can focus on. We’re all looking forward to this first game back in the Champions League, but it’s also serious business – we want to get off to a good start. What’s going to be key for us to succeed in the competition? For me, personally, I think whatever competition you’re in, you’re always thinking, ‘how can we win it?’, and what we need to do to be able to win it. Obviously, there’s going to be very, very tough games and tough fixtures coming up, and it’s not easy, but I expect everyone to have the mentality of ‘we can win this’ and really be together in it. In a competition like this, it’s about one night, and what you can do on that night, unlike a league where there are so many games, and home and away, and so many different variables. I think in a competition like this, if you’re in form at that time, and turn up in that game, no matter if it’s home or away, then you can really have a go. Our head coach, Michael Carrick, knows this competition too, as a key part of our 2008 Champions League-winning squad. Has he said anything about the competition? No, we’ve not really

“I THINK IN A COMPETITION LIKE THIS, IF YOU’RE IN FORM AT THAT TIME, AND TURN UP IN THAT GAME, NO MATTER IF IT’S HOME OR AWAY, YOU CAN REALLY HAVE A GO” spoken too much about it – the focus is on the league at the moment, but once those Champions League games start coming around, obviously you start focusing on that. But there are so many big games. Every game is a big game going into the season, you have to take every game as it comes. We’re set for a busier calendar than last season, but Michael has said that suits this group better, rather than being an obstacle to overcome. Do you agree? Yeah, I think the additions within the squad really improve the squad, too. The competition for places is high, and I think that’s a must-have, because it ups the level, ups everyone’s level within the team. Game by game, you’re competing during the week and training to get into the team and start the game, so everyone’s got to be ready.

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INTERVIEW

“PLAYING UNDER THE LIGHTS, THE LATE KICK-OFF, AGAINST A TEAM THAT WANTS TO COME AND WIN… THEY’RE ALWAYS SPECIAL GAMES, AND YOU HAVE TO PREPARE RIGHT AND TO COMPETE, BECAUSE EVERYONE WANTS TO COME HERE AND WIN” That definitely improves the standard. You can see it already, the standard in training has gone up, so that will only improve the squad as a whole. Our league-phase draw is now set, but we’re of course aiming to reach the knockout rounds. Looking ahead, are there any teams you’d like to face in particular, and any stadiums you’d like to play in this season? I’ve been very lucky to play in a lot of unbelievable stadiums, so it’s difficult to pick one out. I missed a game in the Champions League a couple of years ago, away in Turkey against Galatasaray, I think Bruno [Fernandes] and Garna [Alejandro Garnacho] scored. I wasn’t there, but that atmosphere looked unbelievable. I’ve never played in Turkey, or against Galatasaray or anyone like that, so that would be one. I just think the atmosphere seems hostile. They’re the type of games that you enjoy playing in, because if you do

A Champions League winner in 2021, Mason would love to replicate that triumph with United, and believes Carrick’s squad is strong enough to compete at that level this season

score in the game, it silences the crowd, just with your football. Yeah, I’d probably say something like that. United have a long history in the Champions League. Do you have any memories of us in the competition from when you were growing up? Yeah, obviously the 2008 squad winning it, for sure. I just remember [Cristiano] Ronaldo’s performances in the Champions League. He scored that really long-range effort against Porto. I remember seeing that unbelievable goal! It’s just the Champions League, I think – it brings out those big performances. There’s something special about these nights, as it’ll be against Sabah… Yeah, they’re all special. Playing under the lights, the late kick-off, against a team that wants to come and win, and it’ll be one of their biggest games of the season. They’re always special games, and you have to prepare right, be ready for the start of the game and to compete, because everyone wants to come here and win.

Mason says the competition for places has elevated the high standards in training

People talk a lot about the Champions League music as well. Is that as much of a thing for the players as it is for the fans, when you are lining up pre-match? It is, yeah, I think it is. It’s always special to hear that music. It gets you into the zone and ready to play. Finally, what’s your message to the fans ahead of this opening game? We know they’ll have a big role to play this evening, as always… Massive. They’re always massive for us, home and away. They always show up, and you can always hear them in every game we play. They’re really important for us, through tough times, to lift us up, and even if we’re playing really well, to support us and help us get through a game. ●

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03/09/2026 09:12

THE OPPOSITION

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KEY DETAILS Nicknames: The Owls, The Students, The Black-Pinks Founded: 8 September 2017 Ground: Bank Respublika Arena (capacity 8,969) – domestic fixtures; Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium (31,200) – European fixtures (above) Last season: Azerbaijan Premier League winners; Azerbaijan Cup winners Top achievements: Azerbaijan Premier League champions 2025/26, runners-up 2022/23; Azerbaijan Cup winners 2025, 2026

SABAH FK

One of a rare breed of clubs to navigate four qualifying rounds to reach the UEFA Champions League proper, the main-draw debutants from Azerbaijan are battle-hardened with a smart head coach...

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OWLS ASCENDING Established just nine years ago, the reigning Azerbaijan league and cup winners have achieved plenty already as they embark on an exciting new chapter in Europe...

n 8 September 2017, a group of local businessmen in Masazir founded a football club in the small city increasingly known for its salt factory, some 20km from Azerbaijan’s sprawling capital Baku on the banks of the Caspian Sea. Nine years later, almost to the day, Sabah begin their maiden main-draw UEFA Champions League campaign at Old Trafford. It’s been quite the journey for the Owls, a well-run outfit founded by real estate developer Yagub Huseynov, with one-time USSR international Igor Ponomaryov, who won Olympic gold at Seoul 1988, providing football knowhow. After years of steady progress, Sabah swept to the 2025/26 Azerbaijan Premier League by nine points ahead of domestic giants Qarabag, who had won 11 of the previous 12 titles and last season became the first team from the former Soviet state to reach the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds. Sabah began life in the Azerbaijan First League in 2017/18. Despite finishing fifth in the second tier under Arif Asadov, now the national team’s assistant manager, the Owls went up in their inaugural season after the four clubs above them either refused promotion or were denied a top-flight licence. Having stabilised as a top-flight venture for three seasons, Sabah began to look up rather than down from 2021/22 thanks to two foreign arrivals. After a decade rattling around Germany and the Netherlands’ lower leagues, future Rwanda international Joy-Lance Mickels’ goals and the impetus from Russian head coach Murad Musayev, who arrived three months into that ’21/22 campaign, helped

deliver a comfortable fifth-place finish and an Azerbaijan Cup quarter-final. League runners-up to the inevitable Qarabag the following season, Musayev’s side struggled to recover from their head coach’s mid-season departure for Krasnodar and Mickels’ exit to Saudi Pro League side Al Faisaly in 2023/24. Mickels’ return after an unhappy Middle East spell coincided with Sabah’s first piece of silverware as the upstarts beat Qarabag to lift the 2024/25 Azerbaijan Cup. A 97th-minute equaliser from Jamaica international Kaheem Parris preceded a winner from clutch wide man Tellur Mutallimov, who went on to play a significant role in this term’s UEFA Champions League qualification, late in extra-time to spark bedlam. When cup-winning manager Vasili Berezutski – the legendary CSKA Moscow defender who won 19 honours, including the 2004/05 UEFA Cup, and a century of Russia caps as a player – stepped aside for personal reasons, there were worries that the nascent Owls’ first taste of silverware would be their last. The appointment of Valdas Dambrauskas assuaged any doubts. An up-and-coming coach who had previously won trophies in his native Lithuania, Bulgaria and Croatia, Dambrauskas has a backstory the equal of anyone in football. The engineering graduate had always harboured hopes of a coaching career but it wasn’t until he won 4,000 litas on Sesi Nuliai – Milijonas, a TV quiz show based on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, as a 25-year-old in 2002 that he had the funds to pursue his dream. Dambrauskas had won

the equivalent of a year’s wages in Lithuania, but chose to move with his now-wife to London to take his coaching badges. “After we’d paid for our flights and accommodation, we had money left to cover our expenses for just one month,” he later told magazine FourFourTwo. Needing a job urgently, Dambrauskas found part-time work as a childminder, shop assistant and delivering newspapers while taking his coaching qualifications and studying at London Metropolitan University. After further gigs with Manchester United Soccer Schools, Brentford’s Centre of

