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Manchester United triumphed 3-1 over Real Betis on Thursday in the latest instalment of their US pre-season tour to lift the Snapdragon Cup.
Following a narrow 2-1 loss to Arsenal, United were looking to return to winning ways in front of the San Diego crowd, albeit without the services of the injured Rasmus Hojlund and Leny Yoro.
It was United who dictated the flow of play at the start, dominating possession and easily containing each sporadic Real Betis attack.
After just five minutes, United found the lead when Jadon Sancho slotted the ball into the net following a well-threaded through ball by Amad Diallo. Unfortunately, he was adjudged to be offside, keeping the game goalless. Nevertheless, it was a positive start to the game by Erik ten Hag’s side.
Moments later, United appeared to break through the Betis defence again, with Amad passing to Scott McTominay this time. While McTominay went down on the edge of the box, the referee determined he had simulated the foul, allowing the match to continue. While Betis launched a counter into United’s final third, the defence held steady until a foul was called in United’s favour.
Against the run of play, Betis launched a counter-attack in the 15th minute that saw Tom Heaton called into action. While he was able to make a double save, some weak marking by United’s backline allowed Kier Losada to score off a pass from winger Rodri, with a helpless Harry Amass being forced to watch the ball roll into the open net.
Just moments later, drama struck again when Amad was brought down in the box. Penalty to United.
Marcus Rashford stepped up to the penalty spot, doing a shuffle to put the keeper off before slotting the ball comfortably into the bottom left corner to level the scoreline.
In the 21st minute, Rashford went down on the edge of the box to hand United a dangerous free kick. Christian Eriksen whipped in a superb free-kick, however, the Betis goalkeeper had his eye on the ball, making a comfortable save.
25 minutes in, Amass sent a superb cross into the goalmouth, with Amad collecting the ball on the right flank. The winger took one touch before hammering the ball into the far corner, giving the goalkeeper no chance to save it. Amad has been in superb form this pre-season, catapulting United into a deserving 2-1 lead.
Rashford showed some class dribbling, beating Bellerin and Diego Llorente to cut the ball back to Eriksen in the centre. Eriksen laid the ball off to Amad, whose shot was deflected out.
Moments later, Sancho got on the end of a well-drilled cross, pushing the ball to Rashford at the far post. Rashford passed to the centre, with Casemiro slotting the ball in from close range to double United’s lead. 3-1 to United.
35 minutes in, Betis were on the attack with Bellerin when Amass made a top-drawer sliding tackle on the full-back. It’s been a convincing tour so far from the u18 player.
Six minutes before the break, United were building up another attack, with Casemiro laying off the ball to McTominay on the edge of the box. Unfortunately, his shot was blocked.
It was an admirable first half from United, filled with confident, attacking football. Ten Hag would be happy with his team’s performance and would no doubt be looking to continue the momentum in the second half.
Unlike previous pre-season friendlies, it was a relatively unchanged United that took to the field for the second half, with just two substitutions. Will Fish replaced Harry Maguire while Lindelof made way for Jonny Evans.
While Betis were on the front foot at the start of the second half, winning back-to-back corners, United’s fresh centre-back pairing held steady, refusing to allow the Spanish side to score.
Moments later, United were on the break, with Eriksen threading a precise cross-field lob to Rashford. Unfortunately, Rashford’s subsequent pass went astray, bringing an end to a promising attacking build-up.
Soon after, Amad played a ball from the right to Casemiro in the centre, who unleashed a threatening shot from distance that went just wide of the near post. United continued to show aggression and drive on the attack.
Just two minutes later, McTominay raced into the box to collect an Amad through ball. His shot in front of goal was expertly saved by the Betis keeper.
Yet again, United were on the attack. This time, it was Rashford who entered the penalty box before being brought down by a combination of tugging by Bellerin and a kick from Rodri. The United winger fell to the ground, causing panic on the United bench. Despite Rashford being stamped on, the ref bizarrely refused to give a penalty. Ten Hag will be hoping that Rashford’s injury is not too serious as he is treated on the sideline.
Moments later, Betis reduced the deficit through a Diego Llorente header. This opportune goal would feel unjust for United given their dominance and the earlier injury. It was poor marking from Evans and Fish, who allowed Llorente the space to header without being marked.
In the 62nd minute, Ten Hag decided to make a host of further changes. Oyedele, Wheatley, Collyer, Antony, Murray, Mount, Scanlon, and Hannibal came on, replacing Casemiro, Sancho, Eriksen, Diallo, Amass, McTominay, Wan-Bissaka, and Rashford.
10 minutes later, Mount took a close-range effort that sailed over the top. This was the first decent attacking opportunity since the wave of substitutions. Clearly, replacing so many players at once disrupted United’s flow.
Seconds later, Scanlon charged into the box, only for a Betis defender to clear the ball out for a corner.
Antony produced some great dribbling on the edge of the box, only to be brought down for a free kick. The subsequent effort was comfortably collected by the goalkeeper.
12 minutes from time, Mount received the ball in the box and took a shot which was blocked by a stalwart defence. Mount has been doing well to get himself into the danger areas.
With minutes left to play, Antony, a substitute himself, was taken off for Samuel Mather. While there was speculation as to whether he was subbed due to injury or poor performance, the Brazilian looked clearly disgruntled as he made his way down the tunnel.
After three minutes of stoppage time were announced, Hannibal was shown a yellow card for a reckless challenge. The youngster will need to curb his quick temper for the sake of his development.
Collyer did well to header the subsequent free-kick out for a corner, putting an end to the danger. Yet again, the youngster came to United’s defence by blocking a shot on the edge of the box.
United held on for the remaining seconds to secure a 3-2 win and the Snapdragon Cup along with it. Ultimately, it was a convincing win for Ten Hag’s side, who played confident, attacking football throughout.
Starting XI: Heaton, Lindelof, Maguire, Rashford, Eriksen, Amad, Casemiro, Sancho, Wan-Bissaka, McTominay, Amass
Subs: Fish, Evans, Oyedele, Wheatley, Collyer, Antony, Murray, Mount, Scanlon, Hannibal
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