Louis van Gaal’s reign as manager of Manchester United got off to a rousing start on Wednesday with a 7-0 friendly victory over Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy.
In the first match of Van Gaal’s tenure, Wayne Rooney scored twice in the first half, converting a penalty in the 42nd minute after Galaxy midfielder A.J. Delagarza handled a cross from Antonio Valencia.
Three minutes later, Los Angeles defender Tommy Meyer failed to intercept Danny Welbeck’s cross, giving Rooney another chance to beat Jaime Penedo.
Photo: Reuters
Welbeck had opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a long-range strike that crashed in off the post.
Youngster Reece James, 20, and Ashley Young added two goals apiece in the second half as the English Premier League club romped in the first match of their North American pre-season tour.
Van Gaal was tapped two months ago to replace the sacked David Moyes, but took the reins only after guiding the Netherlands to a third-place finish at the FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil.
The 62-year-old Dutchman is tasked with restoring United to their position as the Premier League’s preeminent force.
He faces a big rebuilding project after United endured a miserable campaign under Sir Alex Ferguson’s hand-picked successor Moyes, finishing seventh in the Premier League and failing to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
One of Van Gaal’s tasks will be selecting a new captain after Nemanja Vidic’s departure for Italy’s Inter.
Although Rooney and Robin van Persie have been said to be among the top contenders for the job, on Wednesday the armband went to Scotland’s Darren Fletcher, although Van Gaal has said he will not rush to decide who gets the role on a full-time basis.
While Van Gaal has expressed doubts that a North American tour of more than two weeks is the best way to prepare for the Premier League season, there was no question that California fans were thrilled to get a chance to see Manchester United in action.
The picturesque Rose Bowl, site of the 1994 FIFA World Cup final, drew a crowd of 86,432 and was awash in red.
The match against the Galaxy was a curtain-raiser to the the International Champions Cup, a collection of pre-season matches featuring eight European clubs all preparing for the start of their domestic campaigns.
Manchester United play AS Roma tomorrow in Denver, Colorado, meet Inter on Tuesday next week in Washington and face Real Madrid the following Saturday in suburban Detroit where a soldout Michigan Stadium crowd is likely to number about 110,000 — projected to be the largest US crowd ever for the sport.
In another pre-season friendly on Wednesday, Marco Borriello scored in the 90th minute to give AS Roma a 1-0 victory over Liverpool at Fenway Park in Boston.
There were limited chances until Borriello volleyed in a corner from in front of goal.
For the second time in three years, Fenway, the home of the Boston Red Sox, was transformed into the home of Liverpool, who are owned by Fenway Sports Group. John Henry, owner of the Red Sox, is also the controlling partner of Fenway Sports Group.
Roma beat Liverpool 2-1 at Fenway two years ago.
Roma goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski made a diving save near the post from Rickie Lambert’s long-range shot from just outside the penalty area in the 57th minute.
Roma seemed to have the territorial edge in the first half and Liverpool a slight edge in the second in a match that had just a handful of shots on goal.
Liverpool rested a number of their star players, including captain Steven Gerrard, but the mostly red-clad crowd did not seem to mind.
Wednesday’s game was the first of four scheduled matches in the US for Liverpool, who next travel to Chicago, New York and Charlotte, North Carolina.
In the day’s other friendlies, Tottenham Hotspur beat hosts Toronto 3-2, Aston Villa blanked hosts Dallas 2-0, visitors Manchester City crushed Sporting Kansas City 4-1 and AS Monaco defeated Nacional de Medellin 4-2 in Miami.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
Rafael Nadal on Tuesday lost in straight sets to 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round at the Madrid Open, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the semi-finals in the women’s doubles. Nadal said that he was feeling good about his progress following his latest injury layoff. Nadal called it a “positive week” in every way and said his body held up well. “I was able to play four matches, a couple of tough matches,” Nadal said. “So very positive, winning three matches, playing four matches at the high level of tennis. I enjoyed a lot playing at home. I leave here with
A soccer jersey carrying a national map including disputed Western Sahara has become a hot commodity in Morocco after a diplomatic dispute with Algeria. Retailers said RS Berkane jerseys have been flying off the shelves after a Confederation of African Football (CAF) Cup match against Algerian club USM Alger was canceled last month over the jerseys. “We are overwhelmed by the influx of messages and requests,” said Brahim Rabii, representative of the official RS Berkane jersey distributor. Algeria broke off diplomatic relations with Morocco in 2021, partly over the issue of Western Sahara. The former Spanish colony is largely controlled by Morocco, but claimed
When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated worldwide. Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the unheralded Douglas in February 1990. Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery. The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and is just