Man United start tour with a win

Manchester United 2 - 1 West Ham United

Manchester United began their Premier League Summer Series campaign with victory over West Ham United in New Jersey.

Author | Olivia T

Stadium | MetLife Stadium

Bruno Fernandes was the standout performer, scoring both goals. He converted a typically composed penalty early in the match and then added a fine strike in the second half to secure the win at a sweltering MetLife Stadium.

Jarrod Bowen netted for West Ham with a precise finish, pulling one back for the Hammers.

Manager Ruben Amorim made a complete overhaul of his outfield players in the 66th minute, and with West Ham making several changes of their own, the game became somewhat disjointed. However, with just six minutes remaining in normal time, Luis Guilherme unleashed a powerful drive that sailed over Bayindir’s bar.

There was one more significant moment in injury time when Bowen had another go at goal, but Bayindir made an excellent save to preserve the lead and ensure the three points. United now look ahead to their next match against Bournemouth, who had earlier defeated Everton 3-0.

Despite leaving Bryan Mbeumo out of the squad to continue his fitness work, Amorim’s side were well deserving of the win, thanks to an impressive team display.

Bruno Fernandes underlines his importance again

Despite a summer spend of over £120m on attacking reinforcements in Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, it was the club captain who made the decisive impact, capitalising on a pair of errors from West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.

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Fernandes opened the scoring with a penalty in the fifth minute before adding a second just after the interval with a precise effort from outside the area.

De Ligt edging ahead of Maguire?

Rúben Amorim was quick to play down any suggestions that his starting line-up in the 2–1 win was a reflection of the team that will begin the Premier League opener against Arsenal at Old Trafford on 17 August. All ten outfield players were replaced after 65 minutes, with only goalkeeper Altay Bayındır completing the full match.

Even so, there were signs of Amorim's preferences, particularly in defence. He appears to favour quick, mobile players in the outside centre-back roles. Matthijs de Ligt was positioned in the centre of the back three during the first half, before Harry Maguire took over for the remainder.