In their first match of the Tour 2010, Manchester United defeated Glasgow Celtic 3-1 to win the Battle of Britain on North American soil.
At the Rogers Centre in Toronto, the often-criticised Dimitar Berbatov scored United's opening goal in the first-half, and then twice turned provider setting up both Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley to seal the win.
Former Manchester City player, Georgios Samaras, levelled the scores from the penalty spot following lazy, slack defending from the United defenders.
Gamble
With a very interesting line-up, Sir Alex Ferguson opted for two young players - Mame Biram Diouf and Gabriel Obertan - to flank Dimitar Berbatov, and that formation allowed United to attack with pace and energy.
Sir Alex also named a very young, inexperienced back-four to start in the Battle of Britain with Rafael and Fabio (20) flanking center-backs Chris Smalling (20) and Jonny Evans (22), and they did everything, but disappoint.
Knowing that his performance was going to be under the microscope, Smalling, who joined from Fulham in at the beginning of the month, had a couple of lapses in judgment, which cost United the equalizer after he pulled down Celtic's new midfielder Joe Ledley.
Playing the Da Silva twins was a very audacious move by Ferguson, because the way that the two of them like to get forward could very well leave the team at a disadvantage defensively.
Reliable
It sounds like a broken record, but Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes both looks like they are getting younger with every year that goes by.
And as he normally does, the Ginger Prince was pulling all of the strings in the United midfield - spraying passes - short and long - all over the field, which stretched the Celtic defenders and eventually led to the opening goal.
In the second-half, the younger United players definitely missed the leadership and organization of their two elder statesmen as they continuously gave away the ball cheaply, but with that said, they were eventually able to pull out the win.
Without any surprise, fatigue set in for most of the United players, but Darren Fletcher, who was made captain for the match, showed massive amounts of energy.
The lanky Scotland international was one of the best players in the Barclays Premier League last season, and he looks to continue that form this year as well.
Manchester United's next match on the Tour 2010 will be on Wednesday, July 21st against the Philadelphia Union, which is the newest Major League Soccer franchise, at the Lincoln Financial Stadium. The match will be televised on ESPN2.
Visit One United USA's official Tour 2010 site - unitedinthestates.blogspot.com - for the lastest updates and information about the training sessions for the United States part of the tour.
Matchball
Berbatov, who was seen clearly expressing his frustration throughout the match, showed the desire to win, which is something that the majority of the supporters have criticized for since moving to United in the summer of 2008.
His silky smooth skill and clever touch, which he does so effortlessly, were something that most players could not even attempt let alone pull off.
Ratings
E. van der Sar - 7; Rafael - 7 (R. De Laet - 5), C. Smalling - 6, J. Evans - 7 (W. Brown - 6), Fabio - 6 (J. O'Shea - 5); R. Giggs - 6 (T. Cleverley - 6), P. Scholes - 7 (D. Gibson), D. Fletcher - 8; G. Obertan - 7 (D. Welbeck - 7), D. Berbatov - 7, M. B. Diouf - 6 (F. Macheda - 6)
Goals
D. Berbatov (35'), D. Welbeck (78'), Cleverley (86')
Bookings
W. Brown, C. Smalling
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