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Manchester United struggled to show any attacking threat as they faced Norway’s Rosenborg in what was their first pre-season match following the conclusion of Euro 2024.
Erik ten Hag’s youthful lineup was led by captain Casemiro, who was one of the few first-team stars up for selection.
For much of the opening minutes, it was Rosenborg who dominated proceedings, camping deep in United’s half.
The Norwegians won several corners, however, United’s young backline held steady. In the ninth minute, however, it appeared as if Rosenborg had broken through United’s defence when their third shot of the match found the back of the net. The offside flag went up swiftly afterwards, however, which is why United’s defenders abruptly stopped playing.
Following a chaotic midfield battle, Casemiro was on the end of a rough challenge when Tomas Nemcik took out his leg in an unnecessarily dangerous tackle. Fortunately, Casemiro was able to rise back to his feet as Nemcik was shown a yellow card.
27 minutes in, Rosenborg came close to scoring yet again when Marius Broholm cut in from the corner of the box and fired a shot at the far post. While his shot beat Vitek, the post denied him, allowing Ten Hag’s seemingly overwhelmed team to breathe a sigh of relief.
32 minutes in, United finally penetrated the final third when Ethan Wheatley struck a threatening cross into the box, only for his ball to be cut out by the defence.
Almost immediately, the Norwegians were on the counter-attack, with Vitek getting called into action to save the first shot on target for either side from Jesper Reitan-Sunde. Moments later, Vitek saved a close-range shot from Broholm in the centre of the box, yet again keeping his side out of danger. Clearly, United’s defenders needed to tighten up at the back and mark more aggressively.
Six minutes from the break, United got their first close attempt of the half when Wheatley charged up the field and fired a left-footed shot at goal that the keeper managed to parry. Moments later, Will Fish got an opportunistic header however his attempt went wide.
Two minutes later it was one-way traffic from Rosenborg once again. Broholm burst past United’s defence to collect a through ball which he lifted over Vitek, only for the crossbar to deny him. Then, Sverre Nypan drilled a precise cross in to Broholm, whose effort was saved by the United shot-stopper.
It was a disappointing first half for United, who were dominated by the hosts except for a handful of attacking opportunities. Ten Hag’s team would need to improve in the second half to come away with three points.
Coming out of the tunnel for the second half was an entirely fresh United lineup barring Vitek.
In the opening minutes of the second half, the United youngsters looked out of their depth as they struggled to retain possession of the ball. What followed was a flurry of tackles that did little to sway the momentum in United’s favour.
Substitute Harry Amass suffered a moment to forget when Rosenborg’s Emil Fredericksen dribbled past him and went one-on-one with the keeper, however, he could breathe a sigh of relief when the attacker blasted his effort wide.
While Fredericksen appeared to be in on goal yet again when he got on the end of a long ball, Toby Collyer did well to dispossess him.
In the 63rd minute, Tobias Borkeeiet took an opportunistic shot from distance that Vitek tipped onto the bar at full-stretch. The United shot-stopper has impressed so far, proving to be United’s best player on the night.
20 minutes from time, United got their first decent chance of the half when Ethan Ennis struck a thunderous long-range shot that forced a parry from the Rosenborg keeper.
United’s attacking momentum was short-lived, however, as Rosenborg charged back into United’s third. Fletcher did well to cut out a cross with a header, however, Rosenborg almost converted the subsequent corner when Magnus Holte raced past the defence to get his foot on the ball, only to knock it wide.
With five minutes left to play, Vitek came to United’s rescue yet again as he saved a close-range shot from Tobias Borkeeiet after United’s defence failed to clear the incoming cross. Ten Hag should be concerned that his defence has been so vulnerable throughout the encounter.
With pretty much the last kick of the game after three minutes of stoppage time, Rosenborg got a well-deserved breakthrough.
Noah Holm took a close-range shot to hand the home side victory at the death.
Erik ten Hag will no doubt be concerned with the disorganised performance exhibited by his team and will need to return to the drawing board before their next pre-season match.
Starting XI: Vitek, Wan-Bissaka, Murray, Fish, Evans, Mount, Hannibal, Wheatley, Rashford, Williams, Casemiro
Subs: Amass, Fletcher, Ennis, Hugill, Oyedele, Bennett, Aljofee, Ogunneye, Scanlon, Collyer
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