So after winning his debut game 2-0 against Championship newcomers Wigan Athletic, Jose Mourinho and his side were brought back down to earth with a resounding thump as his side was swept aside by a rampant Borussia Dortmund 4-1 at a sweltering Shanghai Stadium in China on Friday night. The only real plus point was that Henrikh Mkhitaryan again played really well and looks like a great signing playing against his former club where he was bought from in a £26.3million deal as he scored his first United goal.

Dortmund as Jose was quick to point out are ahead of United in their pre-season preparations having played 5 games as opposed to only 2 for United but still the scoreline must have been a big disappointment to the new boss even if it was a tad flattering to the German side. It does seem to emphasize what many believe that the Premier League is over-rated and in fact the Bundesliga is in fact a much superior product. It will be interesting to see if the new boss is able to make his mark in Europe in his tenure with United.

So Mourinho will be looking for a much improved performance when he faces arch-rival Pep Guardiola and their noisy Manchester City neighbours at 12.30pm British time on Monday amid the continuing rumours of United’s pursuit of Paul Pogba. Clearly there are some key performers who did not make the trip to China but the club will surely be looking for a decent result and performance against the Citizens who are at the same stage of preparation as United.