Talk of the Devils: How close is Champions League football for Manchester United?

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The old enemy from down the M62 motorway eastbound. A victory would take the home side to within a maximum of three wins of qualifying for Champions League football again. And the wait for fixtures in that competition makes this seemingly cavernous break between action look quite insignificant. It’s more than 850 days since Kingsley Coman scored at Old Trafford to seal a 1-0 win for Bayern Munich and confirm United’s finish at the bottom of Group A that year. It was the last fixture in Europe’s elite competition. It’s been more than 2,550 days since United last featured in the Champions League at this stage of a season, losing the second leg of their quarter-final with Barcelona 3-0 in April 2019. Phil Jones and Chris Smalling started that match together at centre-back. Alexis Sanchez was a second-half sub. Only seven players were even able to be named on the bench back then. It was a lifetime ago. What I’m trying to say is that it’s about time the club made their mark at the very highest level again. But first, they must qualify. While four more wins would confirm their place in next season’s competition, looking at the form of Aston Villa, Liverpool and Chelsea, it may not even require that now that five Premier League qualification places have been confirmed for next year. United face Chelsea and Liverpool in the space of the next four games too — beating them both would be a sweet way to seal it. And who would’ve guessed that United would be in this position the last time they faced Leeds back in January? Well, Jason Wilcox, it would seem. As we explained on Thursday’s Talk of the Devils, the final answer of the post-match press conference from Ruben Amorim alone was far more interesting than the 1-1 draw that had played out at Elland Road. Amorim exploded in a rant over the “selective information” that journalists had been given and insisted he came to be “the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach”. It proved his last act as the, erm, head coach of Manchester United. In the days after Amorim’s exit, Mark Critchley reported that the director of football Wilcox had addressed the squad to state that Champions League qualification was to be their target in the remainder of the season. Despite the team sitting just a few points outside the top four at that point, it felt fanciful. Darren Fletcher hadn’t even taken interim charge properly by then, let alone Michael Carrick. But in the space of the next 24 days, that target can become a reality. ManYoo. ManUre. The scum. Just some of the ways I’ve heard Leeds fans refer to Manchester United over the years. Younger readers might be surprised by this, but this is a proper rivalry. One of the fiercest in United’s history, as Andy Mitten explained on the podcast this week. More than one terrace chant references the hate for Leeds, and Leeds, and Leeds. There’s a proper vitriol there — especially at Elland Road. “Horrible” is how Critch described it. I remember when they first returned to the Premier League in 2020 after a 16-year absence, and I was asked to explain the depth of this ill feeling. I ended up standing in a pair of wellies on the moors above the city, at the site of the bloodiest battle in British history, setting up the fight for the English crown between the red rose of the House of Lancaster and the white rose of the House of York in the Battle of the Roses that took place in the 15th century. I also included historic squabbles over trade with the cotton of Manchester against the wool of Leeds during the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries. Now, it’s mainly about football. And there’s a great pettiness to it all as well. I interviewed one Yorkshire man called Eric, who had changed his name after Cantona’s switch across the Pennines in 1992. So many supporters told me they would never buy a red car or even own any red clothes because of their strength of feeling. United fans still share the clip on social media of a Leeds fan stream, excited at the prospect of the first top-flight meeting between the teams in a decade and a half, only to watch Scott McTominay put United ahead after 67 seconds in a 6-2 win. Monday will be another instalment. “I see a lot of players come into this club, and quite frankly, it’s just too big for them,” said Harry Maguire in his chat with a pack of journalists during United’s camp in Ireland. Critch has written the conversation up on The Athletic, and it’s worth a read for any United fan. Maguire says not many players could’ve gone through what he has and stayed and describes himself as “arguably one of the best defenders in the world in both boxes”. His new deal could take him close to a decade at Old Trafford. He’s been through a lot. Toxic masculinity, racism and Michael Carrick. Just three of the topics Adam Crafton discussed with United legend Patrice Evra. To call it a wide-ranging interview isn’t really doing it justice. There’s an Athletic FC podcast to come as well. I love this chat. Speaking of Michael Carrick, how can anyone forget him at the moment? Sacrilege. Surely none of the Talk of the Devils crew as we took on a Career We go quiz against each other last week? Surely not. Lamine Yamal’s amazing assist against Atletico Madrid last weekend inspired a brilliant article this week as The Athletic’s writers were asked to name the best pass they’ve ever seen. A typically nonchalant Cantona tee-up for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 1996 got a mention. But it made me remember a pre-season pass from Juan Sebastian Veron against Juventus just a week before he left for Chelsea in 2003. There are blurry clips on YouTube if you haven’t seen it, but it’s a flicked outside of the foot lob over the defence to Ruud van Nistelrooy. Incredible. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms