Striker Rasmus Hojlund and £52m newcomer Leny Yoro suffered injuries in the first half as Manchester United lost their opening game of the US tour against Premier League rivals Arsenal in Los Angeles.
Hojlund gave his team the lead in the 10th minute when he latched on to Marcus Rashford’s first pass, outpaced young defender Ayden Heaven and beat Karl Hein with a shot between his legs.
The Dane then turned in Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s low cross from close range before appearing to suffer a muscle injury in the 15th minute that prevented him from continuing.
Yoro’s departure was equally innocuous. The 18-year-old, who joined United from Lille just 10 days ago, fell and required prolonged treatment, before also calling it a day.
Given the large number of injuries that plagued manager Erik ten Hag last season, losing two senior players in this way less than three weeks before United open their new Premier League campaign against Fulham at Old Trafford on August 16, is not ideal.
And, despite the brilliant start, the result did not please the Dutchman either.
Gabriel Jesus equalized with a close-range finish in the 25th minute, before substitute Gabriel Martinelli picked out 17-year-old debutant full-back James Scanlon before delivering the decisive finish.
United won the pre-arranged penalty shootout that followed, with Jadon Sancho scoring the decisive penalty to seal the 4-3 victory.
Woe to injury for Ten Hag
Ten Hag made the demands placed on players this season the theme of his pre-match press conference, stating that the campaign itself would be a ‘survival of the fittest’ and that ‘it will happen’ when it comes to injuries.
Reality must have overcome their worst fears, for first Hojlund and then Yoro fell of their own accord.
Hojlund appeared to grope his groin before heading straight down the tunnel in the corner of the stadium. Yoro took the longer route after a long treatment, but he walked exceptionally slowly and seemed to be in a lot of discomfort.
It wasn’t exactly what United were looking for, as it has been advocating for new sports science appointments as part of its overall restructuring.
Victor Lindelof was also ruled out with injury so 20-year-old Rhys Bennett, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Stockport, took over as Harry Maguire’s defensive partner.
If the injuries were a negative, the positive in Ten Hag’s performance was the performance of midfielder Mason Mount.
The former Chelsea player was one of the players who spent as much time on the treatment table as he did on the pitch, but in front of more than 60,000 people, Mount probed like he used to and at times looked a genuine threat.
Arsenal on pace
As with Bournemouth four days ago, Emile Smith-Rowe has been left out of the Arsenal squad as negotiations continue over a proposed move to Fulham.
Riccardo Calafiori is expected to be confirmed as a new signing within the next 48 hours and with the likes of Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka joining once Arteta’s squad returns to London, evidently they will eventually look very different to how they did here. .
However, at times they showed a fluidity in possession that their opponents could not match.
Much to his manager’s frustration, one play ended abruptly when captain Martin Odegaard appeared to be taken out by Bennett without a free-kick being awarded.
Jesus looked particularly lively for Arsenal and Martinelli was a threat from the moment he came on with 19 minutes remaining.
At that time Jonny Evans was the only experienced player in United’s defense and the Brazilian took advantage to win the game.
What type of pitch was Arsenal v Man Utd played on?
The match was played on a grass field cultivated especially for the game and will be removed on Monday to prepare it for the other events that will be held.
Although stadium officials said the move was cost-effective, when asked about the environmental impact they said attempts to find someone else to take the field have so far been unsuccessful.
