A favourite of Louis van Gaal, for his ability to follow direct instructions and be tall, Fellaini was considered amongst those primed to be cut from Jose Mourinho’s squad for the upcoming season.
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United controlled a goalless first half before goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen saw his kick charged down by Juan Mata in the 48th minute and Keane nabbed the first goal of Mourinho’s reign.
It marked Jose Mourinho’s first game in charge at the English Premier League football club, with the new manager confessing he was surprised to see the England left-back at the training ground following his double-leg fracture at the start of last season.
Aside hailing the performance of his players, Mourinho also spared some thought for the United fans who are very expectant that their fortunes will improve this term with their new coach.
“Some principles of our play defensively and offensively, that we work on in training and I could see them there”.
Mourinho said of Tuanzebe: “You can play 90 minutes or one minute”. Memphis Depay had the first shot of the game on the 10 minute mark after a lovely back-heel from the impressive Mkhitaryan before the duo linked up again after a mazy run from the Armenia worldwide, but Depay’s cross was blocked.
The United fans showed their support for the new man by chanting his name inside the very first minute of a very one-sided contest – not that Mourinho was getting too carried away. “He is a top-class player and this is the best stage for him”, the manager said. The Ivorian, meanwhile, looked very comfortable in possession and played almost the entire game.
It was a routine success against last season’s League One champions for Mourinho’s men, who will face sterner tests against Borussia Dortmund and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City over the next 10 days.
If it is like this in a friendly match, if they wait something from me (sic), I will try to give them everything and I am sure they are giving incredible support of the team.
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However, the Brazil Under-20 global was overlooked towards the end of the campaign and his last outing was a handful of minutes at the end of the Midtjylland match in February when Marcus Rashford, two years his junior, made a stunning debut.
