Manchester United began their pre-season preparations with a 2-0 win over Leeds in Oslo, Norway.
Two second half goals from Noam Emeran and Joe Hugill proved to be enough to win the match for United, but Erik ten Hag will be happy with how he used 22 players over the course of 90 minutes.
It was an opportunity for everyone to get minutes on the pitch and we don’t have any injuries or knocks to report on. That, along with the win, makes the trip to Oslo a success as far as United will be concerned.
Without further ado, here are three observations I took for the win over Leeds.
Midfield duo impress
In the first half, I was very impressed by Kobbie Mainoo and Hannibal Mejbri in midfield.
Mainoo impressed whenever he had to break up play and, on top of that, he made some brilliant passes. The youngster looked calm and assured on the ball as he effortlessly slotted into the deep-lying role.
Meanwhile, Hannibal caught the eye with his tenacity and flair.
Ten Hag will hope he can integrate at least one of these lads to the first team next season.
Promising debut from Mason Mount
Our new No.7 was the talk of the town when United arrived in Oslo. Fans were gifted the chance to see him in action for the first time since joining from Chelsea and he didn’t disappoint.
The England international made some defence-splitting passes and you can see how his takes up positions on the pitch to allow us get on the front foot in games.
Hopefully Mount can become the complete midfielder during his time at United. Ten Hag certainly believes in him.
Striker-less formation
Manchester United travelled with just one recognised centre-forward, but Joe Hugill didn’t make the starting line-up. He came on in the second-half before scoring United’s second and final goal.
However, you can see why Ten Hag’s priority going into this transfer window was to sign a new No. 9. He can’t rely on Anthony Martial and we need a significant upgrade on last season’s loanee Wout Weghorst.
Amad Diallo, Jadon Sancho and Omari Forson started in a front three. That is why Ten Hag wants to add Atalanta’s Rasmus Hojlund to his squad.
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