Manchester United beats New England to open the World Football Challenge: Fan reaction

Posted Friday, July 15, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

Manchester United beat the New England Revolution 4-1 to open the World Football Challenge on Wednesday, July 13. Young forward Federico Macheda scored two goals in the second half to lead the Red Devils to the victory. Here are three thoughts from the match:

Manchester United brought most of their top players

It was exciting to see Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, and Ryan Giggs take the field for United to open the Tour. Last year, many teams didn't bring their best to the United States for the tour, including United, who left Rooney in England. This year's team is missing Chicarito Hernandez, who is resting after the Gold Cup, and new signee David de Gea, who has yet to join the club.

However, the stars that Manchester United kept on the field made up for it. American fans don't get many opportunities to see players of United's skill level ply their trade often, so it was a treat.

New England's moral victory

It's probably just me, but claims that New England earned a moral victory by holding United's starters goal-less in the first half are absurd. While the Revs are one of the league's worst teams at the moment, they are playing a team early in their pre-season and are just now getting their legs together. A moral victory would have been keeping them close for the full 90 minutes, not a half. It sounds harsh, but New England was embarrassed at home by the Red Devils' second and third teams in the second half. There's no moral victory there.

A look at Manchester United's new additions and young players

New signee Ashley Young made his debut for the United and was in the starting lineup. Young was active on the ball and generally had a great game. It'll be interesting to see how well he adjusts to his new team, but he looked good against the Revolution.

While Young settles in with the Red Devils, two youngsters are trying to make their mark with the team. Macheda exhibited top-flight finishing with his two goals in the second half, including his game-winner in the 54th minute. The young forward was once seen as the next phenom to come up through the ranks at United, and maybe he's starting to reach some of his vast potential.

Gabriel Oberton also impressed when he replaced Young in the 67th minute. His beautiful footwork and pass to Giggs led to Park Ji-Sung's 80th-minute goal. The goal put the game away for the Red Devils and highlighted the depth that United has on the bench. It'll be interesting to see what United does with both Oberton and Macheda this season, because I think both players have a lot of potential.

Overall, it was an exciting opener for this year's World Football Challenge. I'm looking forward to the Red Devils' next match against the Seattle Sounders FC on July 20.