Manchester United haven’t had the start to the season they will have wanted, and it’s a story familiar to INEOS. Michael Carrick did a near exceptional job at the end of the last campaign and secured a Champions League spot.
That competition started well with a 4-0 victory over Sabah FK, however, the Premier League has been a struggle.
The Red Devils are currently an unlucky 13th in the table. That luck aspect has been real, with Everton screamers taking a victory away and an inexplicable decision to allow Manchester City’s offside goal in the derby.
Manchester United had looked better and more threatening before Phil Foden was shown a red. After, with City sitting back more, United went through their all-too-familiar routine of being unable to create much against a side not on the attack.
To make things somewhat worse, the absence of Luke Shaw was a glaring issue. Fullback was arguably the area of most worry for Carrick. That Jason Wilcox didn’t secure another option in the summer threatens to grow from molehill to mountain.
What’s happening in France and Switzerland
Whilst Manchester United being 13th is far from optimal, what’s happening with the other two INEOS clubs is worse.
OGC find themselves bottom of Ligue 1 with two points from four matches. FC Lausanne-Sport are also bottom, this time in the Swiss Super League.
The Swiss club have played six matches and lost four of them. Servette beat them 1-0, at Lausanne, in the Lake Geneva derby on Sunday. That meant they leapfrogged the INEOS club.
Servette’s ultras had a disagreement with the police over their walk to the stadium, had a strop, and refused to enter. In solidarity, Lausanne’s ultras went home and the atmosphere was subsequently muted.
Manchester United’s 20-year-old on-loan midfielder Sékou Koné played the full 90 minutes, and it was his 9th appearance of the season
Lausanne was put into a blind trust, for UEFA purposes, in 2025, but is still owned by INEOS. Nice is also under blind trust management, although still owned by the group.
Despite efforts to sell, there’s been no real progress with Nice and it’s clear interest was lost after the acquisition of Manchester United. Indeed, this week they’ve been working to sign Alidu Seidu, but the word in France is that INEOS approval is needed.
In Ligue 1, clubs are allowed out of window signings on specific conditions. One of those conditions is a serious injury. Antoine Mendy has picked an ACL injury and Seidu would be his replacement, however, that hasn’t been completed yet.
Nice lost 1-0 away to Auxerre on Saturday.
And finally…
The fan protest at Old Trafford doesn’t get a great deal of coverage in the world media today. That will partly be because of the offside controversy being the big news.
Portuguese newspaper Record do cover it, with a headline reading: ‘Misfortune never comes alone’
They go to say: ‘The Manchester derby served as a platform for United fans to protest against the owners, Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazer family. This was all due to plans for the new stadium, as well as the ever-increasing ticket prices. “The way they treat us is a disgrace,” read a banner at Old Trafford. And, to make matters worse, they even lost to rivals City, despite playing with a man advantage from the 23rd minute onwards.’
At least there’s sympathy.
🇵🇹 Diogo Dalot | Manchester United star’s 7-year physical transformation explained
➡️ Work to minimise injury layoffs
➡️ Now helping Lisandro Martinez
💪 How Dalot has changed his fitness approach…👇 https://t.co/IeGcEBZ4FF #mufc— Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) September 12, 2026
