If you watched Manchester United’s annihilation of New England Revolution in the 4-1 victory on ESPN2 Wednesday night, you may have blinked and missed one important item. When Ashley Young was substituted in the 67th minute, on came Gabriel Obertan. However, according to the on-screen graphics shown by ESPN2 (see above photo), Paul Scholes came off the pitch after putting in 67 minutes of hard work. Except that Paul Scholes never stepped foot on the pitch. He retired from his playing career at the end of last season.
The embarrassing flub by ESPN was probably due to the fact that Young now wears the number 18 shirt, the number previously worn by Scholesy. Just as teams work out their kinks in preseason to prepare for the real deal in August, it looks like ESPN are dusting off their skills too.
Paul Scholes will play for Manchester United one last time, for real, in his testimonial August 5 against New York Cosmos at Old Trafford.
As for the match itself, it was a thoroughly one-sided affair. Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney created chances up front for Man United, but were a bit rusty in front of goal. In the second half, on came the trio of Federico Macheda, Michael Owen and – later – Obertan. And just like last season’s preseason tour, Macheda and Obertan – especially – looked very impressive for United.
As for the Revs, the team rarely tested Manchester United and looked completely outclassed by a team who hasn’t played for almost two months, while the Revs have played 18 league games since March. Let’s hope that Seattle Sounders give United a better test when the two clubs play July 20 at Qwest Field.
H/T to Stupid Sideline Reporters.
