If you missed the MLS All-Stars vs. Manchester United friendly last night, don’t worry. Read on for a recap. The match played host to the MLS All-Star game and drew a surprising 70,728 fans at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. Instead of the expected 50,000 fans, it was the fourth-largest crowd to watch an all-star game in U.S. sports history.
The MLS All-Stars fell to the English Premier League powerhouse 5-2. Even on foreign soil, there was a sea of red as United fans packed the stadium. It helps that United is one of the best teams in the world and the popularity of the sport is still growing. It was the first loss in regulation for the MLS All-Stars under the current format, aside from losing to Everton on penalty kicks last year. Though the USA performed better than expected in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and gave America hope for the future, the large margin of defeat to United from the best of the U.S. is another eye opener.
It was a bad start for MLS as Kevin Alston’s back pass was taken by Federico Macheda and put in past goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts for a 1-0 United lead less than 30 seconds into the game. The Italian Macheda added another off a corner inside 12 minutes to make it 2-0. MLS had its best shot on goal in the first half with a Juan Pablo Angel free kick that was tipped over the bar by goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar in the 15th minute. United nearly went up three before the break with a Darren Fletcher hot shot off the crossbar after a give-and-go opened him up close to the goal.
MLS needed to get on the board quickly in the second half. Brain Ching made it 2-1 on a header from a David Ferreira free kick at the near post just after the hour mark. Six minutes later, United added to the lead with an easy free kick by Darron Gibson into the top left corner. United kept scoring in chunks, making it 4-1 when Tom Cleverley dropped a bouncing ball over the head of defender Wilman Conde. Mexican international Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez scored his first goal in a United uniform in the 84th minute before MLS’ Dwayne De Rosario of Toronto FC closed out the scoring at 5-2 in the 90th minute. Macheda, age 18, was named MVP after scoring the game’s first two goals.