Monday 10 July 2017

United jet out for annual pre-season Tour

A 27-man United squad flew out to Los Angeles on Sunday as the club return to the USA for our annual pre-season tour.

Jose Mourinho and the team will face five matches Stateside, with new signing Victor Lindelof and youngsters Scott McTominay and Demetri Mitchell on the squad list. 

This is the Reds third successive pre-season trip to the USA with United once more set to participate in the oddly-named International Champions Cup. 

The tour kicks off on Saturday against LA Galaxy at the StubHub Centre - looking for a repeat of the 7-0 victory last year -  before we face another Major League Soccer side, Real Salt Lake, 48 hours later.

A mouthwatering meeting with Manchester City, in the first ever overseas derby, will then follow on 20 July in Houston as we go head-to-head with a familiar foe on unfamiliar territory. 

The Reds then conclude the US leg of the tour with a further pair of heavyweight clashes against La Liga giants.

We face Super Cup opponents Real Madrid on 23 July in Santa Clara, and Barcelona three days later in the capital, Washington DC. 

Having returned from the States, Mourinho's men will play two more tour matches, against Valerenga in Oslo (30 July) and Sampdoria (2 August) in Dublin. 

For the fans, it will be the first opportunity to see Swedish international Lindelof at the heart of the defence, as the squad look to build fitness and their competitive edge ahead of the season opener. 

For youngsters McTominay, Mitchell and Axel Tuanzebe, the tour is their big chance to impress their manager as he prepares to finalise his Premier League squad for 2017-18. 

As well as the seven high-profile pre season fixtures, the Reds have the chance to win yet more silverware in the shape of the UEFA Super Cup.
That takes place in Skopje on August 8 and pits  Europa League winners United against Champions League holders Real for a second meeting in as many weeks. 

Tour 2017 schedule:

15 July LA Galaxy v United, StubHub Centre
17 July Real Salt Lake v United, Rio Tinto Stadium
20 July Manchester City v United, NRG Stadium
23 July United v Real Madrid, Levi's Stadium
26 July, United v Barcelona, FedEx Field
30 July, Valerenga IF v United, Ullevaal Stadium
2 August, UC Sampdoria v United, Aviva Stadium

Travelling tour squad: De Gea, Romero, J Pereira
Darmian, Fosu - Mensah, Valencia, Bailly, Blind, Jones, Lindelof, Rojo, Smalling, Tuanzebe, Mitchell
Shaw, Carrick, Fellaini, Herrera, McTominay, Pogba, Lingard, Mata, Mkhitaryan, A Pereira, Young
Martial, Rashford 




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