Man Utd star makes his case to start the derby with ‘brilliant’ play that left ‘Fletcher applauding’

While Manchester United fans will be desperate to erase last night’s game from their memories, some have cherry-picked a handful of positives to take from the dismal FA Cup defeat.The Red Devils were knocked out of the competition in the same round they entered it, having sustained a 2-1 home loss to Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday evening.It confirmed that United would play only 40 games this season, as they were also eliminated from the League Cup in their first fixture via penalty shootout defeat to Grimsby Town back in August. That result means #mufc will play their fewest games in a full season since 1914-15. Earliest in a season that they’re assured of finishing it trophyless since 1970-71. — Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) January 11, 2026Now, all the side can do is fight for Champions League qualification from now until the summer, with silverware off the table.Kobbie Mainoo given the nod for just the second time in 25/26(Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)Ahead of kick-off at Old Trafford yesterday, those in attendance and watching on from home were delighted to see Kobbie Mainoo’s name back amongst the starting XI for the first time since the Grimsby encounter.The youngster has been navigating a reduced role for the entirety of the season thus far, and although he’s still awaiting his first league start of 2025/2026, he’ll hope he’s done enough for that to come in Saturday’s Manchester derby.Mainoo oversaw an assured display in the middle of the park even amidst Brighton’s triumph.Remarkably, he created the most chances and completed more passes than any other player on the pitch, as per StatmanDave, who also shared the starlet’s scintillating statistics from the game. Kobbie Mainoo’s game by numbers vs. Brighton: 92% pass accuracy 64 total touches 5 passes into the final third4 defensive contributions 1 foul won Completed more passes and created more chances than any other player on the pitch. 📈 pic.twitter.com/J7LnAkKqcn — Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) January 11, 2026Early on in the outing, one journalist spotted Mainoo being praised by Darren Fletcher from the touchline for his play.“Fletcher applauding Mainoo for dropping in between the defenders, picking up the ball from [Senne] Lammens and turning. Mainoo is brilliant at that,” said Manchester Evening News’ Steven Railston on X/Twitter.United yet to finalise caretaker manager appointment(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)As things stand, it remains to be seen who will be in charge for the visit of Manchester City this weekend.Fletcher suggested post-match that it was unlikely to be him, and over the last few days, United have held direct talks with both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick. Darren Fletcher to TNT Sports: “Someone is going to come in and lead them, they need to make sure they have a lot to play for this season.” He also added: “The biggest thing for me is that the group of players, whoever leads them, comes together.” #mufc — Rich Fay (@RichFay) January 11, 2026