Radek Vitek sets himself apart by being anaemic. Rosenborg defeats Man United 1-0, as reported by Derick Kinoti July 15, 2024
The one bright spot for Manchester United during their 1-0 loss to Rosenborg in Trondheim was goalkeeper Radek Vitek.
The United team did not play up to par in their first preseason game in front of the 2024–25 campaign. There was no purpose, no energy in the display.
Rosenborg struck the woodwork four times until Noah Emmanuel Jean Holm finally broke the tie in the ninetieth minute.
Without goalie Vitek’s heroics, which included several excellent saves during both half, the Red Devils’ score may have been far worse.
Vitek, the lone Red player to play the entire ninety minutes at The Lerkendal Stadion, primarily stopped Rosenborg’s 19 shots during the game.
Six of the seven saves that Vitek made came from inside the United box.
The 20-year-old did not have to flee his neighborhood. He didn’t punch the ball either, but he did make two bold assertions.
In a game where he was quite busy, he had 94 touches of the ball. Vitek accomplished an astounding 90% individual pass completion percentage, finding his teammates with 69 of the 77 passes he attempted.
The goalie from the Czech Republic attempted to ping ten long balls. He made four fruitful connections.
Vitek cleared two other things as well.
(Figures sourced from Sofascore)
After the game, the former loanee from Accrington Stanley discussed his opinion on the outcome with the club’s media. He expressed his disappointment, saying, “We should always aspire for victory. The manager stated that we don’t play friendlies because it is not in our DNA. We ought to ask for more.
“Since this is only the first week of preseason, we are still building up and waiting on a few more boys to return from their internationals.”
“But like I said, winning is what matters in the end.”
Vitek also thanked Erik ten Hag for giving young players opportunities to show what they are made of.
The goalkeeper had a successful loan stint with Acrrington Stanley the previous season, and it’s pleasing to see that he appears to have continued where he left off.
When United plays Rangers again on Saturday, Vitek will surely be looking to start again.