SEATTLE, Washington, 24 July 2003 — English Premiership giants Manchester United kicked off their four-game US tour with a 4-0 triumph over Scottish rivals Celtic on Tuesday before a sellout crowd of 66,722 at Seahawks Stadium.
Ruud van Nistelrooy was the man of the match, scoring the opening goal in the seventh minute and creating the second as United scored three goals in the first half.
Taking a pass from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, van Nistelrooy spun past Neil Lennon and Stanislav Varga in the box to blast a shot past goalkeeper Magnus Hedman.
Twenty minutes later, Ryan Giggs partnered with van Nistelrooy. The former PSV Eindhoven star had a breakaway attempt saved by Hedman, but then got his own rebound and coolly flipped it back to Giggs. The Welshman buried it and the match cleanly at the near post.
Solskjaer added a third tally in the 39th minute when Peter Neville fed him the ball down the right flank, allowing him a clean shot to the near post.
New transfer David Bellion, fresh from Sunderland, scored in his debut match in the 72nd minute with a wonderful left-footed effort that caught Hedman off guard.
Celtic had their chances, including a dreadful missed penalty attempt after Roy Keane felled Stilian Petrov in the 18th minute. Alan Thompson stepped up to the spot but pulled the ball wide left and over the crossbar. United’s new American import, keeper Tim Howard must wait for his debut with the club. Roy Carroll spent the entire night between the posts.
Manchester United next faces Club America of Mexico in Los Angeles on Sunday before heading East to take on Italy’s Juventus at Giants Stadium on July 31 and Barcelona on August 3 in Philadelphia.
The tour is an event that could have huge implications for worldwide soccer. Should it be the success organizers say it can be, it has the potential to crack the egg that is the American soccer market. Signs from Tuesday were good as the attendance surpassed that for any Seattle Seahawks home National Football League game last season, including a Monday Night Football clash with the San Francisco 49ers that drew a crowd of 66,490. In fact, three of the four matches sold out months ago, while some 65,000 tickets have been sold for the fixture at the 92,000-seat Los Angeles Coliseum.
