Manchester United required penalties to win the first ever club match at Dublin’s iconic Croke Park as they overcame Leeds United after a 1-1 stalemate.
Joshua Zirkzee, who appears to be putting himself in the shop window, opened the scoring for the Red Devils, slotting home after Bryan Mbeumo carved Leeds’ defence open from the right.
Leeds then equalised after former United man Dan James picked up a loose ball, threading Brenden Aaronson through to finish.
There were no goals after the break which forced penalties, and after new man Youri Tielemans scored and captain Bruno Fernandes shockingly went wide, James Justin missed the crucial penalty to allow Noussair Mazraoui to get the glory moment and fire in the winning spot-kick.
Follow all of the latest from the pre-season friendly in Dublin with our live blog below:
Daniel Farke on friendly and James Trafford
“It was a good friendly for both teams. A good performance, and we pushed in the second half,” Daniel Farke told ITV.
“To come away with a good draw against a team like Man Utd is good for the confidence.
“James Trafford is a player who has the potential to be world-class. If he keeps going like this he will rise to the top.
“We were so desperate not just this season but also before to sign him, and finally it went through.
“He can make a big difference and to have a top-class No 1 for a team in our situation, our second season, I pushed very hard for this signing.”
Michael Carrick on Marcus Rashford: ‘He’s our player’
Marcus Rashford was back in Man United colours this evening, even though he wasn’t in the squad.
“He’s our player,” Michael Carrick told ITV the player’s situation.
“He’s come back great, like any other player. I’ve known him a long time, he gives us something a bit different.
“He’s been in great spirits since he’s been back, he’s been back two or three days.”
Around the grounds
There have been a few friendlies involving Premier League teams today – and one competitive match in the Super Cup – so here are the other results from around the continent:
Arsenal 1-1 Como (4-3 pens) @ Emirates Stadium
Everton 3-1 Newcastle @ Murrayfield
Malaga 2-2 Fulham @ Estadio La Rosadela
Chaos with the kids
It felt like the game was almost abandoned by the referee on 90 minutes after a deluge of kids sprinted on the pitch trying to get a selfie.
Not the best showing from Croke Park’s security!
Michael Carrick happy with performance
“First half we were really dangerous and could’ve had a number of goals. We played some really good football,” Michael Carrick told ITV.
“They came back into the game, and in the second half there were a few changes and it was important to get some minutes in some of our lads.
“The young lads did well, it was everything we expected of them. Winning the game is always nice!
The decisive spot-kicks
Brenden Aaronson: I was blown away by James Trafford
“We added quality in spots we needed to, we’re going to continue to get better and better and we need to keep doing this,” Leeds midfielder Brenden Aaronson said on ITV.
“From what I’ve seen, James Trafford is top. In training yesterday I was blown away how much quality he has.
“The expectation is to get better, and as this club we want to keep making the fans proud.”
FULL-TIME! Man United 1-1 Leeds (4-3 on pens)
Manchester United required penalties to win the first ever club match at Dublin’s iconic Croke Park as they overcame Leeds United after a 1-1 stalemate.
Joshua Zirkzee, who appears to be putting himself in the shop window, opened the scoring for the Red Devils, slotting home after Bryan Mbeumo carved Leeds’ defence open from the right.
Leeds then equalised after former United man Dan James picked up a loose ball, threading Brenden Aaronson through to finish.
There were no goals after the break which forced penalties, and after new man Youri Tielemans scored and captain Bruno Fernandes shockingly went wide, James Justin missed the crucial penalty to allow Noussair Mazraoui to get the glory moment and fire in the winning spot-kick.
