Manchester United arrived in Sydney on Sunday to prepare for the second leg of the Premier League club’s world tour and will be looking to avoid a second straight loss when the take on the A-League All-Stars at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.
New manager David Moyes suffered a shock loss in his first game at the helm when United went down 1-0 to the Singha All-Stars in Bangkok last weekend, but the man replacing the storied Sir Alex Ferguson said the pressure from the international All-Star teams was expected.
“Wherever you go the games are really tough – we found that out in Thailand,” Moyes said yesterday.
“I think when you play Manchester United everyone wants to beat them and it’s a big scalp if they can get it. But the players who’ve been here over the years understand that and understand that comes part of it when you play for Manchester United.
“We’ll try do everything we possibly can to show you how good a football team and football club we are.
“I know some of the Australian players from the past. Tim Cahill was one of my old players, obviously he’s not playing in this game, but I know the qualities.
“If you’re picking the best of the A-League then we know it’s going to be a big test for us.”
Stars Robin Van Persie and goalkeeper David De Gea, both absent in Thailand, will reach Sydney in time to play against the A-League All-Stars.
International commitments saw the duo earn a break for the first leg of the six-stop tour and with Van Persie providing a more than solid replacement for the injured Wayne Rooney, who has returned to the UK after suffering a hamstring injury.
On a lighter note, veteran Ryan Giggs is looking forward to spending some time with his heroes from his other favourite sport.
“I’m a big rugby league fan,” Giggs said.
“I had great pleasure in spending some time with the Melbourne Storm when they were playing in Leeds in the World Club Championship, so I spent a bit of time with Billy Slater and Cameron Smith, who are obviously Queenslanders.
“I’ve had a text from Andrew Johns telling me in no uncertain terms who to support on Wednesday. I’m in Sydney so I’m supporting New South Wales.”
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Mark Metcalfe, Getty Images.
