Your Monday Briefing: 12 things you may have missed

DEFEAT AT THE BIG HOUSE
The Reds were beaten 4-1 by Liverpool at the gargantuan Michigan Stadium on Saturday evening in front of over 101,000 fans. Sadio Mane opened the scoring from the penalty spot and Andreas Pereira equalised with a sensational free-kick, before Jurgen Klopp’s more experienced team prevailed in the second half thanks to goals from Daniel Sturridge, Sheyi Ojo and Xherdan Shaqiri.

The kind of scenes we ❤️ to see! #MUFC #MUTOUR pic.twitter.com/0EcSfs4jcx

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 28, 2018

PEREIRA SHOWED HIS QUALITY
The midfielder’s set-piece was a clear positive from an otherwise disappointing game and his display as a whole earned plenty of praise from supporters. Lee Grant also spoke glowingly about the young Brazilian, telling us: “He’s got great quality, we all know that. He’s shown that throughout the course of pre-season. He has fantastic technical ability and hopefully we can see more of it.”

FRED MADE HIS FIRST APPEARANCE
Speaking of Brazilians, our new no.17 stepped off the bench to replace Juan Mata on 71 minutes and MUTV analyst Danny Webber was encouraged by what he saw from our new recruit in Ann Arbour. “He wanted to pop up in the right areas, drive forward with the ball, demand possession, and he had the courage to wear that badge on his chest for the first time in difficult circumstances.”

Our latest #MUFC debutant: @Fred08Oficial. 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/dP0WRLHAIZ

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 29, 2018

A LATE CHANGE TO THE LINE-UP
Chris Smalling was taken out of the starting XI as a precaution just a few moments before kick-off and Eric Bailly volunteered to start in his place, despite carrying a very slight injury himself. Jose Mourinho praised the Ivorian afterwards, saying: “He decided by himself that he did not want another kid on the pitch. It is not fair to Alexis, to Mata, to Herrera, and the guys that are there.”

'THE RESULT IS NOT IMPORTANT'
Jose Mourinho and captain Ander Herrera both expressed that opinion, citing our inexperienced squad that is currently made up of Academy prospects, returning loanees and first-team players. The focus must be on our first Premier League game of the season against Leicester City on 10 August, they said. 

DE GEA WAS NOT INVOLVED
David joined the touring squad on Friday and described his batteries as “recharged” while speaking to MUTV. But, having only trained for a day, the Spaniard was omitted from the matchday squad and merely took part in the warm-up. It remains to be seen if he’ll play against Real Madrid this week.

Now, this is DEFINITELY #MUFC's team for tonight's game... 😅 #ICC2018 #MUTOUR pic.twitter.com/oQjtHKsdI8

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 28, 2018

MATIC IS IN MANCHESTER
It was confirmed over the weekend that Nemanja had left the squad and headed to Philadelphia for surgery on an abdominal injury, which was sustained while representing Serbia at the World Cup. He has since travelled home to Manchester and Mourinho expects him to miss the start of the season.

GOODBYE, LOS ANGELES
United left California after the final whistle in Michigan and arrived in Miami on Sunday, where they have since trained at Barry University. The team also spent time with some people who had been affected by February’s tragic shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.

JONES AND RASHFORD RETURNING EARLY
In the post-match press conference, Mourinho revealed Phil and Marcus have both decided to cut short their summer holidays so they can return to United for pre-season training. 

TWO LOAN DEALS FOR YOUTH STARS
Away from the first team, Academy graduate Matty Willock completed a temporary move to St Mirren and made his debut in a 6-0 win over Dumbarton. Cameron Borthwick-Jackson also joined Scunthorpe United on loan and we wish them both well.

UNDER-23S BEATEN BY NORTHAMPTON
Our youngsters lost 2-0 to the League Two side in a friendly, with Billy Walters and Kevin van Veen scoring in the second half. Ricky Sbragia had spoken beforehand about trialling a new formation.

UNDER-15S LOST IN THE FINAL
Despite scoring a dramatic late equaliser that secured a 1-1 draw against Co. Antrim, our Under-15s lost the SuperCup:NI Junior Section final via a dramatic penalty shootout on Friday night.