|
|
|
 |
 |
| United crush MLS All-Stars |
 |
Javier Hernandez marked his Manchester United debut with a goal as Sir Alex Ferguson's men beat the MLS All-Stars 5-2 at the Reliant Stadium in Texas.
United fell to an embarrassing 2-1 defeat to the Kansas City Wizards on Sunday but took just 22 seconds to open the scoring when Federico Macheda capitalised on some poor defending.
And Macheda made it two 12 minutes later from a Nani corner before Brian Ching halved the deficit as the MLS side fought back.
But Darron Gibson's superb 71st minute free-kick, Tom Cleverley's sensational solo goal two minutes later and Hernandez's sumptuous lob with five minutes left made the game safe before Dwayne De Rosario struck in stoppage time for the All-Stars.
Italian Macheda stunned the Houston crowd when he took advantage of a weak pass in defence to nip in and coolly slot past Jamaican Donovan Ricketts in the All-Stars goal.
United's defeat against 10-man Kansas City was characterised by sloppy passing and suspect defending but Sir Alex Ferguson's men looked a different side in Texas.
And they deservedly doubled their lead after 13 minutes when Macheda glanced home Nani's corner for 2-0.
It took 16 minutes for the All-Stars to fashion their first chance when former Aston Villa striker Juan Pablo Angel's 20-yard free-kick forced a fine fingertip save from Edwin van der Sar.
New York Red Bulls hit man Angel was the danger man for the MLS side throughout the first half and was again thwarted by van der Sar on the half-hour.
But it was from set-pieces that the All-Stars looked most dangerous and Ching headed home David Ferreira's free-kick as the cream of the MLS crop struck back.
Hernandez, a £7 million signing from Mexican side Chivas de Guadalajara and wearing Chicharito on his back, made his bow after 63 minutes and looked lively from the off, winning the free-kick which Gibson struck into the top corner from 25-yards.
Cleverley stole the show soon after, receiving Darren Fletcher's neat flick on the edge of the box before lifting the ball over a defender and side-footing home into the bottom corner.
But it is Hernandez who will grab the headlines, with the Mexican latching on to Fletcher's long through-ball before lobbing Nick Rimando from 25-yards.
De Rosario capitalised on some poor defending by Wes Brown before beating van der Sar to peg back the United goal-fest but the Premier League side were in control throughout to end their tour of the United States in style. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
