Al Hilal 3 United 2
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Al Hilal 3
(Al Qahtani 19, Al Jaber 39, Al Khasrashi 73)
Manchester United 2
(Tevez 25, Ronaldo 33)
The King Fahd stadium was packed for this encounter, with 35-year-old Saudi international legend Al-Jaber the main focus of attention.
The home fans left delighted with an Al-Hilal victory, but it came after two spot-kicks (one scored) that might, in a competitive game, have been dismissed.
Still, there was nothing illegitimate about the first goal, which saw Yasser Al-Qahtani finish from close range after a deflection off Rio Ferdinand.
United gained near-instant reply when Carlos Tevez netted six minutes later, capitalising on some energetic countering from Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo himself then grabbed a goal when he nodded home from Nani's corner.
However, the visitors were pegged back to 2-2 just before the interval when Al-Jaber netted a very dubious penalty after an alleged foul by Ferdinand.
He earned another penalty later, but Al-Shalhoub blasted it wide.
Still, the hosts were left cheering when Bader Al-Kharashi netted a wonderful overhead kick past substitute keeper Tom Heaton, sealing a memorable afternoon for the hosts, and presumably a lucrative one for the visitors.
In the last minute highly-rated youngster Welbeck was fouled in the area and took the resulting penalty, only to blast it high over the bar.
United's starting lineup: Van der Sar, Simpson, Ferdinand, O'Shea, Evra, Eagles, Fletcher, Anderson, Nani, Ronaldo, Tevez. -
Wa Man Utd give face
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Substitute keeper lei.
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okay, $1m in Glazer's bag, can come home now.
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if utd played serious..u see the floods in the goal line le.. =/.. more like utd were jus entertaning the host LOL
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not actually... i still rem the times tat manutd came to sg to play...
i tink 9:1 or 8:1.. obviously they don't entertain us... -
8:1 ba...ltr u see after if utd pw hilal deep deep u see guns shots flying LOL
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Kelong !! must be lah if not then SIngapore how like that?
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wait here i show u a text from manutd.com about the penalty
LOL
''Sir AlexÂ’s men would have gone into the break 2-1 up had the referee not awarded Al Hilal a highly dubious penalty on 38 minutes. Not that anybody seemed to mind. In fact, even the United boss was smiling when he realised the decision was engineered, it seemed, in order to give Sami Al Jaber the opportunity to score in his own testimonial.'' -
Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo signs a team shirt for a Saudi fan at King Khaled airport
With the ability to match his marketing appeal, it is easy to understand why Cristiano Ronaldo is coveted by so many of EuropeÂ’s leading clubs. Everyone appears to want a piece of the Portuguese and at a raucous King Fahd Stadium here last night it was the turn of 65,000 Saudi Arabians to catch a glimpse of the man whom many believe to be the best player in the world.
United were here to play a testimonial against Al Hilal Al Saudi FC in honour of Sami Al Jaber, the former Saudi Arabia striker, but at times it seemed as though the locals had turned up to watch Ronaldo and his absorbing repertoire of tricks and flicks. Even the home teamÂ’s 3-2 win was not as warmly received as the Portugal winger.
There was a long pause before Ronaldo’s name was announced before kick-off and the reception that greeted it was even louder than the one reserved for Al Jaber. Ronaldo, in turn, seemed only too happy to play to the carnival crowd, scoring one goal and setting up another for Carlos Tévez before taking his leave at half-time.
For Sir Alex Ferguson, the hysteria may be more likely to evoke memories of the adulation that David Beckham received, but while that may be a perturbing thought for the United manager, he is desperate to keep his talisman in the long term, which is why the club are making preparations to suppress attempts to unsettle the player. Real Madrid made their intentions known again last week, when Pedrag Mijatovic, the clubÂ’s sporting director, announced that they would not give up trying to sign Ronaldo.
United believe that Real’s brazen courting of the player is unacceptable, but while the idea of loading a formal complaint to Fifa has been mooted, the club are thought to be ready to target the “outside influences” whom they believe are to blame for stoking the fires, rather than refer the matter to the sport’s world governing body.
A well-placed source at United told The Times: “Real Madrid’s remarks about Cristiano aren’t helpful, but they are getting their information from certain people whose credibility we intend to undermine.”
Although Al Hilal took a nineteenth-minute lead through Yasser Al Ghatane, Ronaldo stamped his authority on proceedings when teeing up Tévez for an equaliser before stealing in at the near post to head home Nani’s corner. Al Jaber made it 2-2 from the penalty spot before Bader Al Khoraeshe won the match with an overhead kick in the 79th minute.
Daniel Welbeck, a 17-year-old forward making his United debut, should have drawn the visiting team level but missed a penalty in the last minute. Ferguson, seemed more concerned with an illness to Ryan Giggs that ruled out the winger. Giggs had a fever but is expected to be fit for the FA Cup fourth-round tie against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Sunday. -
Originally posted by Sienx:wait here i show u a text from manutd.com about the penalty
LOL
''Sir AlexÂ’s men would have gone into the break 2-1 up had the referee not awarded Al Hilal a highly dubious penalty on 38 minutes. Not that anybody seemed to mind. In fact, even the United boss was smiling when he realised the decision was engineered, it seemed, in order to give Sami Al Jaber the opportunity to score in his own testimonial.'' -
$$$ can make the mare go round
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nvr heard of Welbeck before...
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be you didnt know that theres a Man Utd player by the name of Drinkwater.Originally posted by plsthanks:nvr heard of Welbeck before... -
Frazer Campbell as well?
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? this one heard before, haha i saw Drinkwater playing in the u-18 league last year i think... was on channel 107.Originally posted by lpx88:Frazer Campbell as well? -
drinkwater and frazer campbell i know... but not welback...
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Originally posted by plsthanks:drinkwater and frazer campbell i know... but not welback... yea ive not heard of a welback... maybe new fella
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I think what MUFC is trying to do is not to think about the $1m, but the millions or billions behind these rich oil kings...
given how an russian oil king is bankrolling another major club, it is quite smart to raise MU's profile in that part of the world.
and given how many reserves players were played, it would be good exposure for them, and first teams got time to recover also. -
Welbeck was my 1st team winger in FM 2012
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Huh haha i thought only got 08?Originally posted by lpx88:Welbeck was my 1st team winger in FM 2012