Cut, football games are not only about defense.

Seeing Xia Xing praised by his teammates as a defensive genius, Pogba was a little unhappy again.

And he did show his strength with his actions.

In the confrontation match, Pogba made several long passes in a row, showing world-class passing ability.

And the sudden forward shot that relied on the strong impact also scored two wonderful bursts.

So that the team's second doorman, Romero, can do nothing.

That's the strength of the talented French midfielder!

Compared to Pogba, Xia Xing has a lot less passing.

He's still more playmaker, with a focus on defense.

This made Pogba even more proud.

But his pride didn't last long......

At the beginning of August, Manchester United had four friendlies scheduled.

The opponents are Wigan Athletic, Borussia Dortmund, Galatasaray and Everton.

With several teams of varying quality, Mourinho intends to experiment with several of his new tactical set-ups.

During the team's training matches, Mourinho has already identified a number of starting options.

Jose Mourinho initially set up a 4-3-3 formation.

On the front line, the center forward is naturally Da Fengxian, and Ibrahimovic's current strength is still at the top level in the world.

Behind him, Wayne Rooney, the captain of Manchester United sits in the front line.

Behind him, there is a combination of Xia Xing, Pogba and Carrick, alternating between the old and the new, attacking and defending.

Goalkeeper David De Gea, one of the best goalkeepers in world football today.

Only these players are the main force of ironclad, and everything else needs to be tried.

For example, wingers, such as full-backs.

In addition, veterans Wayne Rooney, Carrick and Ibrahimovic are unlikely to last all season, and must be rotated from time to time.

Important rotation players also need to be adjusted, and they must be functionally divided.

And the current Manchester United players do not have a big gap in strength, so the choice is not easy, and it needs to rely on training and games to determine.

In the first game, Mourinho fielded a squad dominated by veterans.

Up front is Ibrahimovic, flanked by Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata.

Behind him are Xia Xing, Pogba and Carrick.

Defender Ashley Young, Smalling, Blind, Valencia.

Goalkeeper David De Gea.

Against Wigan Athletic, Manchester United have a huge advantage in strength.

In the 2012-2013 season, Wigan Athletic were eventually relegated from the Premier League.

In the 2014-2015 season, they were relegated from the Championship.

However, they finished first in League One last season and returned to the Championship.

They have invested a lot this season and are looking to return to the Premier League.

This warm-up game is just a small test for Manchester United, allowing trial and error.

Throughout the game, Manchester United naturally dominated the game.

In the end, they also won with a score of 2-0 and got the friendly off to a good start.

However, Mourinho was not very satisfied with this game.

The team's attacking frequency is not small, but it is not very efficient.

Especially the cooperation of the midfield, we still need to continue to run in.

In this game, Xia Xing retreated from an appropriate position, escorted Carrick and Pogba, and played as a pure midfielder.

Carrick is more of a metronome for the team, a long pass organization.

In this way, Pogba has taken over the responsibility of attacking in midfield.

A couple of shots were dangerous, and the passing and running looked big.

However, his short passing level is average, and his ability to run with the ball is not top-notch.

Even against opponents like Wigan Athletic, he still couldn't create scoring chances through his individual ability.

But he also likes to press forward with the ball.

There is the momentum of Kaka, but there is no dribbling technology of Kaka.

And there were two more goals conceded, which almost caused a big disaster.

Fortunately, there was Xia Xing behind him to make up for the defense, and the ball was broken, and there was no problem.

In the end, thanks to Wayne Rooney's long-range shot and Ibrahimovic's header, United took the lead in the open.

Playing against a team that played in League One last season was so struggling, Mourinho was a little unhappy in the dressing room after the game.

But he didn't get angry, after all, he just came to the team and he just talked to a few players individually.

In the second game, he changed most of his players, especially in midfield.

The centre-forward brings Rooney on top, with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial on the flanks.

Midfielders Xia Xing, Paul Pogba and Mkhitaryan.

This combination of attacks is much younger.

Against Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United went all out to attack.

In this game, Mourinho is going to test his attacking ability.

Unfortunately, the team played poorly in the first half.

1-3, which was the score at halftime.

Manchester United are behind.

Mourinho's face is not good-looking.

United's attacking players were aggressive, but not quick enough to return.

And the control in the midfield is also poor.

The front three pressed very high, and Pogba and Mkhitaryan in midfield also attacked aggressively.

In such cases, they often do not defend themselves enough.

Although Xia Xing's defense covers a large area, it is still difficult to support itself.

Borussia Dortmund's quick attack was effective, tearing apart United's defence with three passes and two passes, and finally opening the scoring.

At half-time, Mourinho made a big change.

He went straight for Wayne Rooney, Sharmar and Pogba for Marouane Fellaini, Jesse Lingard and Herrera.

At this point, Marcus Rashford was in the middle, with Jesse Lingard and Mkhitaryan playing as wingers.

Xia Xing's midfield partners also became Fellaini and Herrera.

In the players' tunnel, Mourinho found Xia Xing alone to talk.

"Xia, I think your contribution in the offense was too small."

"Well, that's true."

"Why?"

'The team-mates have a lot of attacking range, and the team has to have someone to defend.

"Hmmm......"

"Hmm."

"Someone defended for you in the second half, you are more involved in the attack! I want to see how well you can attack this side at Manchester United. ”

"Good!"

Xia Xing's words are very clear, and Mourinho also understands it in his heart.

But he doesn't want to easily dampen Pogba's attacking enthusiasm just yet.

In the summer signings, Pogba was the only player not to be brought in by Mourinho.

The club have been keeping an eye on Paul Pogba for a long time and have also been in contact with his agent, Raiola.

After Mourinho joined the team, the management did not make any other requirements, and they all tried to satisfy him as much as possible.

The only suggestion was to bring in Pogba and Mourinho was also consulted.

Mourinho did not object.

Pogba is indeed a good player and a great help to United's commercial brand.

And the club has been talking for a long time, because of their own coaching, let this work fall short?

Not suitable, and not possible.

So Mourinho agreed.

And Pogba's dislike of returning to the defense has also been disliked by Mourinho.

But it can't be helped, the team needs talent like Pogba, and he has to play to his strengths and avoid weaknesses as much as possible.

In training, he asked Pogbado to be involved in defence, and Pogba agreed.

But on the pitch, there are times when Pogba struggles to control his attacking and expressive appetite.

Now, he has simply replaced Pogba.

This is normal in friendlies.

In the second half, the team's organizational and offensive responsibilities were handed over to Xia Xing!

(End of chapter)