US Tour 2011 (MLS All Star 0 - Man United 4)

MLS All-Stars 0 United 4

The MLS All-Stars may be the best soccer players in America, but they were no match for Sir Alex's Manchester United as the Reds made it four wins from four on this year's US Tour.

In a compact and cacophonous Red Bull Arena, goals from Anderson, Ji-sung Park, Dimitar Berbatov handed United victory against an MLS side featuring former Premier League stars David Beckham and Thierry Henry.

Few would have believed it a year ago, but Javier Hernandez's star now shines almost as brightly as Beckham's or Henry's in the United States. Hernandez-mania is in full effect: his name adorns more United shirts than any other player's and even non-football fans recognise his boyish, smiling face.

And although he was never likely to play on tour after competing in the Gold Cup for Mexico in June, supporters at Red Bull Arena were left disappointed after a concussion suffered during training on Tuesday night forced him to spend a night in hospital and watch the game from the comfort of the team's New Jersey hotel.

The contest Chicharito saw unfold on Wednesday evening was entertaining and often end-to-end. Indeed, despite the final score, the All-Stars created chances of their own, including the first chance of the game when Henry dispossessed Rio Ferdinand near the halfway line before squaring to Omar Bravo in the centre. Bravo advanced towards goal and laid the ball back to Beckham, whose shot spun wide of Anders Lindegaard's right-hand upright.

The former Reds midfielder sat deep for the All-Stars, pinging long passes and dictating the early play from just in front of the back four. But as the home team's influence waned, so did Beckham's and in the second half he was moved to right-back.

It took Sir Alex's men 18 minutes to test All-Stars goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon. Rooney advanced into the penalty area and slid a low ball across the six-yard box, which Mondragon plucked from the toes of Berbatov.

Both Rooney and Berbatov were heavily involved two minutes later when United took the lead. The pair exchanged three neat passes on the edge of the box to pull the All-Stars defence out of position before Rooney squared for Anderson to side-foot home from 16 yards.

Beckham almost restored the lead immediately with a curling effort from 30 yards on the counter-attack, which Lindegaard acrobatically tipped over the bar. The Dane then repeated the feat just before the half-hour mark when Brad Davis let fly from similar range, before Rooney drew a smart save from Mondragon when he drove the ball towards the top corner 10 minutes later.

The first-half entertainment wasn't over. With just four seconds left on the clock, Ji-sung Park snaked past two defenders in the penalty area before lashing left-footed past Mondragon into the far corner. It was his second sublime individual goal of the US Tour and drew a wide grin from the south Korean.

Seven minutes after the interval, the Reds were 3-0 up. This time it was Berbatov's turn to showcase his talent, as he dinked the ball over advancing substitute goalkeeper Tally Hall before reacting quickly to control the ball with his chest and volley home when it cannoned back off the crossbar.

Sir Alex made a raft of substitutions on 61 minutes to add to the goalkeeper change he made at half-time (Amos for Lindegaard), replacing five of his front six and bringing on Chris Smalling for Rio Ferdinand.

That had the potential to stunt the game's flow, but Danny Welbeck ensured there was no such lull in action and netted with one of his first touches, rifling home from just outside the penalty area, albeit via the aid of a sizeable deflection off Geoff Cameron.

Goalmouth action did dry up somewhat in the final 20 minutes, although both Beckham and Evra hit the side-netting in the final minutes. By then, though, the crowd had already had their fill. Certainly, after witnessing four goals, many more chances and an array of world football superstars, few went home with any complaints.

United: Lindegaard (Amos 46); Jones, Ferdinand (Smalling 61), Vidic (Diouf 73), Evra; Park (Nani 61), Carrick (Cleverley 61), Anderson (Fabio 73), Young (Welbeck 61); Rooney (Macheda 61), Berbatov (Owen 61)

US Tour 2011 (Chicago Fire 1- Man United 3)

On a sweltering day in Illinois, Manchester United eventually proved too hot for Chicago Fire at Soldier Field. A Cory Gibbs goal against the run of play gave the home team the lead on 13 minutes before second-half strikes from Wayne Rooney, Rafael and Nani handed Sir Alex's men a hard-fought victory.

Indeed, Chicago were the better team for long periods and but for some wasteful finishing would have won this content. But again, as in Seattle three days earlier, the Reds proved clinical in front of goal and reaped the rewards. Played in baking heat, in front of the largest ever crowd at Soldier Field for a game of club football, United were given a stern test by a Chicago side lying third from bottom in the MLS Eastern Conference. Sir Alex handed first pre-season starts to the five players who joined the tour in Seattle, including summer signings David de Gea and Phil Jones. They were part of a young back five, with only Patrice Evra and Fabio old enough to leally drink in the US.

