Barcelona Vs. Manchester United Friendly, World Football Challenge: Red Devils Win 2-1

Warning, there is an ungodly swerve in your future. 81,807 people showed up at FedEx Field outside of Washington, D.C. to see Barcelona play Manchester United and they got their money’s worth with just one strike of the ball. Thiago got himself a little bit of space and hit a ball with some of the nastiest swerve you will ever see past a helpless David de Gea.

Yikes. Exactly how anyone can make a ball move like that cannot be explained by physics so we’ll just have to chalk it up to the soccer gods.

Expect big changes for both teams at halftime, since both will want to get looks at as many players as possible.

Manchester United vs. Barcelona, friendly, World Football Challenge

Time: 7:00 P.M. ET, 12:00 A.M. BST

Preseason friendlies are all about getting everyone fit for the coming season, but in the case of Manchester United and many other teams, they’re also about getting a look at young players who aren’t in the first choice starting XI. United have bought a couple of youngsters, while a couple others have returned on loan. With such a big squad and only 25 spots available, the young talents on the Red Devils’ roster are using these friendlies to fight for playing time.

So, while it will be interesting to see the two teams from the most recent Champions League final battle against each other again, Manchester United’s friendly against Barcelona is much more about getting a look at their young players than it is about revenge from what happened in May. Gene from SB Nation’s Manchester United blog The Busby Babe explains:

Even with the missing players and non-existant stakes there are plenty of people looking forward to this evening’s contest. Over 80,000 will be at FedEx Field for the match and many more will tune in for this World Football Challenge match. After all, it is Barcelona and Manchester United.