United 3 – FC Seoul 2 : Match Highlights

By: Taylor Rockwell | July 24th, 2009

United continued their winning ways this evening/afternoon/morning, defeating Korean side FC Seoul 3-2. Goals from Wayne Rooney, Kiko Macheda, and Dimitar Berbatov kept United undefeated through three matches of their Asian Tour. Perhaps more notable than the scoreline was the fact that the Korean crowds apparently haven’t calmed down a bit since 2002. Every time any United player was shown on the big screen, they responded with thunderous applause and cheers. And when Park Ji-Sung subbed on in the second half? Well, saying it was loud is a bit of an understatement.

Full Match Highlights

All three United goals were decently impressive, though I must say Macheda’s progress is more than a bit exciting. FIFA 2009 and his 61 match rating be damned, this kid is for real… unless he gets loaned to an Italian club in 2-3 years. Then he’s a real version of Giuseppe Rossi. I kid, I kid… he would have to grow a big beard and change his name to Judas before he could truly emulate the young Italian star.

My pro-USA bias aside, good to see Berba get on the score sheet. He was the only one of the top three strikers to have not found his name on the score sheet, so his game-winning header was also a touch reassuring. I think FC Seoul accidentally awoke a sleeping giant when Berba subbed in. He had been on the pitch for a very brief time before a very reckless tackle sent the big Bulgarian sprawling. He picked himself up, dusted off the grass, and his expression seemed to say, “So that’s how this friendly is going to go? Okay then…” His header to seal the win was a pure Berba goal: a classy finish with zero celebration to boot.

Player Ratings (from the Daily Mirror)

Kuszczak: Made two good saves early on, handling well, but powerless to stop opener. 5

O’Shea; Woeful defending with Brown for Seoul’s opener with both guilty of dithering. Crossed for Rooney’s goal. 6

Ferdinand: The only United defender who had a decent game. Unflappable and always calm under pressure. 7

Brown: Culpable for Seoul’s first goal along and looked hesitant thereafter. Still finding his way back after long injury-lay-off. 5

Evra: Guilty of letting his man go for Seoul’s second goal. Put opponent out of game with hard – but fair – tackle. 5

Fletcher: Worked hard in his 45-minute run-out but offered little in the way of creation. 5

Carrick: Neat and tidy in possession but no evidence of his trademark long-range balls to set up attacks. 6

Giggs: Proved his enduring class with some clever balls into the front two, playing just in behind them. 7

Anderson: This is a big season for the Brazilian midfielder but again he made little in the way of an impact. 5

Macheda: Worked tirelessly and deserved his goal, for which he showed impressive composure with an assured finish. 7

Rooney: Got United level with an attempted header which came off his shoulder. Superb ball for Macheda’s goal. 7

SUBS:

Van der Sar for Kuszczak (46mins): Largely untroubled during his 45-minute run-out. 6

Gibson for Fletcher (46mins): Crossed for Berbatov to head United’s third goal. 7

Scholes for Giggs (59mins): Wowed the crowd with some trademark long crossfield balls. 6

Berbatov for Macheda (60mins): Headed United in front five minutes after coming on. 7

Owen for Rooney (60mins): Lively again but couldn’t make it three goals in as many games. 6

Nani for Anderson (60mins): Saw enough of the ball but did little with it. 5

Fabio for Evra (74mins): Looked impressive going forward and disciplined in defence. 6

Park for Carrick (74mins): Sent the fans into delirium when he came on and whenever in possession. 6

Next up for United? Hangzhou Greentown FC at Yellow Dragon Stadium on Sunday, July 26th at 13:00 BST (no idea what any of that means… from the other team’s name to British Standard Time…) One player who won’t be with the squad when they travel to China is Gary Neville. The 34-year-old United skipper was sent home to England with a thigh strain, which, since it’s Neville, means he will probably be out until 2013.