What Manchester United learned from Saturday's win
After a nightmare week that saw Manchester United lose 3 games on the bounce. A 4-1 thrashing of the champions Leicester City provides a much needed confidence boost. But what will Jose Mourinho and company take away from Saturday’s win?
The one thing on everyone’s mind of course, is Wayne Rooney didn’t play. Not only did he not play, Manchester United looked great without him.
It’s hard not to get too excited by the performance. But it is worth noting that Leicester did not play well at all.
The champions have yet to find anywhere near the form of last year’s cinderella season. Manchester United were vicious in the first half and exposed Leicester’s frailties.
Has Juan Mata earned his starting place?
The main decision grabbing the headlines is of course how well Juan Mata played in place of the captain. When Jose Mourinho was appointed as Manchester United boss in the summer, many believed Mata’s days at the club were numbered.
The pair have a checkered past together after all. With Jose Mourinho selling the Spaniard to David Moyes’ Manchester United for a then record $45 million.
2 months ago Juan Mata was substituted by Mourinho in the Community Shield after only entered the match as a sub himself. A move some pundits call “embarrassing”.
But now he seems to have found his place in the Manchester United squad. Jose Mourinho even said at todays press conference that Mata has “found his natural habitat”.
Is this the end for Wayne Rooney?
For months now a lot of fans have been saying that Rooney is “past it”, “over the hill” and my personal favorite “Ready for the MLS“.
I have largely tried to ignore these voices. Choosing instead to remember the service he has provided over the years. But after witnessing the clear difference in quality that Manchester United are capable of it is quite simply too hard to ignore.
Tomorrows game against Zorya Luhansk will be very interesting to see Jose Mourinho’s lineup. He said today that Wayne Rooney is nursing a back injury so I expect to see Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford take part.
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The Ukranian outfit will prove a stern test for Manchester United. Mainly because nobody seems to know anything about them. Jose Mourinho has even admitted he knows little to nothing about the team.
We know that this competition ranks fairly low on Jose’s list of priorities. But last weeks loss to Feyenoord has proved to be quite embarrassing for the Portuguese manager. the loss fell in the middle of the derby defeat and the embarrassing defeat to Watford.
So bouncing back with a second straight victory and more importantly another solid performance may well mean Jose Mourinho has to take this more seriously.
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