Manchester United’s pre-season tour of the United States got off to the perfect start with a 5-2 victory over LA Galaxy at the StubHub Center.Man United fans were excited to watch new signing Romelu Lukaku in action but it was Marcus Rashford who impressed the most, the 19-year-old scoring twice in the opening 20 minutes.Goals from Marouane Fellaini, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial made it 5-0 before two late goals from Galaxy made the score slightly more respectable.Jose Mourinho, who started the match with three at the back, was pleased to see how his players coped with the unfamiliar system."It was good and there were no injuries apart from Tim [Fosu-Mensah],” he told MUTV after the win.“The most important thing for me was to compete and the second important thing was to see the players on the pitch in a system which we only played twice last season, so it is far from being our system but we have been working in the last two days to improve.“Positionally it was good."
Lineker angered MLS fans
If Mourinho was hoping for a testing pre-season, he’ll have to wait until Man United take on Manchester City, Real Madrid and Barcelona, for the gulf in class was noticeable.
Match of the Day host Gary Lineker pointed this out on Twitter, sending a series of tweets highlighting the difference in class between LA Galaxy and the Red Devils.
“It’s already 2 nil to @ManUtd after 20 minutes, and that’s without Lukaku,” Lineker tweeted after Rashford’s second goal.
Lineker: 'MLS has some way to go'
The tweet that really drew the ire of MLS supporters was the one he sent before the second half got underway, and Mourinho introduced the Belgian as a substitute.
“I think it's safe to say that MLS has some way to go. And now here comes @ManUtd’s Romelu Lukaku,” Lineker said.
The MLS has come on leaps and bounds in recent years and the performances of the United States national team at the 2014 World Cup proves the country are producing talented footballers.
But the North American league remains several lengths behind the quality of football in Europe, as last night’s match showed.
Still, Lineker received plenty of responses from MLS fans to his tweet.
MLS fans react
Lineker continued to make his point, claiming he’s seen enough of the MLS to realise that it’s an inferior product to European football.
Mourinho: 'Their coach didn't play to win'
To Mourinho’s credit, he thanked Galaxy’s players for the match and pointed out that Man United’s opponents weren’t interested in the result.
"Their coach didn't play to win, he played to give the experience to his players,” the Portuguese added. “He played like us, two teams, let's play.”