Manchester United defeated Chicago Fire 3-1 in the World Football Challenge on Saturday, July 23, 2011.

Chicago Fire 1-3 Manchester United Video Highlights

The match highlights can be viewed here at Free Soccer Highlights.

Chicago Fire 1-3 Manchester United Recap

Manchester United remained undefeated in the World Football Challenge with a 3-1 win at Soldier Field.

Once again, Wayne Rooney and several other stars played only half of the match. Chicago would take the lead on a 13th minute Cory Gibbs goal but the lead wouldn’t last. After several halftime changes (including Rooney), United would score three unanswered goals. Rooney scored in the 66th minute, Rafael in the 75th minute, and Nani in the 82nd minute.

United will continue their pre-season with a match against the MLS All-Stars.

Chicago Fire 1-3 Manchester United Match Stats

Teams

Chicago Fire: Sean Johnson (Jon Conway 46’); Jalil Anibaba (Mike Videira 88’), Yamith Cuesta (Josip Mikulic 46’), Cory Gibbs (Dasan Robinson 88’), Gonzalo Segares (Pari Pantazopoulos 88’); Marco Pappa (Sebastian Grazzini 62’), Logan Pause © (Baggio Husidic 46’), Daniel Paladini (Corben Bone 88’), Patrick Nyarko (Diego Chaves 79’); Dominic Oduro (Bratislav Ristic 72’), Cristian Nazarit (Orr Barouch 46’)

Manchester United: David de Gea, Patrick Evra © (Rio Ferdinand 56’), Phil Jones (Rafael 75’), Chris Smalling (Nemanja Vidic 75’), Fabio da Silva (Jonny Evans 46’), Michael Carrick (Anderson 46’), Gabriel Obertan (Nani 56’), Tom Cleverly (Park Ji-Sung 46’), Dimitar Berbatov (Wayne Rooney 46’), Danny Welbeck (Federico Macheda 75’), Mame Biram Diouf (Ryan Giggs 46’).

Scoring Summary:

CHI – Cory Gibbs (Marco Pappa) 13’

MU – Wayne Rooney (Rio Ferdinand) 66’

MU – Rafael (Nani) 75’

MU – Nani (unassisted) 82’

Misconduct Summary

MU – Ryan Giggs (caution) 81’

Referee: Terry Vaughn

Referee’s Assistants: George Gasner, Eric Boria

4th Referee: Michael Kennedy

Attendance: 61,308

Chicago Fire 1-3 Manchester United – Video Highlights, Recap, Match Stats – World Football Challenge – 23 July 2011 - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

Once again, the Red Devils will make their way to the United States for their pre-season. They will take most of their top stars with a few not joining until later in the tour because of international play this summer. This includes David de Gea, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Tom Clevelerly, Danny Welbeck (all UEFA U-21), and Javier Hernandez (CONCACAF Gold Cup) who won’t be with the team initially.

United will face several MLS sides on the trip (Chicago, Seattle, and NE) along with the MLS All-Stars (repeat of last summer) and FC Barcelona.

The full roster is below.

Manchester United 2011 Pre-Season Squad (USA Tour)

GOALKEEPERS: Ben Amos (ENG), David de Gea (ESP)*, Sam Johnston (ENG), Andres Lindegaard (DEN)

DEFENDERS: Fábio da Silva (BRA), Rafael da Silva (BRA), Jonny Evans (NIR), Patrice Evra (FRA), Rio Ferdinand (ENG), Phil Jones (ENG)*, Chris Smalling (ENG)*, Nemanja Vidic (SRB)

MIDFIELDERS: Anderson (BRA), Michael Carrick (ENG), Tom Cleverley (ENG)*, Ryan Giggs (WAL), Nani (POR), Gabriel Obertan (FRA), Ji-Sung Park (KOR)

FORWARDS: Dimitar Berbatov (BUL), Mame Biram Diouf (SEN), Javier Hernández (MEX)*, Federico Macheda (ITA), Michael Owen (ENG), Wayne Rooney (ENG), Danny Welbeck (ENG)*, Ashley Young (ENG)

* Indicates player will join tour in progress

Manchester United Squad For 2011 Pre-Season USA Tour - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

After spending almost three months on the road to open the 2011 Major League Soccer season, Sporting KC finally played a home match. Sporting hosted the Chicago Fire at the new LiveStrong Sporting Park, which had a sold out crowd of over 19,000 for the match.

While the atmosphere and stadium solid, the quality on the pitch was definitely lacking. The two teams are bottom of the Eastern Conference and struggled to find any real quality in the final third. The turning point in the match came in the second half when Sporting goalkeeper, Jimmy Nielsen, was given a red card for a handball outside the 18 yard box. Despite the man advantage, the Fire failed to capitalized but did come close with a shot off the post.

KC were the stronger side in the first half and had a few chances in the second. There was a tough break against Sporting as Omar Bravo went down in the box and a penalty kick wasn’t given.

As the match progressed into the second, it was largely uneventful. Perhaps the most exciting moment was a man dressed in a cow costume who grabbed the ball and shot it into the Fire goal. The crowd erupted in applause before the man was handcuffed by police and escorted out of the stadium.

