Van Gaal in super debut for United
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MANCHESTER United made an impressive debut under coach Louis van Gaal on Wednesday night, with Wayne Rooney scoring twice late in the first half of a 7-0 friendly victory over the LA Galaxy in Pasadena, California.
Ashley Young and defender Reece James scored two second-half goals each as United opened its summer tour with a surprisingly polished win.
Van Gaal doesn’t subscribe to the notion that such a friendly is meaningless, not when United has so much work to do this summer.
“I think always the results do matter,” van Gaal said. “With such a result, you get confidence, and also confidence in a new system. The boys are willing to pick up all the info. We have given a lot of info, but it’s fantastic how they performed today.”
Van Gaal revealed a system similar to the attack of his Dutch World Cup team. The tactics might be unfamiliar to United fans, but they worked splendidly in a stunning start.
“When you see us train, you can expect something, but not 7-0,” van Gaal said. “That for me was a surprise, and there were some beautiful goals. They scored out of some good attacks.”
Danny Welbeck scored the first goal for van Gaal, who has had limited work with his new club after leading the Netherlands to a third-place finish in Brazil earlier this month. United still outclassed the Galaxy in the friendly between two of David Beckham’s former clubs.
Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera also made their debuts while United won by a familiar American football score at the Rose Bowl, the venerable college football stadium.
United’s United States tour continues tomorrow in Denver, Colorado, against AS Roma, followed by matches with Inter Milan in Washington on Tuesday and Real Madrid in Michigan on August 2.
In Boston, Massachusetts, a 90th-minute own goal cost Liverpool in a 0-1 loss to Roma but an early spill left striker Fabio Borini with a much more worrisome right shoulder injury.
The 23-year-old Italian striker, a former Roma standout before coming to Liverpool, fell on an early tackle and came up holding his shoulder.
Liverpool said during the match that Borini’s shoulder was not dislocated but further examination was needed in a tough setback during the opening minutes of the English Premier League side’s preseason US tour.
The only goal of the match came in the dying seconds of regular time, when Roma’s Marco Borriello bent his right leg and redirected a corner kick off Liverpool defender Daniel Agger and into the net.
For the second time in three years, Fenway, the home of the Boston Red Sox, was transformed into the home of Liverpool, which is owned by Fenway Sports Group. John Henry, owner of the Red Sox, also is the controlling partner of Fenway Sports Group.
Roma beat Liverpool 2-1 at Fenway two years ago.
“It’s the second time in the last couple of years,” Liverpool coach Brendan Rodgers said. “It was a great atmosphere. The support was great. I think it was for both — fantastic. For a preseason game, it was a very, very good game.”
Liverpool rested a number of its star players, including captain Steven Gerrard, but the mostly red-clad crowd didn’t seem to mind.
Wednesday’s game was the first of four scheduled matches in the US for Liverpool, which travels to Chicago, New York and Charlotte, North Carolina.
In other North American preseason friendlies involving English clubs and Major League Soccer clubs on Wednesday, Tottenham Hotspur edged host Toronto 3-2, Aston Villa blanked Dallas 2-0, and Manchester City beat Sporting Kansas City 4-1.
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