New York (AFP) – Bruno Fernandes scored twice as Manchester United kicked off their tour of the United States with a 2-1 win over West Ham in the Premier League Summer Series tournament in New Jersey on Saturday. United skipper Fernandes punished two blunders by West Ham’s France international goalkeeper Alphonse Areola to seal victory for Ruben Amorim’s side in sweltering conditions at the MetLife Stadium. Areola was at fault for both of United’s goals, and although Jarrod Bowen pulled a goal back for the Hammers, the London club never seriously troubled the 13-time Premier League champions.
Fernandes opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the fifth minute, calmly sending Areola the wrong way after the Frenchman had needlessly shoved Ayden Heaven to the ground after losing possession. Fernandes doubled United’s lead in the 52nd minute with a clever finish after another howler from Areola, whose sloppy pass out from the back went straight to United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo on the edge of the area. Mainoo slipped a pass to Fernandes, who then coolly lifted a finish over the stranded Areola to put United in control.
Bowen’s clever finish in the 63rd minute reduced the deficit, and the England forward forced a good save from Altay Bayindir in injury time, but United held on. “It’s good to win, even being a friendly — we want to get every game to prepare ourselves in the best way and obviously go into the season in a positive way,” Fernandes told NBC Sports after the victory. “Overall the game was good; we were very good on the ball. In some moments we could have done longer possessions and we rushed it a little bit. We have to work on that…but I think overall it was a very good game for us.”
United’s new $87 million signing Bryan Mbeumo travelled with the team to the United States but did not feature in the matchday squad. Mbeumo could make his debut when United face Bournemouth in the second round of fixtures in the four-team tournament in Chicago on Wednesday. Bournemouth, meanwhile, cruised to a 3-0 victory over Everton in their opener earlier on Saturday at the same venue. Goals from Philip Billing, Dango Outtara, and Daniel Adu-Adjei sealed a comfortable win for Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth side.
After a low-key first half, Billing fired Bournemouth into the lead in the 55th minute, gliding away from his marker at the edge of the area before unleashing a ferocious shot that flew past Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. England international Pickford was beaten again four minutes later after a move that began when Outtara surged clear down the left flank. Everton defender Nathan Patterson looked to have covered the danger, but a poor touch allowed Burkina Faso international Outtara to hammer a shot high into the net past Pickford’s near post. Adu-Adjei made it 3-0 to the Cherries in the 69th minute, pouncing on an underhit backpass from Jake O’Brien to coolly finish past Pickford.
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