Manchester United face a reunion with Ruben Amorim as they take on AC Milan in their final pre-season friendly in Poland today.
It is the Red Devils’ first meeting with their former boss since he was sacked in January after only 14 months in charge as the successor to Erik ten Hag following simmering tensions behind the scenes and public criticism of the club hierarchy.
Amorim’s Milan tenure
Amorim spent five months out of work before being hired by Milan in June on a two-year contract to replace Massimiliano Allegri, who was dismissed after missing out on Champions League qualification in dismal fashion.
The Portuguese will be out for revenge in Saturday’s contest at the Wroclaw Stadium, looking for his first win with the Rossoneri after consecutive draws against Celtic and rivals Inter were followed by a woeful 3-0 defeat by Chelsea in Jakarta last weekend.
Rashford’s return
To add yet another potentially spicy subplot to proceedings, the game should also mark Marcus Rashford’s first United appearance since December 2024 following his return from a season-long loan spell at Barcelona and World Cup duty with England.
Rashford - who also had a previous loan stint at Aston Villa - now looks likely to stay at Old Trafford after Barcelona decided against exercising their option for a permanent transfer, with his first outing for his boyhood club in 608 days set to come against the manager who froze him out of the first-team picture in the first place in Amorim.
United’s pre-season form
United, with Amorim’s interim successor Michael Carrick now in permanent charge, started their pre-season tour around Europe with a disappointing defeat by Wrexham in Finland but quickly bounced back to thrash Rosenborg in Norway and beat Atletico Madrid in Sweden before draws with Paris Saint-Germain - also in Sweden - and rivals Leeds, the latter of whom they bested 5-4 in a penalty shootout at Dublin’s Croke Park on Wednesday.
Carrick will now be looking for his side to make a statement ahead of their Premier League opener away at newly-promoted Hull next Saturday, with Milan’s Serie A curtain-raiser coming on the road at Torino a day later.
How to watch
In the UK, Man Utd vs AC Milan is being broadcast live on MUTV, Manchester United’s in-house video streaming service. Coverage begins at 2:45pm BST ahead of a 3:45pm kick-off in Wroclaw.
A subscription to MUTV currently costs £7.99 per month or £29.99 per year.
You can follow the game on Saturday with Standard Sport’s live blog.
