Herrera Optimistic After Dortmund Defeat

Ander Herrera did not enjoy losing to Borussia Dortmund during Friday's match in sweltering Shanghai, but the Manchester United midfielder told MUTV the Reds are focused on a longer term target - which is winning the FA Community Shield next month.

That match against Premier League champions Leicester City on 6 August represents a chance to swiftly secure a first trophy of Jose Mourinho's reign and Herrera says the players are working towards that occasion.

As such, he was relaxed about the 4-1 defeat to Dortmund when talking moments after the final whistle. “We are a team and we all want to be fit as soon as possible,” Herrera said during a pitchside MUTV appearance.

“That is why we are working so hard in these days. Just yesterday, we trained two times so you can feel it on the pitch but, of course, we want to be ready for Leicester and we want to win the first title of the season. So that is the most important thing, when you play real games.”

Regarding the result, Herrera was quick to praise Dortmund’s display at Shanghai Stadium and pointed to the fact the Bundesliga side have already played more pre-season matches than United. “I think it was a good workout,” he said. “They are a very good team and they have already played five games.

“That is one of the most important things in football, when you have already played games, you are fitter and you are better. But we have no excuses. We are Man United, we shouldn’t lose and we want to win every game. But, this pre-season, we want to put minutes in our legs and I think we can be satisfied but, of course, Man United never wants to lose.

“When you have played five games you can say that you arrive one second before the opponent. It is a very important thing, but we don’t want to make excuses. They are a very good team, they played fantastically and we missed some chances. But I have said before, they just arrived one second earlier. But I think we are improving, we are building a fantastic team and we are optimistic, of course.”

Friday’s match was Mourinho’s second as Reds boss after the 2-0 win at Wigan Athletic and Herrera admitted to MUTV the players are quickly learning how the Portuguese wants to play. “I think we know what we have to do,” the former Athletic Club star told Stewart Gardner and Dwight Yorke.

“One of the things that we have realised already is that every player is very clear with what they have to do. We want very aggressive players in midfield, we want to have the ball but not just have the ball. We want to attack, he wants to attack and I think we are going to see a very offensive Man United. But, of course, when we want to be compact then we are going to do that as well.”