Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by Leeds United in the first club match to be played at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. The Premier League pair played their penultimate pre-season friendly on Wednesday evening, which culminated in a penalty shootout which the Red Devils emerged victorious in.
Penalty drama and missed chances
Captain Bruno Fernandes, again restricted to a substitute cameo after his recent World Cup return, missed from 12 yards in uncharacteristic fashion, but James Justin hit the crossbar with the decisive spot-kick as Noussair Mazraoui rolled in the winner.
It came after Joshua Zirkzee had opened the scoring after a lovely burst down the left from Bryan Mbeumo, but the two sides went in level as Brenden Aaronson, who slotted past Senne Lammens, United’s new No1 after Altay Bayindir’s loan exit, after Dan James had robbed Tyler Fletcher of the ball in a dangerous area.
Rashford absent despite travelling
Marcus Rashford, recently reintegrated into the first-team fold at Old Trafford, was the main talking point as a first appearance in United colours since December 2024 beckoned for the forward, but he was omitted from the matchday squad by Carrick despite travelling to the Irish capital to join up with his team-mates.
The cavalry arrived on 60 minutes as the likes of Fernandes, summer signing Youri Tielemans and Matheus Cunha took to the field, and it was the captain who looked the likeliest to net the winner, as he had a goal chalked off by the linesman as he went too early to collect Luke Shaw’s ball into the left channel.
Upcoming fixtures
United face former boss Ruben Amorim and AC Milan in their final pre-season friendly before their curtain-raiser against Hull next weekend, while Leeds take on Augsburg before they open their league campaign at Nottingham Forest.
