Saturday 2 September 2017 20:40, UK
A host of big-name stars were in action as Manchester United and Barcelona's veterans played out a thrilling 2-2 draw at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Both sides' veterans had played each other back in June, when United got the better of the Catalans 3-1 at the Nou Camp to hold a significant advantage heading into the return clash.
The Red Devils fielded the likes of former strikers Ruud van Nistelrooy and Dwight Yorke in attack, Ji-sung Park in midfield and Dutchman Edwin van der Sar in goal, while Denis Irwin was also due to start, only to injure his hamstring.
As for the visitors, Edgar Davids, Patrick Kluivert and Edmilson were all on display in front of a packed house, including former manager Sir Alex Ferguson, at the Theatre of Dreams for a match designed to raise funds for the Manchester United foundation.
It was United who made the breakthrough when Czech midfielder Karel Poborsky was brought down by defender Frederic Dehu, with Van Nistelrooy doing the rest from the spot.
The home team doubled their lead just before the beak when Danny Webber burst through on goal, before cleverly dinking the ball over advancing Barca goalkeeper Jesus Angoy.
However, Barcelona's star-studded XI moved up the gears in the second half, cutting the deficit in half after Luis Garcia reacted quickest after Simao's effort had struck the post.
And then with just 10 minutes left to play, Barca drew level when Gaizka Mendieta rounded Van der Sar, before firing home into an empty net.
That late effort, though, was not enough to prevent United from claiming the spoils 5-3 on aggregate.
Manchester United: van der Sar; Brown, Dublin, Johnsen; Park, Poborsky, Yorke, Silvestre; Blomqvist, Saha; van Nistelrooy.
Barcelona: Angoy; Belletti, Edmilson, Dehú, Abidal; Davids, Sergi, Mendieta; Simao Kluivert, Goiko.
