Over 33,000 fans welcomed a star-studded lineup of legends to the Theatre of Dreams with Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Paul Scholes all back donning United red in aid of the Manchester United Foundation.
United’s squad were to entertain a Celtic XI featuring Stylian Petrov and former Manchester City man Georgios Samaras. The match ended 1-1 after 90 minutes before the visitors prevailed in a 5-4 win on penalties.
The United legends were on top for large portions of the game, but if ever the men in green and white stripes were up against it, they certainly had a 12th man to boost their motivation.
Here’s what we took away from the wholesome day of charity football.
Five things we learned from the Man United vs Celtic Legends game
Celtic fans travel in force for the United Legends game
The Glaswegian side has followers around the world and the ‘Green Wall’ were in good voice in the away corner of Old Trafford. It was difficult to avoid the shamrock of the hoops on the ride up to the ground, which seemed to be an almost 50/50 colour split on the walk up along Sir Matt Busby Way.
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The reason could lie in Manchester’s large Irish community showing support for their second favourite club, behind the Reds, of course.
They were a constant presence until the final whistle, receiving the result they deserved as Darren O’Dea slotted the winning penalty in the shootout – with a compulsory belly slide celebration to boot.
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Carrick and Fletcher have still got it
Amidst Man United’s current midfield woes, the match on Saturday confirmed that the partnership of Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher still works in 2024. The midfield pairing dictated proceedings with their usual calm and control which never left the duo despite being on the wrong side of 40 years old.
As the match went on and the pace of the game gradually diminished, I couldn’t help but wonder whether my Sunday side could give these old boys a game.
A sequence of one-touch passes and neat flicks around the corner between the pair followed by a meandering run into the box by Carrick quickly put all my questions to bed. They are five-time Premier League winners for crying out loud, we’ll just stick to the local park.
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🤝 Reuniting with former team-mates ✅ 🏟️ Playing at #OldTrafford ✅ ❤️ Vital funds raised for the Foundation ✅
Even for a charity match, there is no love lost between ex-professionals. Their bodies might be ageing but the passion for a meaty tackle evidently never goes away.
For the Reds, Phil Bardsley and Fletcher couldn’t help but get stuck in whilst Celtic’s Joe Ledley and Charlie Mulgrew were the main culprits to never shirk a 50/50.
The Celtic boys were flying in around the box, which helped give us the moment of the game – a Wayne Rooney free-kick into the top corner from 25 yards. Textbook.
Rooney never lets you down
If it was ever in doubt, Wazza’s class is permanent. He may be a far cry from the 18-year-old who would go on to score over 250 goals for the Red Devils but he rolled back the years with a pearler of a strike.
After a previous attempt from a dead ball which struck the wall, the former England man obliged with his next attempt. He was hardly going to let the Old Trafford faithful leave without another iconic finish.
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The goal just before the halftime break drew the entire stadium to its feet, including a rightful applause from the travelling support. The second biggest roar came during his departing substitution for Paul Scholes – a fitting tribute to mark the return of arguably United’s best ever.
With the first team action on hold due to the international break, this was the perfect replacement of footballing action for an unbelievable cause.
The match against Celtic generated almost £1 million in revenue, which will help to support the Manchester United Foundation’s work with young people in Greater Manchester and other outreach areas in the UK.
United Foundation Chief Executive John Shiels said: “We’d like to thank our fantastic team of legends for playing so brilliantly in the name of charity.”
“We are incredibly thankful to Manchester United fans for supporting our work all year round, but especially so today, when the price of their ticket goes back into our work supporting young people.”
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The United vs Celtic Legends produced a wonderful atmosphere (Credit: The Manc Group/MUFC via supplied)
The United vs Celtic Legends game was just the latest in the club’s regular programme of exhibition matches for a good cause among a variety of other annual fundraising activities.
The Foundation delivers community outreach and educational programmes to encourage young people to make more positive life choices across the 10 boroughs all year round.
What better way to connect to our community than through the beautiful game?
Startling statistic raises eyebrows around Manchester United’s defensive capabilities under Erik ten Hag
Danny Jones
Things continue to go from bad to worse for Manchester United this season and yet more unfortunate statistics following another chaotic showing have once again put their capabilities under Erik ten Hag, especially in defence, under scrutiny.
Man United got off to a dream start at the Estádio do Dragão against Porto, starting on the front foot and scoring two goals inside 20 minutes and from two sources who needed them most: Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Højlund returning from injury.
However, it didn’t take long for the home team to pull one back – just a few minutes in fact – and then by the 50th minute the visitors suddenly found themselves losing 3-2 and chasing an equaliser into stoppage time.
Thankfully, Harry Maguire got them out of jail right at the death but it is that now apparent trend of conceding multiple goals in a short space of time that has raised even more serious questions around the team’s mentality, resilience after letting one in and ability to defend in general.
