Once they are into the meat of the season, few at Old Trafford will remember Saturday's pre-season defeat by AC Milan. With an hour gone, Marcus Rashford was introduced by Michael Carrick as one of six substitutes. It was his first appearance for his boyhood club since Viktoria Plzen away in the Europa League on 12 December 2024, after which he was effectively banished by Amorim and loaned out, first to Aston Villa and then Barcelona, from where he was not expected to return.