Manchester United beat Inter Milan tonight 0-0, 5-3 on penalties, to go top of Group A in the Guinness International Champions Cup. It proved to be a cagey match with each team’s formation cancelling each other’s out.
United had the better of the chances throughout the game, and the first chance which was possibly the game’s best, fell to them in the 11th minute. A Juan Mata corner was whipped in to the near post and Phil Jones headed toward the near corner, forcing Samir Handovic into a terrific diving stop at his near post.
Inter's first half chance fell to Nemanja Vidic off of a corner and he headed well over the bar in the 13th minute.
United had two more notable chances in the first half as Wayne Rooney curled a shot just over the bar in the 18th minute, although Handovic looked to have it covered. In the 41st minute, a terrific piece of solo skill from Juan Mata allowed him to get off a shot from distance that fizzed just wide.
If it was possible, Inter seemed to do even less going forward in the second half than they did in the first. As the second half started, United made a mass substitution which saw only Jonny Evans and Darren Fletcher on the pitch from the original starters and it took a while for the game to get its flow back, which was further interrupted by Inter substitutions throughout the half, including a mass sub in the 64th minute.
As the second half action wore on, it was wave after wave of United attack. A flowing piece of passing play between Nani and Shinji Kagawa gave Nani the opportunity to shoot inside the box but he flashed the shot high. United's best chance of the second half came on a Nani shot in the 74th minute but was saved easily enough. United also had a couple of decent penalty shouts, and when Tom Cleverley went down in the 82nd minute, it looked a stone wall decision but the referee was unmoved.
For Inter, only two moments of the second half proved to be worth remembering. When former United captain Nemanja Vidic was substituted in the 72nd minute, he received a great reception from all involved. Inter's one second half chance came on a Fredy Guarin costless kick in the 85th minute. Guarin went for power from nearly 30 yards out and forced David De Gea into a decent save at his far post.
Due to the strange rules of the tournament, after a 90 minute draw the game goes straight to penalties. Therefore, the crowd of 61,238 were treated to a United 5-3 penalty shootout win. The crucial moments of the shootout came when Marco Andreolli missed the match's penultimate penalty off the bar, which was followed by Darren Fletcher slotting home into the side netting. Because of another peculiarity in the rules of this tournament, both teams will gain points from this game. United will earn two points for the shootout win and Inter will earn one point for the loss.
United now have a two point lead over Inter in the group and with a win over Real Madrid can clinch a spot in the title game. Inter will face AS Roma in their final group game, needing United to drop points to have any hope of advancing.