Man Utd defeat Barcelona in first-leg of Legends clash

Manchester United Legends enjoyed an impressive 3-1 win against Barcelona at the Nou Camp on Saturday.

Manager Andy Ritchie got his tactics spot on as a three-man defence somehow contained an attack containing Ronaldinho and Rivaldo, who were full of tricks, as goals by Jesper Blomqvist, Karel Poborsky and Dwight Yorke earned a comprehensive victory, despite Frederic Dehu’s late consolation.

Ronaldinho, voted Man of the Match, rolled back the years with some outrageous skill, most notably a nutmeg on Blomqvist, and virtually every pass was a no-look one.

The money raised for charity is always the most important thing but it is still all set up nicely for Old Trafford in September, particularly as away goals do not count.

Barcelona: Angoy (Guzman 73); Belletti (Dehu 36), Nadal (Andersson 46), Edmilson (Amor 67), Goikoetxea (Juan Carlos 73); Giuly (Kluivert 13), Davids (Estebaranz 82), Mendieta (Popescu 56), Simao (Ezquerro 46 (Salinas 84)); Rivaldo (Carreras 73), Ronaldinho.

United: Van der Gouw (Pilkington 46); Brown, Johnsen (Martin 53), Silvestre; Poborsky (Thornley 65), Park, Smith, Djordjic (Beardsmore 74), Blomqvist (Blackmore 74); Yorke, Saha (Webber 56).