The pre-season game in China between Manchester United and Manchester City has been called off because heavy rain has left the pitch unplayable, the BBC reports.
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Mourinho condemned the state of the pitch in Beijing where the first Manchester derby to be played on foreign soil had been due to take place and feared his players may suffer injury.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho bristled when asked if he would shake Pep Guardiola’s hand, insisting he has a “normal” relationship with the new Manchester City boss. No reason why. He wants to win, I want to win, that’s all.
This year’s three-match ICC China tournament also involved Borussia Dortmund.
Thousands of fans for both clubs who have come to witness the first overseas Manchester derby from around China were upset by the sudden cancellation of the game.
“We move on to Shenzhen, and I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to get some good game-time in and obviously see our fans over there”. I am pretty sure they will be stronger than past year.
The outcome Jose Mourinho is seeking above all others in Monday’s historic match against Manchester City is a clean bill of health for his United squad.
United and City were forced to switch their pre-match training sessions to the nearby Olympic Sports Centre to try to protect and preserve the surface at the Bird’s Nest for the game. You play Thursday and then I don’t think they (the Premier League) are going to play us Monday, they are going to play us Sunday and probably at 12 o’clock.
It is the pitch in Beijing rather than old foe Mourinho and United that is of most concern to Guardiola. The problem for me are the bad conditions to play and train.
On the plus side, no Mourinho-Guardiola handshake, and no intense scrutiny of said handshake.
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“The pitch is very bad and the condition of my players is more important than results”, he said.