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“It was a big help to me to come to England to study, to get on the coaching ladder” – Valdas Dambrauskas, Sabah head coach

UEFA Champions League newcomers Sabah head out for their fourth qualifier of this season’s competition, with a 6-4 aggregate triumph over Israeli side Hapoel Be’er Sheva sending them through to the league phase in which they debut at Old Trafford this evening

Excellence and a spell at ninth-tier Kingsbury London Tigers in the Spartan South Midlands League, he moved back home to Lithuania and eventually won a domestic quadruple with unfancied Zalgiris in 2016. “It’s such a long time ago but now suddenly everyone is speaking about this,” he said recently of the Millionaire appearance. “That was the start. It was a big help to me

to come to England to study, to get on the coaching ladder.” In his first season at Sabah, the now 49-year-old led a young side featuring such academy-reared talents as Abdulakh Khaybulayev (left) and the currently injured Khayal Aliyev to a league-and-cup double – the Owls becoming the second Azerbaijani side (after Qarabag) to do so. In the Premier League, the Black-Pinks lost just one of their first 30 games to seal last term’s title, with

Mickels scoring an injury-time final winner to successfully defend the Azerbaijan Cup. Before this season’s stunning four-tie run to the league phase of the UEFA Champions League, Sabah had never gone past the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League. Tonight, they run out at the Theatre of Dreams, with five-time winners Barcelona and 2026 finalists Arsenal still to come after nearly a decade’s increasing underdog success. The explosion of joy at watching the draw, one which lit up social media, was proof of a squad determined to make its mark.

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NEWS & NOTES... Azerbaijan champions Sabah’s arduous route to the league phase of the UEFA Champions League began way back on July 7 – the same day Argentina beat Egypt 3-2 in the last 16 of the World Cup – and has included four two-legged ties. Only six teams have ever won through as many matches to reach European football’s pre-eminent club competition. The tournament newcomers – along with Viking Stavanger, LASK and Cesc Fabregas’s Como – may have the lowest UEFA coefficient of the 36 league phase teams, but Valdas Dambrauskas’s side have already dispatched Welsh champions The New Saints and Finland’s KuPS, both home and away, before overcoming first-leg away defeats to knock out Danish side AGF and Hapoel Be’er Sheva of Israel in successive rounds. Former Red Star Belgrade striker Veljko Simic has picked up where he left off last season by plundering six goals in qualifying, while experienced Guadeloupe international Steve Solvet and ball-playing Azerbaijani Rahman Dashdamirov have impressed as a complementary centre-back partnership. Head coach Dambrauskas’s well-drilled 4-2-3-1 formation swept the club to a first Azerbaijan league title last term and the

“We’ve qualified for the main stage of the best tournament in the world. Today, I’m the happiest head coach in the world” – Valdas Dambrauskas

One of the goalscorers in the remarkable second-leg play-off comeback against Hapoel Be’er Sheva, Rakhmonaliev is one of last season’s title-winning loanees to make a permanent switch to Sabah

Lithuanian has turned loans for Simic, Umarali Rakhmonaliev and Tymoteusz Puchacz into permanent deals, while also recruiting Curacao winger Xander Severina from Maccabi Haifa.

Down but never out

The Owls have shown immense belief, too. Having lost the first leg of the play-off round to Hapoel Be’er Sheva, Sabah trailed 4-2 on aggregate with just 14 minutes of the home return to go, only for goals from Rakhmonaliev and a staggering 97th-minute volley from club stalwart Tellur Mutallimov to keep Azerbaijani dreams alive. In the ensuing extra-time, Orphe Mbina and clubrecord goalscorer Joy-Lance Mickels sealed a rousing 5-2 win on the night as Sabah progressed 6-4 on aggregate. “It’s a great night – I thank the fans,” said boss Dambrauskas at full-time. “The players played great. We’ve qualified for the main stage of the best tournament in the world. Today, I’m the happiest head coach in the world.” Leading his team out at Old Trafford this evening may change all that.

The manager

VALDAS DAMBRAUSKAS Blessed with a coaching brain as sharp as his TV general knowledge smarts, the 49-year-old Anglophile has won league titles with Zalgiris and Ludogorets Razgrad in Lithuania and Bulgaria, respectively, along with the 2021/22 Croatian Cup with Hajduk Split. He is already the Owls’ most successful coach.

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LEADING HITMAN

JOY-LANCE MICKELS

THE

One of three German-born brothers who play international football for Rwanda, where their father was born and raised, the 32-year-old had scored a record 77 times in 149 outings across two spells for Sabah (before the weekend visit of Zira), including the goal that secured just the second league-and-cup double in Azerbaijan football history in May. A pacy, direct dribbler who can play either as a centreforward or off the left wing, Mickels struck four times in UEFA Champions League qualifying, his fine solo stepover and finish off the bar wrapping up the 5-2 play-off second-leg victory over Hapoel Be’er Sheva to help his team reach the league phase.

squad Goalkeepers

PLAYER AGE 23 Amin Ramazanov Rauf Ayyubov 17 33 Stas Pokatilov Ravan Mirzammodov 21

Defenders

Full-back flyer TYMOTEUSZ PUCHACZ

Kazakh captain

STAS POKATILOV

There will be times in their UEFA Champions League main draw debut that Sabah will have to rely on their goalkeeper, but the 33-year-old club captain – who appears on tonight’s UR cover – is more than up to the job. The imposing Kazakhstan international conceded just 22 times in 30 appearances en route to the Azerbaijan Premier League title last term, keeping 13 clean sheets.

The 15-cap Poland left-back, part of his country’s Euro 2020 and 2024 squads, joined the Owls this summer on a permanent deal after impressing on loan from German side Holstein Kiel. The former Plymouth loanee is a set-piece specialist who laid on five assists in qualifying, including the corner for Tellur Mutallimov’s late equaliser against Hapoel Be’er Sheva.

PLAYER AGE Steve Solvet 30 Aden McCarthy 22 Rahman Dashdamirov 26 Tellur Mutallimov 31 Tymoteusz Puchacz 27 Erivaldo Almeida 26 31 Akim Zedadka Shahin Ibrahimov 19

Midfielders

PLAYER AGE Abdulakh Khaybulayev 25 Umarali Rakhmonaliev 23 22 Khayal Aliyev Aleksey Isayev 30 Kaheem Parris 26 Ivan Lepinjica 27 Rauf Rustamli 23 Du Queiroz 26 Rodrigo Fernandes 25 21 Jafar Mukhtarov 19 Shahin Ibrahimov

Forwards

PLAYER AGE Christian Nwachukwu 20 Joy-Lance Mickels 32 31 Veljko Simic Xander Severina 25 Orphe Mbina 25 Younes Lachaab 21

NATION Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Kazakhstan Azerbaijan

NATION Guadeloupe South Africa Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Poland Brazil Algeria Azerbaijan

NATION Azerbaijan Uzbekistan Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Jamaica Croatia Azerbaijan Brazil Portugal Azerbaijan Azerbaijan

NATION Nigeria Rwanda Serbia Curacao Gabon France

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UNITED Review

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03/09/2026 13:46

THE L BO I GN G I NRT EE ARDV I E W

As we mark 300 games and 70 years since the Reds’ trailblazing journey into Europe’s elite club competition, we look back on some iconic moments from United’s long pursuit of the famous trophy…

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Tonight’s fixture is United’s 300th in this remarkable competition, while Saturday marks exactly 70 years since our very first European Cup game. United were, of course, the first English club to play European football. But back in September 1956, no-one could have predicted the epic journey that lay ahead, encompassing arguably the greatest highs and deepest lows experienced by any sporting team. Over the following pages, we delve into the matches, moments and men that have forged our magical connection with club football’s most prestigious competition...

