Manchester United Stumbles Against AC Milan in Pre-Season Clash
Manchester United’s final dress rehearsal for the new Premier League season unravelled in brutal fashion, as a sharp, incisive AC Milan exposed every loose thread in Michael Carrick’s side.
For two minutes, it looked perfect.
Harry Maguire powered home a Bruno Fernandes corner almost straight from kick-off, rising above a static Milan defence to nod United into an early lead. It was the kind of goal managers love in pre-season: set-piece, aggression, authority. A statement.
Then the game started to slip.
Milan grew into the contest, pinning United deeper, asking questions of a back line that never quite settled. The warning signs were there before the equaliser, but United didn’t heed them. In the 37th minute, Goncalo Ramos combined neatly with Samuel Chukwueze, and the winger coolly levelled the score. United’s bright start was gone, their control with it.
The turning point arrived just before the break.
Fernandes, usually so reliable from the spot, had the chance to restore United’s lead from 12 yards. He struck his penalty firmly, but Milan’s goalkeeper read it and saved. Instead of going down the tunnel ahead, United trudged off at 1-1, the missed opportunity hanging over them.
They were handed another lifeline after the restart.
Patrick Dorgu pounced on a dreadful back-pass from Filippo Terracciano, racing through to tuck the ball away and put United 2-1 up. It should have settled them. It did the opposite. From that moment, the defensive structure simply fell apart.
Milan sensed fragility and went after it, relentlessly, down United’s right.
Alphadjo Cisse drifted in at the far post to equalise again, as Chukwueze shredded United’s shape on the flank. The Nigerian winger was rampant, repeatedly isolating his marker, repeatedly winning. United had no answer.
The pressure finally told.
Chukwueze turned provider once more, standing up a cross for Ramos to nod Milan in front for the first time. United’s back line, already wobbling, collapsed completely. That same exposed flank was punished again when Ruben Loftus-Cheek surged into space and added a fourth, sealing a dominant Milan display and a humbling night for Carrick’s team.
Carrick did not hide from the performance.
“Today, we’re disappointed with it. We didn’t play well today,” he admitted afterwards. “There are reasons for that and we need to improve. Some of the boys were playing their first minutes. Different reasons – but no excuses. We didn’t play very well.”
The context matters. This was a pre-season game in Poland, not a cup tie or a league decider. Before facing Milan, United’s warm-up schedule had been mixed but respectable: a 1-1 draw with Leeds United followed by a penalty shootout win, another 1-1 against Paris Saint-Germain, and a 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid. There were signs of cohesion, signs of progress.
That’s why this collapse jarred so much.
Tactically, Milan exposed United’s right side repeatedly, dragging defenders out of position and ripping through the gaps. The ease with which the Italian side overturned the deficit will trouble Carrick more than the scoreline itself. With the Premier League opener away at Hull City on August 22 looming, the margin for error is shrinking fast.
Carrick, though, kept his gaze fixed on the bigger picture.
“Overall, we are ready for next week. A lot of the boys will be better off for the minutes,” he said. “We’ve done a lot of work on the training pitch, the performances in the games have been pretty good. We’re still in good spirits going into next week.”
There were positives, and one of them wore No. 9.
Marcus Rashford made his first United appearance in 20 months, stepping off the bench on the hour mark. It was his first outing for the club since December 2024, early in Ruben Amorim’s tenure at Old Trafford. His return, alongside those of Lisandro Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo, gives Carrick a deeper, more flexible squad than he has had in months.
That depth brings competition. It also brings decisions.
“We’ve got a good squad. There are decisions to be made. Of course it is,” Carrick said. “We’ve got another week’s training to get ready for next week. There’s a whole different feeling when it’s the first league game of the season. We will be there.”
United now head into that final week knowing exactly where the scars are. The question is simple: can they heal them in time for Hull?
