Thursday nights were Ruben Amorim’s saviour at Manchester United last season, although there was to be no solace in that slot this week, following the dismal draw at home to relegation strugglers, West Ham United.

A tepid and uninspiring display saw the hosts almost sleepwalk to that eventual 1-1 scoreline, despite taking the lead through Diogo Dalot in the second half, with the Red Devils showcasing almost a refusal to put the game to bed.

Even with the returning Matheus Cunha reinstated in the forward line, it was particularly concerning just how light United looked with regard to attacking options, not least with Benjamin Sesko the only senior star who is currently sidelined in that department.

At the back too, the frustrating absence of the previously ever-present Matthijs de Ligt also left Amorim scrambling to rejig his defensive unit, with the surprise inclusion of 19-year-old Ayden Heaven having seemingly backfired.

Ayden Heaven's game in numbers vs West Ham

A January arrival from Arsenal, the teenage sensation looked impressive during his handful of outings last season, with club legend Wayne Rooney suggesting that it looked like he’d “been there for years”, following his standout, albeit brief, impact.

Cruelly struck down by injury against Leicester City just a few games into his United journey, Heaven has since been on the periphery in 2025/26, with his only start prior to Thursday having come in the debacle down at Grimsby.

As was the case that rainy night at Blundell Park, the England youth international had a rabbit in the headlights feel to his performance against the Hammers, notably receiving an early yellow for a rash challenge on Jarrod Bowen.

Unsettled in a new role at the heart of the backline, in the absence of De Ligt, Harry Maguire and the benched Leny Yoro, the youngster was somewhat bullied up against the experienced Callum Wilson, having failed to win a single duel at all, as per Sofascore.

Indeed, the towering defender was unable to make a single tackle or interception, while recording a lowly 67% pass accuracy rate from just 17 touches, before being rightly withdrawn at the break.

Such is his age, the £1m signing certainly shouldn’t be written off, with that showing unlikely to prove terminal for his United career.

If anything, more of the scrutiny should rest on Amorim, with the Portuguese’s substitutions also needing to be put under the microscope.

Man Utd substitute looks to be on borrowed time

As treble winner Roy Keane suggested post-match, the hosts were almost attempting to see the game out as if they were champions, knocking the ball around with little belief that they would need a second goal to win the game.

That approach perhaps stemmed from Amorim’s second-half changes, with Joshua Zirkzee and the aforementioned Cunha both withdrawn for midfielders Mason Mount and Manuel Ugarte.

There were also eyebrows raised at the decision to remove goalscorer Dalot, not least with the Portuguese defender having actually looked settled in that unorthodox left wing-back berth.

That move remained even more bizarre considering the criticism that Amorim had directed at his replacement, Patrick Dorgu, ahead of the weekend trip to Selhurst Park, highlighting the “anxiety” that has been a feature of the Dane’s game of late.

Such woes were evident even during the 21-year-old’s cameo appearance, a display that epitomised the drop off that United tend to endure once alterations are made mid-game.

Dorgu’s West Ham cameo
Stat	Record
Minutes	22
Touches	28
Pass accuracy	93%
Key passes	1
Successful crosses	1/3
Successful dribbles	2/3
Total duels won	3/5
Tackles	0
Possession lost	6
Stats via Sofascore

Indeed, Dorgu memorably wasted a promising opening late on after producing a wayward cross that evaded everyone in red, having lost the ball six times from just 28 touches during his 22-minute outing.

Equally, there were audible groans from the Old Trafford crowd at one stage as the ex-Lecce starlet opted to let the ball run out of play for a throw-in inside his own half, rather than try and keep the play alive.

That might be a case of nit-picking, but nothing appears to be going right for the left-footer right now, with content creator Liam Canning of the assessment that he is “miles off the standard” required to be a success at Man Utd, suggesting the attack-minded talent is “nowhere near it”.

With Amorim now approaching a period where his squad will shrink even further amid the loss of Mbeumo, Amad and Noussair Mazraoui to AFCON next week, the likes of Dorgu and other peripheral figures will have to be relied upon more heavily.

On the evidence of Thursday and this year in general, United’s number 13 has shown little sign that he is up to that challenge.

18x ball lost: Amorim must ruthlessly bench overhyped 5/10 Man Utd man

This Man Utd ace struggled in their 1-1 draw at home to West Ham

By
Joe Nuttall

7 days ago

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill has revealed that he may still be in interim charge of the club when they face Dundee at Parkhead on Wednesday night in the Scottish Premiership.

Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph claims that there has been a delay in finalising the deal to bring Wilfried Nancy to the club from MLS outfit Columbus Crew, which is why the Northern Irishman may still be in the dugout in midweek.

The French boss will surely be keeping close tabs on how the team fared under O’Neill in November, and will already be thinking about how he wants to set the side up moving forward.

The Celtic players who will have impressed Nancy against Hibernian

In the 2-1 win over Hibernian in the Premiership on Sunday, several players showed that they can be key players for the next head coach, whenever he finally takes charge.

Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels are the two obvious ones after they both got on the scoresheet in the first half, with the former tapping into an empty net and the latter bravely burying a header in just seconds later.

