Real Madrid-Man United International Champions Cup: United win on penalties match report

Real Madrid 1-1 Manchester United: match report

(United 2-1 win on penalties)

Zinedine Zidane made just two changes from the side that won the Champions League in June with Nacho and Lucas Vazquez replacing Ramos and Ronaldo. Jose Mourinho went down the more experimental route with less seen United faces including Andreas Pereira, who played on loan with Granada last season.

It was a chance for the likes of Pereira and Anthony Martial to prove themselves and Martial did just that when he beat three Real Madrid players to set Jesse Lingard up at the back post at the end of the first half to give United the lead.

It was the best action of a first half that had plenty of attacking intent with very little attacking execution. Bale looked good, as did Luka Modric, who was his usual self and dictating proceedings in the middle.

For United, Pereira worked hard but they looked like a team who had rarely played with each other. Nevertheless, they had the lead and the second half arrived with multiple changes for both sides.

The game was disrupted by all the changes and the game, which these friendlies tend to do, suffered from it. There was very little continuity to the game and United's lethargic display was one of the main reasons for that while Real Madrid's youngster showed off their desire to impress Zidane in what are vital minutes for their development within the first team squad. 

It looked like we would not see another goal until Theo Hernandez decided to take the game on his shoulders and started to roam into enemy territory. He won a penalty after Lindleof took him out of it in the penalty area, which Casemiro buried it.

Real Madrid and their team of youngsters continued to work hard and caused problems for United but they could not take the lead. Achraf looked good on the right and he was the main threat for United while United looked stale and out of sync with their perceieved "A" team on the field.

Penalties

It ended 1-1 in a game that was hard to gauge due to the number of changes on either side. The game went to penalties as they could not be separated.

What ensued was laughable as after four penalties, nobody had scored. Martial drove over and Kovaci, McTominay and Oscar had their penalties saved.

Mkhitaryan and Quezeda scored before Lindleof and Theo Hernandez missed with pitiful efforts. Daley Blind kept it simple as he drove it down the middle to score and Casemiro rattled the crossbar to give United the win.

Real Madrid prepare now for Wednesday against Man City while Barcelona face Manchester United on the same day.

Real Madrid vs Manchester United live stream online: latest news

Real Madrid vs Manchester United: live stream online match preview

Real Madrid kick off their preseason with a game against a Manchester United who have already played three times this summer and won all three. Two of the biggest teams in Europe and the world meet at Levi's Stadium, the home of the San Francisco 49ers, as California welcomes the two sides to the Bay Area.

Real Madrid: International Champions Cup 2017

Los Blancos' summer was filled with new arrivals until recently when Alvaro Morata and Danilo left the squad to join up with the Premier League's Chelsea and Manchester City respectively, although the Danilo deal is not yet confirmed, it is reportedly very close as Zidane says he has "gone" from Real Madrid's UCLA training base in the U.S. Zidane says of Real Madrid's summer activity, “We've had some very good players move on and some young guys come in. We always try to make improvements to the squad. We're happy with the boys who have just arrived. They're excited to be training with us and they know where they've come to. We'll see whether or not we've improved the squad over the course of the season”.

Zinedine Zidane will use the next number of weeks to catch Dani Ceballos, Theo Hernandez, Jesus Vallejo and Marcos Llorente on how he likes to play as they try to squeeze their way into the manager's plans. There are few harder things to break into a Champions League and league winning side but there should be opportunities over the next couple of weeks.

Gareth Bale is currently enjoying his first ever full preseason with the Spanish side and will try to build up his fitness to avoid the injury-tormented season he suffered through last year.

Cristiano Ronaldo is on an extended holiday having led Portugal to a semi-final in the Confederations Cup in June before leaving early to greet his two new born children. There will be opportunities for Marco Asensio due to his absence. There will also be a chance for Zidane to try new things based on the fact that Morata is gone and Real Madrid don't have a second striker on the tour.

Manchester United: International Champions Cup 2017

Jose Mourinho has coached his side to three victories in the States so far with wins over LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake and Manchester City most recently. Romelu Lukaku, the side's biggest summer acquisition has scored twice in his first three games with the goal against Manchester City to give his side the lead the pick of the two thus far. He seems to have adapted to life at the club quite well and will likely play a big role against on Sunday night in California as he continues to build bonds with his new teammates.

United still have questions marks in defense with Jose Mourinho whipping off Daley Blind, Chris Smalling and victor Lindleof at half-time against City despite saying most of the players would play for 60 minutes. He was clearly unhappy with their performance against a rusty and unfit City side. Eric Bailly and Phil Jones came in along with Mateo Darmian at left-back but the Portuguese manager seems unsure as to what his best back four is. Reports also surfaced during the week that he is looking for a right-back as Antonio Valencia, a stalwart at the club, comes to the end of his distinguished career despite playing and playing well against City. Mourinho, however, said this was by design: "We played with two back fours and two goalkeepers. Against Real Madrid we will do the same. I don’t change my words because we win or because we lose. We are here to train and to give everybody time.

“In this game [against Manchester City] we played Eric Bailly with Phil Jones, and Chris Smalling with Victor Lindelof. The next game with Real Madrid I will change. I will play Lindelof with another one, and Bailly with another one. Everything is going okay for us."

Meanwhile, United's midfield seems to be taking shape with Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera beginning to assert themselves on operations in the middle. Alongside Henrikh Mkhitaryan in attack, who has impressed during the preseason, the consistency these players have been offered seems to be working well with their confidence and influence on the side.

Real Madrid vs Manchester United: possible line-ups

Real Madrid: Keylor; Carvajal, Nacho, Varane, Marcelo or Theo; Casemiro, Modric, Kroos; Isco, Bale, Benzema.

Manchester United: De Gea; Valencia, Baily, Lindelóf, Smalling; Herrera, Pogba, Luingard; Rashford, Lukaku, Mkhitaryan

Real Madrid vs Manchester United live stream online: betting

Real Madrid are favourites to take the spoils at Levi's Stadium, with Los Blancos priced at 5/4 to beat Manchester United, who are valued back at 21/10.

Place your bet on Real Madrid vs Manchester United now.