Pre-seaon Friendly: Wigan 0 Man. United 2

Jose Mourinho's Manchester United reign began with a comfortable 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic thanks to goals from Academy graduates Will Keane and Andreas Pereira.

It was a low-key outing at the DW Stadium but there were plenty of positives to take home, after the manager handed unofficial debuts to his summer signings Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, while Luke Shaw made his first appearance since suffering a double leg fracture last September.

Dressed casually in a club tracksuit, Mourinho watched the entire match from his technical area and appeared in high spirits as he obliged the 7,000 United fans in the main stand who repeatedly requested a wave from their new manager. Those same supporters were clearly enjoying themselves and spent much of the afternoon serenading the Portuguese, chanting “Jose Mourinho’s Red and White Army”.

Although the new manager did not have a full squad of players at his disposal following the recent European Championship, there was still plenty of intrigue surrounding his first starting XI and a fluid 4-2-3-1 formation that featured a number of young players. Sam Johnstone was chosen as goalkeeper and there was also a place in defence for Tim Fosu-Mensah, with James Wilson playing up front after his loan spell in the Championship with Brighton & Hove Albion.

Like many pre-season friendlies, the action was not as high-voltage as fans have grown accustomed to, yet United still showed flashes of quality throughout the first half. Mkhitaryan was notably pulling the strings in the number 10 role and the Armenia captain almost set up Memphis to score the opening goal, when the Dutch winger met his incisive pass to shoot just wide of the left post.

While Mkhitaryan could have registered his first strike for the club when he missed the target from Wilson’s driven right-wing cross, the former Borussia Dortmund attacker showed his creativity throughout a promising first half before exiting at the break as one of seven planned substitutions.

STATS AT HALF-TIME
Possession: Wigan 41% United 59%
Shots: Wigan 1 United 6
Shots on target: Wigan 0 United 0
Corners: Wigan 1 United 4

United took the lead at the start of the second half when former Bolton Wanderers goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen gifted possession to Juan Mata inside the penalty area, allowing the Spaniard to tee up Will Keane for an easy finish into an open goal. It was a sweet moment for the striker, who had been out of action since suffering an injury in the FA Cup fifth-round tie at Shrewsbury Town in February.

The Reds deservedly doubled the advantage in the 58th minute when another of those seven half-time substitutes, Andreas Pereira, lashed the ball into the top corner of the net, capitalising on a loose ball after Ander Herrera had scuffed his own shot from Ashley Young’s short free-kick.

Mourinho had told MUTV before kick-off that he would take Bailly off after 70 minutes but he waited until the 82nd, sending on Axel Tuanzebe in his place. The Ivorian centre-back, signed from Villarreal in June, will presumably be pleased with his maiden outing after comfortably extinguishing the much-celebrated fire of Wigan and Northern Ireland striker Will Grigg.

Nick Powell, whose contract at United expired earlier this summer, made his unofficial debut for Wigan in the second half but his presence could not inspire the Latics, who will hope to muster more of an attacking threat during Sunday’s friendly against Liverpool. For United, this was a professional and pleasing performance that kickstarted the Mourinho era with a pleasing 2-0 victory.

STATS AT FULL-TIME
Possession: Wigan 41 United 59
Shots: Wigan 1 United 13
Shots on target: Wigan 0 United 2
Corners: Wigan 2 United 7

THE TEAMS

Wigan: Jaaskelainen, Daniels, Morgan (c), Burn, Warnock, Taylor (Barrigan 72’), Perkins, Power, Huws (Powell 72’), Jacobs, Grigg (Davies 46’). Subs not used: Nicholls, Cosgrove, Whitehead, Gregory, Burke, Lang, O'Brien.

United: Johnstone (J.Pereira 82’), Fosu-Mensah (Valencia 46’), Bailly (Tuanzebe 82’), Blind (Blackett 74’), Shaw (Jones 46’), Carrick (A.Pereira 46’), Herrera (Varela 74’), Lingard (Januzaj 46’), Mkhitaryan (Mata 46’), Memphis (Young 46’), Wilson (Keane 46’).