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Manchester United v Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona in ICC Cup
Manchester United faced Man City, Real Madrid and Barcelona in the United States this summer as part of the exciting, much anticipated 2017 International Champions Cup tournament. PSG, Juventus, Roma and Tottenham Hotspur also are taking part in the ICC Cup in the U.S. The ICC previously unveiled a Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona in Miami. United played both of the Spanish La Liga giant clubs, starting with Cristiano Ronaldo's Real Madrid in Santa Clara, California, on July 23. In 2014, the two titan teams played before a crowd of 109,000 fans in Michigan, with Man United winning 3-1. Jose Mourinho's Manchester United side next traveled east to face Lionel Messi's Barcelona at FedEx Field outside of Washington DC on July 26 in the sides' first meeting since a 3-1 United win in the 2015 ICC.
United opened their ICC schedule against giant Premier Leange club Manchester City on July 20 at NRG Stadium in Houston. The EPL cross-town arch-rivals had been scheduled to play each other last summer in China, but the friendly was canceled. Man City faced Real Madrid at the Los Angeles Coliseum on July 26, before meeting Tottenham three days later in Nashville, Tennessee. Elsewhere, Juventus and Barcelona played a rematch of their upcoming Champions League quarterfinal on July 22 in New Jersey.
Match Report
Barcelona 1-0 Manchester United
Barca midfielder Neymar scored the winning goal at 31 minutes, the only goal in the match, as Spanish La Liga giants Barcelona defeated England Premier League titan club Manchester United. Reportedly Barca star Neymar is leaving for Paris Saint Germain after the conclusion of the ICC tournament for a potential transfer fee of £196 million that would be hard for any club to turn down, even Barcelona. In this match against United, Neymar offered a glimpse of what the Catalan giants will be losing if they allow the Brazil forward to join Paris St-Germain this summer as Neymar scored the winner after crushing Juventus with two amazing goals in New Jersey on Saturday. Neymar ensured Manchester United’s pre-season tour of the US ended in disappointment as he inflicted their first defeat in five matches. Brazilian Neymar delivered a cool finish in front of a near capacity crowd of 80,162 at Washington’s FedEx Field as a reminder of his value. PSG was reportedly successful in triggering his €222 million release clause. United manager Jose Mourinho said after the loss to Barca that “he possesses neither the best squad in the world nor the best players” but praised the spirit and unity of his side.
A media storm has surrounded Neymar and Barcelona on their tour of the US while former Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney’s future was resolved before United left for America. All the sports media has been interested in asking Barcelona about since they landed in America a week ago are questions about Neymar as players along with Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde faced the continued inquisition after Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Juventus. Gerard Pique summed up the long and short of it. “In Paris, if he doesn’t win the Champions League he won’t get the recognition he will deserve,” the Barcelona defender said. “That’s his only option in Paris, because, with all due respect, it’s an inferior league. He still has doubts, but we’re trying to convince him to stay.”
Valverde played Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez for the opening 45 minutes against Manchester United before withdrawing all three superstars at half-time. Neymar did not reappear until 15 minutes into the second half. While his Barcelona team-mates took the opportunity to take a welcome breather and have a drink after a punishing training session in the Maryland heat on Tuesday, Neymar entertained fans when the rest of Barcelona’s squad disappeared down the tunnel to the dressing room - the Brazilian was seen jumping over the barricades in the stand behind the goal and gave his dad a kiss. Neymar does not seem to be adversely affected by all the attention he is getting. The spotlight was firmly on him on Saturday against Juventus and he responded by scoring two stellar goals and he was back on the scoresheet again at FedEx Field. With help from teammates Lionel Messi, Neymar was able to coolly slot the ball into the bottom corner in the entertaining first period. In the second period, both Mourinho and Valverde made sweeping changes. United’s Paul Pogba forced a good save from Jasper Cillessen, and Marcus Rashford did the same from the left edge of the six-yard box after weaving past two men. Romelu Lukaku came close twice. Messi was elusive at the other end, hitting the post once and sending a free-kick just over. Barcelona almost scored a second two minutes from half time, but David de Gea was in fine form. Victor Lindelof has failed to impress so far as United’s new £31 million defenders. In the second half, Barcelona were denied a second goal by Sergio Romero in the 66th minute. After a dazzling first half lit up by the magic of Neymar, Messi, and Suarez, the second half was flat. A below par Barcelona won.