#2 THE BIG BANG

UNITED 10 ANDERLECHT 0 26.09.1956 Talk about making an impact! United were comfortable 2-0 winners over Anderlecht in our first European Cup match, away in Brussels. But the return leg at Maine Road rocketed continental football into Britain’s popular imagination, as the Reds blasted 10 goals without reply past a team stuffed with Belgian internationals. Forty thousand saw Tommy Taylor and Dennis Viollet

Viollet scores his fourth of the night as he helps the Reds rack up a record scoreline on our very first European home outing against Anderlecht

net United’s first European hat-tricks but, tellingly, 75,000 turned up to watch us play Borussia Dortmund in the next round. The European Cup was it, and this scoreline is still the biggest in our history.

#6 A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

UNITED 3 ATHLETIC BILBAO 0 06.02.1957 The Daily Express reported it as ‘The Greatest Soccer Victory in History’, and in

Tommy Taylor and Viollet help United pile the pressure on the Athletic Club goal at Maine Road in February 1957– a night when the Babes recorded a stunning 6-5 aggregate victory for one of our greatest European fightbacks

an era where football beyond these islands was still an exotic mystery, you can easily imagine why. Athletic Club were reigning Spanish champions and had won the first leg 5-3 amid dire conditions in the Basque Country, so United required a remarkable remontada. But on a feverish night at Maine Road, Busby’s fearless young Babes swept Bilbao away to complete a thrilling 6-5 aggregate win. Some said the cheer that greeted Johnny Berry’s winning goal – which put us ahead for the first time in the tie, with five minutes left – could be heard miles away. Over the years, UR has spoken to countless fans who were there, and almost all of them logged this as the greatest United game of their lives. Look at the date and you’ll notice an added layer of poignancy, too: the match was played exactly one year before the Munich Air Disaster.

#8 OLD TRAFFORD TAKES CENTRE STAGE

UNITED 2 REAL MADRID 2 25.04.1957 Old Trafford first welcomed European opposition in 1951, when Red Star Belgrade visited as part of the Festival of Britain. But our famous ground did not host its first European Cup game until this semi-final second leg in April 1957, once floodlights had finally been installed. Real Madrid won 3-1 at the Bernabeu, and the Spaniards quickly extended that with

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two first-half goals in Manchester, but United eventually earned a 2-2 draw on the night. Not enough to progress, but enough to suggest that the young Reds were a coming force.

#14 THE

LAST GAME

RED STAR BELGRADE 3 UNITED 3 05.02.1958 A year later, a topsy-turvy 3-3 draw with Red Star Belgrade (a 5-4 win on aggregate) earned United another semifinal shot, but the following day, the Reds’ plane crashed while trying to take off after a refuelling stop in Munich. The tragic event cost 23 lives, including eight players and three United staff. Jackie Blanchflower and Johnny Berry never played again. “If all those players who were killed and injured had been spared, the course of football history would have been very different,” said Blanchflower in the late 1980s. “It was such a young team, but learning ever so fast.”

United skipper Roger Byrne exchanges pennants with Red Star’s Rajko Mitic ahead of our semi-final-sealing 3-3 draw in Belgrade, the day before the fateful Munich Air Disaster

#16 CABBAGED IN MILAN

AC MILAN 4 UNITED 0 14.05.1958 Somehow, United’s ravaged squad managed to win the first leg of the semi-final that followed Munich, beating AC Milan 2-1. But, sadly, the Rossoneri were far too strong when the teams

reconvened in Italy. “We collapsed,” remembered Bill Foulkes. “The Italian crowd, about 80,000 of them, didn’t show us much sympathy. As we walked out we were bombarded with vegetables. I remember being hit by cabbages and the biggest bunch of carrots I have ever seen. They hurt, too.” Unfathomably, Bobby Charlton was unavailable, because the FA deemed a pre-World Cup England friendly more important. The match Charlton was required for? A game against Yugoslavia at Belgrade’s JNA Stadium – the site of the Babes’ final match only three months earlier. England lost 5-0.

#22 EL BEATLE BLASTS BENFICA

BENFICA 1 UNITED 5 09.03.1966 United eventually returned to Europe seven years later, when HJK Helsinki – our only Finnish opponents to date – were easily dispatched 9-2 on aggregate. But the high point of that season’s campaign

Best completes a quickfire double to stun hosts Benfica and obliterate their unbeaten home European record as he and the Reds inflict a headline-grabbing 5-1 scoreline, and 8-3 aggregate defeat, on the Lisbon side

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came in Lisbon, where a George Best-inspired United put five past two-time winners Benfica, who had never been beaten at home in Europe. Best scored twice and set up another for John Connelly. The Daily Herald’s reporter wrote: ‘Before the 10pm kick-off, to a tumultuous cheer and with rockets lighting up the Lisbon night sky, Eusebio was presented with a statuette to mark his selection as European Footballer of the Year. Inside 12 minutes, he should have handed his award over to brilliant boy Best. The lad with the Beatle haircut tonight produced the shimmering skills and spectacular craft of a vintage Matthews, Finney, Garrincha.’

#24 PAddy SEES RED

UNITED 1 PARTIZAN BELGRADE 0 20.04.1966 United’s first red card in the European Cup was received by the always combative Paddy Crerand, though the beloved Scot was a tad unlucky in this semi-final second leg. After Nobby Stiles had thumped a Partizan player, Paddy rushed over to calm things down. But when Jovan Miladinovic grabbed hold of him and Paddy instinctively pushed the Serbian away, the ref quickly sent both players from the field. United were eliminated 2-1 on aggregate, leaving

Ten years on from Munich, the Reds honour the memory of the victims in the most poignant manner – by winning the European Cup and fulfilling the dream of visionary boss Busby

Busby told his shattered players, as #33 they gasped for breath at full-time. response was incredible: three rEDEMPTION DAY The goals inside the first nine minutes

BENFICA 1 UNITED 4 (AET) 29.05.1968 The 1968 European Cup final was probably the last time that the whole of Britain cheered Manchester United on. Football was tentatively tribal then, but United’s narrative arc was too powerful, too emotional, to be denied. Ten years on from Munich, Matt Busby had a final shot at conquering the competition that had led to the demise of his greatest team. But when the narrow lead earned by Bobby Charlton’s glancing header was rubbed out by a late equaliser from Benfica’s Jaime Graca, nerves were jangling all over Wembley. “You’ve won it once, now go and win it again,” Busby absolutely bereft. Afterwards, Matt told a tearful Crerand: “We’ll never win the European Cup now.”

#32 BILL’S BIG MOMENT

Crerand (on right) after his harsh red card in our 1966 semi-final exit to Partizan, as Busby and the Reds are left doubting their European capabilities

REAL MADRID 3 UNITED 3 15.05.1968 When United reclaimed the First Division title in 1967, Busby had fresh hope. But

of extra-time. A nerveless solo effort from Best, an opportunistic header from Collyhurst teenager Brian Kidd, and a glorious, swept fourth from Charlton. “For those of us who had lost our friends coming home from a European tie in 1958 it seemed the right tribute to their memory,” reflected Foulkes years later. Yet the duality of the triumph was evident during the post-match celebrations at Bloomsbury’s Hotel Russell. Busby stood on a table to sing What a Wonderful World, but fellow survivor Charlton could not leave his hotel room. “He’s remembering the lads who can’t be here tonight,” explained his wife, Norma.

Real Madrid stood before the Reds once again in the last four. A solitary Best strike gave us a slender advantage to take to the Bernabeu, but three first-half goals quickly handed control to Real. However, a freakish own goal before the interval gave the Reds a glimmer, reducing the aggregate score to 3-2. “We’re only one behind,” Busby told his somewhat shellshocked players. David Sadler pulled us level on aggregate with 15 to go and, soon after, with overwhelming poignancy, Munich

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The Reds celebrate what they believe to be a tie-levelling strike against AC Milan in our 1969 semi-final decider, only for the referee to rule the ball hadn’t crossed the line

survivor Bill Foulkes caressed home the goal that took us to our first European Cup final. It was his last goal for the club; one of only nine scored in 688 games.

