Joshua Zirkzee and Brenden Aaronson scored as Manchester United and old foes Leeds played out an entertaining 1-1 friendly draw at the spiritual home of Irish sport in Dublin, before the concluding shoot-out was edged 5-4 by Michael Carrick’s side.
On the eve of the new Premier League season, all the talk was about Marcus Rashford and his reintegration under Carrick, but the 82,000-strong crowd at Croke Park were not treated to a first glimpse of the forward in a Man Utd shirt for over 18 months.
Nor did they get to see a number of other high-profile stars until after the hour mark, Carrick instead choosing to give a raft of youngsters a proper run-out. His side improved immeasurably after the introduction of Bruno Fernandes and new signing Youri Tielemans, though, combining effectively to offer Matheus Cunha some pre-season shooting practice.
Leeds United’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin heads at goal
Fernandes himself was played through by Luke Shaw in the second period, much to the delight of the pro-United fanbase, who chanted ‘Bruno, Bruno, Bruno’ for large portions of the night, but his strike was flagged offside. He also struck the crossbar late on.
Of those senior regulars who did start, Bryan Mbeumo caught the eye, showing impressive intensity to tee-up Zirkzee for the game’s opener. Dan James and Aaronson were Leeds’ conspirators shortly after to turn home their first of five shots on target. Daniel Farke’s side have scored a tidy 10 goals in five pre-season outings this summer.
The game was decided by a tight penalty shoot-out, where both sides missed, before Noussair Mazraoui stepped up to convert the winning spot-kick.
The key moments from Croke Park
16: GOAL! Joshua Zirkzee sweeps home a smart, low cross from Bryan Mbeumo.
29: GOAL! Dan James latches onto a punt from James Trafford and baits Ayden Heaven before feeding Brenden Aaronson to equalise.
46: SUBS! Leeds change the majority of their starting XI, with Harry Wilson, Dom Calvert-Lewin and Noah Okafor among those introduced.
60: SUBS! Michael Carrick sends on Bruno Fernandes, Youri Tielemans and Matheus Cunha.
80: RULED OUT! Fernandes’ strike is chalked off after the offside flag is raised. He crashes an effort off the crossbar not long after.
PENALTIES! Wilson missed first for Leeds, but was reprieved when Fernandes also spurned his opportunity. James Justin’s miss proved decisive as Noussair Mazraoui netted the winner.