United go into the season, as things stand, with an 100% record, only one injury (Eric Bailly) and a very good mood around the squad. A positive few weeks travelling across the world for the Reds. The final friendly is on August 3rd as United take on AC Milan.
Pogba has a long conversation with one of the Kristiansund players who gets out his phone and is on a FaceTime call, probably to a relative or a friend. Nice moment. Pogba gives him his shirt as well.
Full-time: Mata's late penalty winner give United a five out of five record in pre-season.
90+2' Kristiansund have just brought a player on who has a serious ligament injury and hasn't played since April. He's totally injured but they bring him on at the end so he can say he played against his boyhood club, United.
GOAL: Kristiansund 0-1 Man United (Mata)
Mata converts the penalty that he won. Kristiansund have been superb but United deserve the win in the end. The pass from Pogba to set up the chance was absolutely sublime.
90+1' Penalty for United: Pogba feeds through Mata, the Spaniard takes it wide and is brought down blatantly by the third choice goalkeeper for Kristiansund whose only just come on the pitch. Mata to take.
90' Pogba sends a shot wide of the right post. United have two minutes of additional time to try and maintain their 100% record in pre-season.
88' Penalty shout for United as 16-year-old Williamsen gets to the ball first and touches it away before bringing Paul Pogba down. Good defending from the youngster after a lovely move that revolved around Pogba.
86' Noah Solskjaer is brought on. Ole Gunnar is looking very proud. Another 16-year-old, Williamsen, is also on. Amazing moment for all involved.
85' Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's son is about to come on for Kristiansund. As fresh-faced as his Dad looked when he signed for United. His younger son is sat next to Solskjaer senior on the United coaching bench.
80' Really nice build-up from United, coming out of defence with quick passing and movement. Chong finishes the move with a powerful drive that the goalkeeper gets his body behind.
77' Fred curls one towards the top left corner after nice team build-up from United. It's just past the post.
76' Greenwood hits the side netting, cutting in and out before unleashing a drive that can't quite creep into the right corner.
72' A loose ball on the halfway line is pounced on by Greenwood. He looks up, sees the defender closing in and pokes it hard forwards, chases after it with great speed and gets away from the defender. Support eventually arrives but his cross finds no one.
71' More impressive defending from the hard-working Kristiansund. Fred feeds through a ball to Greenwood but it never reaches the young striker as they clear for a corner. Tuanzebe heads wide from the set piece.
66’ Greenwood and Chong are always an exciting pair to watch for United. They’ve combined a couple of times already.
60' United's new line-up: Romero; Dalot, Tuanzebe, Rojo, Young; Pogba, Fred; Chong, Mata, Pereira; Greenwood.
58' Big changes coming for United just before the hour mark. The whole team are going off. We'll give you the replacement line-up in just a second.
56' Another fantastic save from McDermott denies a stingy Rashford drive and United have two consecutive corners which come to nothing.
53' Dan James gets a shot off, latching onto a loose ball on the edge of the box. Easy save for McDermott.
51' Brilliant chance for Kristiansund with a header at the far post. They should be leading. Both sides could have had multiple goals now.
46’ The action gets back underway in Norway. No subs for United. The first time that’s been true in pre-season.
HALF TIME
HT Kristiansund 0-0 Manchester United
The Reds dominated the game against Solskjaer’s hometown club but were kept out by some excellently defending and goalkeeping from McDermott.
42’ Brilliant effort from McTominay. Receives the ball from Dan James in the box, turns with it at his feet and launches a rocket that strikes off the post and away from danger.
37’ McTominay with a good hit from long range, a rare shooting effort from him. Good save from McDermott.
36’ Good opportunity for Marcus Rashford to strike from a dead ball situation. Rashford takes the free kick brilliantly but McDermott pulls out an equally great save. United are threatening with more frequency now ad a goal before half time wouldn’t be a surprise.
31’ Superb last ditch tackle from Kristiansund. Rashford crosses it in for Martial. The Frenchman is about to side foot it home into the bottom corner but a brilliant tackle comes in at the last moment to take the ball away from him.
30’ Half hour mark in Norway and United have dominated, particularly down the left flank. No goal yet but the pace of their play and pressing is encouraging.
29’ Martial sees an effort at goal pushed away into the feet of Rashford. Play is slowed down and he eventually receives it once more but the shot is blocked.
25’ Shaw fires a cross through the six-yard box but Kristiansund a defending really well. They’re managing to clear difficult balls without cutting across them or sending them towards their own goal.
21’ Phil Jones has another chance from a corner, though it’s not an overhead kick this time. He should have scored this one. He’s managing to evade his market at almost every set piece at the moment. His effort strikes the body of goalkeeper McDermott.
20’ Kristiansund have some fans here and they’re making a lot of noise given how few there are. This match is actually hundreds of miles from Kristiansund. It’s a seven hour drive so it’s not surprising that some haven’t made the trip.
18’ McTominay is having another very good game for United. Rashford has just seen a dipping free kick go wide. He cut across the ball a bit.
17’ Not a huge amount of action for United. Dan James has just been fouled for the second or third time in the game. He’s drawn a lot of attention in pre-season, being fouled frequently because of his pace.
