United end their tour of Asia with a comprehensive win as Jesse Lingard gets amongst the goals once again. Markus Rosenberg and Nicolas Anelka maintain their recent scoring form as West Brom pick up another victory, while Hull edge past Peterborough thanks to a long-range effort from Maynor Figueroa. Elsewhere, Steven Fletcher may miss the start of the season for Sunderland and Roberto Martinez talks up the prospects of Nikica Jelavic for the campaign ahead after the Croatian bagged a brace in a weekend win at Blackburn:
Kitchee 2 Man United 5
David Moyes rolled out a 4-3-3 formation for United’s final match in Asia yesterday afternoon. With Jonny Evans missing out due to an ankle injury, the likes of Chris Smalling, Michael Keane and Fabio were handed a starting berth in an experimental line-up at the back, while further up the field, Wilfried Zaha and Ashley Young took the flank roles on either side of Danny Welbeck. The latter opened the scoring with his third pre-season strike before Smalling and Fabio added a goal apiece before the break. Moyes made six changes over the course of the second period and saw two of his subs combine for the fourth after Alexander Buttner teed up Adnan Januzaj before Jesse Lingard grabbed the visitors’ final goal, taking his tally for the summer to four – more than any other United player.
Speaking to United TV after the match, Smalling revealed he was determined to nail down a regular role under the new manager after starting just 10 times in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final year in charge:
“Last season was a very frustrating one so it is nice to be involved with pre-season because I didn’t get that last time and I am feeling good. The more games, the better. It was nice to pop up with a goal too. But to be fair, I probably should have got a hat-trick. Hopefully, I will get more chances like that. I was waiting for it (the goal), I have been due one because I didn’t get too many last season. Hopefully, I will be able to get a few more this season and chip in a little more.”
Elsewhere, Moyes was given an injury boost after Nemanja Vidic, Nani and Antonio Valencia returned to action for a United XI against Crewe last night. The trio had failed to take part in the pre-season tour but are now stepping up their respective recoveries – Valencia played the full 90 minutes, while Vidic and Nani were afforded just over an hour apiece, with the latter notching both goals in a 2-0 win.
Peterborough 0 Hull 1
Steve Bruce’s side registered their first win in four attempts yesterday evening. The Tigers boss continued with a 3-5-2 and shifted Maynor Figueroa to the left of midfield, whilst drafting in his son, Alex, to join James Chester and Curtis Davies in the back-three – the former Wigan man vindicated his manager’s decision to move him to a more advanced berth by notching the only goal of the game with a spectacular 25-yeard strike. Danny Graham was partnered by Sone Aluko up top but failed to notch before making way in one of seven second-half changes by the visitors. From an offensive point of view, the Tigers are still struggling and have scored just twice in the last four games (with one coming from the spot), though Bruce’s side have registered three clean sheets across that quartet of fixtures.
West Brom 3 Atromitos 1
Steve Clarke made eight changes from the side that saw off Derby at the weekend. Yet again, the Baggies boss altered his starting formation and moved from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3, with Saido Berahino, Markus Rosenberg and Shane Long leading the line as Nicolas Anelka dropped to the bench. With his side a goal down at the break, the Baggies boss made just two alterations, sending on James Morrison and Anelka, and the latter needed just 10 minutes to bring the hosts level with his third goal in as many matches. Rosenberg continued his strong summer form by teeing up Berahino to fire the Baggies in front before scoring his side’s third, taking his tally to four over five pre-season friendlies, the highest scoring West Brom player of the summer so far.
While Clarke has been linked with moves for Scott Sinclair, Salomon Kalou and Matej Vydra as he looks to bolster his frontline, Rosenberg is certainly staking a claim for consideration and prior to the match, the Swede spoke of his determination to atone for a debut season which saw him fail to find the net once in the Premier League:
“I didn’t score too many times last season so I have to score a lot in this campaign. I had a tough time last year so it’s good to have a start like this and to start to score goals. I always knew I could score because I scored in every other country, but it’s still nice to bag a goal and to have a pre-season. I missed the pre-season last year and I think it will be good for me in the campaign to come. It is always the same, it doesn’t matter how much experience you get. In the back of your head you know you can score but you have to prove it to the fans and to the people here.”
In Other News
Reports yesterday suggest Steven Fletcher is losing the race to be ready in time for the start of the season. The Sunderland striker is still struggling from the ankle injury that forced him out towards the end of the previous campaign and may be sidelined until September – meaning he would miss a potentially prosperous opening run of three games against Fulham, Southampton and Palace. Fletcher’s absence would mean Paolo Di Canio is likely to retain a 4-4-1-1 formation for the kick-off, with Stephane Sessegnon tucked in behind Jozy Altidore, though the former Wolves man may struggle to pick up many investors upon his return, with the Black Cats’ schedule stiffening significantly from Gameweek 4 onwards.
Roberto Martinez has been singing the praises of Nikica Jelavic after the Croatian bagged a brace in Everton’s weekend win at Blackburn. Jelavic was named as a sub at Ewood Park as Martinez handed Arouna Kone the lone forward role in a 4-3-3 but he staked a claim for first-team inclusion after replacing the Ivorian at the break. Having notched just seven times in the season gone by, Jelavic appears to have slipped down the pecking order following Kone’s arrival but he may still have a significant role to play this term, judging by his manager’s comments:
“In modern football it’s a bit unfair to rely on a player to score you 20-25 goals if you don’t do the things well as a team, you’ll never get the striker in good positions. That’s what we’re starting to develop now; a team that can be strong enough off the ball and that can create enough chances for our strikers to take, but it’s not the moment to assess the players as yet. It’s the time to assess them in each individual exercise and see what sort of relationship we can put on the pitch. What we saw [on Saturday] was a Nikica Jelavic that has come back with a real intention of having a very strong season.”
Having reunited with Martinez following their time together at Wigan, Kone had initially appeared nailed-on for a starting berth for the Toffees. With 13% ownership in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), the Ivorian is the seventh most popular striker in the game at the moment but Jelavic’s form is certainly affording his new manager further options for the central forward role, suggesting wide men Kevin Mirallas and Steven Pienaar may be a little more secure as FPL out of position prospects in Martinez’s front three.
