ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Ashley Young scored twice and Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez added another as Manchester United comfortably beat Real Madrid 3-1. Gareth Bale scored a consolation penalty for the European champions who also gave Cristiano Ronaldo his first competitive run out since the World Cup.
Here are three things we learned from the historic game at Michigan Stadium.
Enough with the nonsense — soccer has already arrived in America
The issue has been beaten to death but we would be remiss if we didn’t recognize soccer’s popularity south of the 49th parallel. It was evident enough when “I believe that we will win” was shouted from New York to Los Angeles during the United States’ run to the round of 16 at the World Cup last month and was on full display at the Big House.
A record crowd of 109,318 packed in to essentially watch a meaningless friendly.
Again, a crowd of 109,318 gathered in suburban Michigan to watch a meaningless friendly. The iconic bleachers remained at capacity until well after the final whistle.
The entire spectacle felt like a coronation ceremony.
“Within 14 days, we have played for more than 300,000 fans,” said Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal. “The atmosphere was fantastic.”
Ahead of kickoff, Guiness International Cup officials estimated that the economic impact of the friendly was worth between $15 to 20 million in Ann Arbor. The city was buzzing all weekend as soccer fans gathered in the downtown core on Friday evening to roam the streets. A live band and performers were part of the festivities — but you really couldn’t hear them with all of the fan singing going on. The tribal nature of the sport was on full display.
With a number of top American players either staying in or coming back to MLS, who’s to say the game can’t continue to grow? And grow it will, but let’s please move away from the ‘soccer is arriving’ narrative.
It’s arrived.
Ashley Young is proving his worth
Three weeks ago, Ashley Young was one of many Manchester United misfits feeling uneasy about his future in Louis Van Gaal’s new regime. Now, he’s part of a smaller group that’s all but assured of a place in the squad and has adapted to his wing-back role with aplomb.
His first came after a one-two between Wayne Rooney and Darren Fletcher found Danny Welbeck, who passed to a completely unmarked Young who then sidefooted the ball past a sprawling Iker Casillas. It was United’s most fluid sequence in the match as a staggering 20 passes were used in the build up. David Moyes football, this was not.
“The new manager has been a breath of fresh air and it showed with the first goal,” said Young. “There were 20 passes before it went in. Only (Juan) Mata and (David) De Gea didn’t touch the ball. That was fantastic.”
His second goal was actually meant to be a cross for Rooney but it ended up fooling everybody — Casillas included — and ended up in the back of the net.
“The second one — I definitely claimed,” joked Young, looking like a man who has finally settled at Old Trafford after an up-and-down three seasons.
Clearly, this isn’t the Young of old. He’s playing with a confidence that has been missing from his game since his Aston Villa days and even found time to nutmeg Alvaro Arbeloa for good measure. With Van Gaal clearly unimpressed with Luke Shaw, it could end up being Young starting the season as the first-choice wing-back.
Bale ready to take the next step
By all accounts, Gareth Bale had an excellent first season in the Spanish capital. He was hampered by niggling injuries for the first half, and had no pre-season to get acclimated with a new team in a new country but still finished with 21 goals and 16 assists. More impressively, he proved himself to be a bonafide big-game player by scoring the winning goals in both the Copa Del Rey final and the Champions League final — with his run past Barcelona’s Marc Bartra instantly entering him into Real Madrid folklore.
So, essentially, he passed his first exam in Madrid with flying colours.
He was Real’s most impressive attacker on Saturday. First, he powered down the left flank and forced Michael Keane into a clumsy challenge in the box. Bale put away the penalty with calmness, and nearly got a second with a sublime overhead kick that produced a great reaction save from De Gea. He also had a free-kick late in the match that tested De Gea and generally looked like he was carrying his end of season form into this campaign.
That should bode promisingly for Real Madrid fans.
Bale is injury and fatigue free after not playing in the World Cup and looks to be benefiting from a proper pre-season. And of course, we have to mention a one Cristiano Ronaldo. The same Ronaldo who looked spent at the end of last season.
The 29-year old Portuguese superstar is the incumbent top dog but he’s been playing non-stop soccer for over a decade at the absolute highest level.
Perhaps it’s time to shift a little bit of responsibility over to Bale?
If Ronaldo’s injury problems persist, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more of a Batman A and Batman B partnership form over the next couple of years.
Bale tends to respond well when faced with a challenge.