Manchester United showed the Airtricity XI that they were from a different league with a seven goal display of class at the Aviva Stadium.
The Premier League team played a team made up of players from the Airtricity League in what was the first game of football to be played at the all-new home of Irish rugby and soccer on Lansdowne Road.
Ji-Sung Park bagged the opener for United, before Michael Owen marked his return to the fold by scoring the second of many for the visitors. Owen had been out of action since March with a hamstring injury.
As expected by many, the League of Ireland lads were outclassed all the way with four more goals following on from Owen’s lofted shot, courtesy of Javier Hernandez, Antonio Valencia, Park (again) and Jonny Evans, before Dave Mulcahy got one back for the home team.
Any celebrations for Airtricity XI’s consolation goal were cut short when Nani slammed home a late penalty, to giving a final score of Airtricity XI 1 – Manchester United 7.
The only negative from United’s point of view was  an injury to Michael Carrick’s in the first half, which forced manager Alex Ferguson into making an early substitution.
