Meanwhile, Mourinho made his assessment: “As I was expecting, Sampdoria was flawless – consistent, good tactically”.
During his first season back at Old Trafford after the move, the France global never really got a chance to prove his worth, being used in a variety of midfield positions as the Red Devils attempted to compete on numerous fronts.
Matic is United’s third major signing of the summer after former Benfica team-mate Victor Lindelof and Romelu Lukaku. In Nemanja Matic, he got exactly what he wanted.
Matic said the chance to work again with Mourinho was one he could not turn down. After officially signing for United, Matic said: “I am delighted to have joined Manchester United“.
Matic joined Manchester United on Monday, July 31, on Tuesday, he joined in his first training where he met his new teammates.
Keen to impress, Matic had failed to keep the ball in play and attempted to kick it at the advertising hoardings. Pogba was meant to be the most creative player on the pitch for Mourinho, driving forward, while also having to protect the defense from his midfield position; he had adopted the box-to-box position. He turned 29 yesterday, but United aren’t looking to build a team around him.
The 29-year-old Serbian worldwide, who signed from Chelsea last week for £40 million, played the first half at the Aviva Stadium. We need different players.
Mkhitaryan’s opener came on 20 minutes, with the playmaker heading home a Matteo Darmian centre after a fabulous counter-attack from a Sampdoria free-kick.
United’s final pre-season game is against Sampdoria in Dublin on Wednesday night ahead of next week’s UEFA Super Cup clash with Real Madrid. “It was odd [not playing in pre-season] because the team has played and had a good pre-season but, as you know, I trained alone in London”, he told MUTV.
Matic was actually left out of Chelsea’s pre-season programme this summer before his move, but he’s determined to be fit enough to compete and give his best for United immediately. Manchester United fans are said to be excited about this transfer.
But the result and the second-half was irrelevant. For a link to the first half takeaways, go here. Fellaini, Matic, Pogba and Lukaku are big, tall and strong players capable of battling for possession.