Manchester United revenues mean they could get lost in the sauce

Jose Mourinho said that Manchester United’s attitude, ‘surprised,’ CSKA Moscow in the first half, which let them race away into an early and unassailable lead. The 4-1 victory means that United probably need just one more victory and then they can ease off in the group, and give some players a rest. With a mounting injury list, that’s a handy thing to have right now.

“We know that he’s a very good player,” said Mourinho about Romelu Lukaku, who is now scoring at a rate of more than a goal a game for United. Few expected this kind of start to the season, but the threat he offers now has totally changed the side, and the swagger they have.

Mourinho also said that United are cutting out the, ‘PlayStation football,’ he previously complained about. Against CSKA, United moved the ball around quickly and put the opposition to the sword. There’s an element of his first Chelsea side about this one - they keep the mucking about to a minimum and are loathe to let a lead go. Just one draw so far, but with plenty of tougher games to come.

The excellent Swiss Ramble has crunched the numbers on United’s latest financial reports, that report as much as we might expect: lots of expenditure, lots of transfer and wage spending, and lots of debt. But it’s all supported by the monstrous amounts of revenue that Ed Woodward has managed to get rolling in. There is, though, a potential kerfuffle on TV revenue coming up, which you can read about here.

United are already back in England, having evaded the Russian police force despite their brutality last night. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m trying to delete it. United are lucky to have Crystal Palace up next, which gives them what should be a relatively easy encounter after their efforts on Wednesday night. Three points after a European fixture is a way to take advantage of the other teams who might have a tougher deal.