FC Seoul 2 - Manchester United 3: Dimitar Berbatov header puts paid to Korean resistance

Manchester United recover to record 3-2 victory over Seoul, Rooney, Macheda and Berbatov all on the scoresheet.

As an event, it was halfway between a Park Ji-sung love-in and a game of football, but it gave Manchester United the kind of test that thus far had been lacking on their tour of Asia.

In contrast to their two fixtures in Kuala Lumpur, the weather was cool and the opposition rather more meaningful. United were twice behind before an unmarked Dimitar Berbatov headed home Darron Gibson's cross to seal a third straight victory. However Gary Neville, attempting to recover from two injury-plagued years, injured his groin in training and has flown home.

"That injury would have put him out for 10 days," said the United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson. "There was no longer a point in him being here, so we sent him home."

There were many in Seoul's World Cup stadium for whom the game was something that could only be judged in relation to Park. It would be hard to exaggerate his level of fame in South Korea. When United came here two years ago, he was voted man of the match, despite the fact that he did not play.

This time, however, he was given 15 minutes which should be enough to guarantee him the Korean footballer of the year award. Ferguson said his level of fitness was so low that had it been anywhere else other than Seoul he would not have been considered. Every time the big screen in the sold-out stadium pictured him on the bench, the 64,000 in the stadium erupted. When he got up from the bench to stretch his legs, they gave him a standing ovation.

"The guys on the bench were asking if I was the king of Korea," Park said. "They wondered how I could possibly lead a normal life here."

However, it was not Park but a 28-year-old Montenegrin who was the most eye-catching figure of the first half. Dejan Damjanovic has made one of football's more interesting journeys. Having grown up in the war-ruined streets of Mostar, he moved to South Korea in 2007, playing first for Incheon and now for Seoul. What language he communicates in — his manager, Senol Gunes, is Turkish — would be an interesting question but here he moved beautifully.

All five goals were well worked but Seoul's first was especially so. Damjanovic met a lovely, well-judged cross from Kim Seung-yong as he moved between John O'Shea and Wes Brown and slid the ball past Tomasz Kuszczak. His second was also created by a cross that caught the United defence square but even better due to the tight angle.

In between, Wayne Rooney, who is enjoying a terrific tour, equalised with a muscular header that, like Berbatov's, was not troubled by a marker. However, O'Shea's cross and Ryan Giggs' dipping crossfield ball that found the Irishman deserved a goal.

Ten minutes into the second half, United were level again when Federico Macheda scored his second of the tour, rounding the goalkeeper with delicate grace.

The referee gave Park-watchers the chance of some extra adulation by somehow finding five minutes of stoppage time and the final whistle was met by the Tannoy blasting out Queen's I Was Born to Love You. It could only refer to one person.

"He has every chance of making it," said Ferguson. "If Federico continues to improve at this rate, it will give me a big advantage in the season ahead."

Source: Guardian