United Beyond Manchester

On a rainy day in Manch— I mean Columbia, South Carolina, Manchester United fell 3-0 to rivals Liverpool in the final pre-season tour match. Despite the dreadful result and downpour, my first in-person match experience with my family was an unforgettable one.

Pre-Match

Gamecock Park held a pre-match event that included Manchester United and Liverpool legends, the FA Cup trophy, and live discussions that included personalities like Andy Mitten. While the area was busy, and the FA Cup trophy line was around 500 people long, the event was a success. After Andy bantered onstage, we were able to buy copies of United We Stand from him. The United We Stand magazine is a fantastic read, and it is clear that tons of effort goes into it.

After the pre-match event, United fans lined the street to catch a glimpse of their heroes walking into the stadium. Many endured torrential downpours and a long wait to see the teams off the buses. Liverpool arrived on the other side of the stadium around 5:30, while the Manchester Reds didn’t enter the stadium until an hour before kickoff.

The Match

Liverpool was clinical and Manchester United was not. That was the theme of the match. United outshot their rivals 18 to 9 yet lost by three goals. Big opportunities were missed by McTominay, Rashford, and Sancho. Liverpool found the net through Fabio Carvalho, Curtis Jones, and Kostas Tsimikas.

Positives for Erik Ten Hag would certainly include the play of Harry Amass and Amad Diallo. After watching him in person, I was immediately struck to write about how Amass is ready for the first team if called upon. He marshaled Mo Salah well for much of the match and created chances with brilliant crosses. Diallo remained dangerous cutting in from the right in attack. Both players should be in the mix for the upcoming Community Shield.

Despite the rough result, the atmosphere was fantastic, with both sets of fans in full voice inside the packed stadium. Over 77,000 fans attended the match, many seeing Premier League clubs battle for the first time.

Post-Match

A negative of the post-match experience was that the buses back to the cars were stuck in horrible traffic. This led my wife and I to walk two miles to the car in the rain. But along the way, I ended up having a very amicable conversation with a Liverpool fan about the state of both clubs. We discussed the match, recent transfers, injuries, and potential departures.

By the time we finally got home, it was around 1:30 am.

Overall, the experience was fantastic, and it was incredible to have United play so close to home. Next on our list, a trip to Old Trafford.