Kansas City Wizards 2 Manchester United 1
Manchester United suffered a shock 2-1 pre-season defeat against 10-man Kansas City Wizards in Missouri on Sunday.
A bad-tempered match at the Arrowhead Stadium saw Jimmy Conrad of the Wizards sent off in the first half as the MLS outfit got stuck into a young United team.
The Wizards, languishing in fifth place in the eight-team MLS Eastern Conference, were up for the challenge and their physical approach caught United by surprise.
Veteran midfielder Ryan Giggs was booked for reacting to defender Michael Harrington, who jostled the Welshman at every set-piece while Nani was lucky not to sustain an injury after a late challenge from Roger Espinoza with minutes of the first half remaining.
Brazilian defender Rafael, clearly off the pace, was at fault for the Wizards first goal after 10 minutes when he played Davy Arnaud onside.
The midfielder was allowed to collect a pass from Kei Kamara before scoring past United goalkeeoer Ben Amos.
United levelled the score four minutes before the break when the much-maligned Dimitar Berbatov converted a penalty after being fouled by Conrad, the incident which saw the defender sent off.
The Wizards regained their lead a minute later under controversial circumstances. Former Arsenal defender Ryan Smith’s corner was met by Kamara and his header bounced down off the crossbar.
The goal was awarded but TV replays suggested the ball did not cross the line.
