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Manchester United and Leeds United played out a 1-1 draw in the first club fixture ever staged at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland.

The two Premier League sides were involved in their penultimate pre-season friendly on Wednesday evening, with the contest eventually going to a penalty shootout that the Red Devils won.

Captain Bruno Fernandes, still being used only in a substitute role after returning recently from the World Cup, missed from the spot in unusual fashion. However, James Justin struck the crossbar with the decisive penalty before Noussair Mazraoui calmly converted the winner.

Earlier, Joshua Zirkzee had given United the lead after an excellent run down the left by Bryan Mbeumo. But the teams were level by the break when Brenden Aaronson finished past Senne Lammens — United’s new No.1 following Altay Bayindir’s loan departure — after Dan James had dispossessed Tyler Fletcher in a dangerous area.

Marcus Rashford, who has recently been brought back into the first-team picture at Old Trafford, was the main point of interest as the forward appeared set for a first outing in United colours since December 2024. But despite travelling to the Irish capital to link up with his team-mates, he was left out of the matchday squad by Carrick.

United introduced more of their senior names on the hour mark, with Fernandes, summer arrival Youri Tielemans and Matheus Cunha among those sent on. Fernandes looked the most likely to find a winner and even had the ball in the net, only for the linesman to rule it out after he had gone too soon to meet Luke Shaw’s pass into the left channel.

United next take on former manager Ruben Amorim and AC Milan in their final pre-season friendly before next weekend’s opener against Hull. Leeds, meanwhile, will face Augsburg before beginning their league season away at Nottingham Forest.