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| Manchester United v Barcelona: pre-season friendly – live! | Manchester United v Barcelona: pre-season friendly – live! |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 12.26am BST | |
| 00:26 | |
| Messi, meanwhile, is getting his eye in: | |
| 🔥 Leo Messi 🔥 #BarçaManUReady! pic.twitter.com/QCMRlkGiLH | |
| 12.24am BST | |
| 00:24 | |
| The last minute warm-ups have commenced, so we’re not too far away now. | |
| Final preparations... #MUTOUR pic.twitter.com/qZ5C0B72H4 | |
| 12.18am BST | |
| 00:18 | |
| As you’ve seen, some pretty strong line-ups there, while Barcelona’s bench is deeper than the Mariana Trench. Utd fans, I suspect, will be frustrated to see Martial on the bench. But remember what I said, it’s just a friendly. Pre-season should be all about serenity now. | |
| Actually, JR from Illinois is finding that difficult. “I’ll be using this pre-season game to continue ramping up my (fully justified in my opinion, naturally) intense dislike for Jose Mourinho. I’ll be on the lookout for him physically assaulting the opposing coaching staff, moaning to the referees, whingeing about not being able to buy the players he wants, insulting the opposing manager by going in for a handshake before the game is over, and spouting conspiracy theories in the post-match presser. | |
| “Oh God I hate him so much. Hey, look at that, I think I’ve worked myself into mid-season form already.” | |
| Some take months to hit their stride, JR, you’ve started like a hare. Just be careful you don’t burn yourself out at the first bend. | |
| 12.14am BST | |
| 00:14 | |
| Teams | |
| Barcelona: | |
| 🔴🔵 Barça XI:13.Cillessen4.Rakitic5.Sergio9.Suárez10.Messi11.Neymar Jr12.Semedo14.Mascherano16.Aleñá18.Jordi Alba23.Umtiti | |
| subs: Ortolá, Jokin, Marlon, Piqué, Denis, Arda, Iniesta, Vermaelen, Alcácer, Digne, S.Roberto, A.Vidal, Samper, Douglas and Munir | |
| Manchester United: | |
| Here's how we'll line up against @FCBarcelona... #MUTOUR pic.twitter.com/MvMPUFSIBA | |
| 12.04am BST | |
| 00:04 | |
| ICC etc | |
| Tonight’s game is part of the International Champions Cup, a pre-season tournament which, this year, is spread between the US, China and Singapore. How they arrive at a single winner I have no idea, but I can tell you that in the eight-team, US conference (that’s not really a conference) Barcelona sit in fourth spot with one win from one game (a 2-1 win over Juventus in New Jersey) while Manchester United are currently on top of the table with 5 points after wins over Man City and Real Madrid. | |
| Five points? Apparently you get fewer points for winning by penalty shootout. You also get a single point for losing by penalty shootout. Seems fair enough, actually – although neither team should have got anything for the penalty shootout in question. | |
| Barcelona, meanwhile, have played just a single pre-season fixture, that win over Juventus which saw Neymer score both goals, the second of which was really something. | |
| Neymar, of course, is the on-going subject of transfer speculation. Will he go to PSG for a world-record fee? (And will Barcelona replace him with Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho?) Barcelona will surely not want to split up the best threesome we’ve seen since Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg and Ted Danson, but when dollar signs pile atop dollar signs you’d never bet against it. | |
| Speaking of wonderful trios, you may want to drop me a line to suggest a few of your own. And, as my example indicates, they needn’t be football related. | |
| 11.49pm BST | 11.49pm BST |
| 23:49 | 23:49 |
| Preamble | Preamble |
| Good evening folks, welcome to this live blog of tonight’s Barcelona v Manchester United friendly being played at FedEx Field in Maryland, USA. | Good evening folks, welcome to this live blog of tonight’s Barcelona v Manchester United friendly being played at FedEx Field in Maryland, USA. |
| As with all pre-season friendlies, it’s hard to know what to expect tonight. A few days ago we saw Manchester United and Real Madrid go at it like a couple of heavily-sedated pillow fighters, which explains the comical penalty shoot-out that decided the game. Then again, a few days before that, in Hong Kong, in the final of the | As with all pre-season friendlies, it’s hard to know what to expect tonight. A few days ago we saw Manchester United and Real Madrid go at it like a couple of heavily-sedated pillow fighters, which explains the comical penalty shoot-out that decided the game. Then again, a few days before that, in Hong Kong, in the final of the |
| highly sought-after | highly sought-after |
| ‘Premier League Asia Trophy’, Liverpool and Leicester had a ding-dong battle that, at least for the first 45 minutes, felt like it mattered. A wag might say that was only because it’ll be the only silverware those two teams have a chance of winning all year, but nevertheless it was highly entertaining and there were three quality goals. Can the players of United and Barca bring something to the field tonight? Other than marvellous pre-season tans and lairish boots? | ‘Premier League Asia Trophy’, Liverpool and Leicester had a ding-dong battle that, at least for the first 45 minutes, felt like it mattered. A wag might say that was only because it’ll be the only silverware those two teams have a chance of winning all year, but nevertheless it was highly entertaining and there were three quality goals. Can the players of United and Barca bring something to the field tonight? Other than marvellous pre-season tans and lairish boots? |
| Let’s ask that magnificent bastard, Luis Suarez, who we’ll hopefully see in action tonight: “We want to win,” he told the Washington Post on Tuesday, drawing us in with his passion, his stirring words, his call to arms … before pulling the rug from under us with that awful three-letter word. “But it’s also clear that it’s not the same to lose a friendly match in pre-season than to lose a game in the Champions [League] or a La Liga game. The coach can tinker with the team and work on things.” | Let’s ask that magnificent bastard, Luis Suarez, who we’ll hopefully see in action tonight: “We want to win,” he told the Washington Post on Tuesday, drawing us in with his passion, his stirring words, his call to arms … before pulling the rug from under us with that awful three-letter word. “But it’s also clear that it’s not the same to lose a friendly match in pre-season than to lose a game in the Champions [League] or a La Liga game. The coach can tinker with the team and work on things.” |