#41 INCHES... & YEARS

UNITED 1 AC MILAN 0 15.05.1969 United reached the semi-finals as defending champions in 1968/69, but AC Milan’s 2-0 first-leg advantage could not be overturned in the Old Trafford return. Charlton pulled one back with 20 minutes to go – sparking an earth-shattering Mancunian roar – and Law seemed to have levelled from a Crerand cross, only for referee Roger Machin to adjudge that the ball had not fully crossed the line. “The players near the scene swore it went over,” lamented fellow Red David Sadler. United were out, and the club would not return to this competition for another 24 years.

#42 BACK IN THE BIG TIME

HONVED 2 UNITED 3 15.09.1993 Under Alex Ferguson, United ended

a 26-year wait for the English title in 1992/93, which meant another crack at the European Cup – now rebranded as the UEFA Champions League. Two goals from Roy Keane and another from Eric Cantona ensured a winning start, but United bowed out on away goals in the second round, after a wildly cantankerous game against Galatasaray which saw Cantona sent off, Bryan Robson attacked by a policeman and scores of travelling Reds locked in cells and deported.

A beguiling Barcelona side provide United with a steep learning curve in 1994

#49 TAUGHT A LESSON

BARCELONA 4 UNITED 0 02.11.1994 The Galatasaray experience had been sobering for off-field reasons. But, a year later, Barcelona’s ‘Dream Team’ showed how much United still had to learn on it. In front of 114,000 at the Nou Camp, United were stupefied by the dizzying skills of Romario and Stoichkov – though it should be noted that the three-foreigner rule put Ferguson’s team at a significant disadvantage during this period. The rule was scrapped in 1996.

#55 proud record ends

A narrow 1-0 defeat to Turkish side Fenerbahce in 1996 was our first European home loss in four decades

UNITED 0 FENERBAHCE 1 30.10.1996 United’s unbeaten European home record endured for 40 years and 57 games (26 of which were European Cup fixtures), before Fenerbahce’s Elvir Bobic intervened. Our record at home is still extremely good, however: we’ve lost just 18 of 147 European Cup games at home. And United still managed to reach the semi-final after this group-stage setback, before exiting to eventual winners Borussia Dortmund.

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#63 GETTING BETTER

UNITED 3 JUVENTUS 2 01.10.1997 United’s path to continental maturity in the 1990s was not smooth. But with this stirring success against a superb Juventus team that had reached two successive finals (winning one), it felt like Ferguson’s young side had cleared a significant hurdle. Most encouragingly, the Neville brothers and fellow Class of ’92 members Beckham, Butt, Giggs and Scholes all played big parts in the win. Juve try to get to grips with Giggs, the Reds’ match-winner in our 1997 home encounter

#81 ROY’S MASTERPIECE

JUVENTUS 2 UNITED 3 21.04.1999 United and heroic comebacks go together like jelly and ice cream, but this semi-final triumph against Juventus is regarded as the crème de la crème, perhaps even surpassing Bilbao ’57 and Real Madrid ’68. When Inzaghi struck twice in Turin – following a 1-1 draw in Manchester – few gave United a prayer of reaching a first final in 31 years. But like Busby’s men in the Bernabeu, United miraculously recovered to earn a 4-3 aggregate win after going 3-1 down. A performance of heroic persistence and prompting from Roy Keane was the inspiration: the Irishman’s header started our resurgence, before further goals from striking compadres Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole. The legendary status of Keane’s contribution was only enhanced by a first-half yellow card which ruled him out of the final in Barcelona. The same painful fate was also suffered by Paul Scholes.

Leading by example, captain Keane’s masterful performance in the Stadio Delle Alpi was the resurgent force needed to get the Reds to the ’99 final

#82 PURE HEAVEN UNITED 2 BAYERN MUNICH 1 26.05.1999 How to describe the most euphoric night in United history in a few words? Well, any high-level match flipped in injury time is remarkable, but Sheringham and Solskjaer’s goals didn’t just flip any match: this was a UEFA Champions League final. To win an unprecedented Treble. United became “England’s soccer crusaders” upon entering Europe in 1956, according to Jimmy Murphy, and the events of 1958 and 1968 furthered the sense that United’s European adventure was an epic odyssey like no other. What happened in 1999 only strengthened that notion.

European euphoria sweeps through the Nou Camp as Ferguson’s Reds complete an unprecedented Treble in remarkable fashion

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#100 ANOTHER LATE SHOW

UNITED 3 PSV EINDHOVEN 1 18.10.2000 United reached three figures in the Champions League in October 2000, when two more late goals – this time from Scholes and Yorke – earned a 3-1 win over PSV Eindhoven.

#153 RUUD’S RECORD

LYON 2 UNITED 2 15.09.2004 The first of two Ruud van Nistelrooy goals against Lyon breaks Denis Law’s longstanding club record of 29 in this competition. The Dutchman eventually reached 38 before departing in 2006, and remains our leading goalscorer, ahead of Rooney (34) and Giggs (29).

#154 ROONEY ARRIVES

UNITED 6 FENERBAHCE 2 28.09.2004 A foot injury meant Wayne Rooney had to wait for his United debut, following a big-money move from Everton. But, golly, it was worth the wait. The Liverpudlian fired three past Fenerbahce on his opening night – each, in their own way, reflective of his remarkable, precocious virtuosity. Rooney (left) is still the only Red to score a Champions League hat-trick at the first attempt. And, of course, this was the teenager’s club debut, not merely his maiden European game.

#178 THE ROMA RIOT UNITED 7 ROMA 1

10.04.2007 On an astonishing night, the Reds incinerate Roma’s 2-1 first-leg lead by blasting seven at Old Trafford to reach the semi-finals. Michael Carrick and Cristiano Ronaldo both score twice – the latter notching his first goals in the UEFA Champions League proper. (Ronaldo’s only previous strike had come in a qualifier against Debreceni in 2005.)

#187 GIGGSY’S CENTURY

LYON 1 UNITED 1 20.02.2008 Ryan Giggs became the first United player to reach 100 appearances in the competition in February 2008, when he started against Lyon in the last 16. Scholes and Gary Neville would bring up their own centuries later that year. The trio remain the only Reds to have reached that milestone.

Terry’s penalty miss hands the Reds a shoot-out lifeline and they duly take advantage, landing the 2008 trophy

Scholes celebrates his stunner against Barça at a raucous Old Trafford to seal our spot in the 2008 final

#192 SCHOLES FELLS BARçA UNITED 1 BARCELONA 0 29.04.2008 After a 0-0 draw in the Nou Camp – and a first-ever meeting between Ronaldo and Messi – Paul Scholes’s screamer is enough to defeat Barcelona and earn our return to the Champions League final, nine years on from the Treble. Many regard this as the greatest Old Trafford atmosphere of the 21st century.

#193 MAGICAL MOSCOW UNITED 1 CHELSEA 1 (AET, UNITED WIN 6-5 ON PENALTIES) 21.05.2008 The first all-English European Cup/ Champions League final took place in the capital of Russia – a suitably exotic backdrop for a rain-soaked epic. The contest went the full distance and even endured into the early hours of the next day, due to the time difference. Famously, Chelsea were just one kick from glory in the climactic penalty shoot-out, only for their captain, John Terry, to slip and miss. Anderson and Giggs subsequently converted for United, before Edwin van der Sar parried from Nicolas Anelka to deliver a third cup triumph, 50 years on from Munich.

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THE LONG READ

#200 RECORD-BREAKERS

An added-time penalty from Rashford steers the Reds into the last eight of the 2018/19 Champions League edition at the expense of French champions PSG

INTER MILAN 0 UNITED 0 24.02.2009 In our 200th European Cup match, United set a new record of 20 matches unbeaten after a goalless draw with Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan. The record eventually stretched to 25 games, before we were beaten 2-0 by Barcelona in the 2009 final in Rome.

