However, the trophy was the first for United in a three-year dry spell, following the retirement of club legend Alex Ferguson in 2013 and the failed spell of David Moyes.
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The United boss has said he has no intention of playing the skipper in a deeper midfield role like predecessor Van Gaal or former England manager Roy Hodgson. “He is magnificent the way he thinks about football, he thinks very quickly and it’s so sweet how he touches the ball”, Mourinho told the club’s official website. I’ve come through the ranks with likes of Marcus [Rashford], Timothy [Fosu-Mensah], Jesse [Lingard] they’re the close ones.
“I want to show the manager, to show the people around the club, to show the players that I can help this season”.
Eighty-two minutes represented a strong start ahead of the trip to China, where United will face Borussia Dortmund and neighbours Manchester City.
“My reaction is that honestly I would prefer them to go with the players”.
Sure, nothing meaningful can be gleaned from a pre-season friendly, even if United looked serene in the sunshine thanks to goals from Will Keane and the promising Andreas Pereira. “It’s my first time, so I’m looking forward to it. It’s always great, the support we get is always fantastic, so I’m sure it’ll be a good week”.
“At this stage the most important thing isn’t the result but to get fit physically and mentally, but it’s hard to have a friendly game against City or teams like this”, said Mata.
“It’ll be special for sure”.
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United are now set to continue their preparations in China, and Mourinho seemed to be in something of a rush as he grabbed his bags from his office before travelling with his squad. “It’ll be a different derby, but it’ll nice for the fans”.
