Eight Premier League teams were in action on Wednesday with plenty of clubs still gallivanting across the club with just nine days to go until the new PL season begins.
[ MORE: Mourinho on transfers ]
Chelsea and Hull City bagged wins, while Leicester’s tough preseason schedule continues and a host of other PL sides drew.
[ MORE: Every PL season preview ]
Below is a brief recap on all seven games.
Chelsea 3-1 AC Milan
Bertrand Traore grabbed the opener and Oscar scored twice in the second half to hand Antonio Conte‘s their second win in three games in the USA. Giacomo Bonaventura curled home a peach of a free kick to level things up but then Oscar came on in the 60th minute and took over to delight the numerous Chelsea supporters in Minneapolis. 64,101 fans watched the game as Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas both started but were hooked off after an hour.
Speaking after the game, new manager Conte was a blunt as ever when assessing who will stay and who will leave Chelsea before the season begins: “I think this match told me a lot – about the players who keep and who can go on loan or we can sell. Today, it was important because I have a more clear idea than before.”
Manchester United 0-0 Everton
Wayne Rooney‘s testimonial at Old Trafford saw a crowd of 58.597 turn up to watch United and Everton play to a goalless draw. United started with a very strong side with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney, David De Gea and new signing Eric Bailly also in the lineup. Henrik Mkhitaryan, Marcus Rashford and Juan Mata also came off the bench against Ronald Koeman‘s Everton.
For the Toffees, they also started a strong team with Romelu Lukaku up top, Ross Barkley in attack and a back four of Coleman, Funes Mori, Stone and Baines. Ibrahimovic had United’s best chances as he played in a no. 10 role in the second half, while Luke Shaw also impressed from left back as Rooney played 50 minutes and was cheered each time he touched the ball on the occasion which marked his 12 years at United.
Barcelona 4-2 Leicester City
The Foxes conceded four against an elite European team for the second-straight game after their 4-0 shellacking at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain last week. Munir scored twice and Luis Suarez added another before half time and then Mujica rounded off the win for the Spanish champions. On a bright note for Claudio Ranieri and the Foxes, new signing Ahmed Musa scored two goals in Sweden to show Leicester fans there could be life after Riyad Mahrez if he does leave. Also, Jamie Vardy started up front.
Southampton 1-1 Espanyol
Work to do would be the assessment from Southampton’s draw with La Liga outfit Espanyol at St Mary’s. New Saints manager Claude Puel is persisting with a diamond formation in midfield but his side looked disjointed against their Catalan opponents. Oriol Romeu‘s first half header was cancelled out by a Felipe Caciedo penalty kick after Virgil Van Dijk‘s committed a foul just inside the box in the second half. With Jose Fonte, Cedric and Ryan Bertrand yet to feature this summer, it’s hard to tell exactly where Saints are at in preseason.
Caykur Rizespor 1-3 Hull City
Managerless and extremely short on fit players, Hull City are continuing to blitz their way through preseason regardless. Caretaker boss Mike Phelan is still in charge but Chris Coleman and Gianfranco Zola continued to be linked with the Tigers job. They fell behind early on to their Turkish opponents in Austria but two goals from Abel Hernandez and another from Robert Snodgrass saw them stay unbeaten through seven preseason games.
Udinese 0-0 Middlesbrough
USMNT goalkeeper Brad Guzan made his debut for Boro as they drew in Italy. Guzan came on at half time and made two smart stops to deny the Serie A outfit, while Gaston Ramirez rattled the crossbar for the newly-promoted side. Aitor Karanka‘s men will keep it tight and be tough to beat this season.
Bournemouth 1-1 Valencia
A screamer from Enzo Perez put Valencia ahead but Eddie Howe‘s side battled back well in the second half and Benik Afobe finished off a flowing move emphatically. Cherries still unbeaten in preseason as they prepare for their second-straight season in the PL.
