Mason Mount’s influence felt: What we discovered from Manchester United’s friendly win over Leeds

Manchester United returned to action after the summer break, beating former rivals Leeds United 2-0 in the rain at Oslo’s Ullevaal Stadium. Eric ten Haag played with a stronger side in the first half, handing Mason Mount his first signing of £60m and then making 11 substitutions at half-time, but new Leeds manager Daniel Falke Selected a more even mix of top teams and youth players. game.

It was the United kids who gave Ten Haag a winning start, with second-half goals from Noam Emeran and Joe Fugil proving the difference. Mail Sport talks about some of the things we learned in our first pre-season friendly.

Erik ten Haag’s Manchester United started pre-season with a 2-0 victory over Leeds in Oslo.

mount the man to trust

Eric ten Haag told fans before the game that Mason Mount would be joining United, and that overall Chelsea’s new signing would mark his debut. “He wants to be multifunctional, he wants to be complete,” Ten Hag said. “When he plays in midfield he has to attack, but he has to defend. “I’m sure he can bring some momentum to our game and that was one of the analyzes and conclusions we made after last season. We need more momentum in midfield.”

Mount has always been at the forefront and showing fans what to expect this season. He played in defensive midfield alongside Coby Maine but was never restricted as he took the lead at every opportunity. Mason Mount has performed well in his first game since leaving Chelsea.

He was also keen to get the ball moving early on, especially when it flew around the overcrowded midfield in the 10th minute. Mount looked behind a body dump and sent a trick pass to Amadou Diallo from the right to give United the best chance in the first half. The Mounts had another great opportunity by shutting out Jeremiah Mullen and chipping just 40 yards off the bar while goaltender Christopher Cresson was in trouble.

This was how his 24-year-old summarized his contributions. Although he led the pressing on defense, he always strived for the lead. In the first minute Luis Sinisterra came from behind with a tactical foul just outside the Leeds penalty area, and the next minute he had a deep early shot.

Mount has also scored all of United’s set-pieces and will likely share responsibility with Bruno Fernandes next season. It didn’t work out in this case, but the understanding with his teammates will grow in preseason.

The butcher returns

Who knows what United’s season would have been like if Lisandro Martinez had played until the end instead of missing the last 12 games with a broken metatarsal. Would they have lost the Europa League quarter-final second leg to Sevilla, or would they have lost the FA Cup final to Manchester City? We will never know, but it was a fact that the World Cup winner Argentinian contributed to United in his first season at Old Trafford.

Victor Lindelof filled in admirably towards the end of the campaign but Martinez was a huge loss and his return to action here in Oslo was a welcome sight for United fans.

The return to action of defender Lisandro Martinez after injury is a welcome sight for United

He played 45 minutes alongside Raphael Varane in central defence, but there really wasn’t too much threat from Leeds in the first half to worry United’s first-choice pairing.

Two moments of class were typical Martinez, though. When Klaesson pumped the ball forward and Georginio Rutter gave chase, United’s No.6 needed to get it just right under pressure with United keeper Tom Heaton already on the edge of his box. Martinez let the ball drop and brought it under control with one expert touch before knocking it back to Heaton.

Then when Leeds threatened to score against the run of play from a breakaway before half-time, Martinez read the situation perfectly and blocked Sinisterra’s cross before it caused any damage.

SWEEPER KEEP THE HEATON

Heaton didn’t have too much to do, but United’s No.2 goalkeeper channelled his inner Andre Onana by racing out of his goal inside the first four minutes to take the ball away from Rutter and give it safely to a teammate.

It was classic Onana, the man United want to replace David de Gea in goal who is known for coming out of his box with the ball at his feet.

United goalkeeper Tom Heaton channelled his inner Andre Onana early in the game

Talks between United and Inter Milan over Onana are believed to be at an advanced stage, with Ten Hag keen to be reunited with his former Ajax keeper.

But United have also extended Heaton’s contract and the veteran keeper didn’t put a foot wrong again, making a fairly routine save from Sam Greenwood shortly before half-time. Matej Kovar took over for the second half and also gave a good account of himself to keep a clean sheet.

LEADING QUESTION

The captaincy issue needs addressing before the start of the new season, but with Bruno Fernandes and Harry Maguire both absent from the United squad in Oslo, we are no nearer to knowing the answer.

Raphael Varane led out United at the Ullevaal Stadion but Fernandes would be the leading contender if Ten Hag decides to take the armband off Maguire next season.

Raphael Varane led United out against Leeds but it’s unclear who their regular captain will be

Maguire stayed as the official club captain last term even though he only played in a small number of games and Fernandes was skipper more often than not.

With Maguire facing an uncertain future at United and unlikely to be a regular starter even if he stays, Fernandes would be the obvious successor.

Trying out youngstars is alright

Like most pre-season games, this occasion gave some of United’s youngsters the opportunity to shine. Kobbie Mainoo, Amad Diallo and Hannibal Majbri all started the game and played the first 45 minutes.

Mainoo is a player who has the power and composure to play at the heart of midfield and United’s current Young Player of the Year was excellent throughout his time on the pitch. Amad was a real handful for Leo Hjelde on the right flank and created several opportunities.

Noah Emeran was on the scoresheet and was one of a number of United youngsters to impress

Mejbri was typically combative – picking up a booking – but his tenacity denied Ian Poveda an almost certain goal and set up a golden chance for Jadon Sancho, while he went closest to scoring before half-time.

But it was notable that United won the game with two second half goals from their weaker team in the second half with an average age of 19.7 .

Isak Hanson threaded the ball through for Emeran to score in the 67th minute and then Hugill swept home in the 80th minute to give Ten Hag’s side a winning start to pre-season.

ALSO READ…