Wayne Rooney Man Utd testimonial ends in stalemate

Wayne Rooney’s testimonial ended in a 0-0 draw between Manchester United and Everton.

The game was streamed live on Facebook, and both managers picked strong line-ups.

United and England captain Rooney played 52 minutes at Old Trafford as his testimonial against his former club doubled up as a stern Premier League warm-up.

Rooney got the chance to play alongside new signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic in a promising attacking formation that also featured Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial. The front pair linked well, with Ibrahimovic often dropping deep.

“I said many years ago the perfect partner for a striker is Wayne Rooney,” said Swede Ibrahimovic in an interview aired before the game by MUTV. “He works not only for himself but for the striker and the whole team. I’m absolutely happy to be one of the guys beside him.”

Seeing them together was certainly a tantalising prospect for the fans but, despite some fluid moves, chances were few and far between.

The work of new manager Mourinho may take some time to bear fruit at United. Attention will now turn to preparations for Sunday’s Community Shield against Leicester and – presumably – the pursuit of Paul Pogba.

When or if a deal for Pogba, heavily linked with a world record £100million return to United from Juventus, materialises remains to be seen.

For now United are a work in progress under Mourinho. There was little to excite other than the promise of the forward line and the return to action of a rejuvenated Luke Shaw, but nor did Everton expose many weaknesses.

Ross Barkley tested David de Gea and Romelu Lukaku headed a gilt-edged chance wide, while Shaw saw an effort deflected past the post and Ibrahimovic shot at new Toffees goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.

In the second half, former Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini headed at Joel Robles.

Other than that it was a chance for fans to pay tribute to Rooney, who was donating all proceeds from the fixture to charities.