Credentials•More NYC•National•News
Premier League Summer Series Closes Out MetLife Stadium’s Soccer Summer
The Premier League Summer Series returned to New Jersey on Saturday as four of England’s best teams brought their preparation for the upcoming season stateside.
Everton FC struggled against AFC Bournemouth in a 3-0 loss, while Manchester United FC beat West Ham United FC, 2-1.
In a long summer of soccer, the final, which essentially involves two teams practicing, might not seem like the most enticing. But with over half of MetLife’s capacity filled, it looks as though the general public did not care. After a month of the FIFA Club World Cup, watching the Gold Cup, and potentially traveling to see nearby U.S. Men’s National Team friendlies did not drain all the pockets of soccer fans.
To be fair, there might not be a crossover in those categories. Someone attending Saturday’s Manchester United match might not care enough to shell out and watch the PSG vs Chelsea Club World Cup Final. They might not even care about local MLS teams like the New York Red Bulls. But it goes to show how many different types of soccer fans are available to cater to.
Bournemouth Surge in Second Half
Everton Manager David Moyes named a pretty experimental lineup starting off in a 3-4-2-1 with Vitaliy Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson flanking Jake O’Brien in the backline. Dwight McNeil and James Garner were the wing-backs, with Idrissa Gueye and Tim Iroegbunam making up the midfield. Ahead of them were the pair of Iliman Ndiaye and Charly Alcaraz with Beto up top.
The bench was limited for the Toffees with only nine subs available, including a few teenage members of the organization’s academy. Still, it seemed to work to start. Senegal national team player Iliman Ndiaye got the match’s first chance on a shot that went wide in the 7th minute.
New Bournemouth goalie Djordje Petrovic was tested multiple times before a hydration break derailed Everton’s attack.
The first half might have gone decent for Everton, but the second half was all Bournemouth, with three unanswered goals, all in the span of 15 minutes. In total, Bournemouth capitalized on mistakes twice for goals.
The Cherries got a 55th-minute goal from former Denmark national team player Philip Billing, who subbed on at halftime, off a phenomenal long-distance strike. Everton’s Nathan Patterson allowed the midfielder to stride into the center with the ball, and defender Jake O’Brien never stepped up into his path once Billing got by Patterson, allowing the Bournemouth player a free hit.
Then a 59th-minute goal from Dango Ouattara completely nulled any chance of a competitive game. That came off a nice run into the box after Patterson messed up a defensive clear right back into the Burkina Faso international’s path. Finally, Daniel Adu-Adjei finished off the scoring in the 69th off a terrible Jake O’Brien play.
In all, the least attended match of the double header proved why. Everton is still in flux, and it showed. It explains why Moyes still thinks his group needs to add around five more players before the window closes.
Man United Cruise Behind Bruno Fernandes
The second match of the day was correctly assumed to be the main event.
Despite new signing Matheus Cunha getting a spot in Ruben Amorim’s starting XI for Manchester United, Bruno Fernandes still showed he’s still the main man by scoring both United’s goals.
The first came off a fifth-minute penalty that set the tone for the match’s early going. Especially as the sea of red at MetLife came alive as the strike hit the back netting. That reaction was only outdone by Fernandes’ second goal just after halftime.
A poor West Ham pass from goalkeeper Alphonse Areola got the ball back to Fernandes at the top of the box. He looked set to shoot inside the near post before whipping the ball into the far corner.
Despite it being off a sloppy play, that sort of goal proves why he’s still going to be valuable to United this coming season.
Jarrod Bowen pulled one back in the 63rd minute. United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir then made an excellent save to deny the West Ham captain in injury time. Still, Ruben Amorim’s side secured victory in their opening match of the four-team Premier League Summer Series.
Crowd Numbers
Officially, the attendance numbers for the first match were 10,000, and the second game was clocked at 50,000.
How the Premier League got these numbers is unknown. Many of the tickets sold were billed as a doubleheader. That being said, from being there the numbers feel on the money.
The Everton & Bournemouth match felt like a bridesmaid of the pair. Only one dedicated section of Everton fans stood out in the lower bowl, with the rest of the stadium being sparse. The Manchester United fans, however, did come out in force.
Yes, it was down from the 62,486 who saw Manchester United take on Arsenal last year at MetLife. But maybe that can be attributed to the drain on the local sector from all the soccer that has been taking place over the last two months.
In any case, the Premier League must be happy with this result. Consider the last Summer Series in 2023, where Brighton and Newcastle played a friendly at Red Bull Arena in Harrison.
That game attracted a sellout (on paper) of 26,150.
To essentially double that for two games in the same day, in the same area, is nothing short of a success.
Discover more from New York Sports Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Categorized:Credentials More NYC National News