#243 SIR ALEX BOWS OUT

UNITED 1 REAL MADRID 2 05.03.2013 Sir Alex Ferguson achieved two hugely memorable Champions League triumphs during his Herculean United stint, and reached an incredible three finals in four seasons between 2007-2011. Unfortunately, United ran into Messi and an incomparable Barcelona team in the last two of those finals (2009, 2011). Ferguson’s 202nd and final European Cup game came against Real Madrid in the last 16, just two months before his retirement in May 2013. But with more luck, things might have been different. United were leading 2-1 on aggregate with 35

minutes of the second leg to play, but a controversial Nani red card enabled Real to rally with quick goals from Modric and the returning Ronaldo. Despite a heroic shift from 39-year-old Ryan Giggs – who played the latter stages as a marauding left-back – 10-man United could not respond. Ferguson (below, left) was so distraught afterwards, he sent Mick Phelan out for the post-match interviews. Of course, only those closest to Sir Alex knew that his final shot at European glory had just disintegrated.

#277 CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN

PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN 1 UNITED 3 06.03.2019 Two-nil down after the Round-of-16 first leg at Old Trafford, a makeshift United team deprived of Paul Pogba (suspended) and nine other senior players goes to Paris

and beats PSG 3-1, thanks to a nerveless late penalty from Marcus Rashford and inspirational leadership from caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Our greatest post-Ferguson moment in the Champions League to date.

#294 BEST OF FRIENDS

BAYERN MUNICH 4 UNITED 3 20.09.2023 Two meetings with Bayern Munich in 2023/24 confirmed the Germans as our most frequent Champions League opponents. We’ve played the Bundesliga giants 13 times, starting with a 1998 trip to their former Olympiastadion home, and that number will rise to 14 when Harry Kane and co visit on matchday seven.

#300 THE STORY CONTINUES

UNITED v SABAH 10.09.2026 Tonight’s match is not only notable for being our 300th Champions League game – it’s also our first fixture against a team from Azerbaijan. Sabah become our 82nd opponent, while Azerbaijan is the 29th different country to provide us with opposition. ●

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BE Y R

ND SHO

STO

CLUB PHOTOGRAPHER

Club snapper Ash Donelon (above) recounts an absorbing trip to the banks of the Mersey, where his goalmouth camera caught Sesko’s latest big leap REMOTE REWARDS

When and where: 6 September 2026; Hill Dickenson Stadium. Ash says: “The Hill Dickinson Stadium has quickly become one of my favourite Premier League away grounds to work at, with the steep incline of the stands and the closeness of the crowd to the pitch giving it a real energy. At half-time on Sunday, I positioned a remote camera behind Jordan Pickford’s goalmouth, then took my position in front of the United fans in the north-east corner. Although I didn’t have a great view of Sesko’s header from my pitchside position – due to all the players in the way! – thankfully my goalmouth camera was in a great spot to capture the moment Benjamin leapt to connect with the ball.”

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CLUB PHOTOGRAPHER

“THE HILL DICKINSON HAS QUICKLY BECOME ONE OF MY FAVOURITE AWAY GROUNDS TO WORK AT, WITH THE STEEP INCLINE OF THE STANDS AND THE CLOSENESS OF THE CROWD GIVING IT A REAL ENERGY” 43 42-43_Story behind the shot.AOCGPD.indd 63

07/09/2026 17:08

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03/09/2026 09:15

FA N PA G E S

WE ALL FOLLOW

The section dedicated to you, the fans. Got a story or message to share? Get in touch at united.family@manutd.co.uk

United in Baku Wherever you go, you’ll always find Reds – and Azerbaijan is no different

Such is the global nature of United’s fanbase, we knew just who to speak to when the UEFA Champions League draw pitted us against tonight’s opponents. Sabah FK might have only formed in 2017, but United has long held support in Azerbaijan. The Baku Reds are based just 20km from Sabah’s home ground, which makes them well-placed to preview tonight’s unexpected match-up. “It’s very surprising for Sabah to get in the Champions League because it’s a very young team,” says branch president Vusal Garayev. “I think it will not be so easy, but United will take the three points.” Garayev says that some Azerbaijani Reds are currently torn between patriotism and a longstanding love for United. But for others, the equation is simple. “I will support United,” he explains. “I don’t know any other thing.” Sadly, the 41-year-old is unable to be here in person tonight, due to the quick turnaround following the draw and his project management job in Azerbaijan’s ministry of economics. But some of his

Members of our supporters’ club in Baku have been excitedly awaiting tonight’s UCL opener, and whether at Old Trafford or at their headquarters in Baku, they’ll be watching on proudly

fellow Baku Reds have travelled over, while up to 100 are expected to watch the match together at the branch’s headquarters, the Half Way Inn. “Those going are so proud that they will participate in a game at Old Trafford against an Azerbaijani team,” he enthuses. “They’re so excited.” The last moment of such excitement for the Baku Reds came in 2021, when Portugal and Bruno Fernandes played a World Cup qualifier at their city’s Olympic Stadium.

“We had a banner for Bruno and we had a chance to meet him, which was very interesting,” Vusal smiles. “He spoke to us about United and the club’s history and was excited that we support United, despite us being so far away. “Our people are very hospitable and we always like to meet guests – in terms of United legends, we’ve also had Denis Irwin, Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke and Peter Schmeichel visit Azerbaijan.” Tonight the roles are reversed, as Azerbaijan comes to Old Trafford. We hope our friends, the Baku Reds, enjoy the game, whether they’re here in M16 or back home at the Half Way Inn!

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F A N PA G E S

MATCHDAY Wishing Logan a happy 17th birthday, from Fran, Louise, David, Kai and Max.

Happy eighth birthday, Uma! Wishing you the most incredible day. Lots of love from Mum, Dad, and Jovan. To Gareth and Ellis: happy birthday! What better way to spend it than watching United together. Love you both, Nicole.

Happy 27th birthday, Joe Taylor. Hope you have the best day and enjoy watching United at Old Trafford! Love Holly, Jimmy and Patty. Hoping you have a very happy birthday today, Gideon. Enjoy the game – the perfect place to celebrate. Happy 11th birthday, Elsie Jackson! Happy 11th birthday to our very own no. 7, Lincoln Pearce. Love Mum, Dad and Hudson. Many happy returns to Bekithemba Sibanda for 6 September.

Wishing Kobie-Nick Read a very happy second birthday for 31 August. Have a fantastic time at Old Trafford!

Happy 20th birthday to you, Maciej! He’s a huge Manchester United fan from Poland and is pictured here at the pre-season friendly meeting with AC Milan in Wroclaw, alongside friend Bartosz (left).

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FA N PA G E S

MESSAGES E M A I L : U N I T E D . F A M I LY @ M A N U T D . C O . U K

Martin Gundersen Haave, Pal Haave and Per Haave had a great time in Manchester to see our 5-2 league win over Ipswich, a brilliant match!

Esther Harrigan and best friend Mathilda Jackson, both nine, attended their first-ever United game at the 5-2 win over Ipswich. First home game of the season, an emphatic win, and a Bruno hat-trick – best first game ever!

Happy 16th birthday for 11 September to Nicholas Toms, here watching tonight from the East Stand with brother Sebastian and dad Richard.

Jac Stallard – ‘I know you’ve dreamt about this day, hope you enjoy, dude.’

Happy 13th birthday, Cohen Stilgoe. Love Mum and Dad.

A very warm welcome to your first United game, James Cunningham, and happy 14th birthday.

