How good are United after international breaks?

This international break may feel like it’s going on longer, with Manchester United not playing again until Tuesday 1 April, but there are reasons to be optimistic when the Reds return to action.

With the Emirates FA Cup quarter-finals taking place this weekend, we have to wait until the trip to high-flying Nottingham Forest before seeing Ruben Amorim’s men bid to follow up the win over Leicester City with another three points in the East Midlands.

Opta have pointed out that United are actually unbeaten in our last six outings on the back of an international break.

So we decided to take a quick look at those matches…

Alejandro Garnacho scored this stunner against Brentford earlier this season.

17 Nov 2024: Ipswich (A) 1-1 (Rashford)

Ruben Amorim’s first game in charge got off to the perfect start when Amad set up Marcus Rashford for a second-minute opener. Kieran McKenna’s Town replied through Omari Hutchinson and we had to settle for a point, while also being indebted to Andre Onana for a couple of top-class saves at Portman Road.

13 Oct 2024: Brentford (H) 2-1 (Garnacho, Hojlund)

The Bees led at the interval, courtesy of Ethan Pinnock’s effort deep into first-half stoppage time. The response was swift following the restart, with Alejandro Garnacho volleying a Rashford pass past Mark Flekken. A superb flicked assist by captain Bruno Fernandes then allowed Rasmus Hojlund to display a calm head in front of goal, as we took the three points.

10 Sep 2024: Southampton (A) 3-0 (De Ligt, Rashford, Garnacho)

An impressive performance on the road yielded a comfortable victory on the south coast. Again, Onana was called upon in a big moment, keeping out a Cameron Archer penalty and it proved pivotal as Matthijs de Ligt plundered his first goal for the club. Rashford’s accurate finish doubled the lead and, after Jack Stephens was sent off for the Saints, Garnacho added a pleasing late third by ramming a Diogo Dalot centre into the roof of the net.

26 Mar 2024: Brentford (A) 1-1 (Mount)

This looked to be a classic smash-and-grab raid with Erik ten Hag’s side weathering the storm against the Londoners, only to nab a goal through Mason Mount, set up by Casemiro, six minutes into injury time. Remarkably, play continued for another three minutes and the Bees found a goal their performance admittedly deserved, when Kristoffer Ajer profited from some impressive approach work by Ivan Toney. 

Diogo Dalot’s superb strike sank Sheffield United.

20 Nov 2023: Everton (A) 3-0 (Garnacho, Rashford, Martial)

A game that will forever be remembered for the sensational overhead kick by Garnacho, that won him the Puskas Award in 2024. The Argentina international appears to have an excellent record in these games after international breaks, as does Rashford, with the England forward, currently on loan at Aston Villa, making it 2-0. The homegrown attacker was handed the ball by Fernandes to convert a penalty past Jordan Pickford and Anthony Martial added a third with a dinked finish, applied to a Fernandes through ball.

17 Oct 2023: Sheffield United (A) 2-1 (McTominay, Dalot)

On a day overshadowed by the news of the sad passing of club legend Sir Bobby Charlton, United secured a hard-fought victory at Bramall Lane. Scott McTominay opened the scoring but was guilty of a handball inside his own box that allowed Oliver McBurnie to level from the spot. After Sofyan Amrabat rattled the woodwork, it was left to Dalot to come up trumps, with 13 minutes left, smashing a long-ranger that Sir Bobby would have been proud of.

Recommended:

Back to Top