Toothless Man Utd beaten in Malaysia friendly

KUALA LUMPUR: Manchester United’s dismal season suffered fresh embarrassment as they were beaten 1-0 by a Southeast Asian XI in sweltering Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday in front of a crowd of 72,550.

Ruben Amorim’s side, who finished 15th in the Premier League for their worst season since 1974, looked lethargic and devoid of ideas in the heat.

Some fans at Bukit Jalil national stadium left before the end and a few boos rang out at the final whistle.

In their first of two post-season games in Asia, United started with several regulars including Harry Maguire, Rasmus Hojlund, Casemiro, Diogo Dalot, Manuel Ugarte, Kobbie Mainoo and Andre Onana.

In temperatures of 32 degrees Celsius (90 Fahrenheit) at kickoff, it was the ASEAN All Stars who looked more threatening.

Filipino defender Amani Aguinaldo blasted a shot just wide in the 16th minute.

Onana was called into action midway through the first half with a low save that endeared him to the largely United-supporting crowd.

Mainoo provided the first real threat for Manchester Utd with a 25-yard effort that was turned behind for a corner, before the young midfielder saw his shot cleared off the line in the 38th minute.

Captain Bruno Fernandes came on in the second half and his half-volley drew a loud cheer after a drab restart.

The Southeast Asian side stunned Amorim’s men through a brilliant counter-attack in the 71st minute.

Burmese attacker Maung Maung Lwin found himself clean through on goal and the 29-year-old fired emphatically into the top corner past Tom Heaton.

The home team could have had a second soon after, but Heaton came to the rescue to prevent further embarrassment. United now head to Hong Kong for a friendly on Friday.