Kobbie Mainoo shines as Manchester United notch friendly win over ...
Updated
July 23, 2023 at 9:34 PM
Published
July 23, 2023 at 4:28 PM
NEW YORK – Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho were on target as Manchester United beat Arsenal 2-0 in a friendly watched by 82,262 fans at MetLife Stadium on Saturday, as the new Red Devils skipper singled out 18-year-old English midfielder Kobbie Mainoo for praise.
The New York and New Jersey fans of the two Premier League clubs saw a lively first half with both goals, but the game lost its way in the second half with mass substitutions from both teams.
But there was an encouraging display from Mainoo in the centre of United’s midfield and new captain Fernandes was full of praise for the academy product.
“Honestly, Kobbie is a great player, he shows great resilience. Everyone can see it. He’s good on the ball, strong, he can defend and attack,” said the Portuguese.
“You see how he attacked the space for my goal. He’s still pretty young but we see a bright future for him. Hopefully he will get more minutes.”
His manager Erik ten Hag added: “Manchester United are famous for always bringing young players up and it can be done. But we have to see.
“We have confidence, he is playing with confidence, and I really like his performance. But this year, he showed it in spring, then he got injured. We are really happy. There are more youngsters with us now and they’re all doing very good. But I don’t want to rise expectations too high.”
United’s new Cameroonian goalkeeper Andre Onana, signed from Inter Milan on Thursday in a £44 million (S$75.3 million) deal, did not feature despite flying out to join the team’s United States tour.
Back-up Tom Heaton started in goal with Fernandes wearing the captain’s armband after replacing defender Harry Maguire in that role.
Brazilian winger Antony had the first chance for United when he was found in space in the middle of the box but he scuffed his shot which rolled harmlessly wide.
Arsenal began their tour of the US with a 5-0 win over the Major League Soccer All-Stars on Wednesday and went close to an opener through Gabriel Martinelli, but Heaton produced a fine double save to deny the Brazilian.
United took the lead on the half hour mark, with Fernandes cutting in from the right and unleashing a low left-foot drive which deceived goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
Seven minutes later, Sancho doubled the lead when Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes miskicked on the half-way line and the England forward burst away before blasting confidently home.
With United still searching for a central striker, Sancho played in a central role, rather than his usual position on the wing, and handled the switch well.
With both ten Hag and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta making full use of their squads after the break, there was an inevitable loss of intensity and United’s lead was never in danger.
There was an unusual situation at the end, with both teams having agreed to take part in a penalty shoot-out regardless of the result.
Although there was nothing at stake in the shoot-out, which United won 5-3, both managers had agreed to take the chance to test their players’ mettle from the spot as a useful experience.
On his new-look midfield trio of Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, Arteta said: “When they play 55 times together they will be better. It will flow better, they will understand each other better and will be more dominant and better. But it takes time to glide and we have to respect that. But I saw a lot of positive things.”
Barcelona’s friendly against Juventus, due to be played later on Saturday, was cancelled after an outbreak of viral gastroenteritis among the Spanish team. The Spanish media reported that at least a dozen players had fallen ill.
Chelsea, meanwhile, beat Brighton & Hove Albion 4-3 in a friendly in Philadelphia with Christopher Nkunku, Mykhailo Mudryk, Conor Gallagher and Nicolas Jackson finding the net for the Blues. Danny Welbeck, Joao Pedro and Deniz Undav scored for the Seagulls, who had defender Jan Paul van Hecke sent off in the 60th minute.
Despite the Blues conceding thrice, new boss Mauricio Pochettino praised young centre-back Levi Colwill, saying: “I am happy with him, his performance was good today, better than what I expected because it’s only the first game with us... I think he can be one of the greatest centre-backs in England.” AFP
