Manchester United suffered defeat for the first time on their pre-season tour of the United States as they went down 1-0 to Barcelona.

Jose Mourinho has dismissed the importance of results throughout the tour, paying more attention to the performances of his players, so Neymar’s solitary goal in the first half won’t cause him any sleepless nights.

In fact, the Man United boss thought it was good for his side to taste defeat in the US.

"It's very important to lose a match in pre-season,” he told MUTV after the loss in Washington. “You don't like to lose but I think it's very important.

“I think it would be very bad for us to leave the US without a defeat, playing against teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, it would be very bad to go home with just victories.

“So the defeat is good. But I think in the game we did some very good things and we did bad things. The very good things are to keep and the bad things are to improve."

Mourinho got a Barcelona shirt

For Mourinho, the friendly was more about watching his team playing against the likes of Neymar and Lionel Messi.

It was also about getting a Barcelona shirt for his son, Jose Jr.

Mourinho’s son is a huge Barça fan and, according to Mundo Deportivo, the Man United boss asked for the shirt of a player.

The player in question wasn’t Messi or Andres Iniesta, but Andre Gomes.

Quite a surprising choice, we’re sure you’ll agree. But Gomes, like Mourinho, is Portuguese, so there are obvious ties.

Mourinho heaped huge praise on Paul Pogba after the match, insisting the Frenchman is on the same level as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Their relationship with the ball is amazing,” the former Real Madrid boss added. “You can argue about the occupation of space, tactics and compact blocks, but the player's relationship with the ball is still the most important thing.

“Even as an opponent on the bench like I am, it is beautiful to see the guys' relationship with the ball. Today, one of my players, Paul Pogba, showed the level. He showed that he belongs at that level."

Check out Pogba’s highlights below.

Is Paul Pogba at Messi's level? Let us know in the comments section below!