Manchester United’s final test before the season took place in Wrocław, and it ended better for the visitors. AC Milan won 4-2, with a manager on their bench who was in charge at Old Trafford not long ago: Ruben Amorim.
How the match unfolded
United started perfectly. In the 2nd minute Harry Maguire headed in from a Bruno Fernandes corner. The lead did not last: Samuel Chukwueze levelled in the 37th. Just before the break United had the chance to go in ahead, but Bruno Fernandes had his penalty saved.
After the restart United went in front again. In the 51st minute Patrick Dorgu pounced on a loose backpass from Filippo Terracciano and finished. That was where the good news ended.
Within the next quarter of an hour Milan scored three times: Alphadjo Cissè in the 57th, Gonçalo Ramos in the 68th and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the 71st. The first three came from close range; for the fourth, Loftus-Cheek raced clear and finished one-on-one. Milan’s right flank, with Chukwueze driving it, took United’s defence apart.
Amorim against his former club
This was Ruben Amorim’s first match against the club he used to manage. The Portuguese now sits in the Milan dugout, while United have been working under Michael Carrick since the summer. It is hard to imagine a more awkward way to end pre-season.
Some perspective is fair, though. This was only United’s second defeat in six friendlies — a run that also included a win over Atlético Madrid and a 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain, the reigning European champions.
Rashford returns after twenty months
The loudest name among the substitutes was Marcus Rashford, who appeared for the first time in twenty months. The circumstances were not kind — United were already unravelling — but the return itself is an event.
Wrocław got its money’s worth
Tarczyński Arena filled with supporters of both clubs; Polish media reported more than forty thousand spectators despite the heat and steep ticket prices. Six goals in a friendly is a fair return for that turnout.
What it means for FPL: almost nothing — and that is the lesson
Here is the part you will not find in an ordinary match report. We checked what our rating engine says about the players who stood out. The answer: exactly what it said before the match.
- Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m) — rated 90, verdict Strong Buy. A missed penalty in a friendly does not move that by a single point. Bruno remains the highest-rated player in the game.
- Harry Maguire (£5.0m) — rated 72, Hold. The header is nice; one goal in a friendly is not enough to shift a rating.
- Patrick Dorgu (£6.0m) — rated 75, Hold.
- Marcus Rashford (£7.0m) — rated 21, verdict Sell.
That last number looks brutal, so it deserves an explanation. Our rating rewards proven minutes on the pitch, and Rashford has not played for twenty months — the model has nothing to measure and parks him at the floor. It is the same mechanic we described with players from promoted clubs. If Rashford returns to regular football the rating will climb on its own, but at his price, waiting for that is expensive.
The conclusion six days before the deadline is simple: do not rebuild your squad around friendlies. They are played at a different tempo, with rotated sides and nothing at stake. United open the season away at Hull — one of the kindest opening fixtures in the division — and that is the number that should actually shape your decisions.
A ready-made XI is in our recommended squad, and the players our model rates higher than the crowd does are in yesterday’s analysis.
The score and match events were verified against Sky Sports and agency reports. Ratings come from our own engine and reflect the position on 16 August 2026. This article was produced with the support of AI tools. Fantasy PL Edge is not affiliated with the Premier League or the Fantasy Premier League game.