Pre-season analysis: Injuries for Man Utd while Jesus stars

Premier League clubs' preparations for the 2024/25 season continued, with Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brighton & Hove Albion, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers all in action.

Arsenal 2-1 Man Utd

What happened?
Arsenal recovered from Rasmus Hojlund's early strike to beat Man Utd 2-1 thanks to goals from Brazilian duo Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli. See: Arsenal report | Man Utd report

What did we learn?
Hojlund and summer signing Leny Yoro will be assessed after being forced off with injuries during the first half.

What did the managers say?
Mikel Arteta: "He [Jesus] has changed a lot of things over the summer and he’s come back in top condition again. When you have that baseline, other things can be built but without that foundation we don’t have a player and he needs to be in that condition to get the best out of him. You can see by the way he looks, the way he’s moving and you can see in his eyes that there’s a spark there."

Erik ten Hag: "I think [the game] was a very good level for the third week of pre-season, from both sides, but in the first half I thought we were the better team."

Who do they play next?
Arsenal travel to Philadelphia to take on Liverpool on 1 August, while Man Utd face Spanish side Real Betis in San Diego on the same day.

West Ham 1-3 Wolves

What happened?
Summer signing Rodrigo Gomes came off the bench to score twice as Wolves got the better of Premier League rivals West Ham in a match that was delayed due to tropical storms in Jacksonville. See: West Ham report | Wolves report

What did we learn?
After scoring the opening goal, Matheus Cunha was substituted in the first half due to feeling some discomfort behind his knee.

What did the managers say?
O'Neil: “He [Cunha] has some awareness behind his knee, so when he played a pass with the outside of his foot, he felt a slight pain behind his knee. Matheus is incredibly important to us, but the early signs don’t look bad. He won’t be risked again until he’s completely fine, so the next few days I can provide an update.”

Lopetegui: “I think that we have to improve in a lot of things with and without the ball, so we have a lot of work to do in front of us."

Who do they play next?
West Ham face Premier League opposition once again as they take on Crystal Palace in Tampa on 4 August, while Wolves are up against Bundesliga side RB Leipzig on the same day.

Columbus Crew 4-1 Aston Villa

What happened?
Despite Cameron Archer scoring his first goal since returning to Villa from Sheffield United, Unai Emery's side suffered a heavy defeat to MLS side Columbus Crew. See: Aston Villa report

What did we learn?
Amadou Onana and Ian Maatsen were handed their Villa debuts in the second half, while Emi Buendia also featured after the break to make his first appearance in 11 months following a knee injury.

What did the manager say?
Emery: “The best news is his [Buendia’s] comeback. We are happy with his return and we have to work now with him trying to get the best of him progressively. The first 30 minutes he played, really, is fantastic for us and for the team.”

Who do they play next?
Villa face RB Leipzig in New Jersey on 31 July.

Man City 2-3 AC Milan

What happened?
Erling Haaland scored his second goal of pre-season and James McAtee was also on the scoresheet, but Pep Guardiola's men fell to a second successive defeat on their pre-season tour to the United States. See: Man City report

What did we learn?
Oscar Bobb continued his fine pre-season form with a third assist in two matches, again combining with fellow Norwegian Haaland.

What did the manager say?
Guardiola: “He [Bobb] is electric, in the small spaces he’s really good. It’s a question of time, he’s young but his work ethic is unbelievable. He can play as a striker, pockets, right or left winger. It was a step forward, no injuries, minutes in our legs, another test and now we fly to another game in a few days.”

Who do they play next?
City come up against Spanish giants Barcelona in Orlando on 31 July.

Chelsea 1-4 Celtic

What happened?
Christopher Nkunku scored his second goal in as many matches, but Chelsea were well beaten by Celtic. See: Chelsea report

What did we learn?
Wesley Fofana made his first start in more than a year, while Robert Sanchez kept his place in goal.

What did the manager say?
Maresca: “You can see sometimes we confuse when we need to play short and when we need to play a little bit longer but that is part of the process. For sure we need to improve many things off the ball. One of the things we did badly today was when the ball was not under pressure, we maintained a high line but when the ball is not under pressure, you need to drop.”

Who do they play next?
Chelsea take on Club America in Atlanta on 1 August.

Tokyo Verdy 2-4 Brighton

What happened?
Jan Paul van Hecke, Yankuba Minteh, Simon Adingra and Jeremy Sarmiento scored as Brighton made it back-to-back wins on their pre-season tour of Japan. See: Brighton report

What did we learn?
Twenty-year-old Argentinian Valentin Barco impressed again for the Seagulls, with his set-pieces causing problems for the hosts in the first half.

Who do they play next?
Brighton return to England to visit Queens Park Rangers on 3 August.