Manchester United's summer preparations kicked off in the morning sunshine in Oslo, and at dawn on Thursday (13th) they comfortably beat Ljubljana United in a 2-0 encounter. Mason Mount, who made his debut for the Red Devils, played at the back of the midfield for the first time, and in his 45-minute debut, he was a revelation in both offense and defense, and manager Tannhäuser said that he would be the centerpiece of the team, and specifically pointed out that he was the "set-piece guru" in the squad, and would be a key player in the new season. The new season will be a heavy responsibility.
United played a lot of young players in this warm-up match, with Wahlani, Ricciardo, Martinez, Chayton, Sinzou and Mason Mount leading a group of youngsters. Mason Mount, who moved from Chelsea for a transfer fee of 60 million pounds (about HK$600 million), shifted from an attacking midfielder to a more backward "No. 8" position, but he was still able to play freely in the attacking end. In the first half, he sent a number of subtle direct-feeds, and even once, after a successful counter-strike, he took a clever low shot, but unfortunately, it was slightly over the goal.
Both teams changed 11 players in the match, and United's young players did their part as well. Among them, 20-year-old French youngster Emmanuel Aimarand was particularly outstanding, as he received a fine pass from a teammate and easily cut into the penalty area to score in the 67th minute. Then in the 80th minute, he turned in an assist, sending a deadly diagonal pass from the right to create a great chance for Zulhocki to score, and United finally won their first pre-season warm-up match with a score of 2-0.
Masonmont has been in the spotlight this campaign and Tanhag was thrilled after the game saying, "It was brilliant! It's only his first game, but we can already see his level, Masonmont's technique is excellent, I'm sure he'll make a great contribution to the team and enjoy the game." Masonmont took all the corners and set-pieces, and Tannhäuser made it clear that he will be the team's penalty killer: "United need someone who can score penalties!"
