United denied a perfect record

PERTH • Manchester United yesterday wrapped up their pre-season tour of Asia and Australia with three wins and a draw.

Had it not been for Calum Chambers' header in the dying seconds, the Red Devils would have finished with a 100 per cent record in warm-up games.

Jadon Sancho's hot form continued as the England winger nabbed his third strike in four friendlies, but United let slip a two-goal half-time advantage to draw 2-2 with Aston Villa.

Villa struggled to match United's energy early before storming back to also finish without a defeat in pre-season.

There were fears the game might be cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch but the contest went ahead as scheduled.

Embattled United skipper Harry Maguire, who copped jeering from fans in Melbourne last week reminiscent of the negative reaction he received last season, had a muted response from the near-capacity crowd of 58,228.

Sancho opened the scoring, volleying home and amid torrential rain, his wicked cross deflected off Matty Cash for an own goal before the break.

Villa boss Steven Gerrard threw on Leon Bailey at the interval and the Jamaica winger immediately made an impression, bulging the net with a long-range shot.

It looked like United would see it out until Chambers took advantage of goalkeeper David de Gea's hesitancy to come out for the ball as the corner was swung in.

There is an expectation around Old Trafford that the team cannot perform any worse than last season - their worst Premier League campaign - and new manager Erik ten Hag feels the players can learn from their late slip-up.

The Dutchman told the club website yesterday: "First half was a decent performance, 2-0 up, but the second half, we came back out of the dressing room, we had control of the game and we gave it away. That's not good so that is a lesson.

"For the players, the team, we make a lot of progress, a lot of positive aspects. I would say also, at the end, a setback, but it's also part of the season, a season is not always going up, you also have to have setbacks and have to deal with it."

United have two more friendlies - against La Liga outfits Atletico Madrid next Saturday and Rayo Vallecano a day later before their top-flight opener against Brighton on Aug 7.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE