On pre-season tours, results are not generally important but impressions are. As such this has already been a useful exercise for Manchester United left back Luke Shaw.
One of the most memorable sights – if for the wrong reasons – of last summer’s trip to America was the sight of Shaw being run in to the ground by a United fitness coach as he was made to train separately from his team mates at Washington’s FedEx field.
It was the start of a struggle to win the affections and the appreciation of United manager Louis van Gaal. Maybe now, fully 12 months on, Shaw is finally getting somewhere.
Injury helped to ruin last season for Shaw. That wasn’t his fault. But this time round the 20-year-old arrived on tour on the back of some summer fitness work in Dubai and it would appear that he is feeling the benefit already.
Memphis Depay seized on a loose back pass on 37 minutes to slot the ball past San Jose goalkeeper David Bingham for 2-0
Depay and Rooney again showed the foundations of a good understanding as they played off each other in attack
MATCH FACTS
Manchester United first-Half (4-3-3): Johnstone, Darmian, Jones, Blind, Shaw, Carrick, Schneiderlin, Young, Mata, Memphis, Rooney
Second-half (4-3-3): Johnstone, McNair, Smalling, Evans, Blackett, Lingard, Schweinsteiger, Herrera, Pereira, Januzaj, Wilson
Scorers: Mata 32; Depay 37; Pereira 61
San Jose Earthquakes: Bingham, Wynne (Koval 46), Bernardez (Silva 62), Goodson (Renato 46), Stewart (Francis 46), Alashe, Pierazzi (Pelosi 46), Garcia (Coutadeur 46), Cato (Thompson 46), Salinas (Barrera 46), Amarikwa (Sherrod 46, Jahn 71)
Scorer: Alashe 42
Referee: Juan Guzman
Attendance: 18,000
Here in balmy San Jose, Shaw played for 45 minutes, like every other outfield player. In that time, though, he established himself as the best player on the field and provided something of an insight in to why United paid so much money for him last summer.
Certainly the opposition was not that clever here in California. As Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are about to find out, the MLS scores highly on organisation, atmosphere, colour and competitiveness but low on quality.
Nevertheless, there was an eagerness and intelligence about Shaw’s play in a first half that United dominated that was hard to ignore. Full backs these days have to be among the most athletic players on the field, especially under the terms of Van Gaal’s ‘philosophy’, and Shaw’s efforts in the opposition half were impressive.
Until Morgan Schneiderlin erred in allowing San Jose to pull a goal back just before half-time, United had strolled through the first half. They looked a great deal more dangerous than they had in beating Club America in Seattle at the weekend and much of that threat came down the left where Shaw and Ashley Young combined regularly and effectively.
With Memphis Depay once again playing as a second striker behind Wayne Rooney, this quartet of players proved key.
Early on a run and shot from Depay brought a low save from San Jose goalkeeper David Bingham and Rooney narrowly failed to bundle home the rebound. Then a super combination between Young and Shaw allowed the left back to pull a ball back across goal that both Rooney and Depay narrowly failed to convert.
On another occasion Shaw reached the byline only to chip a cross tamely in to the goalkeeper’s arms at the near post. It was a rare error.
Bastian Schweinsteiger played the second 45 minutes as he did in the win over Club America at the weekend
With Juan Mata regularly drifting in from the right to add to the United threat on the other side, United were dangerous and cohesive. The only surprise was that it took them 32 minutes to score.
This time Shaw was not actually involved as Rooney dropped deep to pick up possession and played a perfect ball inside the San Jose right back to release Young. With Rooney and Depay breaking hard in to the penalty area, Young had some obvious options but was intelligent enough to look up and lay the ball back to Mata who was arriving in space just beyond the 18-yard line.
When the ball arrived at his feet, Mata also had options and it appeared as though the Spaniard was trying to find Depay in the middle with a clipped cross shot. Ultimately, though, the ball passed the end of Depay’s out stretched leg without taking a diversion and when it nestled in the far corner it was Mata’s goal.
With their resistance broken, San Jose needed to gather themselves but instead they self-combusted. Less than five minutes after the goal, Jean Baptiste Pierazzi tried to find team-mate Marvell Wynne with a back pass but Depay read it and stole in to stroke home the second goal – and his first for his new club – past a rather distressed looking goalkeeper.
Schweinsteiger, making his second United appearance since a £14m move from Bayern Munich, holds off Paulo Renato
MAN UNITED'S AMERICAN TOUR
July 18 Club America (Seattle) won 1-0
July 22 San Jose Earthquakes (San Jose)
July 25 Barcelona (Santa Clara) 9pm BST
July 30 Paris Saint-Germain (Chicago) 2am BST
Even with so long left the game looked won. Indeed before half-time Mata could have scored twice more, one shot coming back off a defender with United screaming for handball and another being repelled by the goalkeeper’s instep.
As it was, though, the Earthquakes were offered a lifeline when Schneiderlin fell asleep close to his own goal and Shea Salinas waltzed past him to set up a simple goal for Fatai Alashe.
Van Gaal would have taken a dim view of that goal and doubtless his new midfield signing from Southampton will reflect on that anxiously ahead of United’s next game against Barcelona in Santa Clara this weekend.
Into the second half, though, and a totally new United line-up edged clear of their hosts on the hour mark. This time the goal came from the right as one young prospect, Jesse Lingard, dropped a cross on to the head of another, Andreas Pereira, and the Brazilian finished it neatly from 10 yards.
Depay bundles San Jose defender Pierazzi off the ball as he tries to spark another United attack
In truth, United couldn’t bring the impetus and rhythm of the first half to their game in the second. It had been this way on Friday in Seattle also. As such, there was less to admire as United went about the business of closing out the game effectively rather than aggressively.
Van Gaal, though, will be pretty pleased with what he has seen from most of his players out here so far. Bastian Schweinsteiger has been slow to find his feet while Marouane Fellaini will feel unfortunate not to have seen a moment’s action so far.
In Depay and Shaw, however, Van Gaal will have observed two players who look ready for the Barclays Premier League season to start tomorrow. This was an impressive night for both.
United line up for the first-half - (back row, left to right) Matteo Darmian, Daley Blind, Sam Johnstone, Phil Jones, Morgan Schneiderlin, Memphis Depay (front row, left to right) Luke Shaw, Michael Carrick, Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young, Juan Mata