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participants supported

community projects

SUPPORT OUR WORK mufoundation.org/DONATE 33_MU Foundation Empowering_Ad.indd 1

03/09/2026 09:11

FA N PA G E S

Race around the ground... Two inspiring youngsters rallied their friends during the recent summer holidays to run a mile around Old Trafford in memory of a beloved sister and cousin. Will, 10 (pictured far right), came up with the idea after seeing runner Josh Kerr set a new world-record time for running a mile, and watching family members run the London Marathon. His cousin, Freya, sadly passed away last year, aged nine, from a rare form of brain cancer, and he wanted to raise money for the charity Young Lives vs Cancer. Will then set about getting Freya’s sister, eight-year-old Gwen, and four of their friends involved. “I wanted to fundraise so children with cancer and their families would have a place to stay, like we did, and help them when they are sad,” explained Will. Despite it being a busy day at the stadium, the young runners were unfazed as they raced around the ground – even outpacing their supervisors. Hosting them was club representative Jason Leach and Foundation CEO Ashley Hackett, who were on hand to sound the starting klaxon. “Even though they’re only young kids, they’re all very aware that the more they do, the more they raise, the more it can help,” said Jason, who gave them their own guided tour of the stadium. “They all did really well, and they’re already looking ahead to their next fundraiser!” Talking to the runners as he took them behind the scenes, Jason was impressed with how knowledgeable they were about football. “We had a chat, and I told them a bit about the history of the club, and they

Six youngsters take on a big challenge at Old Trafford, in honour of a family member

Archie, Billie, Gwen, Pip, George and Will raised funds for Young Lives vs Cancer in memory of Freya, before the runners enjoyed a guided tour of the stadium

knew a lot! They know their football – various other teams as well as United.” When Will had the idea, there was only ever going to be one venue. “Freya loved Manchester United like she loved her family,” says Freya’s mum, Kate. “She dreamed big, so Old Trafford, the Theatre of Dreams, was the perfect place for

Will, Gwen and their friends to take on the mile in her memory.” Well done to the group for their hard work, and everyone at the club wishes them all the best for the next fundraiser! • To learn more about Young Lives vs Cancer, visit younglivesvscancer.org.uk

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KIDS

T W O PA G E S O F F U N , W I T H F R E D T H E R E D

Who, what, where? Match some of our UCL opponents to their countries, based on the five flags…

Euro reunions

Several Reds previously played for clubs who we’ll face in the UCL this season… ATLETICO MADRID Matheus Cunha BAYERN MUNICH Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, Joshua Zirkzee RB LEIPZIG Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko SPORTING LISBON Bruno Fernandes, Manuel Ugarte 50 50-51_Kids.AOCGPD.indd 50

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KIDS

We’ve got five 50-50 posers...

1 2

One of Sabah’s nicknames is ‘the Owls’.

This is Michael Carrick’s first European game in charge of United.

Sabah didn’t exist the last time United won a European trophy.

The league phase of the UEFA Champions League ends in January.

There are 20 teams in the league phase.

ANSWERS Who, what, where?: 1. Atletico Madrid: Spain; 2. Bayern Munich: Germany; 3. Roma: Italy; 4. Sabah: Azerbaijan; 5. Sporting Lisbon: Portugal. True or false? 1. True; 2. False; 3. True; 4. True; 5. False (36).

True or false?

QB V BUNNRH Y Y I D B Y FS BH I V U Z I T Z S K Z D B BQQ A QMU E L MB A Y E RNMUN I C H V R D R S I K NH I D LMY C QNOU J J A Y P D FW S HQ P F T H L AWE V O Z S Z BWQU C E X B D T G B Z V J E H T A QBOP D I X U F L I H K U S F MW E T I NWD E UK S HQ Z R R A I C N E L A V GN X L V C R T S FMD X B A R C E L ON A E I J L H A Y B X A A G L T PWA QP L A X R V D P Z A F V GMF R AMG P Y I OB I X Z Q K P Z S O T L J G B J W C MW T MZ J UHRUG L O I A Z DGHN C P X I HUMX T J E Z G K P E J E Z D A B A Y P N F NUH I U T A QHR V Y D E B A K F D E L I NQ B O B S L Y Z NWO B U Y X V UG T Y F E T H E P T Y U C B V Y DU C I PQK E A C I F N E BWK K J Q J N N G H T H P J Z A P U V G OWM L X O S QR E V Z S T T A F KO T LMOD P

Familiar faces! Can you find the eight sides (listed below) that United have faced most often in the European Cup/Champions League?

C: 0% M: 5% Y: 100% K: 0% C: 6% M: 18% Y: 80% K: 3%

C: 0% M: 0% Y: 0% K: 100%

C: 56% M: 48% Y: 47.5% K: 14% C: 18.5% M: 15.5% Y: 15% K: 0%

50-51_Kids.AOCGPD.indd 51

AC MILAN

GALATASARAY

BARCELONA

JUVENTUS

BAYERN MUNICH VALENCIA BENFICA

REAL MADRID

C: 23% M: 100% Y: 100% K: 19% C: 20% M: 93% Y: 85.5% K: 10%

C: 25% M: 83% Y: 70% K: 13.5% C: 0% M: 100% Y: 100% K: 5% C: 0% M: 86.5% Y: 74% K: 0% C: 0% M: 66% Y: 42% K: 0%

51 07/09/2026 11:53

F O U N D AT I O N

SHIRT FOR GOOD Streets Reds participants join special Foundation photoshoot The transformative work of Manchester United Foundation will be spotlighted throughout this season’s UEFA Champions League campaign, with the logo of the club’s charity set to feature on the back of the men’s team’s shirts for all European games. The logo will first appear in the opening fixture against UEFA Champions League debutants Sabah at Old Trafford tonight. Fans can support the initiative by visiting the Megastore to have the logo printed onto their new or existing shirt. All net profits from sales of the logo will be donated to Manchester United Foundation (Charity no. 1118310) to support the work they do with young people across Greater Manchester and beyond. Established in 2007, the Foundation works with over 30,000 young people each year and delivers 129 projects, providing educational and community engagement programmes to help participants make positive choices in their lives. Putting the Foundation in the spotlight will help to drive awareness of this life-changing work in the local community. To celebrate this, four participants who attend Street Reds – the Foundation’s free evening football provision – and form part of its Youth Voice panel, were invited to Old Trafford to join a special photoshoot with first-team players including Marcus Rashford, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko, to highlight the new-look shirts. One of the participants taking part was Ella, 14, who has been attending the Foundation’s Street Reds community football session at Great Academy Ashton for six years. Ella said: “It was crazy to be part of the photoshoot! Going from watching the players every week on

Participants from our Street Reds programme join the first-team stars, including Leny Yoro, Marcus Rashford and Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu, for a special Old Trafford photoshoot to highlight the addition of the Foundation’s logo to our UCL shirts

the pitch, to being able to meet them and talk to them, it’s amazing. “I’ll be watching all the Champions League games and I think it will feel even more special now after being part of this – more people will become aware of the Foundation and be able to play football, meet new people and make more friends.” Ashley Hackett, CEO, Manchester United Foundation, said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for us, offering unparalleled exposure on one of football’s biggest stages during Manchester United’s famous European nights. “We’re incredibly proud of the vital

work we do to support young people from communities across Greater Manchester, where our impact is genuinely life changing. “Proceeds generated from this initiative will be instrumental in helping us to continue to deliver our programmes that make a huge difference to those we work with.”

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F O U N D AT I O N

Street Reds youngsters come together to celebrate the life of Lewis at the second memorial tournament

LEWIS’S LEGACY Recently the Foundation held the second edition of the Lewis Michael Henson Roberts memorial tournament, in memory of the Manchester United fan who tragically passed away in January last year. Participants from our Street Reds projects came together for a summer tournament, which was held in Lewis’s memory – with his family present – as young people also took on a kindness workshop,

a trait so synonymous with Lewis’s character and desire to help others. The tournament was played in a gracious and respectful spirit, honouring his memory perfectly. Lewis’s family have held several fundraisers to support the Foundation, including funds from his celebration-of-life day being donated. Lewis’s dad Lee and auntie Kim braved last year’s Old Trafford Sleep Out and more recently, Kim complete a charity sky-dive.

An ode to Ken Proud Salfordian and lifelong Red Ken Evans sadly passed away earlier this year, but his love of United and his home city lives on through an incredibly kind donation to Manchester United Foundation. Following his passing, Ken’s family chose to leave a legacy gift in aid of the Foundation. Ken’s wife Jeanette explained: “Ken was such a community-minded man, so I know he would have absolutely loved the fact that we decided to support the Foundation after his passing. Their work in Salford and Manchester, where Ken grew up, is so important.

