IT took an ex-City player to hand United their first defeat of pre-season – and Sir Alex Ferguson will hope it doesn’t serve as an omen for the campaign ahead.
The United manager has been vocal about the goings on at Eastlands this summer and will be fully aware of football’s ability to come back and kick you in the teeth.
Daniel van Buyten’s sudden-death penalty could hardly be considered first blood to the blue half of Manchester, though the irony of the giant Belgian defender putting one over United will not have been lost on City supporters.
They are convinced that Mark Hughes has assembled a squad capable of challenging their arch rivals.
And while Ferguson has questioned City’s top-four credentials, he will be more concerned about his own side’s fortunes for the coming season.
This 7-6 penalty defeat to Bayern Munich in the final of the Audi Cup after the sides battled out a 0-0 draw in Munich will not give him sleepless nights ahead of the new campaign.
But he will have been disappointed by United’s inability to find the back of the net in 90 minutes against the Germans, despite good second-half chances for Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney.
Ferguson had seen the Premier League champions score 18 goals in five games before tonight's goalless draw. But Bayern will have told him much more than the likes of FC Seoul or Hangzhou Greentown.
Stubborn
Owen, Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov filled their boots on the tour of the Far East – but none managed to find the back of the net against the considerably more stubborn opposition of Boca Juniors and Bayern.
And it is against the likes of Bayern that you-know-who will be most missed.
United have shown repeatedly that they can bully the majority of the Premier League. But it is against the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and possibly City that something extra is needed.
That inspiration that only the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo can bring.
It was the Portuguese winger’s brilliance that fired United to back-to-back Champions League finals – and it is that spark of genius that Ferguson will be looking for elsewhere in his squad.
It didn’t come tonight – but he won’t read too much into a match that they might easily have won.
Berbatov provided United’s only moment of magic in the first half – hitting the post with an audacious effort, while Owen and, particularly Rooney, might have done better when in front of goal after the break.
In the end, with the score 6-6 after seven penalties each, Johnny Evans’ tame spot kick was saved by Michael Rensing, allowing Van Buyten to become the hero.
In truth, both sides had the chance to ensure the game didn’t go to penalty kicks.
Helpless
Bayern could have been ahead early on when Mario Gomez controlled the ball in the area – only to see his effort come back off the crossbar with the United goalkeeper helpless.
And the Germans continued to dominate the chances with Thomas Muller presented with the clearest opening of the first half on 28 minutes.
The teenage striker, who terrorised AC Milan with two goals in the semi-final, looked certain to open the scoring with just Van der Sar to beat from 15 yards.
But he could only side-foot tamely at the Dutchman when he had the whole goal to aim at.
Van der Sar was in action again shortly after, fielding Bastian Shweinsteiger’s long-range effort before United finally threatened at the other end.
Coming six minutes before the break, a brilliant piece of ingenuity from Berbatov saw the Bulgarian completely catch the Bayern defence out with an overhead kick that came back off the upright.
Where as United tired in the second half against Boca, they were notably the fresher of the two sides as the game wore on against Bayern.
Berbatov should have done better with a header shortly after the break – failing to even test Rensing – and the striker combined well with Paul Scholes just after the hour mark to provide Owen with United’s best chance of the match to that point.
Picking up Berbatov’s pass on the edge of the area, Scholes instantly shifted it right to Owen, who had evaded his marker, but could only fire against the body of Rensing, who was off his line in a flash.
Action
Ferguson sent for Antonio Valencia again to see if the Ecuadorian could build on his dream debut 24 hours earlier.
Owen saw another half chance go begging later in the half – heading over Nani’s cross from the left before being withdrawn from the action in the last 15 minutes.
Rooney – coming on for Owen – could have won it for United with five minutes on the clock whe latching onto Ryan Giggs’ through ball, but he blasted over with only the keeper to beat.
“It was a competitive game and the kind of game we needed. In the first half they were better, we didn’t get at them enough," said Fergie.
“When we got more aggressive it became an open match and we had some really good chances. It was the type of game that will bring us on a good deal.
“Penalties can always go either way. We were unlucky.”
United: Van der Sar, Evra, Ferdinand (Cathcart 69), Evans, Scholes, Fletcher, Gibson (Valencia 63), Giggs, Nani, Owen (Rooney77), Berbatov (Anderson 77)
What did you think of United's display? Tell us your comments
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I'm with you, Danny - Fergie out, Fergie out! Granted we won 3 of the 5 major trophies last season, and yes we lost in the final of the CL , and in the semi's of the FA Cup on pens, but this was the Audi Cup! We're all doomed!! I blame the Glazers, etc, etc, - have I left anything out??
I think ferguson should be stepping down now since all he seems to be able to is open his big fat mouth and have a go at city for the spending that they are doing and one of his comments was that city paid too much for tevez but i am sure i heard him say like alot of other people that they had offered the asking price.....