Reo Hatate also excelled in a number ten role ahead of Callum McGregor and Engels, biting into the tackle to then set up Maeda for the opening goal.

Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel also made a couple of impressive stops late on in the match to secure all three points, and he will surely be Nancy’s number one, in the short-term at least.

Whilst several players, mainly the ones mentioned here, will have impressed the incoming boss, Nancy may already have an idea of the players he wants to move on when the January transfer window opens up.

The first Celtic player Nancy should sell in January

After a confident first-half showing, academy graduate Colby Donovan was forced off with an injury at the break and replaced by experienced full-back Anthony Ralston.

Within minutes of his introduction, the Scotland international was caught out defensively before playing a poor pass back that went straight out of play on the right touchline.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ live coverage of the game, former Hoops striker Chris Sutton described Ralston’s play as “really sloppy” and claimed that the defender “hasn’t recovered” from his below par showing against St Mirren.

Minutes

72

Tackles won

0

Ground duels won

1/2

Aerial duels won

0/2

Dribbled past

1x

Key passes

0

Crosses attempted

0

In that win over the Saints, as shown in the table above, the Scottish flop lost 75% of his duels and offered virtually nothing to the team from a creative perspective.

His disappointing displays against St Mirren and Hibs in recent weeks have not been a blip, unfortunately, as he also left far too much to be desired from his performance against Midtjylland in the Europa League at the start of November.

Ralston made it far too easy, as shown in the clip above, for Mikel Gogorza to beat him and score, which came just moments after the Spaniard had danced past the defender to cross for the opening goal.

He ultimately left the pitch with 45 touches, nine fewer than goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, while he also failed to have a shot, provide a cross or key pass and he also only made one interception.

Therefore, the 27-year-old dud’s performances on and off the ball this season have not been up to scratch, which is why he may already be a player who could be on the chopping block for Nancy.

With Alistair Johnston to come back from his hamstring injury and Donovan emerging as a genuine first-team level option at right-back, Ralston may not be needed beyond January, as potentially the third-choice option in his position.

That is why the incoming Celtic boss should make the experienced flop the first player he axes at Parkhead when the January transfer window opens for business, whether that is by sending him out on loan or by selling him on a permanent basis.

Forget Maeda: Celtic have signed a star who's worth even more than Engels

Celtic have signed an impressive star who is now worth even more than club-record signing Arne Engels.

ByDan Emery Nov 30, 2025

Whilst you never know who will shine with a clean slate under Nancy, it is hard to look past Ralston as the first player he needs to move on from the squad when the next transfer window rolls around at the turn of the year.

Suryavanshi continued to smash records as he hit 144 off just 42 deliveries against UAE

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Nov-2025

Vaibhav Suryavanshi scored his fastest T20 hundred•Asian Cricket Council

Teen sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi continued to smash records as he blazed 144 off just 42 deliveries in India A’s opening game in the Asia Cup Rising Stars 2025 against UAE. His century, coming off just 32 balls, was the joint-third fastest by an Indian in men’s T20s. Urvil Patel for Gujarat and Abhishek Sharma for Punjab scored centuries off 28 balls in the 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, while Rishabh Pant had also scored a century off 32 balls for Delhi in 2018. Overall, Suryavanshi’s century is the joint-sixth fastest in men’s T20s.His 144 was also the fourth-highest by an Indian in the format.Suryavanshi, at 14 years and 232 days, also became the youngest man to score a hundred for a national representative team at senior level. It was a record previously held by Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim, who was 16 years and 171 days old when he scored 111* for Bangladesh A against Zimbabwe A in a first-class match in 2005.Suryavanshi was dropped first ball but made full use of his second life, hammering 11 fours and 15 sixes in his knock before getting out in the 13th over. He finished with a strike rate of 342.85, the fourth highest for a score of 100 or more in men’s T20s.This was Suryavanshi’s second T20 century, following his 35-ball effort for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2025. He is the youngest man to score a hundred in T20s. He had become the second-fastest centurion in IPL history, only behind Chris Gayle, who had taken 30 deliveries for his ton against Pune Warriors in 2011.”It was just my natural game and it’s the T20 format so I wanted to back my own game,” Suryavanshi said after his knock. “I was dropped first ball but I just thought I didn’t want to change my intent because we needed a big score on this ground. The wicket was good and the boundary was small. So I was trying to back my shots.”He credited his father for helping him stay focused during games. “Because of how he was strict with me since childhood. Earlier, I used to think why is he being so strict. But now I understand that the benefit of those things can be seen on the ground, that he didn’t let me get distracted and kept me focused on cricket and made sure that I keep working hard,” Suryavanshi said. “So I will say that whatever I have, it is thanks to my father.”He also played down talk of feeling pressure, despite drawing attention at a young age. “There is no pressure. Because the fans have come to support,” he said. “And after going to the ground, the field outside the ground doesn’t come to mind. Then my focus is on playing the ball.”India A raced to 297 for 4, the joint fifth-highest team total in men’s T20s, with captain Jitesh Sharma applying the finishing touches with an unbeaten 83 off 32 balls. That total proved 148 too many as UAE were restricted to 149 for 7, with left-arm quick Gurjapneet Singh picking up 3 for 18 in four overs.

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