| So he can, and so he will. So where does that leave us? Perhaps with the reality that it’s pre-season for all of us too, and we should be grateful for these stress-free opportunities to ease ourselves into the season without the risk of an aneurysm. For me, it’s the place to get the tpyos out of my systsm and to familiarise myself with the ever-changing line-ups before thigns get serious. For instance, had you heard that Romalu Lukaku is now a Manchester United player? | So he can, and so he will. So where does that leave us? Perhaps with the reality that it’s pre-season for all of us too, and we should be grateful for these stress-free opportunities to ease ourselves into the season without the risk of an aneurysm. For me, it’s the place to get the tpyos out of my systsm and to familiarise myself with the ever-changing line-ups before thigns get serious. For instance, had you heard that Romalu Lukaku is now a Manchester United player? |
| As for the game, were this a Champions League tie, what with the storied history of these two teams, I’d be tossing the hyperbole about like chicken feed. But as it’s a pre-season friendly I’ll be keeping my exclamation marks to a minimum unless the action compels me to release them from their cage (which I’ve been meaning to get gilded for some time but haven’t found the time). So now you know. | As for the game, were this a Champions League tie, what with the storied history of these two teams, I’d be tossing the hyperbole about like chicken feed. But as it’s a pre-season friendly I’ll be keeping my exclamation marks to a minimum unless the action compels me to release them from their cage (which I’ve been meaning to get gilded for some time but haven’t found the time). So now you know. |
| That said, put your feet up, don’t worry about the result and enjoy the game. And if you’re so inclined, reach out and tweet me (@PFConnolly), email me (paul.connolly.casual@theguardian.co.uk) or send me a letter using your best calligraphy. It should arrive in time for the start of the Premier League season, so make it a timeless enquiry. | That said, put your feet up, don’t worry about the result and enjoy the game. And if you’re so inclined, reach out and tweet me (@PFConnolly), email me (paul.connolly.casual@theguardian.co.uk) or send me a letter using your best calligraphy. It should arrive in time for the start of the Premier League season, so make it a timeless enquiry. |
| Kick-off: 7.30pm local, 12.30am BST. | Kick-off: 7.30pm local, 12.30am BST. |
| 5.08pm BST | 5.08pm BST |
| 17:08 | 17:08 |
| Paul will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s Jamie Jackson’s on Paul Pogba’s importance to United: | Paul will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s Jamie Jackson’s on Paul Pogba’s importance to United: |
| On a sunny morning at Georgetown University José Mourinho is discussing why Paul Pogba can be Manchester United’s driving force in the Champions League, how “it is difficult to like players” as he does his squad and the rare sadness felt when Wayne Rooney left for Everton. | On a sunny morning at Georgetown University José Mourinho is discussing why Paul Pogba can be Manchester United’s driving force in the Champions League, how “it is difficult to like players” as he does his squad and the rare sadness felt when Wayne Rooney left for Everton. |
| United are back in Europe’s elite club competition after Mourinho led them to a Europa League triumph last season, defeating Ajax 2-0 in the final. Speaking before United’s training session at the university’s Shaw Field, the manager believes Pogba’s experience in some of the world’s biggest matches will be vital for the forthcoming campaign. | United are back in Europe’s elite club competition after Mourinho led them to a Europa League triumph last season, defeating Ajax 2-0 in the final. Speaking before United’s training session at the university’s Shaw Field, the manager believes Pogba’s experience in some of the world’s biggest matches will be vital for the forthcoming campaign. |
| “He played Champions League final, Euro [2016] final with France, Europa League final with us, so he has played three finals in Europe, all that he can play,” Mourinho says of the 24-year-old former Juventus midfielder. “He is probably the oldest guy of the young guys, of that group that comes from the academy. He is still an academy boy, he is still the guy that his relationship with the club and the structure, his relationship with the people in the club is still the relationship of the kid that was here. So I think he has a fantastic role to play with us and much more ready to do it than last season.” | “He played Champions League final, Euro [2016] final with France, Europa League final with us, so he has played three finals in Europe, all that he can play,” Mourinho says of the 24-year-old former Juventus midfielder. “He is probably the oldest guy of the young guys, of that group that comes from the academy. He is still an academy boy, he is still the guy that his relationship with the club and the structure, his relationship with the people in the club is still the relationship of the kid that was here. So I think he has a fantastic role to play with us and much more ready to do it than last season.” |
| While the homegrown contingent includes Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Axel Tuanzebe, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Scott McTominay, Andreas Pereira and Demi Mitchell, Mourinho speaks tenderly of his whole squad. “I like to work with them, I like to live with them and I like them,” he adds. “That is something during your career that does not happen every season. It’s difficult to like players the way I like these guys. It’s difficult to like them all. In teams there are always guys you like a lot and some others that you don’t enjoy so much. You don’t like their personality. But these guys are phenomenal, to live with them is phenomenal.” | While the homegrown contingent includes Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Axel Tuanzebe, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Scott McTominay, Andreas Pereira and Demi Mitchell, Mourinho speaks tenderly of his whole squad. “I like to work with them, I like to live with them and I like them,” he adds. “That is something during your career that does not happen every season. It’s difficult to like players the way I like these guys. It’s difficult to like them all. In teams there are always guys you like a lot and some others that you don’t enjoy so much. You don’t like their personality. But these guys are phenomenal, to live with them is phenomenal.” |
| You can read the full story below: | You can read the full story below: |