Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by Paris Saint-Germain in their latest pre-season friendly in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Things started badly for Michael Carrick’s side, who conceded in just the second minute on Saturday when Ibrahim Mbaye side-footed home after a cross-goal ball from Dro Fernandez.
There was further frustration as Mason Mount went off with an apparent injury in the 20th minute but Bryan Mbeumo drew them level with a low, left-footed shot from inside the box just past the half-hour after persistent work from Amad.
Early in the second half, goalkeeper Tom Heaton — deputising for an ill Senne Lammens, with Matheus Cunha out for the same reason — went down after coming off his line to clear and had to be replaced by academy graduate Dermot Mee, 23.
The Premier League side could not find another goal against Luis Enrique’s back-to-back European champions, though Mbeumo stung the palms of Matvey Safonov in the 54th minute after cutting into the box. Bruno Fernandes had a late effort from distance which bounced wide.
United have two friendlies left, against Leeds in Dublin on Wednesday and Milan in Wroclaw, Poland, a week today, before their Premier League season opener away to promoted Hull City on Saturday, August 22.
Here, Conor O’Neill breaks down the key talking points from the PSG match.
Amad makes a statement
Amad furthered his claim to United’s right-sided attacking role today, with a performance full of effervescence and guile.
The Ivory Coast international sprung United out of their early slumber, injecting impetus with his driving runs upfield. Those darting dribbles gave 16-year-old PSG full-back Axel Koukaba a torrid time, as Amad beat him with ease on both the inside and outside.
But it was Amad’s out-of-possession work that really stood out, as he hassled and harried a makeshift back line into mistakes.
Amad was a livewire in and out of possession (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
That endeavour brought United their goal, with the 24-year-old nicking the ball in the attacking half and driving to the edge of the box before slipping a neat pass through for Mbeumo to apply a trademark left-footed finish.
With Benjamin Sesko still nursing a shin injury, Mbeumo is deputising through the middle, leaving the right flank open for Amad to make his own. The lack of a recognised centre-forward does give United’s front four greater flexibility, with Mbeumo often drifting wide and allowing Amad to drive infield. Those two have developed an encouraging understanding, combining and rotating to good effect.
Amad looks fit and sharp, fresh from an impressive World Cup in which he scored twice for Ivory Coast before their round of 32 exit at the hands of Norway. Carrick will hope that form carries into the new club season.
Problems playing out from the back
United have beefed up their midfield options in this summer’s transfer window, but issues remain further back down the pitch.
Harry Maguire and Ayden Heaven have started all four pre-season games at centre-back, but both looked uneasy in possession here.
They faced a PSG side who, although initially without their full cast of star names, remained fully committed to the high press Luis Enrique demands. Up against that, Maguire and Heaven struggled to manoeuvre the ball quickly in tight spaces. At one point, Heaven carelessly surrendered possession to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia before launching into a reckless challenge in an attempt to make amends.
Harry Maguire and his centre-back partner Ayden Heaven did not always look comfortable (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
To their credit, Maguire and Heaven had looked solid before today. Heaven’s ball-carrying and Maguire’s long diagonals still give United different ways of progressing the ball, but deft line-breaking passes eluded them here. Leny Yoro, who started this match on the bench, is more accomplished at punching those kinds of passes through the lines, as is the injured-and-absent Lisandro Martinez, although questions remain over the physicality of both.
The bulk of United’s chances today stemmed from counter-attacks or winning the ball high up the pitch, rather than from considered attacks built from the back.
It is a problem Carrick needs to address quickly if his team are to regularly assert themselves in games this season.
How did Tielemans perform on debut?
Almost a full month after he signed from Aston Villa for £35million ($47m), United fans finally got their first glimpse of Tielemans in the red shirt.
Coming on for fellow summer midfield signing Andrey Santos for the final 25 minutes of the 90, Tielemans had limited time to impose himself but still offered a taste of the qualities he can bring to the team.
The 29-year-old Belgium international displayed the trademark composure he was renowned for at Villa. In one of his early involvements, chesting down a flighted ball under pressure in his own third, before calmly releasing it. His contributions were largely subtle, anticipating and mopping up the odd loose ball, and feeding attackers with short, smart passes.
Tielemans was involved in one of United’s biggest chances of the second half, when Joshua Zirkzee was wiped out by Safonov before Tyler Fletcher and Shea Lacey failed to convert into the vacant net. He had kickstarted the move with a clever round-the-corner pass while facing his own goal, shrugging off Vitinha, who was hounding him from behind.
In the 82nd minute, Tielemans then played a delicious outside-of-the-foot pass to Fernandes inside the box, only for the ensuing curled effort to lack conviction.
It was only a brief cameo, but Carrick will have liked what he saw.
Tielemans was calm under pressure, defensively switched on, and provided an extra creative edge from the middle — the exact blend of attributes that convinced United to sign him.
