Grey
skies threatened overhead and a wintry, blustery wind marked the kick off for
the first matches of the twentieth edition of MUPC this morning.
There
were strong assured performances from tournament favourites Right to Dream,
Borussia Dortmund, and previous MUPC Champions Chivas, who all launched their
2013 MUPC campaign with impressive scorelines, amassing 12 goals in three
games.
Efficient
wins also yesterday morning from Ulsan Hyundai, Grasshopper Zurich, Omiya
Ardija and SC Internacional, who started their march towards Old Trafford with
a convincing 1-0 win over Arsenal. Boca Juniors and AC Milan cancelled each
other out in an intense 1-1 draw, and it was business as usual for Real Madrid
with a 2-0 victory over Rosina Sedibane, the South African starlets suffering
their second defeat of the morning and, along with Onehunga Sports from New
Zealand, are yet to find their feet in the tournament.
Dinamo
Zagreb held Right to Dream to a 1-1 draw in the Ghanaian team's second match of
the morning. Tournament hosts Manchester United could not find a winning goal
in their 1-1 draw with Chilean team San Luis de Quillota, and faced Real Madrid
in their hotly anticipated match this afternoon.
In
Group A, Manchester United and Real Madrid were evenly matched throughout, but
Real found the back of the net in the dying minutes of the game, securing the
win, and six points from their first days play.
“This
has been a very nice experience already for the whole team,” said Coach Ruben
de la Red. “Seeing how many big stars started in this tournament was very
inspiring for them.
“We
were a little worried about the short preparation time in between holidays and
the tournament, but I am pleased with the good start, and hope we can continue
to play well.”
Ulsan
Hyundai continued their winning ways, beating San Luis de Quillota 2-1 and,
with six points apiece, share top spot in Group A with Real Madrid.
Boca
Juniors hit an impressive five goals past Shandong Luneng, and Dinamo Zagreb
got the upper hand over AC Milan with a 2-1 victory, leaving Right to Dream,
Boca Juniors and Dinamo Zagreb finishing the day joint top of Group B with four
points each.
Omiya
Ardija and SC Internacional took a goal each from their encounter, and share
the lead in Group C, with four points apiece. Arsenal beat Borussia Dortmund
3-1, leaving both teams with one win, and joint third place with three points.
In
Group D Grasshopper Club Zurich, the third placed team from the European
Qualifiers, leads the way with six points, and Chivas and Domzale currently
reside in third position with three points.
54
goals and two hat-tricks marked the end of the first days play in the 2013 MUPC
World Finals as the sunshine finally broke through the grey Manchester skyline.
Group A:
Rosina
Sedibane 1:2 Ulsan Hyundai, San Luis de Quillota 1:1 Manchester United, Real
Madrid 2:0 Rosina Sedibane, Ulsan Hyundai 2:1 San Luis de Quilotta, Manchester
United 0:1 Manchester United.
Group B:
Right
to Dream 9:0 Shandong Luneng, Boca Juniors 1:1 AC Milan, Dinamo Zagreb 1:1
Right to Dream, Shandong Luneng 0:5 Boca Juniors, AC Milan 1:2 Dinamo Zagreb.
Group C:
Onehunga
Sports 0:1 Omiya Ardija, SC Internacional 1:0 Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund 6:0
Onehunga Sports, Omiya Ardija 1:1 SC Internacional, Arsenal 3:0 Borussia
Dortmund
Group D:
Saswco
FC 0:3 Chivas, Grasshopper Zurich 1:0 NK Domzale, Dallas Texans 0:0 Saswco FC,
Chivas 0:1 Grasshopper Zurich, NK Domzale 2:1 Dallas Texans
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