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Croke Park chaos, 5-4
Manchester United beat Leeds 5-4 on penalties after their pre-season friendly at Dublin’s Croke Park ended 1-1, with referee Neil Doyle blowing the whistle bang on 90 minutes as stewards tried to clear the pitch of selfie-hunting invaders.
“It ended 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes”
Noussair Mazraoui kept his cool to roll in the decisive penalty, after Joshua Zirkzee scored United’s 16th-minute opener and Brenden Aaronson equalised just before the half-hour mark.
The match was played in front of a sell-out crowd of more than 80,000, and it was the first association soccer game at the home of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 2009.
Michael Carrick said, “We played some really good football,” as he reflected on a game that went to a shoot-out after the pitch invasions prevented play from restarting.
Fernandes, penalties, and fans
Bruno Fernandes missed from the spot before the shoot-out went to sudden death, and after James Justin struck the crossbar, Mazraoui capitalised to secure the win for United.
The BBC described Fernandes as “the centre of attention” at Croke Park, noting that the place would have erupted after an effort ruled out for offside and a shot that flicked off the bar.
RTL Today reported that when security did not immediately intervene, at least three other pitch invaders joined in and play did not restart before Neil Doyle blew for full-time.
Carrick also framed Rashford’s status for the next friendly, saying he was holding Lisandro Martinez, Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford “in reserve” for Saturday’s friendly against former boss Ruben Amorim and AC Milan in Wroclaw, Poland.
What comes next for both
With the result irrelevant compared to preparations for the new season, the BBC said the reaction for Fernandes underlines his hero status among United fans, while also raising the question of what comes next for the Portugal playmaker.
“he has a £57m release clause available to overseas clubs”
The BBC reported that Fernandes has a £57m release clause available to overseas clubs and that his contract has entered its final year, with an option to extend by a further season.
Carrick told ITV, “He’s our player,” as he said Marcus Rashford has come back “great” and that he was “looking forward to the start of the season.”
The Guardian added that United’s pre-season results now read this victory, 1–1 against Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday, 2–1 (Atlético Madrid), 5–0 (Rosenborg) and the 1–0 loss to Wrexham on 18 July, while Leeds’s record after the defeat was 2-0, against RB Leipzig, 4-2 (Liverpool), 1-0 win (Sunderland), and the 3-2 defeat, also to Wrexham, on 26 July.
