In the first game of the International Champions Cup, Manchester United succumbed to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Borussia Dortmund in Jose Mourinho’s second match in charge of the Old Trafford outfit. Gonzalo Castro scored a brace for the Signal Iduna Park outfit, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and new singing Ousmane Dembele also got on the scoresheet. For Mourinho’s side new recruit and former Dortmund forward Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored the consolation goal.
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#1 Manchester United are heavily reliant on David De Gea
Jose Mourinho took a risk by playing Englishman Sam Johnstone in goal. It backfired as the 23-year-old made a few schoolboy errors which instilled panic in the defense, eventually leading to a goal. A fumble from a long range free-kick led to Gonzalo Castro’s opener. His saves were not convincing and lacked conviction. With error-prone Sergio Romero and Sam Johnstone in his team, Jose Mourinho will be praying for David De Gea’s health over the course of the season.
#2 Borussia Dortmund are a well-oiled machine
Without the likes of FIFA Cover star Marco Reus, Roman Burki and Mario Gotze, Dortmund played very good football. Their passing was brilliant and the occasional burst of pace from Dembele and Aubemeyang troubled the inexperienced United defenders. Dortmund made good use of possession and punished Manchester United on a timely basis.
#3 Memphis Depay should be worried
Memphis had a very average first season at Manchester United after his big money move from PSV. The Manchester United fans didn't actually get on his back owing to the fact that he is only 21-years of age and came into a new league and new culture.
In the game against Borussia Dortmund, he showed exactly what his wrong with his game, he played in his favored position of a striker, but he showed minimal application, he didn't hold up the ball nor did he link up well with his teammates. Further, he showed poor attitude when Dortmund had the ball. Despite it only being a preseason game, Jose Mourinho is unlikely to be pleased by the efforts of the Dutchman.
#4 Dortmund have had a brilliant transfer window
Gotze, Mor, Rode, Bartra, Schurrle and Dembele represents a very impressive transfer window. Dembele in the game showed exactly what the fuss is about the French teenager, dribbling with both feet, turning defenders inside out, and finishing with aplomb.
Rode might just fill the big shoes of the departing Gundogan, he was brilliant in the game against United, picking out long passes at will, and intelligently keeping the ball and controlling the tempo of the game. Take a bow Hans-Joachim Watzke.
#5 Juan Mata is one of United’s best players
It is well known that Jose Mourinho and Juan Mata are not the best of friends. However, the Portuguese manager must make amends after the Spaniard’s display against the German team. Mata ran tirelessly and won possession on numerous occasions. His passing was a major plus. The through ball which led to Mkhitaryan’s goal justifies his abilities. With a bit more support and encouragement from his manager, Mata could play a key role in United’s pursuit of the Premier League title this season.
#6 Ousmane Dembele is a player to watch out for
The French teenager had a successful outing. He scored a beautiful goal to cap off his outing. Possessing blistering pace and immaculate dribbling skills, Dembele ran past Luke Shaw with ease. His crosses were spot on and troubled the United defenders on numerous occasions.
With the likes of Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, Kingsley Coman and Dembele coming through, France have some of the brightest young prospects in football.
#7 Luke Shaw completed 90 minutes
After a horrific injury suffered last September, left-back Luke Shaw returned to competitive football ten days back. It has been said that the youngster might never be the same player again. But, the young defender has silenced all his critics with a solid performance. Even though United conceded four goals, Shaw put in a good shift and it was pleasing for all football fans to see Shaw return from the double leg-break after close to 10 months away from the field.
#8. Jose Mourinho has plenty of problems
Manchester United were the favorites to win after the lineups were announced. However, the Red Devils had a miserable outing as they lost to a weak Borussia Dortmund side. Playing Depay as a striker was a big mistake. The midfielders lacked cohesion and the defenders let down the team with school-boy like defending.
Antonio Valencia was a bad captain. He contributed nothing next to nothing during his 55-minute long stay and conceded the penalty that Aubameyang converted. Both the keepers were also woeful. After this performance, Jose Mourinho is in a spot of bother after just two games in charge.
#9 Is playing a pre-season tournament in China ideal preparation for anyone?
Pre-season games are as much of a corporate statement as much as preparation for the new season. But, is playing games in the heat of the Shanghai (it was 34 degrees) or in the pollution and terrible weather conditions of Beijing the ideal preparation for a pre-season game?
Thomas Tuchel shared these sentiments and added, "We'll do a short training block in Dortmund because we know which facilities we can use there. That's very important."
"It's always a journey into the unknown even though it might be planned perfectly,"
"We'll play our first match right after our arrival, but sadly have to wait a long time for the second, and the jet lag will hit us at one point. We have to compensate for it and cope with it like we did during our tour of Asia last year. But this tour is longer, and we can't waive it. That's not possible."
#10 Manchester United have a long way to go/ Dortmund can win the Bundesliga
Zlatan and Mourinho helps, but Manchester United looked like the team who finished fifth in the English league against a side who finished second in the Geman League. Admittedly, they had four more games in their legs against United's one, but the defensive naivety shown by United will be difficult to look past.
Borussia Dortmund, on the other hand, look set to push the German champions Bayern Munich again. They have a team full of pace, invention and in Tuchel a tactician. Moreover, something they had never really had – depth in the squad.
