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Pre-season Friendlies
Jul 30, 2015 at 2am UK
 
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0-2

 
FT(HT: 0-2)
Matuidi (25'), Ibrahimovic (34')

Live Commentary: Manchester United 0-2 Paris Saint-Germain - as it happened

:Headline: Live Commentary: Manchester United 0-2 Paris Saint-Germain - as it happened: ID:236153: from db_amp
Relive Sports Mole's live coverage of Man United's pre-season friendly defeat to PSG in Chicago.

Manchester United slumped to their first defeat on their pre-season tour of the USA following a 2-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in Chicago.

First-half goals from Blaise Matuidi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic proved enough as the Red Devils now return to England on the back of a defeat.

Relive our live coverage below.

Good morning and thanks for joining our live text commentary of Manchester United's pre-season friendly with Paris Saint-Germain in Chicago. We're in the land of Al Capone, Kanye West and Kevin from Home Alone as the Red Devils look to bookend their US tour with a victory. Speaking of missing the plane, Angel di Maria, who was afforded an extended holiday due to his participation in the Copa America, is not here to watch his current club take on his future club.
Indeed, the Argentine, signed by United for a British record £59.7m 12 months ago, is on the brink of completing a move to PSG. Consequently, we'll be uploading a Vine of his best moments in a United shirt a little later. For now, though, let us concentrate on the match at hand.
Before we have a look at some team news, let's have a quick recap on how both teams have fared in the International Champions Cup thus far. Why not.
So, the Premier League outfit, who can win the competition with any sort of victory - we think. Nobody really knows what's going on with this tournament - kicked off their campaign with a 1-0 win over Club America. They then produced a ground-breaking performance to beat San Jose Earthquakes 3-1 (may not have been that ground-breaking, but puns are puns).
If that wasn't impressive enough - the results, not the pun - Louis van Gaal's side then recorded a 3-1 win over Barcelona to make it three wins from three in North America. Wayne Rooney, Jesse Lingard and Adnan Januzaj were on the scoresheet there. Quite a scalp, and another wouldn't go amiss ahead of the new Premier League season in, hmm, nine days!
And how have PSG come to amass seven points from three games then? Well, Laurent Blanc's men edged out Benfica 3-2 in their curtain-raiser, before beating Fiorentina 4-2. However, they also went and lost 6-5 to English champions Chelsea on penalties following a 1-1 draw in regulation. They'd like a response here you'd imagine?
Anywho, shall we have a look at a bit of team news? Why not. This'll be here in the coming minutes.
UNITED XI: De Gea, Darmian, Jones, Blind, Shaw, Carrick, Schweinsteiger, Mata, Memphis, Young, Rooney
PSG XI: Trapp; Van der Wiel, Aurier, T.Silva (c), Maxwell; Verratti, Stambouli, Matuidi; Augustin, Ibrahimovic, Lucas
Right, let's started with United and it's a strong first XI for the Red Devils. Very strong. Wayne Rooney spearheads the attack, with Ashley Young, Memphis Depay, Juan Mata in support. Behind them, you've got Michael Carrick and Bastian Schweinsteiger in the middle of the park. Then, you've got Luke Shaw, Daley Blind, Phil Jones and Matteo Darmian spread across defence, in front of David de Gea. Not bad, is it? Not bad at all.
On to Les Parisiens now and they're also quite strong this morning. You've got Zlatan as the focal point in a three-pronged attack, with Lucas and Jean-Kevin Augustin - who has two goals in the ICC thus far - either side of him. In midfield, there's a new face as ex-Spurs man Benjamin Stambouli lines up with Blaise Matuidi and Marco Verratti. Thiago Silva continues as captain, with Kevin Trapp staying in goal. We could have a cracker on our hands here.
DID YOU KNOW? It's been four years since United were last present at Soldier Field? Yep. A 3-1 win over Chicago Fire. If you want context then chew on this: Wayne Rooney was still bald! Don't believe it? Check this out.


