August 4 – Manchester United have lifted the first silverware of the season, beating out Bournemouth, Everton and West Ham United to the Premier League Summer Series trophy on Sunday evening.
The Mercedes Benz stadium in Atlanta played host to the final round of the pre-season friendly tournament.
‘Friendly’ proved to be a loose term, as the Red Devils’ fiery 2-2 draw against Everton gave plenty of on-pitch drama to conclude the summer’s festivities, and allow a sneak peek at the new-look United side heading into the Premier League curtain-raiser versus Arsenal next Sunday.
The Man Utd line-up, featuring star signings Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo for the first time, went unbeaten across the three matches – though will have a lot to improve on before hosting Arsenal.
The tournament, played across New Jersey, Chicago and Atlanta, drew in a decent crowd – including over 82,000 for Manchester United’s opening matchday against West Ham at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey – the stadium that hosted the Club World Cup final between Chelsea and PSG just four weeks prior.
The Summer Series match attendance between United and West Ham actually eclipsed that of the ‘must-watch’ Club World Cup final – 82,566 to 81,118.
For a pre-season friendly between two teams that placed 14th and 15th in the Premier League respectively, the comparison is perhaps a stark reflection on the reception the Club World Cup had in the US this summer.
While pleased with the overall output in the States, Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim said there was still much work to be done.
“We already knew this. It’s not that we had two weeks, and this will not change in two weeks, but we are better. Even in this game, we created chances and that is really important,” said Amorim.
“I think it’s a perfect feeling to go back to Carrington. The momentum of the tour was perfect. We had two weeks to work in a good environment with a good feeling to go back to Carrington. We are near to the start of the season and we are going with the feeling that we need to do a lot of things.”
Captain Bruno Fernandes was less happy, describing his team as “lazy” and called for more squad competition after their draw with Everton on Sunday.
“It’s been positive (the U.S tour) and it’s good to create a bond with the players,” he told Sky Sports after the game. “We looked a bit lazy today and we need to change that.
“I don’t want to have a dig at anyone, but I think the club is doing the best they can in terms of all the financial situations they talk about.
“But obviously it was crystal clear we needed more competition for the players that were here. We needed more quality to get everyone to step up a bit more and to have more to do to get into the starting line-up.
“I think that’s what the club and the manager are trying to do and hopefully we can get one or two players more to help with that.”
Much to the dismay of Newcastle fans, who can’t seem to catch a break in this summer’s transfer market, Manchester United have turned their attention to striker target Benjamin Sesko of RB Leipzig, and look set to launch a €75 million bid to rival the Magpies’ offer sent late last week.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1754315201labto1754315201ofdlr1754315201owedi1754315201sni@g1754315201niwe.1754315201yrrah1754315201