Manchester United players were seeing red early on Monday morning as they went down 3-2 to Borussia Dortmund to end their pre-season tour of the US with a third straight defeat.
Tempers flared between teammates and opponents alike in the Las Vegas clash, with coach Erik ten Hag’s manne producing another error-strewn display.
In the first half, 19-year-old winger Omari Forson lost his head five minutes after Diogo Dalot had given United a 25th-minute lead with a long-range strike.
An end-to-end encounter ends in defeat for United 🇺![CDATA[]]>🇸#MUFC || #MUTOUR23
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 31, 2023
The laaitie was booked after kicking out at defender Julian Ryerson and squaring up to Karim Adeyemi.
Seeing that Forson would have been sent off if there had been a VAR check, Ten Hag decided to replace the teen hothead with Antony in the 37th minute.
After Donyell Malen turned the game on its head with a late first-half brace, United changed the hele span at the break (2-1).
Maar die duiwel was klaar los in United’s performance, as teammates began to bots in the 48th minute.
This time it was new goalkeeper Andre Onana skelling ex-captain Harry Maguire for a pass which led to the goalie having to make a double save to keep United in the game.
While Antony would level for the Devils in the 52nd minute, another sloppy pass in the United half by rightback Aaron Wan-Bissaka was intercepted and Dortmund grabbed a 71st-minute goal through Youssoufa Moukoko – which proved the winner.
Returning to the UK after three defeats from four games in the US, Ten Hag says: “There are no excuses.
“We have to keep the control and you have to keep the responsibility on the ball and it was the same on the 3-2 for Dortmund, so it can’t happen and it’s unforgivable even if it’s a friendly.”
🇺![CDATA[]]>🇸 USA, it's been a pleasure ❤️#MUFC || #MUTOUR23 pic.twitter.com/mVyBGrm0gU
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 31, 2023
Next up for United are friendlies against Lens and Athletic Bilbao on Saturday and Sunday before hosting Wolves in their Premier League opener on August 14.