Washington: Manchester United remained undefeated under new Dutch manager Louis Van Gaal after defeating Inter Milan 5-3 on penalty kicks on Tuesday following a goal-less draw.
Scouting striker talent for an English Premier League season only 18 days away, Van Gaal gave Ivory Coast striker Wilfried Zaha and Japan’s Shinji Kagawa a look in the second half and kept Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, reportedly being eyed for a transfer deal to Inter, on the bench until late.
“I am very pleased,” Van Gaal said. “I think we played by far the best match of our sequence of three.”
United, which debuted new blue uniforms, began the US pre-season tour with a 7-0 romp over the host Los Angeles Galaxy last Wednesday and edged AS Roma 3-2 at Denver three days ago.
As a crowd of 61,238 watched, Inter’s Marco Andreolli slammed a shot off the crossbar in the shootout to leave United ahead 4-3 and United captain Darren Fletcher followed by kicking home the decider.
“Fletcher hit the post in training so it’s also a little bit of luck, but we deserved the victory, I think,” Van Gaal said.
Hernandez, Ashley Young, Tom Cleverly and Shinji Kagawa also scored in the shootout for United, which continues the American tour on Saturday against Real Madrid at Ann Arbor, Michigan, where a US record football crowd of more than 100,000 is expected.
Chants for Chicharito were rewarded with striker Javier Hernandez’s insertion by Van Gaal in the 78th minute.
Fredy Guarin, the Colombian midfielder for Inter who has been linked to a possible transfer deal for Hernandez, entered in the 84th minute.
Guarin blasted a free kick in the 85th minute that forced a leaping right-handed save by United second-half goalkeeper David De Gea.
All Van Gaal would say of Hernandez was, “He’s a player of Manchester United at this moment.”
On Kagawa, whom the manager has tested at finisher and playmaker roles, Van Gaal said he was pleased with his forward work.
“He did it much better than in the two matches before,” Van Gaal said.
Zaha, a 21-year-old winger and former Crystal Palace standout, took the field in the second half hoping to prove he could help the club and missed his best shot on the short side in the 90th minute.
“I played all right. I’m happy,” Zaha said. “It’s not as much fun as being a winger but I’ll take it.
“There’s so much pressure on me. Every chance you get you have to take. There are so many players here.”
Van Gaal liked what he saw from Zaha.
“I was pleased with his performance,” Van Gaal said. “We have to see and wait — he has a lot of competition with the other strikers.”
Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie are among those who could push Zaha into a loan, transfer or sale but the African says he wants to stay and that Van Gaal has made him better.
“He’s a good manager,” Zaha said. “He will help me discover what I can do.
“All I have done is what he has asked. I’ve worked hard. That’s what he told me to do. All I can do is work hard. It’s a clean slate for me.
“Last year I made advancements in my game. I just want to play for Manchester United. Hopefully this will be my chance.”
But Zaha is realistic as well.
“Something I’ve learned, if you’re not the manager’s cup of tea then you aren’t,” he said.
United had a reunion of sorts with former captain Nemanja Vidic, now playing for Inter.
The 32-year-old Serbian defender spent eight seasons at Manchester United, serving as captain from 2010 until his contract ended last month and he joined the Italian club.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo is recovering well from his knee injury and may return to action in Saturday’s friendly against his former club Manchester United in Michigan, according to coach Carlo Ancelotti.
The Portugal captain and World Player of the Year has been hampered by a left knee problem in recent months and was clearly below his best at the World Cup in Brazil, where the Portuguese failed to progress beyond the group stage.
“He (Ronaldo) did two sessions today and he is working well on his own,” Ancelotti said at a news conference on Tuesday after Real were beaten 1-0 by AS Roma in a friendly at the International Champions Cup in Dallas.
“Let’s see if in the next few days he can train with the team and can play against Manchester,” added the Italian. “We have to be careful, right now we have to be calm.”
Ancelotti will be hoping Ronaldo regains full fitness in time for the European champions’ first competitive fixture of the 2014-15 season, the European Super Cup against La Liga rivals and Europa League winners Sevilla in Cardiff on August 12.
Real have strengthened their squad with the purchase of Colombia playmaker James Rodriguez and Germany midfielder Toni Kroos and Ancelotti said there might be more movement before the transfer window closes at the end of August.
Media reports in Spain have said Real are looking to sign Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas from Levante.
“We have to think about the players who are at Real Madrid at the moment,” Ancelotti said when asked about the transfer market.
“The market ends on August 31 and a lot of things could happen but we have to focus on those [players] that we have.”