Jose Mourinho says he plans to bring back Swedish superstar striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic in December. Mourinho had admitted earlier this month it was an option. Mourinho said the club committed £75 million to sign Romelu Lukaku from Everton in part because they could not afford to be without a target man upfront for the first half of next season. Lukaku asked Ibrahimovic for permission to wear Ibra’s No 9 shirt in anticipation of the 35-year-old returning. “We spent big money on a striker because, with strikers, you either spend big or you don't get,” Mourinho said. “And we spent because of what happened to Zlatan and we cannot allow ourselves to be without an important, strong striker for the first six months of the season.”
About the 2017 International Champions Cup
The International Champions Cup (ICC) is the world’s premier pre-season summer football tournament, bringing the best in football to soccer venues across North America, Europe, Australia, China and Southeast Asia. The ICC includes some of the world's most popular and talented football teams including Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain as champions in its previous editions of the annual tournament. The tournament schedule in the U.S. ends with a matchup of Italian Serie A rivals Juve and Roma in Foxborough, Massachusetts on July 30.
United States ICC Fixtures, Results
Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, PSG, Roma, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Juventus compete in Houston, Texas; Orlando, Florida; Miami, Florida; Santa Clara, California; Los Angeles, California; Nashville, Tennessee; Landover, Maryland; Harrison, New Jersey; East Rutherford, New Jersey; Detroit, Michigan, and Foxborough, Massachusetts in the 2017 International Champions Cup.
Paris Saint-Germain 5-3 (on pen.) Roma, Detroit, MI
Manchester United FC 2-0 Manchester City NRG Stadium, Houston, TX
Juventus FC 3-0 FC Barcelona MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Paris Saint-Germain FC 2-4 Tottenham Hotspur Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
Real Madrid CF 1-1 Manchester United (United 2-1 Madrid Pen.) Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
Tottenham Hotspur 2-3 AS Roma Red Bull Arena, Harrison, NJ
Barcelona 1-0 Manchester United FedexField, Landover, MD
Manchester City 4-1 Real Madrid LA Memorial Coliseum. LA, CA
Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 Juventus Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL
Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur, Nissan Stadium – Nashville, Nashville, TN
Barcelona v Real Madrid Tickets Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL
AS Roma v Juventus Tickets Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA
Before United began the ICC Cup they faced two MLS teams, LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake, at their respective home stadiums. After the conclusion of this summer’s International Champions Cup, Manchester United will play in a friendly on August 1, and then compete in a friendly against Barcelona on August 5, with both games in Europe. Additionally, ICC games will be played in China and Singapore.
China and Singapore ICC Fixtures, Results
Chelsea, Arsenal, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich compete in Guangzhou, China; Shanghai, China; Shenzen, China; Nanjing, China; and Singapore in the 2017 International Champions Cup.
Scheduled to take place at the Singapore National Stadium July 25 – 29, ICC Singapore will feature Chelsea FC, FC Bayern and FC Internazionale in a round-robin three-match tournament. The fixtures in July will mark the first time these top flight European teams have played each other in Singapore. The Asian ICC tournament kicked off Tuesday, 25 July, with Chelsea playing Bayern in a rematch of the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final, which Chelsea won 4-3 (1-1 Full Time) on penalties. The next match on Thursday, 27 July, saw Bayern Munich, the 2013 UEFA Champions League winner, take on Inter Milan. The Italian club famously completed the treble with their 2–0 win against Bayern in the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final. The third and final game of the tournament will see Inter Milan take on Chelsea on Saturday, 29 July.
AC Milan 1-3 Borussia Dortmund, Guangzhou, China
Bayern Munich 2-3 pen. Arsenal, Shanghai, China
Bayern Munich 0-4 AC Milan, Shenzen, China
Inter Milan v AC Milan, Nanjing, China
Chelsea 2-3 Bayern Munich, Singapore National Stadium
Bayern Munich 0-2 Inter Milan, Singapore National Stadium
Chelsea v Inter Milan, Singapore National Stadium
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