Manchester United are back and off to a winning start on Tour 2019, after beating Perth Glory at the Optus Stadium in confident fashion.
Here are just some of the talking points to stem from the 2-0 victory in Western Australia…
1: DANIEL JAMES SHONE
Our new signing from Swansea City made his first appearance and performed well, starting on the left wing before switching flanks to the right during a 45-minute outing. The Welshman looked fit, sharp and tricky on the ball, with an eye for a cross too. He was later voted our Man of the Match and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was pleased with the new recruit. “It was a good start for him and we'll nurture him,”
he said afterwards. “He'll be exciting to watch for many, many games I think.”
2: AARON WAN-BISSAKA OFF THE MARK
The buccaneering right-back was one of 11 players who were introduced at the start of the second half and he enjoyed a hard-working first appearance, defending solidly and pushing high up the flank as often as he could. With a full week of pre-season training now under his belt, he will look to push on and hopefully play against Leeds United at the same stadium this coming Wednesday.
Watch the highlights of our 2-0 win over Perth Glory in Australia.
Marcus Rashford broke the deadlock with a low shot into the bottom corner on 60 minutes and Solskjaer admitted that type of execution is exactly what the striker needs to add to his game this season.
“It's not one of those pretty goals,”said the manager to us. “But it's a goal that I've said that Marcus needs to add to his tally.”
4: JAMES GARNER OPENS HIS ACCOUNT
The talented midfielder from the Academy scored his first goal for the seniors, with his second touch of the game, when he latched onto a loose ball and hit a thunderous strike into the bottom corner. It was a great moment for the youngster and Ole admitted he was buzzing in the dressing room. “It was a fantastic strike, the boy can play and he's enjoying tonight.”
Academy graduate Axel Tuanzebe also donned the United shirt for the first time since returning from a season-long loan at Aston Villa, where he helped the Midlands club to win promotion to the Premier League. The towering and physically impressive centre-back is highly rated by Solskjaer and looked comfortable at Optus Stadium, handling the Glory attack with ease alongside Phil Jones. He almost scored, too, with a towering header that highlighted his threat in the opposition half.
6: PRESS, PRESS AND PRESS
There was a noticeable intensity about the team’s pressing and desire to win the ball back when high up the field, particularly in the first half, which was something that Solskjaer has been working on in training this summer.
“That made it more of a workout as well,”said the boss with a smile.
7: FOLLOW THE LEADER
A new club captain has not yet been named following Antonio Valencia's departure in the summer, but Ashley Young wore the armband in the first half before Juan Mata strapped it around his bicep after the break. Solskjaer said in his post-match press conference that a decision is still to be made.
8: FOUR PLAYERS MISSED OUT
The manager revealed ahead of kick-off that Lee Grant, Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof and Romelu Lukaku were omitted from the squad because they all had “niggles”
from training. The quartet watched the game from the stands and will hope to feature on Wednesday against Leeds United. It remains to be seen if Luke Shaw will be available, after he limped off against the Glory.
9: ANOTHER DEBUT OF SORTS
United wore the new 2019/20 adidas away kit at the Optus Stadium following its worldwide release on Friday. The savannah-toned aesthetic and intricate patterned design takes inspiration from the many mosaics that adorn the streets of Manchester’s creative district, the Northern Quarter.
Perth Glory was the first of six pre-season games being shown live on MUTV this summer. The club's official television channel is available on MUTV.com, the MUTV app, Amazon Fire, Roku, Xbox and Apple TV.