Manchester United claimed some early bragging rights over Liverpool as Louis van Gaal ended his first pre-season tour as manager with yet another morale-boosting win.
Steven Gerrard’s penalty put Liverpool ahead, but Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata scored within two minutes of each other before Jesse Lingard rounded off the 3-1 win at the death.
The victory, which came in front of 51,104 rain-soaked fans at the uncovered Sun Life Stadium in Miami, United states of America, meant United lifted the International Champions Cup – the pre-season tournament that had eight of Europe’s best teams.
The trophy, and the Chevrolet Cup, which Van Gaal won after United beat the Los Angeles Galaxy a fortnight ago, will not take the pride of place in the Dutchman’s packed cabinet.
But the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager will at least be happy to go back to Manchester with five wins under his belt and an enhanced knowledge of his squad.
The players have reacted well to Van Gaal’s training techniques and the 3-4-1-2 system he has used successfully against the Galaxy, Roma, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and now Liverpool.
More importantly, the atmosphere around the camp is in complete contrast to the edgy feeling that lingered around the team under David Moyes.
Trending
- Transcorp Power appoints Non-Executive Directors
- Troops neutralise 192 terrorists, apprehend 341 others in one week – DHQ
- Why we sacked coach Paul Offor – Sporting Lagos FC Chair
- JUTH records first set of IVF quadruplets
- Victor Boniface: From military barracks to Bundesliga glory, by Kayode Adebiyi
- GOtv Boxing Night 31: Abimbola targets N1m cash prize
- Police arrest driver for alleged unlawful possession of pistols
- Navigating boss-subordinate relationship, by Kenechukwu Aguolu