Manchester United brought £400m team to Murrayfield but fans were short-changed

As if they were just the latest jet-lagged supergroup to plug into the mains at Murrayfield, Manchester United dropped in and gave their adoring fans what they thought they wanted.

It’s easy to ladle on the cynicism. And with prices as high as they were, perhaps it’s incumbent on those reporting to set the event in context. Olympique Lyonnais? It wasn't as if it was Real Madrid they were playing.

Fifty odd pounds to watch a kickabout might not be on the Taylor Swift or Bruce Springsteen scale, but it’s still punchy. At least those acts mentioned are almost obligated to play a selection of their greatest hits. Okay Mason Mount was making his second appearance in a Manchester United shirt and his first in Britain. And first-teamers such as Raphael Varane and Aaron Wan Bissaka were involved in the first half.

But you would have to be an ardent Stretford Ender to know chapter and verse about Hannibal Mejbri and Alvaro Fernandez. And the bench was mostly youngsters as well alongside the likes of the returning Jonny Evans, Fred and Celtic-linked Donny van de Beek, who scored the winner with a well-struck volley four minutes after half-time after a cross from Dan Gore.

Manchester United's Donny van de Beek gets up close and personal with fans at Murrayfield. He scored the winner in the 1-0 friendly win over Lyon (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group)

That goal, at least, provided some enjoyment, as well as injecting some heartfelt emotion into an otherwise pretty dispassionate occasion in the afternoon sun in Edinburgh. Van de Beek has not played since suffering a serious knee injury in January and the goal clearly meant a lot to him. It was also treasured by the crowd, who were eager to get some bang for their buck. Nearly 50,000 – the attendance was later confirmed as 48,484 – had not paid over 70 quid in some cases to come to watch a 0-0 draw, thank you very much.

Kids’ tickets were £15 it must be noted. “I go to every home game, I’ve had a season ticket since the 1980s,” said Manchester United fan Bob Husband, who travelled from Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria with his son, Phil. "The price was mental. The cheapest adult ticket was £40. We paid £73 each which was ridiculous, especially when the the majority of both teams were youngsters. I don't know who did it, whether it was Ticketmaster, or the stadium authorities, or the clubs. If they had made it half that they might have filled the stadium. They should have charged the adult £73, or £40, or whatever it was, but let the child in free. If they let in 10,000 schoolkids for free, in ten years’ time they could have 5,000 Man Utd fans!”

Sadly, given the way the English game looms over Scottish football, this will probably happen anyway. The Husbands got a taxi to the game and their driver said he had hoped to go but could not afford it, which is a perhaps the ultimate damning indictment.

The ultimate irony, of course, is that Scottish Gas Murrayfield – this was the first major event where that new sponsors name’s been employed – prides itself in being a cashless stadium. It seemed the entire affair was conditioned on making cash although good old Scottish football licensing laws meant that while 65,000 can enjoy a beer at every Scotland rugby international, football fans cannot. Perhaps it’s not a huge deal at 2pm on a Wednesday afternoon but it does underline the double standards.

Mason Mount, United's new £60 million signing from Chelsea, played the first half. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group

Not that any of this is Erik ten Hag’s problem. Like any manager, he wishes to make use of such friendlies to run the rule over players that have been recalled from loan elsewhere or have earned their chance in the Under-18s. It just so happens that as manager of Manchester United, his right to experiment becomes a point of contention with those who want to see the likes of Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and even dear old Scott McTominay.

The pre-game promotional bumf had featured a dramatic shot of Edinburgh Castle along with these three United players in the foreground, as well as Luke Shaw. None were included in the travelling party, with McTominay’s absence perhaps the most regrettable.

One might have thought that all efforts would have been made to give McTominay a run out given his current status as a Scotland hero. Ten Hag will argue that it’s for that very reason he’s been sidelined having returned to training only last weekend. Those who featured in internationals at the tail end of the season were permitted to come back later. McTominay’s future is also shrouded in doubt with United reported to be prepared to listen to offers for him.

United made ten changes at the interval, including bringing on recent Hibs loanee Will Fish. Only goalkeeper Matej Kovar reappeared. He was the only player who finished out of the original 22. As the stats man behind said with understandable exasperation when he received a call from HQ enquiring about half-time changes: “I don’t know where to start, mate.”

It’s difficult to describe as ragtag a team with a midfielder costing £60m at the heart of it (indeed, the value of the starting XI was almost £400m). But that was the feeling generated by a side including Amad Diallo, who spent time on loan at Rangers a couple of seasons ago.

He should have scored twice in the opening minutes. Antony should also have given United an early lead. Lyon ‘keeper Anthony Lopes made a good save. Mount went over to take the corner and received a huge cheer from fans in that area. The new No 7 struggled to make an impact and did not reappear after half time.

The United cavalcade has now already moved onto America, where they are due to play Arsenal in New York and then erm, Wrexham. They left for the airport straight from Murrayfield and were probably already airborne by the time ground staff were dismantling the goalposts and replacing them with rugby ones. So long, suckers.