Manchester United's tour of the USA has continued with a 5-3 penalty shootout victory following a goalless draw in 90 minutes against Inter Milan at FedEx Field in Maryland.
The first opportunity of the game arrived in the 11th minute when Phil Jones lost his marker to meet a corner with a powerful header, but Samir Handanovic reacted to tip the ball wide.
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Wayne Rooney was keen to get involved throughout the early stages of the contest, and the England forward came agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock with a curled effort which just drifted over the crossbar.
The defenders enjoyed superiority for the majority of the first half, but Inter's backline could only watch on in hope when Juan Mata fired inches wide from 25 yards.
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Inevitably, the number of changes made at the break disrupted the flow of the contest, and the second half did not come alive until just after the hour mark, when Nani exchanged passes with Shinji Kagawa before drilling the ball past the post.
As the game progressed, Inter found it increasingly difficult to create chances of their own, and were breathing a sigh of relief once again as Tom Cleverley wasted a great chance when he met Ashley Young's inviting cross with a half-volley which crept over the crossbar.
Juan Pablo Carrizo, introduced in the second half as a replacement for Handanovic, ensured that Inter kept their sheet clean with a good save to deny Nani after the Portuguese winger had broken free of his markers late on.
It was the Italian side who then came close to snatching the win in the closing stages as David de Gea tipped over a powerful 25-yard free kick from Fredy Guarin.
Wilfried Zaha almost secured the win in the 90th minute, but the winger failed to hit the target after creating space for himself inside the box, ensuring that a stalemate was the end result.
It was Louis van Gaal's side who were triumphant in the penalty shootout, with the first seven efforts from 12 yards being scored before Marco Andreolli struck the crossbar, allowing Darren Fletcher to secure the win with a calm spot kick.
Callum Mulvihill