“They give young people a starting chance and a platform to succeed in life, and so we decided to donate the proceeds raised from his funeral and the potential sale of his United memorabilia. As a family, we agreed those funds were going towards something that would make Ken so happy; leaving a legacy at the club that was in his blood.” For more information about leaving a gift in your will to Manchester United Foundation, please email legacy@mufoundation.org.

The memory of devoted Red Ken Evans, pictured with wife Jeanette, has been fondly captured with a charitable legacy donation to the Foundation following his sad passing earlier this year

To stay up to date with the latest Foundation news, sign up to the Community Reds newsletter by scanning this QR code or by visiting mufoundation.org/newsletter 53 52-53_Foundation v2 (not approved).AOCGPD.indd 65

08/09/2026 12:41

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04/09/2026 13:15

P L A Y E R S T AT S 2026/27 APPEARANCES/GOALS

With United facing three home games in three competitions in the space of a week there’s a good chance this list could soon lengthen. Seven players have started all three matches to date, with 11 others also featuring. For goals, Bruno Fernandes leads the way (3), ahead of Bryan Mbeumo (2) and Benjamin Sesko (1).

LEAGUE GLS

APP

GLS

APP

GLS

APP

GLS

APP

Matheus CUNHA

Diogo DALOT

2(1)

Patrick Chinazaekpere DORGU

1(2)

Bruno FERNANDES

GLS

Ayden HEAVEN

Shea LACEY

0(1)

Senne LAMMENS

Harry MAGUIRE

Kobbie MAINOO

2(1)

Lisandro MARTINEZ

Noussair MAZRAOUI

1(2)

Bryan MBEUMO

Marcus RASHFORD

2(1)

Andrey SANTOS

1(2)

Benjamin SESKO

0(3)

Luke SHAW

Youri TIELEMANS

Leny YORO

0(2)

LEAGUE CUP

EUROPE

OTHERS

PLAYER

APP

GLS

APP

GLS

APP

GLS

APP

GLS

APP

GLS

APP

GLS

52(18) 4(1) 10 0(6) 32(4) 153(23) 38(4) 26(15) 230(4) 0(3) 0(2) 0(1) 0 14(8) 0(4) 35 167(26) 61(20) 0(1) 67(11) 46(14) 34(2) 25(29) 1(6) 72 219(71) 1(2) 17(16) 222(17) 3 30(21) 0(3) 30(25) 19(37)

11 0 0 0 10 4 3 4 74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 4 0 3 0 12 5 0 0 87 0 12 4 0 1 0 0 5

1(5) 0 2 0(1) 1 20(1) 2 2 21(3) 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0(1) 1 16(5) 8(2) 0 5(2) 3 0 1(2) 0(1) 7 27(9) 0 1 22(3) 0 4 0 3(1) 1(3)

1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1

1(3) 0 3 1 1 12 1(2) 1 9(5) 0 0 0(1) 2 1 0 0 12(2) 2(1) 0 6(1) 1(2) 0(1) 2(1) 0 3 16(9) 0 1 8(4) 0 4 0(1) 1 1(3)

1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

7(9) 0(2) 2 2(2) 0 31(8) 8(1) 7 54(4) 0 0 0 0(1) 1 0 0 39(6) 1(9) 0 17(2) 14 0 3(8) 0 19 52(23) 0 0 41(10) 0 8(2) 0 7(1) 6(5)

3 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 26 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2

1 0 0 0(1) 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1(2) 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

62(35) 4(3) 17 3(10) 34(4) 217(32) 49(7) 36(15) 314(16) 0(3) 0(2) 0(2) 2(1) 16(9) 0(5) 36 235(39) 73(32) 0(1) 96(16) 64(16) 34(3) 32(40) 1(7) 102 315(114) 1(2) 19(16) 294(34) 3 46(23) 0(4) 41(27) 27(48)

16 0 0 0 10 10 3 4 110 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 8 0 3 0 14 7 0 0 138 0 13 5 0 2 0 1 9

LEAGUE AMAD Harry AMASS Altay BAYINDIR Toby COLLYER Matheus CUNHA Diogo DALOT Matthijs DE LIGT Patrick Chinazaekpere DORGU Bruno FERNANDES Jack FLETCHER Tyler FLETCHER Daniel GORE Tom HEATON Ayden HEAVEN Shea LACEY Senne LAMMENS Harry MAGUIRE Kobbie MAINOO Bendito MANTATO Lisandro MARTINEZ Noussair MAZRAOUI Bryan MBEUMO Mason MOUNT Chido OBI Andre ONANA Marcus RASHFORD Andrey SANTOS Benjamin SESKO Luke SHAW Youri TIELEMANS Manuel UGARTE Ethan WHEATLEY Leny YORO Joshua ZIRKZEE

MANCHESTER UNITED EDITORIAL TEAM EDITOR Paul Davies MANAGING EDITOR Charlie Ghagan CONTRIBUTORS Joe Ganley, Ben Ashby, Isaac Stacey Stronge, Sean Mullan, Andy Murray, Matthew Brown

TOTAL

EUROPE

APP

UNITED CAREER STATS

It could be a milestone occasion for Diogo Dalot tonight, with the Portuguese poised to make his 250th appearance for the Reds if selected against Sabah. Our game at Everton last Sunday moved him to 249 United appearances, placing him fifth for most games within the current squad and 91st on our all-time list. In bringing up 250 he’ll move level with fellow full-back Stewart Houston, who represented the Reds from 1973 to 1980.

LEAGUE CUP

FA CUP

PLAYER

PHOTOGRAPHY Ash Donelon, Zohaib Alam, Poppy Townson, Getty, Alamy, Mirrorpix THANKS TO Toby Craig, George McCaffery, Adam Tomlinson, Ellie Decrop, Mark Froggatt PRINTED BY Buxton Press

FA CUP

PUBLISHED BY CONTENT SALES DIRECTOR Fergus McKenna HEAD OF COMMERCIAL PARTNERSHIPS David Scripps OPERATIONS MANAGER Nick Moreton MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER Claire Brown PRODUCTION EDITOR Adam Oldfield SENIOR DESIGNER Neil Haines

TOTAL

SUBSCRIPTIONS The official Manchester United matchday programme delivered straight to your door… 12 ISSUES subscription £58 (inc UK delivery) 26 ISSUES subscription £125 (inc UK delivery) Single issues also available. Visit: MANUTD.COM/PROGRAMME

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08/09/2026 11:42

DATE

AUGUST

COMP OPPOSITION

2026/27 fixtures

K/O

SCORE

ATT

FORMATION LINE-UP

Sat 22 Sun 30

PL PL

Hull City Ipswich Town

A H

12.30pm 4.30pm

0-2 5-2 x

24,470 74,148

4-2-3-1 4-2-3-1

Lammens Lammens

Mazraoui Dalot

Maguire Maguire

Heaven Martinez

Sun 6 Thu 10 Sun 13 Wed 16 Sun 20

PL CL PL LC PL

Everton Sabah Manchester City Brighton & Hove Albion (R3) Fulham

A H H H A

2pm 8pm 4.30pm 8pm 4.30pm

2-2

52,302

4-2-3-1

Lammens

Dalot

Maguire

Martinez

Sat 10 Tue 13 Sun 18 Wed 21 Sun 25 27/28 Sat 31

PL CL PL CL PL LC PL

Tottenham Hotspur Atletico Madrid Leeds United Como Bournemouth Fourth round Chelsea

H A A A H A

5.30pm 8pm 2pm 5.45pm 2pm 12.30pm

Tue 3 Sat 7 Sun 21 Wed 25 Sat 28

CL PL PL CL PL

Roma Aston Villa Liverpool Sporting Brentford

H H A A H

8pm 3pm 3pm 8pm 3pm

Wed 2 Sat 5 Tue 8 Sat 12 Sat 19 15/16 Sat 26 Wed 30

PL PL CL PL PL LC PL PL

Newcastle United Coventry City RB Leipzig Crystal Palace Arsenal Quarter-finals Nottingham Forest Sunderland

