MANCHESTER UNITED crashed to a 4-1 defeat against Borussia Dortmund during their pre-season tour of China.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored on his swift reunion with his old club at the Shanghai Stadium.
But it was just a consolation after two from Gonzalo Castro, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ousmane Dembele ran riot.
BARE BONES
- Jose Mourinho tasted defeat for the first time as manager and it was clear Borussia Dortmund had more pre-season under their belts.
- The Special One may not have been delighted with the performance but the 36-degree heat was a massive factor. They had water breaks in each half.
- Marcus Rashford made a shock appearance for the second half despite Mourinho saying he wouldn’t play on tour.
- Rashford came on up front after Memphis Depay struggled to make an impact down the middle.
- Sam Johnstone pulled off two saves before opener but should have dealt with the free-kick before Gonzalo Castro found top corner.
- Iceland’s famous Viking Clap has made it to China, although it wasn’t a packed crowd. They are treated to Oasis songs at half-time which would normally be heard at the Etihad.
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ousmane Dembele showed why Premier League clubs have looked at them – PEA scored from the spot and Dembo netted a solo effort.
- Castro avoided being one of EIGHT changes in the second half for the Germans. Then he found the top corner for 4-1.
- Henrikh Mkhitaryan netted against his ex-team, a tap in after Juan Mata teed him up.
- Eric Bailly showed his fiery side with a late, needless booking for booting the ball away angrily.
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Man Utd v Man City – Jul 25 (Friendly)
Man Utd v Galatasaray – Jul 30 (Friendly)
Man Utd v Everton – Aug 3 (Wayne Rooney Testimonial)
Leicester v Man Utd – Aug 7 (FA Community Shield)
Bournemouth v Man Utd – Aug 14 (Premier League)
STAT ATTACK
SOCIAL SAYS
WHAT THEY SAID
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho: “I think in pre-season the team that wins is always the team that is in an advanced stage of the preparation.
“Always. Never the best team, always the team that is in advance. It was too obvious.
“The team with four matches in their legs against the team with one match. The team working a lot of months against us with a maximum of 15 days, some of them arrived three or four days ago. There was a huge difference in preparation.
“Nobody likes to lose. We’re not happy with that but happy with the 90 minutes we have in our legs.
“It was very important to compete in difficult circumstances with the weather and the opponents and that was good for us.”
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