milan vs man united ends 4-2 in Wroclaw
milan vs man united finished 4-2 in Wroclaw as AC Milan came from behind twice to beat Manchester United in pre-season. Michael Carrick said there were “no excuses” after the loss, while Marcus Rashford returned in United colors for the first time since December 2024.
WROCLAW, Poland — milan vs man united ended in a 4-2 defeat for Manchester United on Saturday, with AC Milan coming from behind twice before pulling clear in the teams’ final preseason test. The result came in Wroclaw, just a week before United open their Premier League campaign at promoted Hull City.
The loss was United’s second in six preseason matches. It also gave former United head coach Ruben Amorim a win over his old club, after a night that swung sharply once Milan found space to punish gaps between United’s defense and midfield.
United lead twice, then fade
Harry Maguire put United ahead after just over 100 seconds, but Samuel Chukwueze leveled for Milan at the back post. United went back in front after the break through Patrick Dorgu, only for Milan to answer with three goals in quick succession from Alphadjo Cissè, Gonçalo Ramos and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Marcus Rashford also returned in United colors for the first time since December 2024 when he came on in the hour mark. Kobbie Mainoo and Lisandro Martinez made their first appearances of preseason too, while Bruno Fernandes and Youri Tielemans played the full 90 minutes.
United had entered the match on the back of a run that included a win over Atletico Madrid and a 1-1 draw with European champions Paris Saint-Germain. This was the odd one out. A poor one.
Carrick: “no excuses”
United boss Michael Carrick did not try to soften it. “On the whole, [preseason has] been very good, I think there a lot of positives to take from it,” he told MUTV after the match.
He added: “We're disappointed with today. We didn't play well today, so there's reasons for that. In some ways, we need to learn from it, we need to improve, some of the boys playing some of their first minutes.”
Then came the line that summed up the night. “There's different reasons anyway -- no excuses, we just didn't play very well today,” he said.
There were still signs of a squad in motion. Carrick said, “A lot of the boys will be better for the minutes,” and added, “We've got a good squad, so there's decisions to be made.”
Why the result matters now
For United, the timing matters more than the scoreline itself. This was the last run-out before the league season begins, and the performance exposed issues that will travel with them back to Manchester: gaps between defense and midfield, trouble when Milan switched play to the right, and a back line that lost control when the game sped up.
BBC Sport reported that three of Milan’s four goals came from close range, while replays suggested one may have been offside. There was no VAR in operation in Wroclaw, so the decision stood on the night. Ruben Loftus-Cheek then finished the job by racing beyond Martinez and driving past Senne Lammens.
United now turn to their Premier League opener against Hull City on Aug. 22, with this 4-2 defeat sitting at the end of a summer that had looked largely positive until Wroclaw. The final image was not a clean one.
