Snapdragon Stadium is 5,318 miles from Manchester, England. But even before 6 a.m. UK time, you might have heard groans from that British city of 550,000.
Underdog Wrexham AFC defeated the young soccer squad of Manchester United 3-1 Tuesday night in Mission Valley.
Near the end of the slower-paced second half — when fans started a wave and sang team songs — a man sprinted onto the pitch, shed his shirt and eluded security for an amusing few moments before being tackled, cuffed and led away.
The announced crowd of 34,000-plus included at least three writers for the Manchester Evening News — whose coverage of the match was on par of a Super Bowl.
Snapdragon trespasser. Photo by Chris Stone 
Snapdragon trespasser. Photo by Chris Stone 
Snapdragon trespasser. Photo by Chris Stone 
Snapdragon trespasser. Photo by Chris Stone 
Snapdragon trespasser. Photo by Chris Stone 
Snapdragon trespasser. Photo by Chris Stone 
Snapdragon trespasser. Photo by Chris Stone 
Snapdragon trespasser. Photo by Chris Stone 
Snapdragon trespasser. Photo by Chris Stone 
Snapdragon trespasser. Photo by Chris Stone 
Snapdragon trespasser. Photo by Chris Stone 
Snapdragon trespasser. Photo by Chris Stone
The friendly consisted of the junior squad of English Premier League’s Manchester United (under-21 club members and academy players) playing Welsh football club Wrexham, the third-oldest club in the world, which plays in the lower League Two.
Viewers of the game, aired on ESPN2, might have been confused at first to see “United” on the red jerseys of Wrexham. (Manchester’s team colors are red and black.)
But United stands for United Airlines, a Wrexham sponsor. Manchester players wore dark green Tuesday.
The Wrexham Red Dragons’ Elliott Lee scored in the 29th minute, Aaron Hayden in the 36th and Sam Dalby with a header in the 69th. Man U’s Marc Jurado scored just before halftime.
The friendly became less congenial when Red Devils goalkeeper Nathan Bishop slammed into Wrexham standout Paul Mullin near the box.
A gurney and cart were sent onto the pitch as Mullin lay on his back for a reported 8 minutes. Bishop received a yellow card.
Mullin walked off the pitch on his own power, but needed auxiliary oxygen. He was taken to the hospital with a reported punctured lung. Bishop was booed whenever he touched the ball during the rest of the first half.
The match was part of the Soccer Champions Tour exhibition series, featuring six of the world’s most iconic football clubs in nine matches across the country to help prepare Erik ten Hag’s squad for the 2023/24 season.
The other teams on tour are Arsenal, FC Barcelona, Juventus, Real Madrid and AC Milan.
When the match was first announced, John Murtough, Manchester United Football Director, said: “Pre-season tours are always a great opportunity to give opportunities for our most promising young Academy players to gain valuable experience in the first team environment.”
Manchester United was in the United States for the first time since 2018. For Wrexham, is the first time in the club’s history that they traveled to America.
Wrexham had fallen on bad times, and then two years ago, Hollywood came to the rescue.
In 2020, actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought the club in an effort to turn it around and made a docuseries about its journey called, “Welcome to Wrexham.”
Before Tuesday’s match, Manchester played July 22 at Saturday MetLife Stadium, New York. Coach Erik ten Hag’s side will meet Real Madrid on Wednesday at NRG Stadium in Houston and on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
United and Real Madrid are the most successful teams in England and Spain, respectively, with 55 league titles between them. United brought a 31-man squad on tour, but reportedly the starters headed for Huston before Tuesday’s match.
