[Red Devil]

Manchester United have chosen to host Uefa Cup winners Sevilla as their first home opponents to welcome in the completion of the Old Trafford stadium developments. Real Madrid or Barcelona had been expected to provide the opposition, but The Red Devils have instead chosen the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan outfit for the grand opening. The Theatre of Dreams has been upgraded to a 76,000-seater stadium, which has allowed the club to offer one-year season tickets to an extra 8,000 fans. "We're delighted Sevilla, the Uefa Cup winners, have agreed to come and open the stadium," director of communications Phil Townsend told Sky Sports News.

"Hopefully, having priced it right, people will want to come and see them and have a great day out. "Its £5 for juniors, between £10 and £25 for adults and we hope to encourage more families to come and make a day of it. "Hopefully the weather will be good and people will have a good day out. We'll put a few bits of entertainment on as well."

"Its £5 for juniors, between £10 and £25 for adults and we hope to encourage more families to come and make a day of it. Hopefully the weather will be good and people will have a good day out. We'll put a few bits of entertainment on as well." United have a pre-season tour of South Africa to contend with first, and the Amsterdam Tournament at the start of August before welcoming the Liga club, and then kicking-off the Premiership season at home to Fulham on August 20.


Call me a cynic, but you may well find that Real or Barca wanted too much money to come and play. Anyway, it will be a good match to "open" the new Old Trafford.

 

[MUFC]

Would be a nice way to kick off the pre season and throw open OT as well after all the development.

Should be an exciting game, sadly I will not be able to watch it here.

 

[Guest]

I think it will be a good game to start, in front of the re-developed Old Trafford.

 

[Bartmu]

Sevilla is a great side to play against in a re-opening OT match. Unfortunatly i wont see the game but i try to get tickets for the Amsterdam Tournament.

 

[Red Devil]

Win Tickets For Sevilla

Manchester United fans will be able to see Old Trafford's outstanding new look for the first time when Sevilla provide the opposition on August 12. Skysports.com have five pairs of tickets to give away for the mouthwatering friendly with the Theatre of Dreams now able to host a record-breaking 76,000 supporters.

The new Quadrants stands will be fully opened in time for the three o'clock kick-off, which provides a vital part of United's pre-season warm-up. Sevilla lifted the Uefa Cup in 2006 and include stars such as Luis Fabiano and Daniel Alves in their talented squad.

United's big names from the World Cup should be on show too with Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Cristiano Ronaldo expected to figure.

All you have to do for your chance to win the tickets is answer this simple question:

NAME MANCHESTER UNITED'S CURRENT CAPTAIN.

Do not worry if you are not lucky enough to win as tickets are still on general sale, priced from only £10 to £25 for adults and just £5 for juniors. Over 65s pay half the adult price.

As a special bonus, United supporters who purchase tickets for the Sevilla match can also claim a FREE ticket to the first team squad's open training session on Friday, August 11 at 11am.

 

[Hunter]

I'm going thankfully! Will all the big players be playing (Rooney & Rio ect.)

 

[Red Devil]

Thats what the article says!

 

[KingSingh]

will catch the game on MUTV, but it should be a cracker of a game. Hopefully we will see a couple more signings making their debut along with carrick. Sevilla are a great team and defending UEFA cup champions so it should be a good contest. Our own charity shield so to speak

 

[EST 1878]

I will be travellin up to the game

 

[Guest]

The game's tomorrow, so i hope United play well.

 

[MUFC]

Rampant Reds sink Sevilla with ease

Louis Saha, Cristiano Ronaldo and David Jones were on target as Manchester United cruised to a 3-0 win over Sevilla at Old Trafford.Ronaldo may be preparing to face a gauntlet of hate in the Premiership this term but the United winger is assured of a warm embrace every time he steps out at the Theatre of Dreams.
For all the mountain of headlines which accompanied Ronaldo at the World Cup, there was never any likelihood of a negative reaction among United fans to the winger's contribution to England's World Cup exit.
The consternation in Red Devils' circles was more due to Ronaldo twice declaring his intention to quit United for Real Madrid.
However, from the moment the former Sporting Lisbon player received a standing ovation the first time he jogged across to take a corner it was clear, just like Wayne Rooney, the United fans bear no grudges.
And the 21-year-old began his own personal payback by delivering the low cross which saw Saha put United in front against the UEFA Cup winners, before finding the net himself as Daniel Alves sliced home his late, goalbound free-kick.
On both occasions Ronaldo's team-mates raced over to a man and offered their hearty congratulations.
With no striking replacement anticipated for Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ronaldo is clearly a key figure in Sir Alex Ferguson's plans for the new campaign, hence the Scot's unequivocal rejection of any notion the winger may be allowed to leave.
Saha has a major part to play too and as Wayne Rooney is doubtful for next Sunday's Premiership opener with Fulham, it was hardly a shock when he was substituted 10 minutes after he raced onto Ronaldo's square ball and fired home.
With Jones rasping in an injury-time third, United ended their pre-season programme in fine form.
Embarrassingly though, their expanded 76,000 stadium was barely half full to witness the triumph.
Few bothered to use the plush new quadrants the game was being staged to open.
Owner Malcolm Glazer might not be too concerned given the Red Devils have already sold in excess of 64,000 season tickets and Old Trafford should be packed to the rafters for next weekend.
But the days of United routinely attracting full houses whenever they turned up seem to be gone, a fact even Ferguson seems to recognise.
"The corner quadrants give the ground a magnificent sweep I personally find quite inspiring," said Ferguson. "But we must heed the clarion call. For now, the onus is on the playing side to fill the stadium.
"We have a strong support base but we must never take it for granted. I hope our players realise they have a duty and a part to play in making sure the huge investment involved in constructing the quadrants pays off commercially."
Up to Saha's opener, the most memorable incident of the game had come just before the break when Gabriel Heinze got involved in an arm-flailing touchline clash with opposite number Alves four minutes before the break.
Still awaiting verdicts on potential three-match bans for Rooney and Paul Scholes, Ferguson's heart must have been in his mouth as referee Phil Dowd reached for his pocket. Thankfully for United, the official took a leniant view and opted to bring out a pair of yellow cards rather than two reds.
With Rooney sidelined by a worrying groin injury, Ronaldo had been pushed into an orthodox attacking role alongside Saha.
However, as both men continue to edge towards full fitness following their respective extended World Cup campaigns, neither looked totally at ease and it was only after Ronaldo was moved to the right flank after an hour that the pair combined to put United on their way to a 3-0 win.