[dropcap]D[/dropcap]amien Dennis here for The Pit: Sports and Entertainment. Stephanie Sokol and I are sitting in the press box here at Soldier Field in Chicago for tonight’s International Champions Cup match between Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain.
We’re about 70 minutes from our 8 p.m. CT kickoff time here and invite you to stick with The Pit to follow along with our coverage of tonight’s match. Be sure to comment below as we move along in the match and follow us on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates!
Manchester United Starting XI: De Gea, Darmain, Jones, Blind, Shaw, Carrick, Schweinsteiger, Mata, Memphis, Young, Rooney.
Paris Saint-Germain Starting XI: Trapp, Da Silva, Maxwell, Aurier, Van Der Wiel, Stambouli, Matuidi, Verratti, Augustin, Ibrahimovic, Moura.
7:25 – Man U and PSG have taken the field to warm up.
For those who are unfamiliar with tonight’s International Champions Cup, here’s a bit of information regarding this tournament, presented by a personal favorite of mine, Guinness!
Matches last 90 minutes and if regulation ends in a draw, a penalty shoot-out will determine our winner. Teams will receive 3 points for a win, 2 points for a shoot-out win and 1 point for a shoot-out loss.
In terms of the tournament, a tie-breaker is determined by points, then head-to-head, goal difference, goals for and goals against.
Straight forward, right? Okay, good.
7:55 – American National Anthem finished playing Almost game time!
8:05 – Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain file out of the tunnel.
0′ (8:07) – KICK OFF!
2′ – Darmian’s cross is deflect off the foot of a PSG defender. Heading the other way now.
2′ – Ibrahimovic pops the ball over a MU defender but is stopped by De Gea. Seconds later, Ibrahimovic gets the ball back and rockets it over the bar on the shot attempt from 15 yards out (3′).
8′ – Corner proves unsuccessful for MU.
Fans are still filing into the stadium. It’s clear the Manchester United is the heavy favorite here as there’s a sea of red in all areas of Soldier Field.
14′ – PSG send the ball too far down field, allowing De Gea to pick it up easily and get it out of danger.
15′ – Depay gets the ball within striking distance for MU but is thwarted by PSG defenders. PSG is spending more time in their own end in the early goings of this match.
16′ – Rooney’s pass to Depay leads to a shot that goes just right of the goal. Could have been a tough save for Trapp had it been on target; wide open.
18′ – Darmian saves the ball from going out and creates a chance but PSG defenders get a foot on the ball.
19′ – Attempted cross from Depay is nearly headed in, but Da Silva gets a head on it and Trapp catches it in the air for the awesome save.
20′ – PSG corner leads to a chance that goes just to the right of the net.
22′ – Mata looked like he snuck one past Trapp, putting the ball into the bottom left corner of the net. But… offsides.
25′ – PSG GOAL!!! Matuidi fights off two Man U defenders and De Gea to slyly put the ball into the bottom left of the net. 1-0 PSG!
PSG 1
MU 0
29′ – Rooney takes a shot that’s high and to the right. At this point, Man U has had plenty of decent chances and controlled the ball well, but PSG has had more efficiency in targeting.
32′ – Trapp couldn’t get a hand on the ball but luckily Rooney’s shot was just high enough to save PSG’s one goal lead.
33′ – Rooney puts a nice pass to Carrick but Rooney slips up and falls, Carrick tries to cross to Depay but is intercepted.
33′ – Man U corner by Young is picked off in the air by a leaping Trapp.
34′ – GOAL! Ibrahimovic picks up the pass from Maxwell inside the box and puts it right past De Gea. PSG now leads 2-0!
PSG 2
MU 0
36′ – It looked like Maxwell nearly put it in his own goal on the free kick but it goes wide, leading to a corner from Mata.
39′ – Some danger for PSG on their end but captain Da Silva gets a foot on it and send the ball high into the Soldier Field crowd.
42′ – SAVE! Lucas Moura puts the ball on target with the side of his foot but De Gea comes in with the diving save for Man U.
45+1′ – First half is winding down with Paris Saint-Germain still up 2-0 over Manchester United. One minute of extra time has been added to the first half.
END OF THE HALF:
PSG 2
MU 0
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (10) celebrates with his Paris Saint-Germain teammates after scoring the second goal of Wednesday night’s International Champions Match against Manchester United. Stephanie Sokol/The Pit
HALF TIME STATS:
Total Shots: Man U 5, PSG 5
Shots on Target: Man U 2, PSG 3
Blocked Shots: Man U 1, PSG 0
Corners: Man U 3, PSG 2
Fouls: Man U 7, PSG 6
Open Play Crosses: Man U 5, PSG 3
Duels Won: Man U 48.8%, PSG 51.2%
Possession: Man U 47.1%, PSG 52.9%
START OF THE SECOND HALF
48′ – De Gea snatches the ball from the air to stop a PSG push.
52′ – Ibrahimovic makes another push but Man U defenders get a foot on the ball to get it out of danger.
60′ – Paris Saint-Germain sits atop the North American ICC standings for this tournament, tied with the New York Red Bulls at 10 points each. Manchester United has 9 points and holds the third place spot, 2 points over MLS’ LA Galaxy.
63′ – Man U has a chance when Pereira puts the ball in the air, a PSG defender gets his foot high on it and Depay tries to complete but Trapp picks it up easy.
65′ – Ibrahimovic slides the ball to Cavani, who then pops it up into the box as De Gea comes out to get in his face. Ball looked like it would have went in but Man U defenders headed it out.
Substitutions:
PSG: Motta for Stambouli (62′), Sabaly for Da Silva, Rabiiot for Verratti (67′), Bahebeck for Ibrahimovic (70′).
MUFC: Smalling for Jones, Valencia for Shaw (65′).
68′ – Manchester United hasn’t had trouble getting any decent-to-good offense going, but the Paris Saint-Germain defense has been in their face all match. Things are getting a bit more physical on the field too as Man U is making the Chicago Bears proud with some aggressive play.
71′ – PSG gets the ball behind the Man U defense barely but Darmian comes in and kicks it out of friendly territory.
75′ – YELLOW CARD: Entering the 75th minute, this game is still very much Paris Saint-Germain’s. But we get a yellow card on Marquinhos for tripping up Wayne Rooney midfield.
77′ – MISS! Sabaly gets into the clear with only De Gea between him and the goal, but the shot hits the right post on flies away. Following the missed shot, we get word that tonight’s attendance at Soldier Field is 61,351 – likely 90-percent in favor of Manchester United.
85′ – Things are beginning to wind down here in Chicago with around five minutes remaining in this match. The beautiful Chicago skyline seen above the north-northwest side of the stadium is lit up as Paris Saint-Germain look to close out tonight’s ICC match with a win.
86′ – Depay tries to fight off an onslaught of PSG defenders but is forced to the ground. The midfielder is clearly frustrated with the way this match is going for his side.
90+1′ – We’re given an extra minute here at Soldier Field.
FINAL:
Paris Saint-Germain 2
Manchester United 0
FINAL STATS:
Coming soon.
