Manchester United continued their 100% record on their US tour with a hard fought 3-1 victory over Chicago Fire at Soldier Field. The heat and humidity coupled with a poor quality pitch were a great leveller as the home side made United sweat for their victory.
The tourists made numerous changes to the line up with debuts for De Gea and Jones and first appearances on tour for Smalling, Welbeck and Cleverley after their exploits in the U21 tournament in early summer.The wide berths were occupied by Obertan and Diouf as they attempted to make an impression ahead of the new season.
The home side shocked United by taking the lead after a free kick was headed in by Gibbs who rose unchallenged.The Fire continued to carve open a nervy United back line throughout the opening period spurning numerous scoring opportunities to further embarrass the Premier league champions. At the other end, Welbeck stood out with plenty of silky touches and incisive passes whilst lacking composure in front of goal at times. Obertan looked to have the beating of his opponent down the right yet was unable to pick out a team mate when well placed. Tom Cleverley settled into the game after a nervous start but failed to impose his ability onto proceedings in the soaring temperatures.
The expected changes came at half time with the likes of Giggs, Anderson and Rooney appearing off the bench and the second period was broken up by mass substitutions by both teams as they looked to best cope with conditions.
Finally, the Reds made their pressure pay when a sublime ball over the back of the home side defence by Ferdinand was deftly clipped over the on-rushing keeper by Rooney for his 4th goal in the space of two matches. His all round display was of the highest quality in the second half as he dropped deep to set up play reminiscent of his fine contribution to the climax of last season.
 |
| Picture courtesy of the Mail on Sunday |
The scoring was complete late on when Nani rather fortuitously found himself through on goal before a delightful chip cleared the home side's keeper. His trademark somersault celebration brought cheers from the capacity crowd and made the scoreline a touch flattering. Chicago continued to make chances throughout but lacked the killer instinct to make United pay.
The debutants can be happy with their displays overall. De Gea, whilst looking understandably nervous early on, grew in stature as the game progressed and made a couple of smart saves. His command of the penalty box will develop as he overcomes the language barrier while his skills with ball at his feet will be important considering United's style. Phil Jones also grew into the game as it progressed despite being culpable for the Chicago goal. His passing was crisp and accurate which perhaps helped to emphasise the thought he could play a role in central midfield if required.
United now move onto New York where they play the MLS All Stars including Beckham and Henry on Thursday morning UK time. The squad will be bolstered by the arrival of Javier Hernnández after his extended break due to international commitments.
There will be further analysis of this game and previous pre-season matches in the next few days on the site so please check back soon or follow me on twitter.
Full highlights of the match versus Chicago Fire can be found below:
Click on the button below to follow me on Twitter and/or recommend this post on Facebook.
If you would like to leave a comment on this article, please do so below.
Follow @writtenoff_mufc
No comments:
Post a Comment