Eurosport - Fri, 24 Jul 20:38:00 2009
Manchester United came from behind to beat FC Seoul 3-2 as the Premier League champions' pre-season tour of the Far East continued at the World Cup Stadium in the South Korean capital.
Dejan Damjanovic netted a brace for the hosts but Wayne Rooney, Federico Macheda and substitute Dimitar Berbatov were on target to preserve United's 100 per cent pre-season record.
Having twice played a relatively weak Malaysian XI since arriving in the Far East, this was always going to be the first real test for United on their Asian travels.
And so it proved as the South Korean champions took the game to United from the first whistle, twice taking the lead before United's class ultimately told.
In front of 60,000 screaming fans, who were made to wait to catch a glimpse of their national hero Park Ji-sung on the pitch, Seoul put in a decent account of themselves.
Damjanovic proved a real handful early on for United's central defensive partnership of Wes Brown and Rio Ferdinand, the Montenegrin striker forcing a save out of Tomasz Kuszczak with a well-struck drive on 17 minutes.
Kuszczak had already been tested by Ko Myong-Jin's shot from the edge of the penalty area and John O'Shea had diverted a cross over the Pole's bar as the hosts started brightly.
So it came as no surprise when the South Korean champions took the lead through Damjanovic after he got in between O'Shea and Brown to prod past Kuszczak from Kim Seung-Yong's well-delivered cross.
The goal prompted United into action, and Macheda registered the visitors' first attempt on goal soon after with a snap shot which was dealt with by goalkeeper Kim Ho-Jun.
Rooney then pulled United level just after the half-hour mark, the England striker finding the back of the net with a well-directed, if untidy, header that went in off his shoulder.
The visitors' comeback was cut short just before the break by Damjanovic's second of the day, a cool clipped finish over the advancing Kuszczak after the off-side flag had stayed down despite more than a hint of off-side.
But Macheda got United back on track soon enough, the young Italian latching onto a long Rooney through pass before rounding the keeper and firing into the empty net on 58 minutes.
Berbatov then notched what proved to be the winner seven minutes later, the Bulgarian planting an accurate header past Kim after good work on the right-hand side by fellow substitute Darron Gibson.
Such is United's immense popularity and support in the Far East, all three of their goals were greeted with cheers from the home crowd. But the biggest roar of the day was reserved for Park, who was finally introduced by Alex Ferguson on 72 minutes.
Michael Owen also proved a big hit with the locals, and the new recruit nearly brought the house down with a close-range effort that went inches wide of goal moments. It would have been Owen's third goal in as many games and his second off the bench.
Another United substitute Paul Scholes lashed a close range effort against the bar as time ran out but the visitors settled for a 3-2 win, to set them up nicely for the third and final match of their Far East tour, against Hangzhou Greentown on Sunday.