12’ Lingard with a fantastic curling effort. Not enough bend on the shot and it creeps past the post. The closest that United have come to scoring so far.
10’ A surprisingly decent effort at an overhead kick from Phil Jones after a corner for United who are pressing well.
Kick-off
1’ Underway in Norway. A fair number of United fans have made the trip over
Kristiansund lineup
McDermott, Ulvestad, Psyche, Coly, Aasbak, Diop, Cirak, Kalludra, Bye, Gjertsen, Kastrati
Man. United Subs
Romero, Dalot, Rojo, Smalling, Tuanzebe, Young, Pereira, Fred, Gomes, Mata, Pogba, Chong, Greenwood.
Man. United lineup
De Gea; Wan Bissaka, Jones, Lindelof, Shaw, Matic, Mctominay, James, Lingard, Martial and Rashford.
🔴 Your #MUFC XI to face Kristiansund...
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 30, 2019
Manchester United and Kristiansund's lineups will be confirmed anytime soon.
Perfect pitch
The Ulleval Stadium in Norway is set for today's marvelous match. The conditions of the pitch are great.
Solskjaer's son
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's son, Noah, has been called up to Kristiansund's senior squad ahead of today's pre-season friendly against Manchester United.
We are less than an hour from the Kristiansund vs Manchester United kick-off. Our live coverage starts as of this moment.
Summer signings start
Both of United's summer signings start once more for the Reds. Aaron Wan-Bissaka in his favoured right-back position and Dan James, brought in for £18 million from Swansea City, on the right-wing in front of him. They've both looked exciting thus far.
Manchester United bench vs Kristiansund
United bench vs Kristiansund: Romero, Dalot, Rojo, Smalling, Tuanzebe, Young, Fred, Gomes, Mata, A. Pereira, Pogba, Chong, Greenwood.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made six changes to his starting line-up from last week's win against Tottenham Hotspur.
David de Gea captains the Reds which could be a sign of the future at Old Trafford. Reports suggest De Gea and Pogba are being considered for the captaincy by Solskjaer. Pogba, though, is not in the team but is on the bench.
Manchester United starting XI vs Kristiansund
Starting XI: De Gea (c); Wan-Bissaka, Jones, Lindelof, Shaw; Matic, McTominay; James, Lingard, Martial; Rashford.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to face his son
The Manchester United manager's son plays for Kristiansund's youth teams. He'll be given his debut this evening against his father's club. I'm sure there'll be a nice celebration after the game, whatever the result.
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Bruno Fernandes talks continue
Meanwhile, despite English reports suggesting that United are unlikely to sign Sporting midfielder Bruno Fernandes, the rumours continue to gather speed. A possible barrier to the signing for the Reds is Paul Pogba's future. Some have suggested that United will only sign Fernandes if Pogba leaves, something which is now looking unlikely.
Lukaku latest
A few days ago, reports indicated that Juventus had weighed in on the battle to bring Lukaku to Italy, offering United a potential swap deal. That seems to have been quashed now, but Inter remain interested. United are demanding a fee of over €80 million for the Belgian striker, wanting to recoup the money they paid for him two years ago. Inter have offered just upwards of €70 million.
Manchester United team news
So despite bringing 26 players and four goalkeepers for only one match, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has not included Romelu Lukaku or Matteo Darmian in his squad for the Kristiansund game. It may speak volumes about both players' future at the club, particularly Lukaku who remains of great interest to Inter Milan and possibly their Serie A rivals Juventus too.
Manchester United squad vs Kristiansund: No Lukaku
De Gea, Grant, Pereira, Romero; Dalot, Jones, Lindelof, Rojo, Shaw, Smalling, Tuanzebe, Wan-Bissaka, Young; Fred, Gomes, James, Lingard, Mata, Matic, McTominay, Pereira, Pogba; Chong, Greenwood, Martial, Rashford
Man United's pre-season so far: China
Lukaku didn't play again in United's most recent match, a 2-1 win against Tottenham that was played at pace and with genuine intensity. The Belgian looks set to leave United.
More importantly, Solskjaer's side showed their new focus on pressing high up the pitch. 18-year-old Angel Gomes grabbed the winner after a fantastic one-two with Mata and then a wonderfully composed finish past the goalkeeper.
Manchester United's pre-season so far: Singapore
United then triumphed over Inter Milan, beating the Italian side 1-0. It was a less entertaining affair than the two matches that preceded it, but another good win. Romelu Lukaku wasn't involved at all. He had been injured in Australia and Solskjaer claimed that the niggle had continued into Singapore.
Manchester United's pre-season so far: Australia
Solskjaer's side have played four matches already in pre-season, starting off with two fixtures in Australia before making their way through Asia.
The Reds managed comfortable wins against Perth Glory (2-0) and Leeds United (4-0) in Perth in the West of the country. A number of youngsters impressed, with Jimmy Garner and Mason Greenwood both scoring.
Solskjaer goes home
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is in his first pre-season as the boss after taking over as interim from Jose Mourinho back in December 2018. He was appointed on a permanent basis in March and is now going home to Norway for United's penultimate game of the pre-season campaign.
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