A H H A A H H

8pm 3pm 8pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 8pm

Sat 2 8-11 Wed 6 12/13 Sat 16 Wed 20 Sat 23 Wed 27 Sat 30

PL FA PL LC PL CL PL CL PL

Brighton & Hove Albion Third round Newcastle United Semi-finals, 1st leg Aston Villa Bayern Munich Liverpool Villarreal Brentford

A H A H H A A

3pm 8pm 3pm 8pm 3pm 8pm 3pm

2/3 Sat 6 Wed 10 12-15 16/17 Sat 20 23/24 Sat 27

LC PL PL FA CL PL CL PL

Semi-finals, 2nd leg Chelsea Brighton & Hove Albion Fourth round KO Phase Play-offs, 1st leg Nottingham Forest KO Phase Play-offs, 2nd leg Arsenal

H H A H

3pm 8pm 3pm 3pm

Wed 3 5-8 9/10 Sat 13 16/17 Sat 20 Sun 21

PL FA CL PL CL PL LC

Sunderland Fifth round Round of 16, 1st leg Everton Round of 16, 2nd leg Manchester City Final

A H A N

8pm 3pm 3pm -

3/4 6/7 Sat 10 13/14 Sat 17 Sat 24 24/25 27/28

FA CL PL CL PL PL FA CL

Quarter-finals Quarter-finals, 1st leg Hull City Quarter-finals, 2nd leg Ipswich Town Crystal Palace Semi-finals Semi-finals, 1st leg

H A H N -

3pm 3pm 3pm -

Sat 1 4/5 Sat 8 Sat 15 Sat 22 Sun 23 Sun 30

PL CL PL PL FA PL PL

Coventry City Semi-finals, 2nd leg Bournemouth Leeds United Final Tottenham Hotspur Fulham

A A H N A H

3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm 3pm

Sat 5

Final

SEPTEMBER

FOR ALL THE LATEST FIXTURE INFO VISIT MANUTD.COM/ FIXTURES

VENUE

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

EMERGENCY PROCEDURE Manchester United and Greater Manchester Police have very detailed emergency procedures and contingency plans in place to deal with any emergency scenario which might arise at the stadium. Part of these procedures can involve evacuation plans should such an eventuality be required. We strongly advise that should any unforeseen emergency incident develop then please remain in your position and listen carefully to any public address announcements or directions from the attendant stewards. Loudspeakers are located in

the stands, concourse areas, hospitality areas, toilets and outside the stadium. Depending on the nature of the incident, whole stands, part stands or even the entire stadium may be evacuated. There is also an option to evacuate spectators on to the pitch. Our public address system operates on a stadium zone-by-zone basis. It may be that certain zones are affected by an incident but not others. In such an event our main attention will be focused on the zone concerned. If you hear an announcement in an area other than your own, you should ignore it and respond only to messages directed towards your section or by stewards. All spectators are asked to respond calmly and as quickly as possible to emergency directions.

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LINE-UPS UNUSED SUBSTITUTES Shaw Shaw

Santos Mainoo

Tielemans Tielemans

Mbeumo Mbeumo 1

Fernandes Fernandes 3

Dorgu Rashford

Cunha Cunha

Rashford Mazraoui

Sesko Yoro

Mainoo Santos

Dalot Dorgu

Lacey Sesko

Shaw

Mainoo

Tielemans

Mbeumo 1

Fernandes

Rashford

Cunha

Dorgu

Sesko 1

Santos

Yoro

Mazraoui

M AT C H D A Y T E X T S E R V I C E Help tackle discriminatory or offensive behaviour inside Old Trafford by texting ACTION to 66777* followed by the STAND, ROW and SEAT of the offender and then the nature of the problem. Allow us to do the rest. *Texts are charged at the standard network rate.

CO M P E T I T I O N S

KEY

United score listed first. All fixtures subject to change – Premier League broadcast picks confirmed up 2 November.

PL – Premier League CL – UEFA Champions League FA – Emirates FA Cup LC – Carabao Cup Red card Yellow card

Scorers Bold Penalty (underlined) x Own goal * After extra-time ↑/↓ Won/lost on pens

First sub Second sub Third sub Fourth sub Fifth sub

57 56-57_Season fixtures.AOCGPD.indd 2

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QUESTION TIME

Ten more to tackle, including a look back at one of Old Trafford’s most memorable European nights…

uiz

Sabah were formed on 8 September 2017 – which current Red was on target in a 2-2 draw against Stoke the next day (above)?

Tonight’s opponents share a nickname with which former Premier League side? (Hint: look for an animal on their badge.)

In which year was United’s first game in the newly rebranded UEFA Champions League?

Who is the Reds’ all-time leading scorer in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League?

The 2027 UEFA Champions League final will be played at Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano – what was the score when the Reds first visited there, in 2022?

58 58_Quiz.AOCGPD.indd 58

_____

FERDINAND

________

ROONEY

CARRICK

HEINZE

GIGGS

_____

ANSWERS 1.Marcus Rashford; 2. Celtic; 3. Sheffield Wednesday (The Owls); 4. Athletic Club; 5. 1993; 6. Ruud van Nistelrooy; 7. 1-1; 8. Henrikh Mkhitaryan; 9. Sabah and Bayern Munich; 10. Wes BROWN, Darren FLETCHER, Alan SMITH.

VAN DER SAR O’SHEA

Who were the last visitors to Old Trafford in European competition (above)?

Which two of the Reds’ 2026/27 UCL league-phase opponents won their domestic league last season?

Name the three missing players from United’s famous 7-1 win over Roma in 2007:

RONALDO

Michael Carrick’s European debut for United came in 2006 against which British club?

Which former Red (above) started the 2025 UEFA Champions League final for Inter Milan?

07/09/2026 14:18

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03/09/2026 09:14

MANCHESTER UNITED

Senne LAMMENS (GK) Diogo DALOT Noussair MAZRAOUI Matthijs DE LIGT Harry MAGUIRE Lisandro MARTINEZ Mason MOUNT Bruno FERNANDES Marcus RASHFORD Matheus CUNHA Joshua ZIRKZEE Karl DARLOW (GK) Patrick Chinazaekpere DORGU Leny YORO AMAD Andrey SANTOS Youri TIELEMANS Bryan MBEUMO Carlos BALEBA Tom HEATON (GK) Luke SHAW Manuel UGARTE Ayden HEAVEN Tynan THOMPSON Benjamin ŠEŠKO Shea LACEY Kobbie MAINOO Jack FLETCHER Tyler FLETCHER Harry AMASS Dermot MEE (GK) JJ GABRIEL

60_Back Cover (squads confirmed).AOCGPD copy.indd 1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 23 25 26 27 30 31 37 38 39 41 45 77

SABAH FK

1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 16 17 20 21 22 23 27 33 34 35 37 80 88 89 92 94 95 99

Amin RAMAZANOV (GK) Steve SOLVET Aden McCARTHY Rahman DASHDAMIROV Abdulakh KHAIBULAEV Umarali RAKHMONALIEV Christian NWACHUKWU Khayal ALIYEV Aleksey ISAEV Kaheem PARRIS Rauf AYYUBOV (GK) Ivan LEPINJICA Rauf RUSTAMLI Tellur MUTALLIMOV Joy-Lance MICKELS Veljko SIMIC Zinedine OULD KHALED Younes LACHAAB Tymoteusz PUCHACZ Erivaldo ALMEIDA Xander SEVERINA Japhet BULUS Du QUEIROZ Akim ZEDADKA Rodrigo FERNANDES Jafar MUKHTAROV Stas POKATILOV (GK) Ravan MIRZAMMADOV (GK) Shahin IBRAHIMOV Orphe MBINA

04/09/2026 12:49