Manchester United 1-0 Inter Milan
Manchester United’s 17-year-old Mason Greenwood came off the bench to score the only goal in their International Champions Cup win against Inter Milan at the Singapore National Stadium.
United’s latest wonder-kid scored a beauty on 76 minutes and almost added a second, only to be denied by the crossbar. It was the second game in succession the youngster has scored and Red Devils fans are already getting excited.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a big four weeks ahead of him as he tries to add to his squad and keep his best players in preparation for the new Premier League campaign.
Keep your eyes on our SBOBET tips as the season gets underway. I think it will be a testing campaign for the Red Devils, but on the evidence of today’s game, Ole’s young guns are ready for the challenge.
Highlights of the game
Solskjaer opened up with a very strong starting line-up which included Paul Pogba and David De Gea, while Nemanja Matic took the captain’s armband. Meanwhile, new Inter manager Antonio Conte left Ivan Perisic on the bench. And it was Manchester United that dominated the match from start to finish.
Marcus Rashford looked lively right from the first whistle. He made a blistering run into Inter territory before the Italian defence cleared. And on four minutes, he found space to fire the opening shot of the game, which sailed over the bar.
Greenwood impressed in the recent 4-0 victory over archrivals Leeds United operating on the right wing, but he started on the bench as new signing Daniel James was given a chance on that flank.
The young winger knew he was in a game when Marcelo Brozovic floored him with a crunching tackle. The Croatian midfielder was lucky to escape a yellow card. But he did pick up a booking soon after when he dragged down Jesse Lingard.
The Red Devils continued to play the better football and came close to scoring on 15 minutes. Pogba slid the ball into the path of the onrushing Luke Shaw, and his first-time effort skidded just wide of the right-hand post.
Anthony Martial then brought out a good save from Samir Handanovic with a low drive as the Inter keeper got down well to smother the ball.
Rashford was in the action again and almost got a touch to a low cross from Shaw but Handanovic got his fingertips to the ball to deny the young striker. And with the half-time break approaching, Inter finally came out to attack. Brozovic beat De Gea to a cross, but his header hit the side netting.
Martial forced another save from Handanovic after a smart exchange with Rashford, and that was the last action of the half. Solskjaer must have been delighted with his team after dominating the first 45.
Inter head coach Antonio Conte has made no secret of his desire to bring Romelu Lukaku to his club and that dominated the pre-match International Champions Cup 2019 news.
And based on Inter’s first-half showing, his team desperately needed a cutting edge as his side failed to work David De Gea even once. The Inter boss reacted by bringing Perisic on.
The second period opened at a blistering pace. Martial burst forward and fed Lingard, but his shot was cleared by an Inter defender. Then, Matic rose highest to meet a corner, but his header crashed against the upright with Handanovic beaten.
The impressive Aaron Wan-Bissaka then kept Inter at bay twice, firstly with a goal-line clearance following a goal-mouth scramble, and then with a beautifully timed tackle.
OGS rang the changes just after the hour by bringing on Greenwood, Fred, Juan Mata, Andrea Pereira and Tahith Chong, and they made an immediate impact.
After Greenwood set Pereira free, he fell under a challenge from Milan Skriniar but the referee waved away the penalty appeals. Then, on 72 minutes, Chong fired a low shot inches wide.
The goal was coming, and finally, it arrived. Handanovic punched clear a cross from Ashley Young, and it landed at the feet of Greenwood, who set himself before curling a beauty into the net.
And the 17-year-old almost made it two as he met a cross from Chong with a superb volley which crashed off the top of the crossbar.
Key statistics
The Red Devils completely bossed the first half with 61 per cent possession, 10 shots to three and three to nil on target.
That pattern continued with United winning the shot count by 21 to eight and with eight efforts on target to Inter’s one.
Our Manchester United vs Inter Milan betting tips predicted over 2.5 goals in this game, and while Inter didn’t look terribly interested in attacking, the Red Devils certainly did their best to get some goals.
And that, deservedly, extends Manchester United’s unbeaten run against Inter Milan to four matches.
What’s next?
These two teams have big seasons ahead. Inter qualified for the Champions League with a fourth-place finish while Manchester United want to return to Europe’s premier competition.
Next up for the Red Devils is a clash on Thursday with Premier League rivals Spurs, and that will give OGS a good indication if he really is on track.
The day before, Inter face their own big rivals, Juventus, and the Bianconeri will make them pay if they play like this again.
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