Jose worried he’s being left behind already
NO wonder Jose Mourinho is worried about the start of the season. Four days to go until it kicks off at Old Trafford and he is still waiting for the real Manchester United to turn up.
This has been a strange, disjointed few weeks for Mourinho and his players and it showed as they completed their pre-season on a muggy night in Munich.
On this evidence, whatever team United put out on Friday night will struggle to overcome Leicester — never mind challenge Manchester City’s dominance of the Premier League.
After City gave another demonstration of what they can do at Wembley, United looked every bit a team that is coming together in dribs and drabs.
Marcus Rashford returned for more than an hour here, wearing the No 10 that has been vacant since Wayne Rooney left United, and Victor Lindelof also played for the first time since the World Cup.
But there was still no Paul Pogba, no Romelu Lukaku, no Jesse Lingard, no Ashley Young and no Marouane Fellaini.
Anthony Martial and Marcos Rojo were left at home when United flew to Germany, casting further doubt over their futures, and Eric Bailly limped off early in the second half.
Whether Mourinho can do the deals he wants with four days left of the transfer window is another matter. A new centre half remains the priority and he is banking on United chief Ed Woodward delivering. United were reported to have stepped up their interest in Harry Maguire with a £75million bid last night as Leicester continue to resist.
It’s understood that Jerome Boateng — a half-time substitute for Bayern here — is emerging as another strong possibility, even though he would cost £50m and turns 30 next month.
Asked about Boateng before the game, Mourinho said: ‘My CEO knows what I want for quite a long time, I know he tries to do the best for me and I still have a few days to wait to see what happens. The other clubs who compete with us are really strong or they have already fantastic squads like Chelsea, Spurs, City, or they are investing massively like, for example, Liverpool buying everything and everybody.
‘If we don’t make our team better, it will be a difficult season for us.’
It’s certainly shaping up that way even though United’s preseason wins in the US over Real Madrid and AC Milan, on penalties, might have suggested otherwise.
The chance of an impressive hat-trick presented itself against the German champions in Bavaria last night but United were under the cosh throughout.
David de Gea made saves from Thiago Alcantara and Serge Gnabry in the first half but he was eventually beaten in the 59th minute when Javi Martinez rose to score with a glancing header from Thiago’s corner.
Manuel Neuer did not have a single save to make and Mourinho ended the game by sending on the kids and third-choice keeper Lee Grant.