We usually do a little head-to-head section here but this time we can't. Why? Because this is the first meeting between both sides. Shocked? Me too, but it's true. Realistically, though, it'll be the first of many. By virtue of the fact that les Parisiens are a rising superpower in the European game, it's inevitable that their paths will cross at some stage in the near future.
In fact, they could even meet in this season's edition of the Champions League - if United qualify. Yep, the Red Devils finished fourth in the Premier League last term to ensure that they will need to negotiate a playoff tie in order to reach the playoffs. This could potentially be significantly more tricky than it sounds. Ask Arsenal. In recent years, they've been pushed very, very close by their playoff opponents.
Still, with United's ever-growing list of star-studded talent, they certainly should take their place among Europe's elite again. Failure to do so would be a disaster. It would make Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow look like comedies. Okay it wouldn't, but in football terms it would be pretty bad.
PREDICTION! Shall we? Why not. We correctly called Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Barcelona 24 hours ago, which can only mean one thing: this one will be completely wrong. Nevertheless, let's go for a 3-2 United win. There should be less emphasis on defending, given the jovial encounter, and we should see a few goals to whet the appetite ahead of the new season. #Italics
United fans - get in touch with your prediction for your chance to win a very special prize. You'll be picked up at your home by a limo. Then, the driver will get out, hand you a spare uniform and hat and then YOU will personally drive Angel di Maria to the airport. Suddenly the aul' "I'll drive him to the airport myself" dream could be a reality *may not be a real competition*

We should be getting underway in about five minutes. However, these North American kickoff times are historically and famously inaccurate so there may be a slight delay.
We should note that United are the defending champions of this North American version of the competition. This time last year, they beat the likes of Roma and Real Madrid in the group stage, before meeting and beating old rivals Liverpool 3-1 in the final. Rooney, Mata and Lingard were on the scoresheet that night. Of course, there's no final any longer, but victory would see them finish top of the 10-team table.
Yep, looks like we've got a bit of delay. It's 2am BST and the lads are nowhere to be seen as of yet. Stay tuned, though. It'll be worth the wait.
Ah, superb. Here we go. The players line up in the tunnel and we're minutes away now. Aaaaaaaaaaaand here they are.....
KICKOFF! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we're off in Chicago. PSG, playing from left to right, kick us off! This'll be a cracker.
CHANCE! Oh my it most definitely should be 1-0 to the French giants. It's a dreadful error from De Gea as his clearance goes straight to Zlatan, but the usually-lethal Ibrahimovic fires straight over the bar. You would've had your house on him there.
We're yet to see the best of United in these early stages. They haven't threatened much, but with that forward line, surely we'll see a few goals?
Thiago Silva is producing a 'thou shall not pass' display thus far. He looks stupendous so far; to the point where I'm using words that I don't usually use.
We could end up regretting the following statement, but Zlatan doesn't look bothered in the slightest. He's already missed a golden chance, and overall he just looks a little sloppy it has to be said.
Something might have come from this, but Verratti's over-the-top ball for Ibrahimovic is too long and trickles out for a goal kick. The idea was right...
CHANCE! Taxi for Memphis! Not the best chance of the game, based on Ibrahimovic's earlier opportunity, but still definitely a chance. Rooney holds the ball up really well before laying it off to Depay in the middle, but the Dutchman's first-time effort on the edge of the area is wide. Should've hit the target at least.
CHANCE! Another really bad miss from Ibrahimovic, who could've had a brace already. It's a wonderful corner in from Lucas, and Ibra, who evades Luke Shaw, looks certain to nod home but his header is wide. Failing to even hit the target is really bad.
OFFSIDE GOAL! Brilliant first touch and finish from Mata, who expertly controls Daley Blind's brilliant ball before slotting past Kevin Trapp with his weaker foot, but it's ruled out for offside.
GOAL! United 0-1 PSG (BLAISE MATUIDI)
Laurent Blanc's side take the lead through Blaise Matuidi, who gets goal-side of Phil Jones following Lucas's over-the-top ball before prodding past De Gea, who might've done more it has to be said.
It'll be interesting to see how United react now. They've been second best by way of goalscoring chances but they've still a few bright moments; namely Memphis fired wide.
Shall we call Zlatan a cab? Based on the chances he has missed, and his general body language, he's not bothered about being here sadly. Hopefully he'll perk up a little.
We haven't seen much of Ashley Young either. He's delivered a low cross into the area now but, as usual, it's cleared by Thiago Silva, who has been excellent it has to be said.
GOAL! United 0-2 PSG (Zlatan Ibrahimovic)
Luckily for PSG we didn't call that cab! Lethargic, but lethal. Zlatan proves us wrong following a mixed opening 35 minutes or so. It's a wonderful cross from Maxwell, and Ibrahimovic runs in behind Jones to slot between the legs of De Gea. Good finish. Good assist. Good goal.
CLOSE! Memphis fires a Ronaldo-esque free kick that Kevin Trapp can only punch away, and Maxwell almost bundles the ball into his net but it hits the side-netting.
Five minutes left until the break now and it seems like PSG will take a comfortable lead into it, eh? They're cruising. I can see another PSG goal before half time, but the same perhaps can't be said for United.
This might've spawned a third goal for the Ligue 1 side, as Lucas looks to play in Ibrahimovic but he showed too much of the ball to Daley Blind, who mopped up.
HALF TIME: Manchester United 0-2 Paris Saint-Germain
Decent half that. PSG lead 2-0 courtesy of goals from Matuidi and Ibrahimovic. Deserved? Probably. They've been clinical when they've needed to be.
Looks like both teams have a raft of second-half subs coming. Stay tuned to find out who.
RESTART: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we're back underway. United, trailing 2-0, kick us off once more. Plenty of subs and we'll get them to you as soon as they're confirmed.
UNITED SUBS: Right. De Gea, Schweinsteiger and Young have been called ashore for Sam Johnston, Morgan Schneiderlin and Andreas Pereira.
PSG SUBS: Edinson Cavani is also on the field.

