Manchester United continue to roll in the preseason, keeping their undefeated in 2019 exhibition friendlies streak alive with a 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday. Part of the International Champions Cup competition, United knocked off the “holders” (and we use that term loosely) of the ICC “title” to move up to fourth in the ICC standings.
Hey, a piece of “silverware” is at stake…sort of. That said, here are some news and notes items stemming from the clash in Shanghai, starting with the injury to central defender Eric Bailly.
It’s yet another injury blow for the extremely unfortunate young man, the very first transfer buy of the Jose Mourinho era. Bailly suffered an injury to his left knee, and when this match was over that knee was in a brace and he left on crutches.
So he was visibly upset, understandably so, especially given all that he’s dealt with in the past year or so, and this injury seems to be pretty significant. Perhaps he wasn’t going to be a part of United’s first team plans anyway, but now this development puts more pressure on Old Trafford to get the Harry Maguire deal done. United will have to indeed pay up in order to reinforce the depth at the position.
United forward Anthony Martial opened the scoring in this one, achieving a scoring strike in the 21′ before Spurs’ Lucas Moura equalized in the 65′. The game winner came via promising wunderkid Angel Gomes, who netted his first ever senior team goal.
Congratulations:
Angel Gomes goal ?? https://t.co/b71qESu22I
— United Zone (@ManUnitedZone_) July 25, 2019
Tottenham won possession in this one 57-43%, but United did more when they had the ball, creating more chances and putting more of those chances on goal. For Spurs, they will next take on Real Madrid in the Audi Cup final on Tuesday.
United’s next preseason game is also on Tuesday, as they will take on Kristiansund.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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