Paris Saint-Germain down Manchester United

Chicago: Manchester United’s pre-season US tour ended on a losing note here as French giants Paris Saint-Germain claimed a 2-0 victory to clinch the International Champions Cup exhibition tournament.

 

First-half goals from Blaise Matuidi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were enough to give the Ligue 1 side the win on a sweltering evening at Chicago’s iconic Soldier Field stadium, home of the NFL Chicago Bears.

 

United had been aiming to maintain their 100 per cent record after registering wins over Club America, San Jose Earthquakes and European champions Barcelona in their three previous games.

 

However, the English Premier League giants were undone by two goals from PSG which highlighted the defensive frailty of Louis van Gaal’s squad, which has been bolstered by several high-profile signings this summer.

 

United began promisingly, stroking the ball around comfortably and probing for openings against the Parisian defenders. The Red Devils got the ball in the net after 22 minutes when Juan Mata prodded home Daley Blind’s exquisite through ball, only for it to be ruled offside.

 

But three minutes later, PSG struck at the other end when a long ball forward caused havoc in United’s defensive unit. 

French international Matuidi raced forward and got between Luke Shaw and Phil Jones to toe-poke home past the onrushing David De Gea to make it 1-0.

 

PSG doubled their lead nine minutes later with a well-worked goal that came all too easily for the French champions. Ibrahimovic picked up the ball in midfield and released Maxwell down the left flank.

 

The Brazilian fullback advanced and then calmly picked out Ibrahimovic with the return pass for the Swedish star to slot past De Gea. 

The build-up to the match had been dominated by speculation surrounding United’s unsettled Argentine star Angel Di Maria, who is expected to complete a move to PSG imminently. 

 

 

Meanwhile, Brazilian star Kaka scored one goal and set up another as the Major League Soccer All-Stars edged Tottenham 2-1 Wednesday in an international friendly featuring the North American league’s elite talents.

 

The MLS team improved to 5-3 in All-Star Games against English Premier League teams. Since the MLS squad began facing European clubs at the All-Star Game in 2005, the North Americans are 7-4, including a 2-1 win over Bayern Munich last year.

 

“We played an amazing game. Everyone will see in the news that the MLS team beat a very important team,” Kaka said.