Manchester United draws with European champions in friendly

Manchester United drew 1-1 with Paris Saint-Germain, the European and French champions, in the Swedish city of Gothenburg, in their final pre-season friendly before facing English side Aston Villa in the UEFA Super Cup. The match was played with a young lineup, as several of the club’s international players returned from duty.

Senegal’s Ibrahima Mbaye opened the scoring early for PSG in the second minute, before Cameroon’s Bryan Mbeumo equalized for United in the 32nd minute. Despite PSG dominating possession, the Red Devils created the more dangerous chances.

Spanish manager Luis Enrique made only two changes to the starting lineup that lost 3-0 to Spanish side Real Mallorca three days earlier, notably deploying Ecuadorian defender Pacho at the heart of the defense. The team appeared more solid this time. Enrique did not start any of his four players returning from World Cup duty—Portuguese midfielders João Neves and Nuno Mendes, Portuguese winger Vitinha, and Brazilian defender Marquinhos—but brought all of them on during the final half-hour.

However, the match was overshadowed by an injury to United’s Mason Mount, continuing a series of setbacks for the English midfielder, who joined United from Chelsea in 2023. Mount’s appearance lasted just 20 minutes against PSG, as the 27-year-old appeared to suffer a foot injury before leaving the pitch after a discussion with the coaching staff on the touchline, with Tyler Fletcher coming on as his substitute.

Mount has made only 31 Premier League appearances across his first two seasons at United, many of them as a substitute. Meanwhile, the team, managed by Michael Carrick, continues preparations for the new season, in which they will compete in the UEFA Champions League, while hoping to build on their third-place finish in the Premier League last season. United have two more friendlies remaining: against traditional rivals Leeds United in Dublin on the 12th, followed by a match against Italian side AC Milan in the Polish city of Wrocław three days later, before starting their Premier League campaign away against newly promoted Hull City on the 22nd.