Louis van Gaal criticises Manchester United over treatment of Bastian Schweinsteiger

Zlatan Ibrahimovic might return to action for the Swedish international team as they are to take part in the Russian World Cup in the summer. That’s a promising sign for Manchester United, because it means he at least himself believes that he is going to make a proper recovery from his knee injury. While United have done OK without his presence for most of the season, having him on the bench for busy periods will be useful if the fixtures stack up and the injuries pick up in attack again. Whether he’s correct to think he’ll be ready or not is another question.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has said that he struggled under Jose Mourinho because of the philosophy he has with his tactics. Mkhitaryan seemed fine, and pretty talented, when the rest of the side was in form, but his trouble was when the wheels fell off without Paul Pogba. Mourinho clearly wants players who can be leaders, which is in part why both United and Arsenal struggle compared to their previous seasons.

Former United defender and current pillock Phil Neville oversaw a 4-1 victory for England against France in international women’s football. People have made fun of Neville for a wide range of things since his retirement, including the things he has both said and done. And to that you have to say, fair enough and keep going with it because he merits the criticism.

Ashley Young thinks that the VAR system needs to get faster for it to be usable. Given VAR is currently only being trialled in a handful of games this season, improvements will take time, and the rush to get rid of it suggests that people don’t really understand what trials are.

Louis van Gaal thinks that Bastian Schweinsteiger was treated badly by Manchester United, adding to his list of pointless complaints.