United’s travelling support had little else to cheer about during a tiresome opening 45 minutes, however, Mata’s goal certainly went some way to justifying Mourinho’s selection over new signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
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Big-name signings such as Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have grabbed the headlines for United this summer, but new manager Jose Mourinho did land a new defender in Ivorian global Eric Bailly.
The Swede struck from 25 yards to seal the victory for United as Jose Mourinho’s side began their campaign with a comfortable victory over Eddie Howe’s men.
In the absence of Paul Pogba, their world record signing, United eased to victory after Mata punished a awful mistake by Bournemouth defender Simon Francis just before half-time and Rooney added the second after the interval.
“I am very happy”, Mourinho said.
He was an unused substitute as Claude Puel’s side played out a 1-1 draw against Watford on the opening day of the new season.
The winger had a hard first campaign in the Premier League under Louis van Gaal and looked a shade of the player that shone for PSV Eindhoven and the Dutch national team at the 2014 World Cup. With signing of these four quality players, United’s squad looks more stronger and more determined to win the trophies for the first time post Sir Alex Ferguson era.
United were also boosted by the performance of summer signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic up top, as he scored one and put in a solid all-round shift on his first outing in English football.
United took the lead five minutes before half-time, but needed a mistake from a Bournemouth defender to help them.
Manchester United are on fire, and with the likes of Rooney, Ibrahimovic and Mkhitaryan up front, Bournemouth’s defence could be in for a long match. The team came in good condition and to win the Community Shield is always a boost. “In the second half we had a bit more confidence”. I saw the way they were behaving, how professional they were, how they were eating.
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“We dominated the early stages but you can’t gift Manchester United goals, which we did”.
