The 2nd round of International Champions Cup fixtures began Tuesday evening with Manchester United lining up against Inter Milan before a crowd of over 61,000 at FedEx Field in Washington, DC. The matchup provided an opportunity for United’s players to renew acquaintances with former captain Nemanja Vidic, now starting at the back for Inter after more than 8 illustrious years at Old Trafford. Inter made only one change from the starting lineup which defeated Real Madrid on penalties on Sunday, with Rene Krhin taking Joel Obi’s spot. Meanwhile, United made 4 changes, with Anders Lindegaard, Chris Smalling, Darren Fletcher, and Ashley Young given the starting nods.
Both teams began the game cautiously, with neither side particularly forcing the action. The opening stages of the match saw Phil Jones come closest to scoring, with a header that forced Samir Handanovic into making a smart save down low. Inter, meanwhile, threatened somewhat off a couple of set-pieces, but failed to test Lindegaard in the United goal.
Perhaps demonstrating the type of game that unfolded in the first half, the main highlight was not a chance at goal, but was instead a 22-pass buildup by United involving well-timed one-touch passes that almost created a chance for in the Inter box. It was not meant to be for either team, as they both went into the dressing rooms at the half deadlocked at 0-0.
Louis van Gaal rang the changes for United at the half, making no less than 8 changes. Among the changes was Wilfried Zaha, who had become almost invisible under David Moyes at the club. Inter meanwhile, made a total of 6 changes by the hour mark. With all the fresh legs, the second half as a whole was the more entertaining half, as both teams seemed to push forward with more intent. Zaha made the most of his opportunity, as he looked impressive down both flanks and linked up well with his teammates.
Elsewhere for United, Juan Mata and new signing Ander Herrera continued to impress. van Gaal will have been pleased with his team’s effort on the night, as they displayed confidence and concentration in possession, which they clearly lacked against Roma on Sunday. On the other side, Vidic demonstrated that he even as he is not getting any younger, he is still one of the game’s top defenders when on form. The move to Serie A, with friendlier climate and less emphasis on the punishing physical style prevalent in England, should see him excel at the back for the Nerazzurri.
Several half-chances were created by United, and they had two decent shouts at penalties late in the match. It was Inter’s Fredy Guarin, however, who came closest to scoring on the night with a thunderous freekick that David de Gea had to palm away for a corner.
That was the last good chance of the match, and as the final whistle blew, it was on to a penalty shootout. Under the ICC format, teams get a point for a draw and a bonus point is awarded to the team which wins the shootout.
Young, Javier Hernandez, Tom Cleverley, and Shinji Kagawa all converted United’s first four penalties, while Guarin, Yann M’Vila, and Saphir Taider did the same for Inter. The first seven penalties were all expertly dispatched, and provided something of a clinic in effective penalty-taking. Marco Andreolli stepped up to take Inter’s 4th penalty, and while he had de Gea beaten, the ball crashed back off the crossbar, and it was all up to United to convert for the win. Darren Fletcher, captain on the night slotted the ball home calmly and confidently beyond Handanovic’s fingertips to seal the win and bonus point for United.
United, clearly the better team on the night, now lead Group A with 5 points while Inter have 3 after 2 matches each, with Real Madrid and Roma facing each other later Tuesday night. The group winner will advance to the final against the Group B winner on Monday, August 4th in Miami.
(Video: NBC Sports/wigan88)
(Featured image: Getty/Patrick Smith)
