Raphael Varane has called for Manchester United‘s forwards to display greater efficiency in front of goal to help improve their disappointing start to the season.

United’s recent 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace marked their fifth defeat in the first nine matches of the season, raising questions about the quality of Erik ten Hag‘s squad despite significant investment.

So far this season, United has only managed to score seven goals in seven league games, with Marcus Rashford contributing just one goal himself.

While Varane didn’t single out any specific attackers, he emphasized the importance of their performance at the elite level to drive the team’s success.

“[The Champions League] is about details and you have to be efficient to win the competition,’ the Frenchman added, ahead of Tuesday night’s clash with Galatasaray.

“In the last moments we need more efficiency.

“It is a low number of occasions we concede goals and we need to create a lot to score. That is the reality of the top level.

“You need to be efficient to win trophies. We have the quality in the squad to win competitions. We have to move forward and improve.”

Marcus Rashford has attracted significant attention, especially due to his struggles in Manchester United’s recent defeat to Crystal Palace.

Despite ranking second for the most shots in the Premier League, behind only Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, Rashford has only managed to get six of his 28 attempts on target.

These statistics highlight a need for greater accuracy and effectiveness in Rashford’s finishing, which could significantly impact Manchester United’s goal-scoring capabilities.

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has declined to offer any excuses for his team’s recent poor form.

The Red Devils have suffered four consecutive losses in all competitions, including defeats to Tottenham, Arsenal, Brighton, and Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Fernandes did not attribute the poor performance to the team’s growing injury list and chose not to make excuses after the match in Munich.

“We don’t have to think about the injured players,” Bruno told TNT Sports.

“We have enough players to give a response on the pitch.

“Obviously, we want everyone fit, as many players as possible, and we know we have some important players injured, but that’s not an excuse not to win games.”

“Obviously, it’s really difficult to take this one,” he added.

“We knew it was going to be tough to play against Bayern. We knew they’re such a great team. When you give so much space to them, and time to them, they’re going to hurt you. We start the game, then 1-0 down, 2-0 down. We came back in the second half, to 2-1, and we concede an early goal. Again we came back, to 3-2, and we concede again.

“Overall, we stayed in the game but could have hurt them a little bit more, had a bit more patience on the ball. There were many good things to take from the game but it wasn’t enough to win the game.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has chosen not to divulge his goalkeeper plans ahead of their Champions League opener against PSV Eindhoven.

Arteta made a surprising decision to drop Aaron Ramsdale for debutant David Raya in Sunday’s victory over Everton.

When asked about his decision and the ongoing goalkeeper debate, Arteta mentioned his responsibility to answer questions and make choices that he believes are in the best interest of the team and the club, without going into specific details about his future plans for the goalkeeping position.

He said, “I respect opinions and I understand the questions and historically what has happened. We have been doing this for many years. It is my job to answer the questions in the best possible way and to do what I feel is best for the team and the club.

“Tomorrow we are going to play against a really good team. They are used to winning and it will be a really tough test, I am sure about that.”

But he would not take questions on the situation today, instead turning to Martin Odegaard’s form.

“He is our captain, a really important player for us,” says Arteta.

“He is a player who has developed and evolved, he has been instrumental in building the culture we wanted. The level he has performed at has been very consistent.”

The manager also said:

“It has been a long time for the club since we have been in the competition, and for me it is the first time as a manager, so I am really looking forward to it.

“We have been chasing it and fighting for it. Now we have got it and we have to make the most out of it.

“It starts at home. I’m sure our supporters will be really excited and we have to enjoy the challenge.”