The post-season tour of Asia began for Manchester United on Wednesday, with the clash in Kuala Lumpur not going as expected.
Ruben Amorim looked far from happy on the sidelines as he watched his side put in a second gear performance in front of a stadium filled with passionate fans.
The result won’t bother Manchester United, but the performance will, as ASEAN All-Stars won the game 1-0 without too much trouble.
It was a completely uninspiring display which led to some boos from Malaysian supporters who will have expected more, with the only exciting football coming between the 32nd minute and half-time.
This period saw Sekou Kone and Shea Lacey on the pitch, with the pair shining despite limited minutes.
During the game, there were both losers and winners on the United side.
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Winners
Starting off with the winners…
Chido Obi
Arguably one of the disappointments of the season run-in was that Chido Obi was not given more chances over the struggling Rasmus Hojlund. Well, Obi got 45 minutes in this post-season exhibition game and offered so much more than his senior teammate did.
Obi outclassed Hojlund in every way. Making runs, creating shooting chances and linking up with teammates, all things that Hojlund cannot do.
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With the striker position set for a shake-up this summer, Obi has positioned himself very well to get a proper chance in pre-season to show he is ready to play a greater role next season.
Sekou Kone
In midfield, 19-year-old Kone was arguably the best player on the pitch at any given point as his running, ball winning and passing were too much for the opponents to handle.
Kone looks like an incredible prospect, outclassing Manuel Ugarte with his minutes and hopefully this performance is enough to earn the Malian more time on Friday and throughout pre-season.
Kone is expected to break out for United and already he is seizing his chance with both hands.
Shea Lacey
The quality of Lacey is known by United fans, with the Liverpudlian tipped as the most talented footballer to come through Carrington in a long time.
There was excitement when Lacey was named in the team, and he justified this within minutes of his inclusion.
Lacey had a couple of bright moments, dribbles and a good set-piece delivery which almost led to a Kobbie Mainoo goal. A display which will surely have impressed Amorim.
Jim Thwaites
It was a late cameo for Jim Thwaites as he replaced Tyler Fletcher in the second half, immediately looking up to speed in the men’s game.
Thwaites looked bright and progressed play well on a few occasions, but it was in the dying moments he made his big impact.
With ASEAN All-Stars in on goal looking to make it 2-0, Thwaites was the only player to track back and won an impressive tackle from behind to deny the forward. This will have impressed Amorim.
Losers
And there were also losers from the game…
Rasmus Hojlund
It was yet another bad day at the office for Hojlund, as he couldn’t seem to get anything right with poor touches, passes and also a general lack of effort.
Hojlund also offered virtually nothing to the attack, and was easily outperformed by his 17-year-old teammate, Obi, who has an incredibly low bar to outperform.
To struggle against defenders who are far from a Premier League quality, with all due respect, is just another sign that United should be actively looking to sell Hojlund.
Alejandro Garnacho
Another loser from the defeat is Alejandro Garnacho, who played the second half despite being told to find a new club.
Garnacho was actually one of the better performers when he got the ball, which isn’t saying much, but his lack of effort just proved he does not want to be at the club anymore.
The Argentine has looked devastated on this tour, clearly amazed that Amorim called him out on his actions. Hopefully, after this tour for all parties his sale is agreed.