Marouane Fellaini scored on what could prove
to be one of his last Manchester United appearances in a friendly win
over Valerenga.
Manchester United got back to winning ways in pre-season with a 3-0 victory over Valerenga in Oslo on Sunday.
Headers
either side of half-time from Marouane Fellaini and Romelu Lukaku,
followed by a Scott McTominay strike, enabled Jose Mourinho’s side to
bounce back from their International Champions Cup loss to Barcelona on
Thursday.
Fellaini was something of a surprise
starter in Norway, Galatasaray having confirmed they are in talks to
sign the 29-year-old, with United expected to finalise a deal for
Nemanja Matic in the coming days.
A relatively
strong United line-up controlled the early possession and Paul Pogba was
inches from giving them a prompt lead, cutting inside to the right of
the penalty area before curling a left-footed shot off the far post.
Mourinho’s
side continued to dictate the play but chances were scarce against a
compact Valerenga defence, with a speculative effort from Henrikh
Mkhitaryan and a teasing Daley Blind cross looking likely to be the
closest they came to a first-half breakthrough.
That
was until Fellaini struck with just over a minute to go before the
break, the Belgium international’s header from a Mkhitaryan cross
deflecting past goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey and into the net.
Mourinho
made nine changes to his side at half-time and it was two of his
substitutes who combined to double the lead in the 48th minute, Andreas
Pereira bending in a corner that was powered into the net off the head
of Lukaku.
Sergio Romero and the excellent
Pogba were withdrawn for Joel Pereira and McTominay as Mourinho made
good on his promise to give everyone a chance to impress, just before
Valerenga missed their first clear chance of the opening hour, Ghayas
Zahid blazing over from 12 yards out.
United
made the win safe with 20 minutes to play, as McTominay collected a
deflected Anthony Martial throughball before turning and curling home
his first senior goal from inside the penalty area.
The
visitors now travel to Dublin for a meeting with Sampdoria on Wednesday
– their last pre-season game before the UEFA Super Cup clash with Real
Madrid on August 8.
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