Manchester United were booed off by a large section of the crowd after their end-of-season tour of Asia began with a 1-0 loss to the ASEAN All Stars.
United started with eight internationals but used 25 players on a hot night in Malaysia.
It seemed a fairly drab encounter would end goalless in front of an enthusiastic crowd of over 71,000 only for Maung Maung Lwin to burst through and score after 71 minutes.
“I always feel guilty for the performance of the team since the first game I was here,” said manager Ruben Amorim.
“The boos maybe is something we need because every game we lost in the Premier League the fans were always there. I felt when we finished every time the supporters were with us. Let’s see for next season.”
Amorim used plenty of young players, with Jaydan Kamason looking bright in his short cameo before half-time, Sekou Kone getting minutes in midfield and Jim Thwaites making a superbly-timed goal-saving challenge on Adrian Segecic, with one of the final actions of the contest.
Young Reds 🔴 #MUAcademy#MUFC || #MUTOUR25 pic.twitter.com/jwXbpvsLtz
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 28, 2025
“We were expecting a good game, an intense game, in these conditions,” said Amorim. “But the good thing is that we didn’t have injuries and we saw the young kids.
“The important thing is no injuries, with this weather and everything that we did to arrive here in this day. But, again, it’s not an excuse. We should perform better.
“We have to control the minutes of everybody. He [Kone] will play more in the next game on Friday.
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“He did quite well but all the young kids tried, that is the most important thing. They want to play more but we have to rotate everybody, so everybody can play. They did well.”
The United boss would not offer any update on Matheus Cunha’s proposed transfer from Wolves.
He said: “You have to wait for that for the next season.
“It is for you guys (the media) to talk about. I won’t confirm anything. I have no news.
“We will see, but there will be some changes.”
‘It’s an experience’
Captain Bruno Fernandes said the chance to give academy players minutes with the first team was the highlight of the game – which took place just three days after the end of the Premier League season.
He said: “We didn’t want to lose the game, but it’s an experience for us, an experience for the fans and it’s always nice to come out of the country to see the experience we can have with this club.
“A lot of young players were getting their chance and that’s a good experience, too. Most of them have always been training with us, so we know what to expect from them and we all know the academy is always creating young and exciting players.
“They all had the opportunity to show themselves tonight. We’re not used to the humidity and the heat, but I don’t think that’s something that made any difference or whatever. It’s now the case to enjoy the next experience in Hong Kong, to make the most of it, to enjoy our fans and give our time to give some signatures and [have] some photos.”
