Man Utd beat Arsenal easily
*Fernandes 30', Sancho 37'.
In the second friendly match in the US, after crushing MLS All Star 5-0 in Washington on July 19, coach Mikel Arteta used the strongest squad. Three expensive rookies Jurrien Timber, Declan Rice and Kai Havertz appeared with pillars like William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Martin Odegaard or Bukayo Saka.
On the opposite side, coach Erik ten Hag arranged rookie Mason Mount to play in central midfield with player born in 2005 Kobbie Mainoo. The four on the attack are Antony, Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho, while rookie goalkeeper Andre Onana is not registered due to the new army.
In the 5th minute, Man Utd threatened Arsenal's goal. From Luke Shaw's long pass, Fernandes sped up, cleverly shielded and turned the ball to eliminate Rice and release it just within range for Antony. But the Brazilian striker did not hit the center of the ball.
After that, Arsenal dominated the game. In the 11th minute, Saka crossed to Gabriel Martinelli to have two consecutive close-range shots, but both were blocked by Tom Heaton. In the 28th minute, Heaton had another series of rescues before Arsenal's crosses on both sides, leaving the opponent with no chance to finish.
When the attack did not open, Arsenal's defense made a mistake. 30 minutes, receiving the ball from Mainoo, Fernandes turned into the middle and then finished stretching from outside the penalty area with his left foot. Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale fell slowly so he could not be stopped, although the ball was not dangerous. Fernandes scored in the first match as the official captain of Man Utd.
Six minutes later, it was Gabriel Magalhaes' turn to miss the ball, creating conditions for Sancho to speed up, rush straight into the penalty area and then hit the roof of the net. In injury time, Antony almost increased the gap with a left foot cut that missed the column.
In the second half, Ten Hag only kept Heaton and replaced the remaining ten players. On the opposite side, Arteta replaced Kieran Tierney, Thomas Partey, Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard respectively in the group of substitutes given the opportunity.
Arsenal controlled the ball more, but the best opportunities belonged to Man Utd. In the 64th minute, Diogo Dalot stretched smoothly, but Marcus Rashford missed an empty goal. In the 86th minute, the 21-year-old striker Facundo Pellistri had a quick step into the penalty area and then shot over the bar.
The match did not have a draw, but the two teams still entered the penalty shootout - a familiar series when European clubs travel to the US to tour. Here, Odegaard, Trossard, Jorginho successfully finished, but Fabio Vieira shot over the bar in the third round. On the opposite side, all five players including Casemiro, Dalot, Victor Lindelof, Rashford and Christian Eriksen all defeated Ramsdale to help Man Utd win the penalty shootout with a score of 5-3.
After this match, the two teams continued their US tour when Man Utd met English third-tier team Wrexham on July 26, and Arsenal played Barca a day later, both in California.
