Ruben Amorim‘s side left it late to snatch a stunning 2-1 win over Manchester City at the Etihad, but the party atmosphere was somewhat tarnished by an apparent leak in the dressing-room.
Both Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford were surprisingly left out of the squad to take on the Red Devils’ arch nemesis, with some, including Gary Neville praising the head coach’s call.
Rashford watched from home and has since broken his silence on his Instagram page, while Garnacho – the club’s top-scorer in all competitions – has remained tight-lipped on his social media about being left out.
The surprise news appeared to have been leaked on Saturday evening – the night before the game – but was not confirmed until Amorim’s official teamsheet was released prior to kick-off on Sunday afternoon.
According to a report from the Manchester Evening News, club sources clarified that Garnacho’s omission was not related to suggestions that his brother had been responsible for leaking teams.
Another report, from Metro, claimed that Garnacho’s brother had denied allegations on social media that he was the source of several leaks prior to recent games last week.
Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho were both dropped for the Manchester derby
Garnacho is United’s top scorer in all competitions so far this season with eight goals
The Red Devils secured a stunning 2-1 win over Manchester City on Sunday evening
However the fact that information of such paramount importance to the side’s preparations for a derby clash could find its way out of the dressing-room will likely come as a serious breach, but admitted it is ‘impossible’ to prevent.
‘I know that story,’ Amorim said after the 2-1 win of the leak via the club’s official website. ‘I don’t know, I think it’s impossible to fix nowadays because you have a lot of people in the club, the players talk with agents.’
‘I don’t know, you can talk with friends, so it’s hard to know. It’s not a good thing but let’s move on and go to the next one and see if they find the next starting XI.’
Amorim’s decision was ultimately vindicated, with the Red Devils securing a vital late win over their bitter rivals.
The new Portuguese head coach had made it understood that standards need to be met and any player that falls below them will not be tolerated.
As such Amorim was quick to underline that neither player was injured prior to the game, instead indicating that they are simply part of the competition for places.
‘It is important to say why. It was not a disciplinary thing – next week, next game, new life,’ he explained.
They are fighting for the places but for me it’s important for me the performance in training, the performance in game, the way you dress, the way you eat, the way you engage with the team-mates, the way you push your team-mates.
Ruben Amorim sent a message to the ‘leak’ in his dressing-room after the 2-1 victory
Amorim insisted that neither player was injured but they were both competing for places
Amad Diallo scored a dramatic late winner to seal the three points for United over their rivals
‘Everything is important in our context in the beginning of changing a lot of things, when people in our club are losing their jobs, we have to put the standards really high.
‘For that, they have to fight for the place in the team and today the team proved that we can leave anyone outside the squad. You can manage to win if we play together.’
United’s £325,000-a-week forward Rashford has struggled to replicate the heights he hit in the 2022-23 campaign when he struck 30 times in all competitions.
In fact, Mail Sport revealed last week that the club would be willing to listen to offers of around £40million for their academy product in January.
Mason Mount was instead named in the starting line-up, though his match lasted just 13 minutes.
The English attacking midfielder went down injured early on in the first half and the distraught star had to be substituted.