KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Manchester United began an offseason tour after its worst Premier League season in almost expected fashion, losing its first match against a Southeast Asian All-Star team 1-0 in Kuala Lumpur.
The reaction was swift on Thursday, and from one of the highest places in the land.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim suggested United could be relegated after watching the visitor lose, despite the fact it was probably affected by jet lag.
“Ouch. Man United failed to win another trophy,” Ibrahim, one of 72,500 fans at Bukit Jalil Stadium in the Malaysian capital, wrote on social media in a post translated from Malay.
“Looks like you’re in for another tough season, hope you don’t drop to the Championship,” he added, referring to England’s second tier into which the bottom three teams in the 20-team Premier League drop into every season.
On Sunday, United finished 15th in the Premier League, its lowest ever ranking in the competition, just four days after a loss in the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur meant its European season ended without a trophy.
Myanmar’s Maung Maung Lwin after 72 minutes on Wednesday for a team made up of top players from around the southeast Asian region.
“To face one of the world’s top clubs and deliver such a performance, it was truly remarkable from the team,” All-Stars coach Kim Sang-sik said. “We only trained for two days but the players looked like they had been playing together for 20 years. The team were well-organized and cohesive.”
United continues its tour in Hong Kong on Friday before matches in Sweden and the United States.
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