Diego Forlan bagged a brace as Manchester United overcame Barcelona 3-1 in their final match of the club's summer tour of the USA.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson exchanged a symbolic handshake with Ronaldinho - 'the one that got away' - in Philadelphia, and then watched another South American in Forlan help beat the Spaniards. The Uruguayan hit two first-half goals to turn the game on its head after Ronaldinho had inspired Barca into an early lead - and send United on their way to a victory which ensured they ended their high-profile pre-season tour with a 100 per cent record. While Ferguson could not exactly be said to have hunted Ronaldinho down as they made their way off the pitch at half-time, when their paths crossed it was clear there were no hard feelings over the collapse of a transfer the Scot had made his prime task of the summer. Indeed, had the meeting occurred a few weeks earlier, it might have influenced the Brazilian to make the move to Old Trafford instead of concluding the �21million deal which saw him leave Paris St Germain for Catalonia. Given the lengthy summer transfer saga, Ronaldinho's appearance against the side he was supposed to sign for was always going to capture plenty of attention, and in the opening stages it looked as though the Brazilian was going to give Ferguson an uncomfortable evening. Handed a roving role by new Barca coach Frank Rijkaard, the midfielder used the entire width of the pitch to find the space from which he picked holes in the United defence. It took the 23-year-old just 10 minutes to create the first goal, finding room on the right edge of the area, then standing up a cross into the heart of the United box where Patrick Kluivert rose to power a header past Tim Howard. The Reds' new American goalkeeper had already done well to keep Kluivert out after the Dutchman had broke onto Xavi's raking pass, and it looked as though he would be in for a busy evening when Ronaldinho sent a whipping shot just past the post. At that stage, the Samba star was leading United a merry dance, dribbling past Roy Keane, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes at one stage as Barca continued to hold sway. Slowly though, United began to get a foothold in the game and Ronaldinho's influence waned. And, instead of looking a disjointed attacking force with both Ruud van Nistelrooy and Juan Sebastian Veron on the bench, the Old Trafford side suddenly clicked into gear. Although Forlan had already scored two goals on tour, the abiding memory of his input was the horrendous late miss against Juventus last Thursday which left the striker cringing with embarrassment. This time, barring one early failure with a delicate lob, he was clinical. The execution of the diving header which steered Ryan Giggs' low cross beyond keeper Victor Valdes after 26 minutes was perfect, and then he showed the instinct of Van Nistelrooy to bundle home Nicky Butt's low cross 11 minutes later that had taken an unfortunate deflection off Philip Cocu. However, Van Nistelrooy was not going to be completely upstaged. The Dutchman was a strangely muted presence for most of the second half after he had replaced Forlan. But, with five minutes remaining, the prolific Dutchman seized possession after a collision between two Barca defenders, shrugged off the attentions of Oscar Lopez, then rounded substitute keeper Albert Torrvera to tap into the empty net. It allowed Van Nistelrooy to finish the tour level on four goals with Forlan, although, just for once it was the popular Uruguayan taking the plaudits. ________________________________________________________________________ Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/ ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Free shipping on all inkjet cartridge & refill kit orders to US & Canada. Low prices up to 80% off. We have your brand: HP, Epson, Lexmark & more. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5510 http://us.click.yahoo.com/GHXcIA/n.WGAA/ySSFAA/tsUolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************** Reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe from the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
