Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino is considering thrusting Virgil van Dijk into his starting line-up in an attempt to shackle free-scoring Manchester United tomorrow.

HOW did we do last night, then? Not that it matters very much, I suppose: thanks to the rather fortunate win in Catalonia, this group appears to have gone into a coma, which prompted Messrs Fergie and Carrick pre-match to sound off about how “great” the Champions League still is in terms of excitement in its group stages.

THE Kerry Centre, Manchester United’s five star hotel in Beijing, Monday afternoon.

Business tycoon Richard Branson is considering putting his cash on casinos in his latest bid to expand the Virgin brand, it was confirmed today.