Match Report: Valerenga 0-3 Manchester United
Manchester United continued their impressive pre-season form, by comfortably defeating Norwegian club Valerenga 3-0 on Sunday.
Manager Jose Mourinho started off with Sergio Romero in goal, with Matteo Darmian, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones and Daley Blind forming the back four. In the middle of the park, captain Michael Carrick took the field along with Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini. Marcus Rashford was the striker, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Juan Mata operating on the flanks.
Mkhitaryan forced a save from the Valerenga stopper as early as the second minute and Pogba hit the woodwork from a free-kick, 15 minutes into the game, as United looked to get off to a strong start. However, the Norwegian outfit did a good job of stifling the Red Devils and did not let them get into a groove.
With things fizzling out, Blind had a great chance in the 38th minute, but the Dutchman fired wide of the post. But the goal finally came for United as Fellaini, who had been one of their more influential players, headed the ball in via a deflection from the opposition defender, to make it 1-0 on the stroke of half-time. Darmian was the one who crossed the ball beautifully for the big Belgian.
Mourinho rung in the changes at half-time, bringing on nine new faces in the form of Romelu Lukaku, Anthony Martial, Ander Herrera, Andreas Pereira, Chris Smalling, Axel Tuanzebe, Victor Lindelof, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Demetri Mitchell. Only Pogba and Romero stayed on from the first-half. There was a tactical tweak as well, with United switching to a 3-5-2 after the break.
The club-record signing Lukaku made immediate impact, scoring from a superb header from an Andreas Pereira corner, just two minutes into the second period. Joel Pereira replaced Romero in goal at the hour mark for United, while Scott McTominay came on for Pogba. The youngster made his chance with a confidently taken goal on the 70th minute mark to make it 3-0.
Lukaku did well to create an opportunity for himself soon after, but fired wide. McTominay too had a great chance to double his tally, but saw his effort blocked, as the game meandered away to the final whistle.
As expected, it was a comfortable victory for Mourinho’s men against the Norwegians. Fellaini had an excellent outing and Pogba showed that he is blossoming into a fine leader, with another strong display. Lukaku had a good impact in the second half while the youngsters Andreas Pereira, McTominay and Tuanzebe also impressed.
Here are a few reactions from the social media, following United’s easy win
And Pogba hit the goal post😂
— 紅Ψ魔Ψ健 (@Red_Devil_Jian) July 30, 2017
https://twitter.com/VivaMartiaI/status/891731951052345344
TREBLE IS ON
— Shreyas. (@Vidicesquee) July 30, 2017
LUKAKU👏🔥🔥WHO is morata?😂
— Man Of The Year 2024. (@1Fortune_N) July 30, 2017
https://twitter.com/GinaLov32586765/status/891733282437640193
this season we wipe them all can't wait for the season to start
— Adv.T Mutevedzi 🇿🇼 (@Tmutevedzi77) July 30, 2017
Announce Matic now!!
— Sannith Shetty (@sannithmufc) July 30, 2017