Two decades ago United had a miserable time wearing grey and it is happening again (Getty)
Two decades ago United had a miserable time wearing grey and it is happening again (Getty)

Manchester United did not enjoy their final pre-season match in the United States, succumbing to a 1-0 defeat to Barcelona in Maryland as they struggled to string passes together.

While Barca knocked around the ball with their usual confidence and flair, United kept giving the ball away and struggled to get out of their own half for large periods of the match.

The Catalan giants took the lead through Neymar, who pounced on an error from Antonio Valencia, and always looked the more likely team to score the next goal as Romelu Lukaku was forced to feed on scraps.

Paul Pogba and his teammates struggled to play free-flowing football in their new kit (Getty)

The defeat means United cannot win the International Champions Cup, with that honour likely to be decided when Barca take on rivals Real Madrid in a mouth-watering Clasico on Sunday.

The match threw up worrying comparisons from fans with the last grey kit United wore, back in the 1995-96 season, which had to be ditched it was so bad, with the Red Devils failing to win any of the five matches they played in it, losing four.

Sir Alex Ferguson famously ordered his team to change out of their grey number after they came in at half-time 3-0 down away to Southampton in April 1996.

United’s previous grey kit is widely regarded as the worst ever seen in the Premier League (Getty)

‘The players couldn’t pick each other out,’ said Sir Alex of the kit. ‘They said it was difficult to see their team-mates at distance when they lifted their heads.’

United improved in the second half, though still lost 3-1, but there was no revival against Barca on Wednesday night, with the side struggling to pick out their passes throughout the game.

Curiously, neither United or Barcelona wore their home kits in the International Champions Cup match, instead using the contest to show off their third and away kits respectively.

But sky blue and grey, on a green pitch, is not the greatest contrast, with even spectators struggling to tell the difference – so what chance did the players have?!

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