Manchester United thumped Galatasaray in their third pre-season friendly 5-2 as Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored an absolute stunner four minutes into his debut. The now retired Swedish international gave a glimpse of what’s to come this season.
Jose Mourinho now has a record of 2-1 as United manager, winning games against Galatasaray and Wigan Atletic but losing to Dortmund. The manager has now had a glimpse of the players he has at his disposal and what kind of system he can employ.
His new signings Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Eric Bailly have so far impressed. But there still remains the question of whom he will let go off, come the end of this transfer window.
Juan Mata is one name that immediately pops up when the Portuguese manager is mentioned. He famously sold the Spaniard to Manchester United a few seasons back when he was the coach at Chelsea.
So several are expecting him to do the same once again but after yesterday’s win, the manager gave a hint as to who he will sell and who he will keep. Speaking to MUTV after the game he said, "Well, if they were not in my plans, I would not give them one single minute. I wouldn't keep them in my squad."
Rashford happy Zlatan is at United
Under Louis Van Gaal, Marcus Rashford really stole the spotlight in the Premier League. The 18-year-old was given a chance by the Dutchman after United were short on options due to several injuries.
Rashford has scored 5 times in his 11 appearances so far and even got called up to Roy Hodgson’s England squad for the Euros. He made a short substitute appearance in the last game England played against Iceland coming on for Wayne Rooney.
There were many concerns that with the arrival of Zlatan that Rashford might not get the amount of playing time he enjoyed last season but the 18-year-old expressed his joy over the Swedish striker joining the club.
“It's been a massive help being with him, day in and day out. There is a lot to learn from him and hopefully I can bring those things to my game.”
It’s good to see he is getting along with the veteran and we might even see the two of them in a 4-4-2 next season. Bbut for now, Mourinho will keep tampering with his formations until he has found the right combination