World Cup veteran Laurent Blanc will only have a watching brief when Manchester United face Basle in the Champions League on Wednesday as he is planning to retire at the end of the season.

Manchester United will be going all out for victory against Bayer Leverkusen on November 13 in a bid to ensure their dominance of Champions League Group F doesn’t go unrewarded.

Manchester United’s makeshift troops suffered one of their heaviest European defeats in recent years as their 16-match unbeaten Champions League run came to an abrupt halt in Nicosia tonight.