Little to note so far. Those subs are bound to affect the game's fluency. I'm looking forward to seeing Periera, however. He looks a fine prospect.
CHANCE! This is a good chance for United. Pereira's whipped cross finds Mata at the back post, but the Spaniard, albeit with the angle against him, tries to control rather than swing a boot at it and his touch lets him down. Poor decision.
Oooomph! Soldier Field is a rather apt name for this stadium from Stambouli's perspective. He's been absolutely hammered with challenges tonight, and another hard one here comes in from Schneiderlin. No yellow.
PSG SUB: Thiago Silva puts the armband on Ibrahimovic as he makes his way off the field for Youssouf Sabaly. He's been superb tonight.
CHANCE! This is a wonderful move from United. Luke Shaw pulls it back for Periera, who in turn floats a ball into Rooney. The United skipper's cushioned header then finds Depay as his eyes light up, but Matuidi recovers well to pressure the volley, which goes wide. Better from United, though.
CHANCE! Didn't we say Ibra wasn't bothered too much? He has a chance to kill the game, but instead of taking a normal shoot to beat Johnston, the Swede looks to loft it over him but it's cleared off the line by Darmian.
Matteo Darmian has been really impressive this morning. Probably United's best player. Schweinsteiger and Memphis were a little meh. He's been pick of United's summer signings.
I'll stick my neck on the line here and say we won't see another goal. I don't see it. PSG look comfortable at the back, while United don't look like pulling up any trees to be fair. I'd be surprised if it didn't end 2-0.
BOOKING: Marquinhos goes into the book for a challenge on Rooney. Deserved, but the Brazilian might be a bit surprised to be the first recipient of a card, given the amount of fairly bad tackles in this.
CHANCE! Between me and you, it should be game over! It's Youssouf Sabaly who gallops toward goal from an angle, before slicing well, well, well wide of the near post. Go across goal pal!
BOOKING: 10 minutes left then and Antonio Valencia follows Marquinhos into the book for a foul on Lucas Digne.
UNITED SUBS: Sean Goss and Jesse Lingard make their way on to the field. Goss was at Exeter City just a few years ago. He's come a long, long way.
Let's not pull punches: it's been a disappointing second half for both, hasn't it? Very, very few chances. PSG have just absorbed pressure, with Thiago Silva being the pick of the bunch. He was outstanding.
United have a free kick in a decent area now after Rabiot fouled Memphis. Let's see if they can salvage a bit of pride.
FULL TIME: Manchester United 0-2 PSG
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand that's all she wrote. United head back to England on the back of a 2-0 defeat, courtesy of first-half goals from Matuidi and Ibrahimovic. Really, really poor second-half it has to be said. Neither teams did much from half-time onwards except break the world record for substitutes made. This impacted on the game slightly petering out sadly.
Anywho, thanks for joining our live coverage and we'll see you again. Until then....

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