Overall, the performance on the pitch wasn’t great but the stadium is one of the best in MLS. The use of technology, appropriate size (not 10,000 or 70,000), and great crowd support should give Sporting KC a chance to make a run towards to the 2011 MLS playoffs.

Sporting KC Opens LiveStrong Sporting Park With 0-0 Draw Against Chicago Fire – 9 June 2011 - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

The World Football Challenge will return in 2011 with clubs from Europe and Major League Soccer. Manchester United and FC Barcelona headline the competition while MLS sides Chicago Fire and New England Revolution will also compete. For now, there are three confirmed fixtures (listed below) but more clubs and matches will likely be added (to be announced at a later date)

2011 World Football Challenge Schedule

July 13: New England Revolution vs. Manchester United, Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, Mass. (8 pm ET)

July 23: Chicago Fire vs. Manchester United, Soldier Field, Chicago (8 pm ET)

July 30: FC Barcelona vs. Manchester United, FedExField, Landover, Md. (7 pm ET)

2011 World Football Challenge To Feature Man Utd, Barcelona, NE Revolution, and Chicago Fire - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

The Red Devils have released their pre-season schedule in the USA as they will play several MLS sides and FC Barcelona. The full list is below and it’s expected most of these matches will sell out despite being played in large stadiums (with exception of Red Bull Arena). For MLS clubs, this will be a chance to increase exposure and play against one of the top teams in the world.

The exact roster that Manchester United will bring will likely not be announced until sometime in June or July.

Manchester United 2011 USA Tour/Schedule

13 July v New England Revolution, Gillette Stadium, Boston

20 July v Seattle Sounders, Qwest Field, Seattle

23 July v Chicago Fire, Soldier Field, Chicago

27 July v MLS All-Stars, Red Bull Arena, New Jersey

30 July v Barcelona, FedExField, Washington DC

Manchester United Announce 2011 Summer Pre-Season USA Schedule/Tour - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

Freddie Ljungberg, who played for the Chicago Fire (of MLS) in 2010, has signed a deal with Scottish side Celtic. Ljungberg had been in Glasgow to train with the club as his contract with the Fire had ended and he was a free agent. The former Swedish international had a mixed time in Major League Soccer but impressed Celtic enough to earn a contract.

Ljungberg is best known for his time with Arsenal in the EPL and his return to Europe is no surprise. After a great season with the Seattle Sounders in 2009, Ljungberg fell out of favor and was traded to the Chicago Fire during the 2010 season. In the last few weeks, rumors of a move to Europe became prevalent and Ljungberg was then seen training with Celtic.

With no transfer fee required, the move makes a lot of sense for Celtic, who lost the SPL title last season to rivals Rangers. Below is the official statement from Celtic on the signing.

CELTIC are delighted to announce the signing of Freddie Ljungberg. The Swedish internationalist, who passed a medical today, could be in contention for a derby debut in the game against Rangers at Ibrox this Sunday, January 2, 2011.

The former Arsenal midfielder won 75 caps for Sweden during his career. Since 2009, he has been playing in the United States, first for Seattle Sounders and then, more recently for Chicago Fire.

Ljungberg, who has been training with Celtic this week, was at Celtic Park on Wednesday night to watch the Hoops beat Motherwell 1-0 and go back to the top of the SPL.

He will be officially unveiled as a Celtic player at a press conference at the Lennoxtown Training Centre on Friday, December 31 at 10am.

Celtic Signs Former Chicago Fire/Seattle Sounders Player Freddie Ljungberg - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

It’s a match with some of the biggest stars in MLS (five designated players) as the Chicago Fire host the New York Red Bulls. The match will take place at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois on Sunday, August 8, 2010. Kickoff is scheduled for 21:00 EST, 8 PM local time in Illinois and 6 PM on the West Coast (Pacific time zone).

Chicago Fire v New York Red Bulls TV Listings

It will be televised on ESPN 2 in the United States, ESPN in the United Kingdom, GolTV in Canada, and on Sky Sport 1 in Italy. You can also find the match at the link on the bottom of this post.

Chicago Fire v New York Red Bulls Preview

It’s the first match ever in Major League Soccer that will feature five designated players with two from Chicago and three from the Red Bulls. Both teams have acquired several DPs in recent weeks and greatly improved their chances to contend for the MLS Cup.

The New York Red Bulls made the most notable moves with the signing of Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez. Both were players from FC Barcelona, who had struggled to break into the starting line-up, and look to be re-energized by joining Major League Soccer. The other designated player for New York is Juan Pablo Angel, who is an established striker in the league, and already showing good chemistry with Henry.

The Fire have also made a lot of moves recently with a trade to sign designated player Freddie Ljungberg and a loan deal to get Mexican international Nery Castillo (also as a designated player). They recently be the LA Galaxy and are starting to find some momentum.

Heading into the match, NY are 2nd in the East with 27 points while Chicago is 4th with 20 points. A win for NY would move would help keep pace with leaders Columbus while a win for Chicago would bolster their play-off chances. It’s definitely a much more important match for Chicago who needs to start getting results to move up the standings.

