After waiting eight years for Ireland to reach the U19 Euros, captain Lee O’Connor wants a swift start today against Norway in Yerevan (3.45pm, RTÉ Two).

There was no miracle comeback last night for Ole Gunner Solakjaer and Manchester United, 20 years on from his greatest day in football and one round on from that famous victory against Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League last 16.

Manchester United managed to stifle Lionel Messi, bloodied and bowed after a nasty first-half injury, but their nemesis Luis Suarez played the pivotal part in the only goal of this Champions League quarter-final first leg.

And in different circumstances, he believes Roy Keane could have been the man to shape that philosophy.

It’s been a weekend for saying goodbye. Not only to the 2017/18 Premier League season — good riddance, on the whole — but also to some characters who’ve marked the competition’s last 15 years or so.

Pep Guardiola has clearly won his private, and long-standing, feud with Jose Mourinho for this season at least but, to listen to beaten manager Carlos Carvalhal on Saturday, the all-conquering Catalan should make the most of his current dominance.

In the euphoric afterglow of the Liverpool victory, some of you may have been wondering about the seemingly anachronistic downbeat coda to last week’s column.

Arsene Wenger has called on his Arsenal side to put on the sort of displays that will have stay-away fans returning to the Emirates Stadium.

The gaffer suffered an acute existential crisis during the week. Which is a contagious business.

Manchester United stars past and present yesterday stood in silent solidarity at Old Trafford to mark the 60th anniversary of the Munich air disaster.

The days of Irish shoppers using workarounds to get online orders from other EU countries may soon be a thing of the past after the European Parliament voted in favour of measures that would stop “geo-blocking” by retailer websites.

"You are pitting your wits against two experienced men in Martin O’Neill, and in Roy, who is obviously someone I know well, who was a fantastic player and captain."

Irish professionals are returning from abroad in greater numbers, according to a new survey.

Antonio Conte’s feud with Jose Mourinho intensified further on Saturday as the Chelsea head coach called the Manchester United boss a "little man" and "fake" before issuing an apparent challenge.

Jose Mourinho has hinted Manchester United may be in active in the January transfer market after all following a spate of injuries.

Latest: Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill has sent his support to former Celtic player Liam Miller amid reports he is battling pancreatic cancer.

Jose Mourinho insists Manchester United's hectic-looking pre-season schedule will help rather than hinder, going as far to say as their American tour is "perfect".

The London School of Economics this week published a cheerful report under the title Does Money Affect Children’s Outcomes? An Update.

A bomb threat led hundreds of students to seek refuge at Manchester United's pre-season base at UCLA, just hours after Jose Mourinho's men finished training.

Officials are investigating why a jet nearly landed on a taxiway holding four other planes instead of a runway at San Francisco International Airport.

Giles, a lovely gentle film by Loosehorse, retraced the route through a football life of our greatest football man, writes Larry Ryan.

The separation of Church and State is easier to advocate than practise, as the National Maternity Hospital controversy shows, says TP O’Mahony

This morning, many United fans will be experiencing a facial expression they had almost forgotten they could enjoy. Step towards the mirror, lads, and feast upon The Smug Grin.

After another turgid home draw, Jose Mourinho turned on a BBC journalist and then on his attacking players? After lavishing a fortune on an average squad, isn’t it time he held his own hand up?

“Let’s open a cracker . ‘Twas Christmas in Manchester, and the excited youngsters were hoping for something special from that tubby old man in red white and black - the one the adults no longer believe in.

Jose Mourinho’s ‘anti-football’ tactics prove their worth on Merseyside, writes Chris Hatherall.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has challenged Wayne Rooney to confound the naysayers after damaging, over-the-top criticism during the international break.

Manchester United 1 Leicester City 1

A man accused of endangering the safety of a transatlantic flight became extremely angry and swore when he was told he could not have extra nuts and crackers, a court has heard.

Manchester City 0 Manchester United 1: Where to begin following this most captivating of Manchester derbies, a game that ebbed and flowed with passion and pace, and ultimately raised more questions than it answered about this most unpredictable and enthralling of Premier League seasons, as Marcus Rashford’s first-half goal settled matters.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

For over 40 summers now, I have had one constant priority question on the day the league fixtures are published: “When do we go to Anfield?”

As an eight-year old, I asked for a football for Christmas. Being a good little chap in those days, I got it. 

Manchester United captain turned Sky Sports star pundit Gary Neville has taken on a fiendishly difficult challenge in his first job in management in charge of troubled Valencia.

Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney has said she is “absolutely delighted” that the Egyptian president has pardoned two journalists for Al-Jazeera English.

A Syrian woman and her two young sons who drowned on a desperate voyage from Turkey to Greece were buried in their hometown of Kobani, returning to the conflict-torn Syrian Kurdish region they had fled.

Arsene Wenger has said Theo Walcott is likely to pen a new deal at Arsenal very soon — and has backed him to score plenty of goals this season.

Hull City 0 Manchester United 0: If Hull had played like this more often this season, they most likely would never have been in such a sorry state.