Just in Europe since the start of last season, Man United have conceded two goals in four minutes at Bayern, two in 10 mins vs Galatasaray (h), two in four minutes vs Copenhagen (a), two in nine minutes vs Galatasaray (a) and now two in seven minutes vs Porto (a).
As you can see, it’s not just that this was the 31st time since the beginning of last season that United have conceded two more goals in a match, the most any current Premier League club in that time, but it seems to be the short bursts in which these goals come.
As broken down by ESPN’s Rob Dawson, it seems to be a case of when it rains it pours as the above stat is in Europe alone, where they seem to be picking up even more bad habits on top of that immediate vulnerability after letting one in.
Despite it scoring 12 in their last four matches in Champions and Europa League competitions and even managing to go 2-0 up in three of them, they haven’t managed to win a single one, as the draw against the unconvincing Portuguese side also marked the fifth European game in which they’ve conceded a trio of goals at the other end.
Worse still, according to even more damning stats thrown up by Opta, this ultimately became the 24th time Erik ten Hag’s side has conceded three goals or more in a game – again, the most of any Premier League side and with several of those goals coming in short bursts.
Alarming stuff, but the Dutchman is keeping calm at least on the surface, telling media that he and the players are “mad and motivated” by the current situation but that fans have to remain patient and hopeful that the results will start to improve.
“Don’t judge us in this moment, wait until the end of the season. We’re in a process.”
Erik ten Hag has full belief in his squad moving forward 💪
Match hero Maguire also came to the manager’s defence in his post-match press conference but did once again hit at a problem with motivation and belief: something that both Christian Eriksen rather concerningly touched on last month, admitting that the dressing “didn’t want it enough.”
The Red Devils must now play an in-form Aston Villa who recently won late on their long-awaited Champions League away at Villa Park this weekend and, as if he didn’t need one already, a win is essential for Erik ten Hag.
What about you, United fans – how long do you think he realistically has left to turn things around?
You can watch all the highlights from Man United vs Porto down below.
Featured Images — TNT Sports/Sky Sports (via Screenshot)
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Luke Littler is holding a meet-and-greet this weekend – but not exactly where you’d expect
Danny Jones
Young darts sensation Luke Littler has about as big a 12 months as a professional could hope for and many of those who don’t even watch ‘The Arrows’ now know his name, so much so that he’s already holding a meet-and-greet that is selling quicker than you say ‘180!’
Warrington locals are set to welcome Luke ‘The Nuke’ back to his hometown but it’s fair to say the event is taking place exactly where you would have expected.
The 2024 World Series, Premier League of Darts and Players Championship winner’s fame and reputation have continued to skyrocket ever since his debut, so he’d easily have fans lining up pretty much anywhere, especially in the WA postcode.
Nevertheless, hordes of kids looking to follow in his footsteps and bolster a new generation of youth darts players can attend Luke Littler’s meet and greet at none other than… a Smyths Toys Superstore.
Credit: Smyths Toys
As you do.
Located on the JunctionNINE Retail Park, Warrington Symths Toys will see the 17-year-old taking photos with fans, chatting to budding darts hopefuls and, as it turns out, show off his new personal collection.
Yes, while there will be plenty of wholesome selfies and wide-eyed little kids looking to meet their local hero, Littler and his team chose this particular location as Smyths Toys will be stocking his new range of Target Darts.
Once again, his meteoric rise has seen a huge uptake in young people wanting to try their hands at the sport, with the official Luke Littler Cabinet Set even being named as the Judge’s Pick for ‘Best Gift for Teens’ at the 2024 Christmas Wishlist Awards.
Beyond that, the shop also has the highly sought-after Luke Littler Magnetic Dartboard set for the little one, as well as the Luke Littler Steel-Tip Brass Darts, designed in celebration of the 17-year-old’s tremendous performance at the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship.
Speaking ahead of the event, Littler said: “I’m really excited to meet everyone at Smyths Toys in Warrington this Saturday! It’s been an incredible year for me, and I can’t wait to connect with fans in my hometown and inspire the next generation.”
Adam Thompson, Head of Marketing at Target Darts added: “We’re thrilled to host this fantastic meet-and-greet event with Luke Littler. Luke has had an extraordinary year and we’re proud to celebrate his success with this special opportunity for fans to engage with him…
“It’s a great way to inspire young players and bring the darts community together and we can’t wait to see everyone in Warrington!”
The meet and greet will kick off from 1pm on Saturday, 5 October but you’ll have to be quick if you want to secure a spot. However, the store will still be open between the regular hours (9am-8pm), so you can still try your luck to try and catch a glimpse of ‘The Nuke’ and pick up a darts set or two.
Harry Quick -
9th September 2024 
