Man Utd start Asia trip hours after worst season since 1974

KUALA LUMPUR, May 26 (AFP): A Manchester United squad including Alejandro Garnacho were due to arrive in Malaysia on Monday for a friendly, less than 24 hours after finishing the club's worst season since 1974.

United beat 10-man Aston Villa 2-0 on Sunday at Old Trafford but manager Ruben Amorim has a huge rebuilding task over the summer to revive the fortunes of one of the world's biggest football clubs.

Amorim afterwards apologised to fans for the "disaster" of a campaign, which saw them finish 15th in the Premier League and beaten 1-0 by Spurs in last week's Europa League final.

Hours after beating Villa, a 32-man squad including Argentine winger Garnacho jetted off for the red-eye flight to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur and a match Wednesday against a Southeast Asian XI.

That is followed by a game on Friday in Hong Kong against the Chinese city's representative team.

United hope the two post-season friendlies will bring in some much-needed revenue, although tickets were still available on Monday for both games.