Evans makes final United appearance
Jonny Evans made his final Manchester United appearance during our win over Hong Kong, China.
Evans began the game at centre-back and played 45 minutes, before being replaced by Ayden Heaven, who scored the final goal in our 3-1 win, as United swapped out all 11 starters at half-time.
It was a quiet half for the Reds’ defenders, although the only shot mustered by Hong Kong, China did find the back of the net, as Juninho’s effort slipped through Tom Heaton’s grasp.
Chido Obi's second-half double turned the contest back in our favour to help provide a winning end to the trip.
While not the ideal way to see Evans in a red shirt for the final time, it’s been a nice opportunity to bid farewell in Asia for the Northern Irishman, whose departure at the end of the season was announced on Sunday.
Hong Kong, China 1 United 3
ArticleYoungster Chido Obi scores twice and Ayden Heaven also gets off the mark for the Reds.
The 37-year-old has seen it all with United, the club he joined as a boy before progressing through the ranks of the Academy.
He was around the first-team set-up as early as 2006, featuring in two of the club’s three pre-season friendlies in South Africa.
Loan spells at Royal Antwerp and, particularly, Sunderland helped Evans hone his craft and he would eventually make his debut under Sir Alex Ferguson in September 2007.
That was the first of 198 appearances during an opening stint that included Premier League title successes and a Champions League win.
Top-flight trophies have proved harder to come by on his return after an eight-year hiatus with West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City, but Jonny still played an important role in last season’s Emirates FA Cup triumph, one trophy he had missed out on with United before, although he did win it with the Foxes.
He has been a key figure around the dressing room even during this injury-disrupted term, helping the club’s significant contingent of young players – having been in the same position himself two decades ago.
And Ruben Amorim paid tribute to the impact Evans has had, before Friday’s friendly.
'Now it's time to perform'
Ruben Amorim says United had an amazing feeling arriving at the stadium, and now it's time for his team to perform...
“It's really nice and the level he has in training, you can see the standards in his prime and you understand why they won so many titles,” Amorim said.
“With his age, with a lot of problems physically, when he was fit to train, the level was really high.
“You can understand he was a very good player.”