While Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa were battling it out for the UEFA Super Cup trophy last night, Arsenal and Manchester United took advantage of the break to play friendly games.The Gunners faced Cesc Fabregas’ Como at the Emirates Stadium and drew 1-1.
The game went straight to a penalty shoot-out, which the home side won 4-3.Mikel Arteta’s men broke the deadlock in the 33rd minute through Myles Lewis-Skelly, who capitalised on a massive blunder by Como goalkeeper Jean Butez, before celebrating his opener with what appeared to be a plea for forgiveness, clasping his hands together amid persistent rumours linking him with Chelsea and Man United.
Two minutes before the break, the Serie A club levelled thanks to Martin Baturina’s fantastic goal after leaving two opponents in his wake with a brilliant dribble.The second half was rather uneventful, punctuated by a flurry of substitutions. The penalties were to decide the winner. Noni Madueke was Arsenal’s sole miss, while Alvaro Morata wasted the decisive penalty for Como in the final series.
The Gunners’ next challenge will be far from a friendly game, as they’ll face Manchester City in the Community Shield on Sunday (17.00), fighting for the first trophy of the season.The same scenario was unfolding simultaneously at Dublin’s Croke Park stadium, where Manchester United and Leeds United played out a 1-1 draw, with the Red Devils securing a 5-4 victory on penalties.Just as in London, the two teams were level at the break.
Joshua Zirkzee opened the scoring in the 16th minute after a quick counterattack and Bryan Mbeumo’s timely pass, while Brenden Aaronson equalised 13 minutes later.The second half followed the exact same script as the clash at the Emirates, with the scoreline remaining unchanged until the final whistle.In the penalty shoot-out, Bruno Fernandes missed for United, while Harry Wilson and James Justin’s wasted efforts sealed Leeds’ fate.Before the Premier League kick-off and their opener against the newly promoted Hull City on the road, the Red Devils will play another friendly match against Ruben Amorim’s AC Milan on Saturday (17.45).