MU had the first victory in the summer tour of 2025, when he defeated West Ham 2-1 in the US. Although it is only a friendly match, this confrontation also shows many prominent things about the Red Devils.
After a week, there was a Portuguese who passed the ball to Rasmus Hojlund, and he could not catch it. But this time, the reaction was very different.
Hojlund applauded Matheus Cuha because of a strong passage right before the break between Hiep. Cuha blamed himself for handling broken, especially when he created space with a skillful rotation that made the audience in New Jersey admire.
A week ago in Stockholm, Hojlund was annoyed with Diogo Dalot because of slow passing. Immediately after the opening whistle in New Jersey, he picked up the wonderful slot of Bruno Fernandes and hit the vertical column.
With Cunha and Bruno Fernandes support behind, Hojlund without shortage of the ball. MU plays an effective attack, and the score of 1-0 after the first half is too light for West Ham. The problem is that the only goal comes from the penalty spot in the 5th minute, and the ability to take advantage of the opportunity from the Red Devils is still as usual.
Hojlund had two shots, Leny Yoro headed the column and Fernandes shot and hit the goalkeeper Alphonse and Areola even though he was sure to score. However, Fernandes corrected with a class of class in the 52nd minute.
Is Fernandes “taking lime on cracks”? It is hard to say so, because MU plays energetic, to the point where the squad starts stone for more than an hour – something rarely seen in the first friendly match of the summer tour.
Different from the match against Leeds in Sweden, coach Ruben Amorim this time offered a clear formation. The players had nearly 3 weeks of training, and this time he left the main squad to play until the 65th minute – completely different from the first matches of Erik Ten Hag, when each player only kicked 45 minutes.
Amorim's lineup may be a squad meeting Arsenal in the Premier League three weeks. Rookie Bryan Mbeumo, despite being absent from West Ham because he did not have enough physical strength, almost firmly kicked, and Andrre Onana hoped to recover to play.
It was obvious that the score was only 2-1 when MU's main squad left the field in the middle of the second half. Coach Amorim used 6 players to have been recruited in the past year, combined with long -term pillars. The Red Devils squad has a new appearance even if only a rookie is present.
However, the prominent problem is still located in the center. Hojlund's desire to score is clearly shown in anxiety. He left the field without scoring, the second week in a row.
At the beginning of the match, after two early shots, Hojlund gradually faded. MU fans witnessed the familiar image: Fernandes was the one who found the opponent's net. It is the beginning of the season but it is clear that MU cannot depend on Fernandes to lead the scoring list.
Last season, Hojlund scored after only 9 minutes in the first match in the US, but then the waistal injury against Arsenal made him long -term breaks – a turning point from the beginning of the season. This match can also be such a turning point. Less than a minute after rolling the ball, he almost made merits.
Going down to the lower route, two young stars Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven are developing into threats from the defense. Heaven brought a penalty, Yoro launched a pass from the home ground for Fernandes to score. Heaven made a mistake that did not attach Jarrod Bowen to a goal, and it was the rare ripples of the 18 -year -old boy.
In midfield, Kobbie Mainoo – the name that caused a fever at MetLife 2 years ago when MU lowered Arsenal – was kicked again. But this time is to regain position.
After being tested at No. 10 and even “virtual number 9”, Mainoo was brought back to the central midfielder with Manuel Ugarte – who would almost certainly kick the big investment from the club. Just one day after Amorim said he was promoting Mainoo to speed up and play, the younger brother immediately created Fernandes by winning the ball deep in the West Ham pitch.
Ugarte also had the best match in the MU shirt from the beginning of the year, even if it was friendly, and the challenge for him was to maintain that form in the official matches. Diogo Dalot is now wearing the number 2 shirt, but Amad Diallo is the one who occupies the Wing-back on the new system. The 23 -year -old once had a goal that was rejected due to the offside.
In general, everything is starting quite well with MU when many positive has been shown.