Chicago has a 2-3-3 home record while NY is 3-2-4 in away matches. These records aren’t the best indication of what will happen in this match considering the roster changes. It should be a very competitive match but the addition of Marquez should help sure up the Red Bull defense and give them the victory.

Injury Report

Chicago - OUT: MF John Thorrington (L quad strain); FW Stefan Dimitrov (R hamstring strain); DOUBTFUL: FW Patrick Nyarko (concussion symptoms)

New York - OUT: DF Andrew Boyens (concussion); MF Giorgi Chirgadze (hip surgery); DF Kevin Goldthwaite (adductor surgery recovery); MF Brian Nielsen (R knee strain); MF Irving Garcia (R hip strain); DF Jeremy Hall (R quad strain)

Chicago Fire v New York Red Bulls Prediction

The New York Red Bulls will win the match 1-0.

Chicago Fire v New York Red Bulls Betting Odds

Chicago Fire win – 5/4

Draw – 9/4

NY Red Bulls win – 7/4

Chicago Fire v New York Red Bulls Live Online

The match can be seen at Free Live Sports TV.

Chicago Fire v New York Red Bulls Preview, Prediction, TV Listings, and Betting Odds - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

Freddie Ljungberg, who fell out of favor with the Seattle Sounders, has been traded to the Chicago Fire. The move was not a big surprise as the Sounders allowed Ljungberg to start looking for options to move to other teams as it became aware he was no longer wanted with the club. After a very successful initial season in 2009, the Sounders have struggled this season and not afraid to make changes.

With Ljungberg, Chicago immediately improves and gets a very skilled midfielder. What do you think of the move? Will Ljungberg be happy with the Fire? Below is the official statement from the club on the move.

Sounders Trade Ljungberg To Fire

The Chicago Fire Soccer Club announced today that they have acquired former Arsenal midfielder and Swedish international Freddie Ljungberg from Seattle Sounders FC for a conditional selection in the 2011 or 2012 SuperDraft. Today’s move marks the first-ever trade of a Designated Player in the history of Major League Soccer. The 33-year-old midfielder becomes the Fire’s second designated player and will become available for selection by Fire Head Coach Carlos de los Cobos this Sunday, Aug. 1 when the Fire take on the LA Galaxy at The Home Depot Center in Carson, CA at 6:30 PM CT (FSC/FSE).Per Major League Soccer and club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Freddie is an exceptional player, with world-class talent and we are thrilled to have him join the Chicago Fire,” said Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas. “He is a player with an illustrious career and as an attacking player he will help us towards our goal of bringing the MLS Cup to Chicago.”

Seattle Sounders FC Trade Freddie Ljungberg To Chicago Fire - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

The Chicago Fire have signed Mexican player Nery Castillo as a designated player with plans for him start August 1st in an MLS match against the LA Galaxy.

The move was not too surprising after the club released plans to name a DP player and Castillo has been named in rumors. Castillo, is only 26, and is a very talented player. The problem is that Castillo has been a player who has struggled in the last few years to find the form that made him a star at Olympiacos.

The move is a loan from Shakhtar Donetsk with an option to make it permanent.

Fire Sign Castillo As DP (part of the official press release from the club’s website)

His official presentation will take place next week in Chicago and his first match is expected to come against the LA Galaxy at the Home Depot Center on Sunday, Aug. 1.

“I’m very happy to be joining the Fire, which is a club that I feel embodies the same values that I have as a player,” Castillo said in a club statement. “When I put on a Fire jersey for the first time, my commitment to the fans and to my club will be to score goals, contribute on the pitch and win.”

With the Fire, Castillo will be seeking to replicate the success of fellow Mexican National Team player and close personal friend Cuauhtémoc Blanco, who left his mark in his two seasons as Chicago’s first Designated Player.

Chicago Fire Announce Nery Castillo As Designated Player - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

The Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer will announce a designated player signing after their SuperLiga match with the New England Revolution. The Fire previously has Cuauhtémoc Blanco as their designated player by the Mexican international left after the 2009 season.

So, who will the player be? The statement on the club’s website states it will be a well known player. The Chicago Fire also posted a picture on their twitter account that has the flags of Argentina, Mexico, France, and Serbia. The implication is that the designated player will be from one of these countries.

Two possible options are a return of Blanco or Nery Castillo. Both are from Mexico and have been in rumors of players who could join the Fire.

The official statement from the club’s website is below.

Chicago Fire To Announce DP Signing (from official website)

The Chicago Fire Soccer Club is set to announce a Designated Player tomorrow, Saturday, July 17 at TOYOTA PARK at 8 PM CT following the SuperLiga match between the Fire and New England Revolution (6 PM CT – TeleFutura) and prior to the Pumas UNAM vs. Monarcas Morelia match (8:30 PM CT – TeleFutura). The announcement will be made live on the Jumbotron to the public and media.

Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas and Head Coach Carlos de los Cobos will take questions from the media about the newest Fire player during the Men in Red’s post-game press conference.

Chicago Fire To Announce Designated Player On Saturday, July 17, 2010 - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog