Manchester United drew with Fiorentina in a pre-season friendly on Saturday afternoon.
In the eighth minute, Fiorentina took the lead through Simon Sohm. The Italian side enjoyed a bright start to the match, and just minutes before taking the lead, Moise Kean came close to scoring from close range after some lazy defending from the United back line. The United defenders were once again poor for the opening goal, as it came from a very simple set piece. Albert Gudmundsson whipped a good but simple ball into the box from a corner, and his delivery fell to the feet of Sohm, who guided his finish home well. Although it was a well-worked training ground goal, the defending and organisation from the Red Devils were really poor.
Fiorentina's lead didn't last long, as just 17 minutes after their opening goal, the home side made it 1-1. Just like Fiorentina's goal, United's equaliser came from a corner, albeit their goal was a bit more scrappy. Bruno Fernandes whipped a lethal cross to the back post, and it was attacked by both Casemiro and Leny Yoro, but sandwiched between them was Robin Gosens, who ended up putting the ball into his own net.
Just minutes after scoring from a set play, United came close to taking the lead through another set play. Bryan Mbeumo delivered yet another superb cross into the box, which was met by Yoro, but his header was saved by David De Gea, who rolled back the years at Old Trafford with one of his vintage reflex saves.
The first half came to a close with the score at 1-1, and despite Fiorentina's bright start, United bounced back well and were looking very dangerous going forward.
United continued their slick and fast-paced attacking play in the second half and were constantly causing real problems for the Fiorentina defence. Two of United's marquee summer signings, Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha, were showing real promise and threatening with their pace, however, the Italian side also managed to threaten a few times, but their chances were less clear-cut.
Not much happened in front of goal for the remainder of the match, and the full-time whistle blew with the score at 1-1. United would go on to win the resulting penalty shootout 5-4 to send the Old Trafford faithful home happy.
Manchester United 1-1 Fiorentina - Match Statistics
Manchester United
61
14
5
6
0
0
Match Highlights
Manchester United Player Ratings
Bruno Fernandes applauding Manchester United fans
GK: Altay Bayindir - 6/10
Didn't really have anything to do in terms of saves, as well as with the ball at his feet. Bayindir couldn't really do anything to stop Fiorentina's goal also, as that was mainly down to his defenders.
RWB: Amad Diallo - 5/10
Tried to make things happen down the right flank, but it just wasn't his day. Diallo was a lot less creatively effective at right wing back than he typically is when he's playing as a winger, and with Mbeumo playing in front of him, he didn't get many opportunities to shine in the final third.
CB: Leny Yoro - 7.5/10
Very good when playing the ball out from the back and had some bright moments where he made some good runs with the ball out from defence.
CB: Harry Maguire - 7/10
Solid with the ball at his feet, and managed to keep the Fiorentina front two of Kean and Dzeko fairly quiet.
CB: Ayden Heaven - 7.5/10
Just like Yoro, Heaven was very good with the ball at his feet and also showed promise when bursting out of defence with his pace and power.
LWB: Patrick Dorgu - 7/10
The Dane was never really troubled defensively and played with plenty of energy up and down the left flank.
CM: Casemiro - 7.5/10
Battled really well in the midfield as he always does, but also created some really good chances for the United attack. As well as being solid in the midfield, the Brazilian was also a nuisance for Fiorentina in their defensive box.
CM: Bruno Fernandes - 7.5/10
Superb with the ball at his feet and although he didn't create many chances, his excellent passing range was showed off and he was spraying the ball around the pitch with ease.
RW: Bryan Mbeumo - 8/10
United's biggest and best attacking threat by a mile. The Cameroonian started the match by whipping some great crosses into the box, and in the second half, he changed his approach, using his pace and dribbling more and was superb.
ST: Mason Mount - 6/10
Didn't really get involved in the match much, but his pressing was important to the way United played.
LW: Matheus Cunha - 7.5/10
A really bright showing for the Brazilian. Just like Mbeumo, Cunha threatened with his pace and played really direct and also came close to scoring a screamer from distance.
SUB: Kobbie Mainoo - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Matthijs de Ligt - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Luke Shaw - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Diogo Dalot - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Manuel Ugarte - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
Fiorentina Player Ratings
Simon Sohm celebrating after scoring against Manchester United in pre-season
GK: David De Gea - 7.5/10
Although it was an emotional return to Old Trafford for him, the Spaniard did the business on the pitch and produced some really good, vintage saves.
RWB: Dodo - 6.5/10
Struggled to deal with the attacking threat of Cunha at times, but didn't really put a foot wrong defensively.
CB: Pietro Comuzzo - 6/10
Withdrawn after just 35 minutes on the pitch. Comuzzo didn't really put a foot wrong whilst he was playing.
CB: Marin Pongracic - 6.5/10
Produced some important blocks and clearances, which managed to protect De Gea from making even more saves. The Croatian defended aggressively and stayed resilient despite coming up against some top attackers.
CB: Luca Ranieri - 6.5/10
Solid with the ball at his feet, and produced a few important defensive actions such as clearances and interceptions.
LWB: Robin Gosens - 6/10
Scored an unfortunate and unlucky own goal, but outside of that, the German put in a decent performance, albeit he had some shaky moments up against Mbeumo.
CM: Simon Sohm - 8/10 (Player of the Match)
Played with plenty of energy and pressed well in the midfield. As well as working very hard, the Switzerland international produced a great moment of quality in the eighth minute when he scored his goal.
CM: Nicolo Fagioli - 7.5/10
A calm and composed head in midfield. Fagioli did well up against the energy of United and made lots of good tackles and interceptions to counter that.
AM: Albert Gudmundsson - 7/10
Outside of providing a good assist for Sohm's goal, Gudmundsson didn't really have any other involvement in the match.
ST: Moise Kean - 6/10
Lively up front, but squandered some really good opportunities in front of goal.
ST: Edin Dzeko - 5.5/10
Didn't have much service and was mainly feeding off scraps up front. The experienced forward didn't have much success up against the United defenders at all.
SUB: Eddy Kouadio - 5.5/10
Looked uncomfortable and shaky on the ball, and also struggled to deal with the pace and trickery of the United forwards.
SUB: Amir Richardson - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Cher Ndour - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Mattia Viti - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Pablo Mari - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Jacopo Fazzini - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Niccolo Fortini - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Fabiano Parisi - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Abdelhamid Sabiri - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Tommaso Martinelli - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.