Blue for Ever
'it took penalties'! of course the fact it was a city player or ex player who has had a much better career since he left them(you could have mentioned that mr james robson if you wanted to give us a football history lesson!). anyway, enjoyed the game. this will do united good, playing a team whos season starts before ours and who are fitter (in terms of preparation). Rooney and owen should have won the game, certainly rooney. bayern were much better first half, and united got better.owen, will score goals, thats a certainty. Berbatov looks as though hes lost weight, he looks and plays as though hes fitter than last season.the plus of a pre-season at united , rather than turning up in august like last year.Nani, was his usual self , after looking good in previous matches. a straight forward pass to valencia would have made it 1-0, after the bayern dfender had given away possession, but nani messed it up with an awful pass. his pen in the shoot-out was something special though, but this isnt american footy where we bring players on ie just to score field goals and conversions or to take penalties! Gibson looks impressive,he got stuck in, tackled, legally and sometimes not so. he could be a surprise and start the season.i hope so.
"IT took an ex-City player to hand United their first defeat of pre-season – and Sir Alex Ferguson will hope it doesn’t serve as an omen for the campaign ahead."
What a rubbish point: only if he is mental or has massive OCD type superstition. What if he rubs a four leaf clover and shuts the front door five times, does that abate an "omen" ?
"United have shown repeatedly that they can bully the majority of the Premier League. But it is against the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and possibly City that something extra is needed."
City ? A ramshackle team of mis-matched mercenaries, renowned bad attitudes and agent's pawns spewing meaningless platitudes. Why not Everton ? Villa ? Spurs ? Citeh still look poor and Adebadbuyor is absolute garbage.
On a further issue, I wonder how many of City's "aggressive" transfer bids keep finding their way into the press ? Unfortunate.
An unusual team selection, with the bulk of our pace on the bench.
Sorry to say yet again it was the midfield which did not influence anything tonight. Why Gibson on the right when Valencia could have started. THe best player tonight was Nani the only one who looked like creating something.
Looks like we are going to start the season with defensive injuries with no Vidic again tonight.
Fletcher as a right back was nearly a disaster, why not Fabio.
We looked abit better when Anderson came on up until then the centre was sterile to say the least.
We still need a good central midfield pleayer who can control things. I personally don't think Hargreaves, who is the one we miss, will ever play again because his injuries are not like rupturing tendons or ligaments.
I knew that this game would tell us how we will fair next season well just to finish in the top 4 will be an achievement as yet again against good teams we lacked any cutting edge.
all in all its a friendly and who cares if an ex ciddy player scord the winning goa lbig deal.......
Bring on the season.......
If we end up playing them again I hope someone makes goes flying in on Demichelis and does not get booked
Only watched 2nd half, we still looked rusty. Nani still runs into dead-ends and his crossing was poor. Was Fletch playing at RB? He struggled. Central mid or nothing for me. Rooney looked his inconsistant self, he hasn't looked great in pre-season so far although I reckon he needs a full pre-season to get sharp. Berbatov looked good, still tended to play too deep but is there a better 1st touch in the prem?
Another thread talks about the new pen taker - Anderson for me, if he's on the pitch, if not Carrick. I missed the sustitutions, I assume Owen went off as he didn't take a pen.
that is why they have preseason is to work out the kinks and restore good working order. i think this will help the front men to anticipate better in the games ahead and for SAF to set the pairings and positions.
Wait for it! Soon the City fans will be on hear claiming a major victory over Man U just because an ex player of theirs scored the winner. It's a pity the richest club in the world let him go as he may have scored for them against the Orlando Pirates and The Kaizer Chiefs or was it Atomic Kitten.
It is only one game so there is a danger of reading too much into it.
United did lack a cutting edge and creativity. This was the first match I've seen Owen play and he was largely anonymous. And does anyone else share concerns about Evra? He is getting forward but it is rare that there is any end product.
A United problem as this artcle claims? Not sure, but I think of the great midfields of United during SAF's reign and the current one and I can't help feeling this should be the key area of focus. Again it is too early but Ive yet to see a collective improvement to compensate for Ronaldo's loss.
There were positives - Valencia's direct wing play and some cracking penalties, and especially GIggs. He takes his penalties and, cool as you like, he scores.
It was a friendly against decent opposition and nothing more. Don't forget this lot hammered AC Milan.
Rooney has to FINALLY find his consistency/composure this season, with a COOLER HEAD he should have won the game for us ......and the PRESSURE following him (after his spoken words "ill score our goals now") HAS'NT EVEN STARTED YET, sometimes you get ONE CHANCE against Top Teams!! Still good workout for the Whole Team...AND THATS WHAT ITS ABOUT AT THE MOMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A decent yardstick against which to measure ourselves, but even then, they were missing Ribery and several others. Of course, it is in games like this that CR's absence will be felt most, but we've heard much brave talk about how the likes of Berbatov, Owen and Valencia will rise to the challenge. However, if this game is anything to go by, the early signs aren't that encouraging. For most of the time this felt like a European away leg with Bayern on top, particularly in midfield. All too often, Berbatov and - in particular - Owen were just spectators and although Giggs worked hard, there wasn't much impetus or imagination coming from central midfield. For me, only Evra, Evans, Rio & Nani emerged from this one with any real credit. Otherwise, frankly, we looked depressingly ordinary.
