CALIFORNIA, Sporting Alert – Goals from Wayne Rooney, Jesse Lingard and Adnan Januzaj carried Manchester United to a 3-1 win over Barcelona in an International Champions Cup game at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday.
Manchester United were winning its third successive game in pre-season, following a 1-0 victory over Club America and a 3-1 win against the San Jose Earthquakes in earlier fixtures.
Rooney opened the score for the English Premier League side when he headed home a corner kick from Ashley Young in the eighth minute of play.
Barcelona came very close to scoring four times in the first half, but striker Luis Suarez hit the post on two occasions.
The Uruguay international had another chance to get on the score sheet before the halftime break but he scuffed his shot and goalkeeper David de Gea collected easily.
De Gea made a world-class save early in the game on a one-and-one battle with Sergi Roberto to stop his team from going behind.
Manager Louis van Gaal made 11 changes to his Manchester United setup and the Red Devils were quickly rewarded when Lingard finished from inside the box, following a lovely build up that saw Tyler Blackett putting in a cross in the 65th minute.
Barcelona pulled a goal back in the 90th minute when youngster Rafinha beat substitute goalkeeper Sam Johnstone with a stunning volley finish from outside the box.
However, Manchester United’s two-goal lead was restored almost immediately, after Januzaj broke away on a long pass before cutting inside and firing past the Barcelona keeper, one minute into stoppage time.
Both teams were playing without several top players, with Lionel Messi and Neymar skipping this trip for Barca, and the likes of Angel Di Maria, Javier Hernandez and Marcos Rojo sitting for Man United.