The Reds started well and carved out the game's first chance after five minutes. Danny Welbeck produced a sublime piece of skill to outfox three defenders on the halfway line before slipping a pass through the Fire defence for Dimitar Berbatov. The Bulgarian took his shot first time but Chicago stopper Sean Johnson did well to get down to his right and beat the ball away. Given United's bright start, it was a surprise when the home side took the lead. Fire defender Gibbs outjumped Jones to reach a long Marco Pappa free-kick and head inside de Gea's right-hand post. There was little the Spanish goalkeeper could do to prevent the goal, Gibbs' first in a Fire shirt for more than a year.

The relentless heat didn't help the Reds, although Obertan and Fabio both blasted over from distance in the space of two minutes as Sir Alex's men upped the ante. Welbeck was perhaps the pick of United's players in the first period - he showed good close control, made clever runs in behind the Fire defence and linked well with Berbatov and Diouf. Cristian Nazarit almost put the Fire 2-0 up when he blasted low and narrowly wide after half-an-hour, while Pappa also tried his luck from distance. United, it must be said, failed to exert much influence on the first-half contest after the Fire's goal and were lucky to go into the break just one goal down. Indeed, it took a stunning reflex save from de Gea - his first major contribution in a Reds shirt - in the 45th minute to keep out Patrick Nyarko's close-range effort.

The heat necessitated a raft of substitutions at the interval, with the Chicago crowd especially happy to welcome Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs into the game. The introduction of Jonny Evans for Fabio shifted Chris Smalling to right back, while Anderson and Giggs came into the centre of midfield. Smalling had the ball in the net within two minutes of the restart but the goal was correctly ruled out for offside.

De Gea then made a routine save from a Pappa free-kick before Baggio Husidic spurned a golden chance to double the Fire's advantage. It was easier to score than miss and yet Baggio scuffed his shot from five yards with the goal gaping. More substitutions were made on 56 minutes, although for a bizarre 60 seconds the Reds played with 12 men after confusion on the touchline meant three United players came on and only two left the pitch.

Rooney then stung the palms of substitute goalkeeper Jon Conway before Pappa hit the side-netting and Orr Barouch the post, courtesy of a smart finger-tip save from de Gea down to his right. The Reds levelled on 66 minutes when Rooney latched onto a pinpoint long ball from Rio Ferdinand and lifted the ball over the onrushing Conway. It was Wayne's fourth strike on the US Tour and further evidence that the recent summer break robbed the forward of none of his predatory instinct in front of goal. Ten minutes later, United were in front after Rafael and Nani combined down the right flank and the young Brazilian shimmied along the by-line and coolly squeezed the ball through Conway's legs.

Nani then added further gloss to the scoreline with eight minutes remaining when he profited from some generous defending and cheekily dinked the ball into the net. It was perhaps harsh on the Fire who, until they began to ring the changes midway through the second period, looked likely winners in this contest that will live long in the memory of Chicago soccer fans.

United: de Gea; Fabio (Evans 46), Smalling (Rafael 75), Jones (Vidic 75), Evra (Ferdinand 56); Obertan (Nani 56), Carrick (Anderson 46), Cleverley (Giggs 46), Diouf (Park 46); Welbeck (Macheda 56), Berbatov (Rooney 46)
Subs not used: Lindegaard, Amos, Owen, Young

US Tour 2011 (Seattle Sounders 0- Man United 7)

Seattle Sounders 0 United 7

None of Sir Alex’s men will be sleepless in Seattle this evening, as United were forced to work hard on an energy-sapping pitch to procure a 7-0 victory in the Reds’ second US Tour clash.

The scoreline suggests a stroll in the park, but for the first 45 minutes the sides were evenly matched for long periods. Then, an explosion of second-half goals – including three in four minutes – put the game way out of sight.

Fitness is always the main aim during pre-season, although Sir Alex will certainly be pleased with the Reds’ performance and composure in front of goal during an entertaining game played before a packed and passionate CenturyLink Field.

Streamers cascaded down from the stands as the referee signalled for the game to begin and it was the home side who almost provided the fireworks in the opening minutes as fans’ favourite Freddy Montero twice attempted to chip Anders Lindegaard.

Unusually for a United game in pre-season, the crowd wanted the opposition to win; Seattle is the biggest “soccer city” in America and the Sounders the best supported side.

So they were disappointed when United took the lead, 15 minutes into the match. Ashley Young fed Patrice Evra on the overlap down the left and the defender whipped in a pinpoint cross for Michael Owen to nod home

from close range. It was the striker’s second goal in as many tour games.

That signalled the start of a period of Reds dominance: Young forced a fine save from veteran goalkeeper Kasey Keller, Owen had an effort cleared off the line and Macheda, who looked particularly sharp up front, saw a header fly just past the right-hand upright.

Before half-time Montero and right-back James Riley both tested Lindegaard in the space of a few seconds but the Danish goalkeeper made two smart stops to preserve the Reds’ advantage.

Owen should have doubled the lead on 43 minutes when he went one-on-one with Keller but shot into the stopper’s legs – Michael then had the misfortune of inadvertently clearing Nani’s effort off the Sounders’ line from the resulting corner.

