Man Utd handed huge AFCON boost as key man is knocked out of tournament & will return in time for Manchester derby

Morocco took the lead in under half an hour when former Manchester City midfielder Brahim Diaz bundled in from close range. The Real Madrid man got onto the end of an Ayoub El Kaabi header from an Achraf Hakimi corner to nudge past the goalkeeper and make it five goals in as many games.

The tournament hosts and favourites dominated much of the game and were able to double their lead and put the game beyond doubt on the 74th minute. Abde Ezzalzouli’s free-kick evaded everyone in the box and fell to Ismael Saibari, who drilled low and hard into the bottom corner.

At Mbeumo’s expense, Morocco will take on either Algeria or Nigeria, who face each other on Saturday afternoon, in the semi-finals on Wednesday. This means that Mazraoui’s absence from United will be prolonged until at least late next week, but Mbeumo will likely be heading back to Manchester this weekend.

The return of their major summer signing will mark a relief for United, who are in the midst of turmoil on and off of the pitch. The Red Devils had Mbeumo, Mazraoui and Amad Diallo head off to represent their respective nations this winter and have seen their options, particularly on the right-hand side of the pitch, depleted significantly.

Mbeumo will return to Carrington this week, but will find a new man in charge of the Red Devils. When the forward left for international duty, Portuguese tactician Ruben Amorim was still in the dugout and, in spite of a mixed season, appeared to be relatively secure in his position as head coach.

However, last weekend, Amorim kicked up a fuss at a post-match press conference after a 1-1 draw with rivals Leeds United and was strangely insistent that he saw himself as a ’manager’, not a head coach at the club. The comments, which offered shades of former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca’s own press conference meltdown, were the final straw for the United hierarchy who called time on the ex-Sporting CP boss’ stint at the club.

United and Scotland legend Darren Fletcher has been named as the interim boss and will oversee their game against Brighton on Sunday. The FA Cup third round will come too soon for Mbeumo, but the attacking player will have his eyes locked on the Manchester derby next weekend and his return to the pitch at Old Trafford will be just what Pep Guardiola’s side will have hoped to have avoided.

City will be frustrated to have to come up against the Cameroon forward next weekend and would have fancied their chances against a weakened United. Guardiola’s team have squandered their slender pre-Christmas lead over Arsenal and now sit six points behind the Gunners.

City have drawn their last three games in the Premier League, handing Mikel Arteta a significant advantage and a little bit of breathing room at the top of the table. Yet, they will be boosted by the introduction of their own marquee forward signing with Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo completing his move to the Etihad on Friday.

It is unclear who will take the role as the next permanent head coach in the United dugout. The current availability of elite managers is slim pickings and given United have been so poor at recruiting managerial staff, they will be determined to avoid yet another disaster,

Amorim clung on to the position for just over a year and United forked out millions upon millions of pounds to help bring in players suitable for his rigid 3-4-3 formation. Mbeumo was one of the big-money signings for the Portuguese coach and Fletcher, as well as the succeeding person in the dugout, will have to find a way get the best out of the Cameroon forward.