What happened in Manchester United Legends vs World XI fixture as 11-goal thriller unfolds

A Manchester United Legends XI was beaten 8-3 by a World XI in the very first Legends Football League fixture in Dubai on Saturday.

The Legends Football League is a brand new competition, featuring household names of the past from several corners of world football, including former United icons. Fixtures will be 90 minutes in length, but feature unexpected twists. The Legends Football League features something called 'Impact Players', where a current player or a celebrity can also feature.

Furthermore, every player, including those named on the substitutes bench, will take part in a penalty shoot-out, though one was not required after the way the World XI ripped a star-studded United line-up to pieces in Doha, securing an 8-3 victory.

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Despite the contest being littered with goals, initial feedback from supporters has not proven to be overwhelmingly positive, with many saying it was disorganised. Details about what specifically happened during the contest have also been difficult to source.

However, United Legends' starting line-up featured a mixture of former Reds and, surprisingly, players who have never donned the famous red shirt. Among the former United players to feature, though, included Danny Simpson, Wes Brown, Mikel Silvestre, Patrice Evra, who scored, Juan Sebastian Veron, Eric Djemba-Djemba, Antonio Valencia, Jesper Blomqvist, Dwight Yorke and Dimitar Berbatov, who also got himself on the scoresheet.

Non-former United players who featured for the Reds included legendary Inter Milan goalkeeper Julio Cesar and former Leicester City captain Wes Morgan.