Sir Alex made four changes at the break and within six minutes of the restart two of those were on the scoresheet. First, Mame Biram Diouf latched onto Nani’s chipped ball before rounding substitute goalkeeper Terry Boss and firing home from a tight angle.

Then Wayne Rooney blasted into the roof of the net from eight yards after Nani had done well down the right and pulled the ball back to the waiting striker.

It wasn’t all one-way traffic, though: Ben Amos, on for Lindegaard, made a flying save to deny Mike Fucito and Pat Noonan clipped the bar with a volley as Seattle continued to push forward in search of goals.

That left space at the back, which Rooney exploited on 69 minutes when he found time to control and fire, left-footed, into the far corner. Park did the same two minutes later, arriving at the back post to slot home unmarked for United’s fifth before Rooney swept home Obertan’s cross to complete a quickfire hat-trick.

The Frenchman then wrapped up the scoring himself when he burst clear and finished neatly past Boss to notch United's seventh unanswered goal. Seattle residents won’t forget this game in a hurry.

United: Lindegaard (Amos 46); Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic (Evans 56), Evra (Fabio 56); Nani (Obertan 56), Anderson, Giggs (Park 46), Young (Carrick 65); Owen (Diouf 46), Macheda (Rooney 46)

Subs not used: de Gea, Smalling, Jones, Cleverley, Welbeck

Manchester United Away Kit 2011/12

Manchester United fans in Seattle were treated to a fashion show of sorts on Friday evening as three first-team stars modelled the club's stylish new away kit at the city's Niketown store.

Nemanja Vidic - carrying the Barclays Premier League trophy - led team-mates Rio Ferdinand and Ji-sung Park onto the stage and the trio then took part in a question and answer session hosted by Old Trafford stadium announcer Alan Keegan.

The Reds arrived in Seattle on Thursday and are building up to the second match of Tour 2011, against Seattle Sounders on Wednesday 20 July.

Rio`s comment on new kit :

KCKRS: Everyone remembers the grey kits of 95/96, which only lasted a few games. How important is color of the kit to the run of play?

Rio: For me, I’ve never had a problem with the kit affecting the run of play. Obviously, there was an issue then and we won’t be going down that road again.

KCKRS: Do you look good in blue?

Rio: I look good in any color, man. It’s not about the color though, it is about how you play. You have to feel comfortable.

KCKRS: Describe the feeling you had the first time you put on a Manchester United shirt.

Rio: It was more of a desire to go out there and put myself in the history of the club. To make sure that when I left the club, I walked out proud knowing I’d contributed to the history of the club.

US Tour 2011 (New England Revolution 1- United 4)

The first half was one to forget, but a flurry of second-half goals, including four in the space of 11 frantic minutes, kickstarted Manchester United's pre-season tour of the United States and gave fans in New England's Gillette Stadium plenty to cheer.

The Reds ran out 4-1 winners and were the better side for long periods in the game, even if the first 45 minutes failed to yield more than a smattering of goal-mouth action.

Indeed, it took until the 50th minute for a net to bulge, as half-time substitute Michael Owen kept his cool to slot into the far corner when confronted by the onrushing Bobby Shuttleworth.

Before then, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov missed presentable chances in the opening period, and starting Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis made two fantastic reflex saves. That action largely came in the last five minutes of the first half - before that, both teams lacked penetration in the final third and rarely tried their luck from distance.

Another of Sir Alex's second-half substitutes, Federico Macheda, made it 2-0 three minutes after Owen's opener with an equally composed finish before adding a third, and his second, on 61 minutes by lashing a shot into the far corner after Rafael's cross had eluded a crowd of players inside the penalty area.

By that time, New England Revolution, managed by former Liverpool player Steve Nicol, had pulled a goal back somewhat fortuitously. Benny Feilhaber's free-kick deflected in off his team-mate Kenny Mansally, with Reds goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard cruelly wrong-footed.

The goal of the game arrived on 80 minutes, as Gabriel Obertan, Ji-sung Park and Ryan Giggs combined superbly inside the penalty area to play in Park, who clipped an audacious finish over Shuttleworth.

It was a moment of true quality, and one the crowd of 51,523 lapped up. If the fans in New England had been disappointed at the interval, they could have no complaints at the final whistle.

Nor could Sir Alex. He would have anticipated a slow start – it was the team's first outing since the Champions League final, after all – but there were plenty of positives to take from the fixture. The Reds often looked composed on the ball, Ashley Young produced a lively Reds debut and, perhaps most importantly, nobody picked up any injuries.

United's Tour 2011 is underway, and off to a winning start.

In & Out So Far

OUT

Wesley Brown (Sunderland)

John O`Shea (Sunderland)

IN

Phil Jones (Blackburn Rovers)

David De Gea (Atletico Madrid)

Ashley Young (Aston Villa)