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Pre-season Friendlies
Jul 16, 2016 at 1.30pm UK
 
Manchester United logo

0-2

FT(HT: 0-0)
Keane (49'), Pereira (58')

Will Keane, Andreas Pereira net in Manchester United win

Jose Mourinho begins his reign as Manchester United boss with a 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic in Saturday's pre-season friendly.

Will Keane and Andreas Pereira were both on the scoresheet as Manchester United opened Jose Mourinho's reign with a 2-0 victory over Wigan Athletic in a pre-season friendly on Saturday afternoon.

A goalless first period saw the Red Devils fail to make the most of their domination, but Keane and Pereira both came off the bench to score as Mourinho enjoyed a victory in his first outing as head coach of the 20-time English champions.

The likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney, Chris Smalling and Marcus Rashford were absent for Man United due to their involvement in Euro 2016, but there were debuts for Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Elsewhere, there was a return for Luke Shaw after the left-back's long recovery from a broken leg, while James Wilson, Memphis Depay and Jesse Lingard were given chances to impress in the final third.

As for Wigan, summer signing Dan Burn played at the DW Stadium for the first time, while there was a return for trialist Ryan Taylor, who left Newcastle United on a free transfer at the end of last season.

There was also worldwide interest in Wigan's centre-forward Will Grigg as the Northern Ireland international, who has become somewhat of a cult hero due to an adaptation of the song 'Freed from Desire' by Gala, was selected.

As expected, it was Man United that enjoyed the majority of possession inside the opening 10 minutes and Dutch teenager Timothy Fosu-Mensah's attacking instincts down the right were prominent in the early exchanges.

New signing Mkhitaryan was also heavily involved in the early minutes as the Armenian continued to pick up space in the final third, and a pass in to Depay set up a half-chance in the 12th minute of action.

Lingard had a strike blocked for a corner in the 18th minute as Man United continued to make ground in the final third, and that was the pattern of play at the DW, with Wigan struggling to advance past the halfway line.

Depay had a golden chance to make the breakthrough in the 25th minute when Mkhitaryan delivered a stunning pass towards the far post, but the Dutchman somehow missed the target from close range.

Wigan's first sight of the Man United goal arrived in the 29th minute when Michael Jacobs tricked his way into the box before drilling a cross towards the far post, but there were no takers as it remained all square in the pre-season clash.

Mkhitaryan had the best opportunity of the first half in the 37th minute when a Lingard cross found the Armenian unmarked inside the Wigan box, but the summer signing from Borussia Dortmund fired over from close range.

There were seven Man United changes at the half-time break as Juan Mata, Antonio Valencia, Phil Jones, Adnan Januzaj, Ashley Young, Keane and Andreas Pereira all entered the field, with Mkhitaryan among those that were replaced.

It was one of those substitutes that made the breakthrough in the 49th minute when a terrible clearance from Jussi Jaaskelainen fell straight to Mata and the Spaniard set up Keane, who finished from close range.

Those that entered at the break continued to impress and Young delivered two brilliant crosses into the Wigan box in the 53rd minute, but the Championship side somehow managed to avoid conceding a second goal.

Keane had another opportunity in the 56th minute after meeting another cross from Young, but the 23-year-old's effort was wide of the post. The visitors had their second two minutes later though when young Brazilian Pereira turned inside the Wigan box before firing into the top corner.

More changes arrived as Nick Powell came on for Wigan against the club that he left in the summer, while Guillermo Varela, Tyler Blackett, Joel Pereira and Axel Tuanzebe were given opportunities to impress for the away team.

Powell seemed intent on proving a point for Wigan in the latter stages as the midfielder put in a number of crunching challenges, but chances were few and far between during a period that was dominated by substitutions.

Young again set up Keane in the 87th minute as Man United came close to a third late on, but it ended 2-0 on what was a comfortable afternoon for the Red Devils.

Wigan will continue their preparations for the new campaign at home to Liverpool on Sunday afternoon, while Man United's next pre-season match is against Borussia Dortmund in Shanghai on July 22.

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Dortmund's defender Matthias Ginter (L) and his teammate Dortmund's Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan (R) celebrate after the first goal for Dortmund during the German first division Bundesliga football match FC Ingolstadt 04 vs Borussia Dortmund, on
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