MANCHESTER UNITED 0, EVERTON 0
58597 at Old Trafford for Wayne Rooney’s testimonial
United captain Rooney has spent 12 years at the club
Money raised for the Wayne Rooney Foundation
Home debuts for new signings Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and Eric Bailly
The manager and some of the players may have changed, but the scoreline remained quite similar to recent results at Old Trafford as Wayne Rooney’s testimonial game ended 0-0.
New Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho fielded 22 players during Wayne Rooney’s testimonial, removing the captain on 54 minutes to a standing ovation.
Mourinho completed a full raft of changes in the team before the 66th minute in what could only really be deemed an extra training session ahead of Sunday’s Community Shield match against Leicester City.
Mourinho, who himself had made a discreet entrance to the Theatre of Dreams in order not to upstage Rooney, occupied the Old Trafford home technical dugout throughout the game – a notable change from policy adopted by his predecessor Van Gaal.
Even though the Portuguese went through a gamut of emotions pitch side and by the end he couldn’t resist a little dig at the fourth official complaining of elbows used in a late Everton set piece.
Despite a second half bout of handbags between Ashley Young and Seamus Coleman, this game played out like a testimonial and while there were shots on target to savour by both sides Everton’s Maarten Stekelenburg was the busier of the two keepers.
The Dutchman was called into action in the 24th minute, punching out a Rooney corner, while Ibrahimovic tested him a minute later after Rooney picked him out for a shot from just six yards out on the left.
There was certain an understanding developing between the two despite the languid setting of a friendly game and Ibrahimovic should have scored when Rooney found him in the 43rd minute with a deep cross from the right.
Missed chances
Ibrahimovic showed his class by chesting the ball down on the edge of the area but opted to switch the ball to his left foot but fired his effort straight at Stekelenburg.
United also had a clutch of corners but Rooney’s radar was off target and the Reds could have paid for it just before half time when Everton moved up the gears, attacking down their right hand side, and Seamus Coleman put in a delicious cross for Romelu Lukaku but the big Belgian, who had got between Daley Blind and Eric Bailly, could only nod the ball wide.
Everton had earlier wasted a chance by Ross Barkley while Luke Shaw’s late first half shot was deflected narrowly past Stekelenburg’s far post as the game threatened to improve.
Kevin Mirallas, a half time sub, smashed the ball into the side netting early in the second half as Everton spurned another chance to take the lead.
11 changes
Old Trafford saw glimpses of the passing range of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, a half time replacement for United but the staged mass substitutions by both sides during the second half made it difficult to rebuild what little momentum either team had.
Substitute Juan Mata’s 76th minute shot was blocked by ex-United midfielder Tom Cleverley for yet another corner and this time Mata’s corner was met by a towering Marouane Fellaini header which Stekelenburg didn’t find too taxing to save while Jose Ramiro Funes Mori’s header from a corner late on proved to be off target.
And even Rooney himself couldn’t resist a smile from the bench when Memphis made a complete mess of an attempt to scissor kick an enticing Mkhitaryan cross – failing to connect and falling over – as the game meandered into added time.