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?
Kate Scott praised for impassioned speech following more racism in Champions League
Danny Jones
Football pundit and sports presenter Kate Scott has been met with plenty of praise for her ‘expert’ handling of the fallout following more racism in the Champions League this week, delivering an emotional and impassioned speech about discrimination live on TV.
The Manchester-born broadcaster, formerly Kate Abdo, was serving as the host on her usual CBS Sports panel on Tuesday, 17 February, when the story of the playoff game between Benfica and Real Madrid – which included a worldie from Vinicius Jr. – was overshadowed by more allegations of racial abuse.
In case you missed it, Argentine player Gianluca Prestianni was accused of making racist remarks by both Vini Jr and Kylian Mbappe, but supposedly covered his mouth so as not to be caught on camera; the match was then stopped for more than 11 minutes.
Speaking in the aftermath amid the following European fixtures the next day, the Withington-schooled journalist and University of Salford graduate delivered an eloquent reaction to the controversy with peak professionalism.
Absolutely pitch perfect, and all those involved in preparing the statement should be applauded.
While Scott herself recognised that it’s a shame we even have to keep talking about issues like these rather than the sheer simplistic beauty of, well, ‘the beautiful game’, her response is an example of the job being done at arguably its very best: factual, ethical, moving and inspiring.
As you can see, Scott goes on to say, “This isn’t Real Madrid versus Benfica – it is right versus wrong. Vini Junior and Kylian Mbappe said that there was repeated racial abuse.
“Gianluca Prestiani said they misheard, but he covered his mouth to hide what he said from the cameras, and hopefully, we can all agree that if what you are saying on a football pitch is shameful enough to have to hide it from the public, then you’re wrong.”
The Portuguese club, which ultimately lost 1-0 in their first leg at home on the night, have released a statement reaffirming their commitment to “equality, respect, and inclusion” but reiterates that they believe Prestiani and feel he is now the subject of a “defamation campaign”.
Conversely, in a definitive and emphatic closing message, she signs off by adding the following: “The racial diversity on a football pitch in the Champions League is the representation of the global love for this game and the global belonging in this game. This is the very spirit of football.
“And if you don’t agree, then respectfully, you are the one who doesn’t belong.”
This is what the Athletic is supposed to be. Telling important stories & giving in depth analysis. I hope this signals that it will be its focus moving forward.
From CBS ‘Golazo’ show being applauded for tackling the subject head-on, to Cross herself being labelled as everything from “a role model” and “a benchmark” to “the best on the planet” in the outpouring of reactions on social media, it’s fair to say they absolutely nailed it.
Sadly, this is one of many recent examples of prejudice being shared publicly across various UEFA tournaments and beyond in recent years, but the only way we can truly help anti-hate initiatives is by continuing to call them out.
Stockport County defender Tyler Onyango out injured for the rest of the season
Danny Jones
Stockport County defender Tyler Onyango is set to be ruled out for the rest of the season as the club confirms he has injured his hamstring yet again.
County manager Dave Challinor delivered the unfortunate news in his most recent pre-match press conference ahead of the local clash against Wigan Athletic, revealing that the injury, which saw Onyango forced off in the defeat against Bradford City, as feared, is fairly serious.
The young Luton-born full-back has played a baker’s dozen worth of games already this campaign – already three more than his first term last year – but is now scheduled to be out for a number of weeks and isn’t likely to return before Stockport’s promotion race ends.
With the Greater Manchester club having stayed well in and amongst the playoff scrap spots, currently sat in 5th, losing a player in a key wide position is the last thing the Hatters need.
Damaging his hamstring once more, and not for the first time (suffering multiple related setbacks since 2023), the 22-year-old has racked up a number of concerning injuries at a young age.
As well as a hernia problem, Onyango fractured his ankle in 2021 and was sidelined for more than a third of the year in 2022/23 with a hip flexor issue.
He only returned to action after his last muscle strain this past December and did look to be finally enjoying a decent run in Challinor’s side.
On the other hand, the Everton loanee’s performances haven’t always been consistent, and while many fans recognise he’s a “good player when fully fit” and has progressed since he arrived in SK3, other supporters fear he may not be a reliable enough option.
Writing on X, one user said: “A player who has improved since last season and adds quality to the group. My question to the club is, at what point is maintaining good injury-prone players a potential detriment to the squad rather than a positive ‘gamble’ given we haven’t had consistent wingbacks all season?”
Sadly for the young right-back, who has shown promise in spells bombing down those flanks, his second stint at Edgeley Park is being cut short just like his last one.
Detailing that Onyango “will now go for surgical opinion”, a club statement put simply, “Whatever the outcome, the setback brings his second loan spell at Edgeley Park to a premature end.
Praising the versatile defender for his efforts and resilience thus far, they go on to add: “We wish Tyler all the best and will continue to offer our support throughout his recovery. We thank him for his efforts during his time as a Stockport County player.”
It remains to be seen whether or not they will attempt to keep him close and secure a third temporary deal come the summer.
One player they have decided to help complete his loan trilogy is returning winger Louie Barry, who isn’t expected to be back in action until March, but could provide plenty of solutions on the pitch.
You can see Dave Challinor’s post-match presser following the double defeat to Bradford here.
Harry Quick -
9th September 2024 
