Andrew Cesare

Hanging up the washing

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alexandre Pato and Serginho jogging with Milan fans and delegation in Hong Kong

Going for an early morning jog with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alexandre Pato and Serginho in a local park was not something I'd expected at the start of the weekend, but I'll take it

However, United's official supporters club here dwarfs Liverpool's so somewhat surprising for it to be this scale

Important caveats include the situations the two clubs find themselves in, the excitement surrounding Liverpool plus United coming off the back of Europa League final defeat. Plus this event is much, much better organised

Packed Kai Tak Stadium with Liverpool fans

Packed Kai Tak Stadium with Liverpool fans

Support for Liverpool in comparison to Manchester United off the scale here in Hong Kong. This is for the open training session

Hong Kong life

A stoppage-time wonder goal winner from Lionel Messi would have been the ideal start for the Club World Cup. Alas, it was a 0-0 draw - possibly the worst-possible start Infantino and Co. would have wanted

The potential Alcaraz-Sinner rivalry has ignited comparisons with Djokovic-Nadal, which is fair but I feel Federer's dominance is criminally overlooked at times.

He reached 10 Grand Slam finals in a row from Wimbledon 2005 to the US Open 2007. An astounding achievement

Al-Hilal’s presentation gaffer gaffe: did they hire the wrong Inzaghi? Simone Inzaghi left his role as manager of Inter Milan to take over the Saudi giants after defeat in the Champions League final.

Anyone else notice this? www.scmp.com/sport/footba...

It's funny how football works: Simone Inzaghi's reputation is in tatters after the Champions League final humiliation. Yet, had they lost heroically to Barcelona in the semi-finals, he'd still be considered one of the most gifted coaches around.

He'd probably have won the Scudetto in that case, too

Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino, Julian Nagelsmann, Luciano Spalletti (if he gets there) and Carlo Ancelotti all managing at the 2026 World Cup feels important.

All five would be in contention for top club jobs, but the lure of a World Cup in the United States just seems too big right now

Are we accepting "Boston we have a problem" as a legitimate headline?

Manchester United have lost home and away against Wolves this season without scoring a goal

For Manchester United as a club, this game may not matter. But for Rasmus Højlund, this is a really damning performance and difficult to see how he comes back from it

Nah. De Gea was amazing season after season. Think of the two defences they had in front of them

Raymond van der Gouw, Anders Lindegaard, Sergio Romero and Dean Henderson had first-team spells but still see them essentially as No.2s

Manchester United's best first-choice goalkeepers in the Premier League era in order:

1. Peter Schmeichel
2. David De Gea
3. Edwin van der Sar
4. Tim Howard
5. Fabien Barthez
6. Mark Bosnich
7. Roy Carroll
8. Massimo Taibi
9. Andre Onana

At the press conference announcing Manchester United's post-season friendly in Hong Kong

Barcelona SC boss Segundo Castillo is the most elegantly dressed manager in world football

The three Manchester derbies on (and around) my birthday in my lifetime

Man City 2-3 Man Utd: April 6, 1996 👍
Man City 2-3 Man Utd: April 7, 2018 🤯
Man Utd 0-0 Man City: April 6, 2025 😴

We also played the day after my 30th, the day of the actual party, and that was another incredible game - same scoreline as 22 years previous

This is the second time I can remember the Manchester derby on my birthday. The last time was when I turned 8 (work it out) - a thriller with a truly underrated derby winning goal

Since elimination to Real Madrid in 2018, Juventus have been knocked out of the Champions League by Ajax, Lyon, Porto, Villarreal, Benfica and PSV

A truly disastrous Champions League campaign for Italian sides

Retro football shirts on a washing line

A retro feel to the maiden

Antony seems like an ideal Diego Simeone player. Manchester United won't get anything like what they what they paid but €35m is not out of the equation (if he continues to impress) and that would make him one of the club's best-ever sales, which is crazy

So far under INEOS at Manchester United it's been as bad as ever. From a PR perspective, off the pitch, on the pitch - not a single decision they've made has been undisputedly positive so far.

Things may eventually improve but there's nothing other than blind faith to hang your hat on for that

In the circumstances, one of Manchester United's worst transfer windows yet. Can't score, let two forwards go, don't sign any. Struggling to see anything positive INEOS have brought so far. In any area

It's a huge shame the way Marcus Rashford's career at United is ending but it seems off Villa would be so hot on Jhon Duran but feel they have to let him leave due to ill discipline only to sign Rashford who allegedly isn't dedicated enough

Nothing personal to Manchester City, but in what is effectively a knockout competition, to have this set of results: 0-0, 1-4, 3-3, 0-2 and 2-4 from eight matches and still qualify is absurd. And now teams have figured it out, it means the chances of a surprise elimination is practically zero