Slightly worried about the season now. Defence was good, Evans especially. But we were chasing the game most of the time. Owen looked lightweight. Berba some good flashes but not sustained. Surprisingly Nani was one of the best players. Looked like he was really up for it and def has the skill, just needs more composure in final third. Rooney flattened a player in first few seconds, is he feeling the pressure? What's happened to Foster? Supposed to be our next No 1 but not had a great pre-season and not even played in Munich. I suppose we could say we were tired, Bayern are a good team and were at home and they didn't score. Just reminded me that we didn't score in a number of important games last year (Community Shield, Carling Final, FA Cup Semi, CL Final) and didn't look like scoring again.
What really riled me is the attitude the Bayern players had. They started going in hard on the tackle, knowing that no cards would be shown. Demichelis deserved a straight red for chopping down Owen for instance, Schweinsteiger kicked Berbatov so hard you could hear it in the stands etc. But when the United players started giving like treatment, the Germans started dropping as if they'd been shot, even before a tackle had been made in some instances (leaving Rio, Scholesy, Nani and others looking very surprised when the referee whistled). Cheats.
Apropo referee, United player was fouled, we tayed in possession though, there were fewer Bayern players behind the ball than we had, and the referee then gives the foul, although we are clearly in possession . . German referee, Bayern sponsor's cup (Audi), Bayern shouldn't lose I suppose . .
In a proper competition on a level playing field, we'll stuff 'em. Good fighting spirit shown by all, Scholesy was brilliant, Berbatov showed some lovely footwork, Owen looked as sharp as in the old days (almost, it'll come back I'm sure). Even Rio looked good.
The Boss obviously wanted to protect Fabio, and I was surprised O'Pie didn't get a run out, (carying a knock maybe?, coz' he'd have given as good as he got to the Germs).
When we played, we played better, and thinking that our lads only got in on Monday from China, things are looking up. Can't wait for the real business to start.
Another pathetic article from the MEN, a disgrace. The game was a draw ands the germans won the pens, do we really need to hear about city for a third of the article? Very poor!
Why no mention of good performances? No mention of possible worries in defence which has looked very shaky without Vidic and we had to play DF at right back because of a lengthenning defensive injury list? Or the fact that Owen and Roo have not played together? Or who took their penalty well and who didn't? etc
I don't know if this Robson guy is a Spurs or an Arsenal fan but he shouldn't be writing about a Manchester club in a Manchester paper.
"IT took an ex-City player to hand United their first defeat of pre-season – and Sir Alex Ferguson will hope it doesn’t serve as an omen for the campaign ahead".
What a load of absolute garbage
He was never a City player. The guy on was on loan, played a total of 6 times, and in the end City could not afford to buy him. Perhaps they can go back now and splash the cash.
Next it will be the referee who booked Brown, his aunties great nephew knew a man who stood on the Kippax before the war.
As for the game, both teams were not 100 % committed to the game. Next two games will be more of a yardstick.
We were quite unlucky not to win this one in normal time. Penalties are a bit of a lottery and poor Jonny let the nerves get to him. It would've been nice to see Owen Hargreaves play against his old club, his services were definitely missed last night, let's hope he makes a return to full fitness sooner rather than later. Must mention a few words for Daniel van Buyten. Well done to the lad, his refusal to sign a new contract with that neighbouring big club of ours has proved to be spot on. Now they're scraping the bottom of the barrell for defenders, the irony of it all!
It took us 40 mins to get our first effort in on goal, sound suspiciously like last season against top sides
There are usually a lot of Nani beaters on here, but hopefully you've all been watching him and seeing what SAF has these last couple of years. He might not have the best crossing ability at the moment, but his ball control and ability to beat a man long enough to get the cross in are superb. He and Valencia will get a lot of games this season, and I believe that by the end of the year Nani will be a winger the fans truely love. That said, one thing he needs to thrive is a forward looking midfield - Scholes does not go forward that much and as a consequence Nani often lacked someone to play ( short pass, not cross ) the ball to, and had to dribble a bit to let the reinforcements arrive. Anderson and Carrick change that, and so here's to another league triumph! Can't wait to throw Obertan, Ljajic, Welbeck, Tosic and Diouf into that mix!
It took us 40mins to get our first shot on target, sound suspiciously like last seasons form against top sides. Or hopefully we were just tired.
I didn't get to see the whole game against Boca but the first half was terrible, we were giving them far too much space and defending too deep. The second half was marginally better but I thought overall it was a below par performance.There really needs to be an improvement in the next game....
Mr Robson you are completly correct in that we were a ONE man team and obviously relegation beckons;I will though continue to support Man Utd as I did the last time they were relegated which was probably before you were born.