Tour Briefing: First Day In Washington DC

Your Tour Briefing is a daily update that keeps you informed of the news around Manchester United during the trip to the USA. Here’s what you need to know from Monday 24 July…

1: ARRIVAL IN WASHINGTON DC
The Reds earned a penalty shootout win over Real Madrid on Sunday and, immediately afterwards, flew from San Jose to Washington DC. Jose Mourinho’s men checked in to the team hotel in the small hours of Monday morning, ready for the final leg of this summer’s trip to the States.

2: LIGHT SESSION AHEAD OF BARCA
After the long night of travel, the squad rested in the morning before travelling to Georgetown University for a light training session at the impressive facility. The session was shorter than normal as the players warmed down from the Real match, with the game against Barcelona to come.

3: MATA BACK IN TRAINING
There was a positive sight at training in the afternoon when Juan appeared back on the pitch. The Spaniard took part in some light individual work with a member of the medical department, while the rest of the players worked out nearby. He has missed the last two tour games due to an ankle injury, picked up against Real Salt Lake, but the signs look to be positive on his recovery. Watch our video here.

4: HERRERA NOT INVOLVED
Ander was forced to exit the game against Real Madrid at the Levi’s Stadium with an injury, just four minutes after coming on at half-time. As a result, he did not take part in training on Monday and it remains to be seen how severe his problem is. The manager may discuss it in his press conference on Tuesday.

5: HOW POGBA CONVINCED LUKAKU
Here on ManUtd.com, we published part of our big interview with Romelu Lukaku that will soon appear in full on MUTV. As part of the lengthy chat, the Belgium international revealed how his good friend Paul Pogba played a subtle role in his transfer to United. “Me and Paul, we’d go to the city to have dinner and he’d drive past Old Trafford on purpose afterwards,” he told us. Read more here.

6: REDS BECOME HISTORY BOYS
Victor Lindelof, Scott McTominay, Joel Pereira, Andreas Pereira, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Matteo Darmian and Chris Smalling all became tourists for the afternoon when they boarded a sight-seeing tour in the American capital.