In front of a record 52,846 attendance at the Singapore National Stadium, Man U opened their International Champions Cup campaign with a 1-0 win against Inter, courtesy of a Mason Greenwood goal in the 76th minute.

During the first 45 minutes, Man U had been the dominant side and they could have gone in front, if not for several good saves from Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic, who denied Man U’s Anthony Martial first in the 25th minute, and then once again, four minutes later.

Scoreless at the break

It had been scoreless at the half time interval, but after the break, Man U continued their chase for a goal, with Jesse Lingard’s shot getting cleared off the line just minutes after the game had resumed.

A couple more chances then followed after that from Man U’s Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba respectively, but their chances either went astray or else they were saved by Handanovic’s brilliant goalkeeping.

Greenwood breaks the deadlock

But despite the lack of goals, the Red Devils continued to press and pile the pressure on Inter and they eventually got the goal that they had desired when Handanovic failed to save Ashley Young’s free kick, allowing Greenwood to break the deadlock.

Man U could have scored another goal just minutes after taking the lead, but Greenwood’s volley had hit the bar instead.

Solskjaer expresses his pleasure

Nonetheless, the Red Devils head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is happy with Greenwood’s performance and goal. 

He said “He is only 17 but is learning everyday and training hard with the rest of the boys. He has grown in confidence and stature over the months but it is important to keep our feet on the ground because he is still so young. There will be ups and downs but for the time being, he is enjoying his football.”

That goal aside, Man U’s showing in Singapore is also an overall performance that Solskjaer is happy about – as the English Premier League season looms next month.

High energy passing and intensity 

He said “Our mindset was good. We got out on the front foot and pressing whenever we can, with high energy intensity. In the first half, maybe because of all the pressing that we did, we lacked the quality in the final third and the last pass, but things were evened out when our second 11 were subbed on.”

And Solskjaer also added “We are here to prepare for the Premier League season and we have shown today that we were serious about preparing for the season ahead. The game that we had today was very competitive. We have been working on the intensity during training and focusing on playing pressing football and I am glad that it has paid off today with Jesse, Marcus and Anthony working hard and winning the balls for us. And that is how we hope to continue in the coming months.”

Inter never gave up fighting 

Despite the narrow defeat, Inter’s Antonio Conte is heartened by his team’s effort.

He said “We know that it was difficult today and we have a difficult season ahead of us, but the team did well in fighting for a result. We did not get it, but I have seen lots of improvement in possession and passing.”

Continued Conte, “The whole team tried very hard to overcome the difficulty of the game. We were against a good physical team with really good players but I am satisfied with the commitment that my players showed. But  we will need to improve on moving the ball more quickly. It is through games like this that we can learn from our mistakes and be positive for the season ahead.”

Relishes the challenge of winning silverware 

Conte also admitted that as a new coach, while he is feeling the pressure at delivering the trophies at Inter when the new Serie A season begins, it is a challenge that he is relishing.

Explained Conte, “For sure, there is always pressure when you become the coach of a big team and Inter is one of the best teams in Italy. But I like this sort of pressure.”

And he also added, “At the same time, this pressure is not only the coach’s alone – if you want to reach your goals and try to win something, the players have to continue to remain united and keep on working hard, as they have been so far. That will be important for us in the future.”