Manchester United are already playing trademark José Mourinho football. This was an unfussy, clinical and efficient performance, primarily notable for United’s solid defensive shape – although their possession play was occasionally very promising.
The most interesting aspect of their build-up play was the prominent role played by Ander Herrera. The Spaniard is usually fielded in an energetic midfield role but he sat deeper here, Marouane Fellaini pushing forward more to his left.
Herrera’s use of the ball was impressive, keeping it simple in deeper positions but also playing the best two passes of the first half. First he slipped an incisive, angled pass to Antonio Valencia, allowing the Ecuadorian right-back to play a cut-back to Juan Mata, which eventually resulted in a low Wayne Rooney shot which was saved by Artur Boruc. Later, Herrera played an excellent curling ball into the path of Anthony Martial in his favoured position in the inside-left channel – but Simon Francis produced an excellent tackle to dispossess the Frenchman.
United’s opener came from another Herrera ball – albeit a pass which was overhit and needed Steve Cook’s shocking backpass to turn it into a chance for Mata. Nevertheless, it was noticeably Herrera, rather than Mata or Rooney, who was offering the most invention for United. He eventually played 87 passes, significantly more than the 64 he averaged per 90 minutes in 2015-16, underlining his deeper role.
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe continued with the approach he used regularly throughout last season, a 4-3-3 with the two wide players in different roles. On the right Jordon Ibe is a classic dribbler, although made poor decisions in possession, while on the left Joshua King is a converted striker who made diagonal runs into positions alongside Callum Wilson, who positioned himself towards the opposite side of the pitch up against Daley Blind. This lopsided system is reminiscent of the approach popularised by Egil Olsen when managing Norway – it’s probably no coincidence King is Norwegian. His defensive skills were lacking, though: he allowed Valencia allowed to dart past him too easily on the overlap, and United’s right-back was crucial in the second, with his driven cross finding Martial, whose miscued shot was nodded into the net by Rooney.
Rooney’s relationship with Zlatan Ibrahimovic looked much better than in the 2-1 Community Shield victory over Leicester, when they often occupied the same zone. While Ibrahimovic is a traditional No9 capable of converting crosses, he often drops into deeper positions and needs runners going in behind to provide balance.
Rooney rarely sprinted in behind him at Wembley but here had a good opportunity at the beginning of the second half when racing onto Ibrahimovic’s typically acrobatic volleyed backheel. Ibrahimovic scored United’s third, again when collecting the ball between the lines, rather than high up against the opposition defence. His display was most notable for his physicality, throwing himself into aerial challenges against a centre-back duo sometimes overpowered by strong strikers.
Mourinho will be frustrated by the goal United conceded, which owed to Martial switching off and letting Bournemouth right-back Adam Smith run in behind – similar to how King was not able to track Valencia properly. Mourinho’s 4-2-3-1, and his insistence upon the midfield screening the defence closely, means Martial is playing much deeper than he would like, but Mourinho is no stranger to converting speedy strikers into defensively diligent wide players, having used Samuel Eto’o in a similar role towards the end of Inter’s treble-winning campaign of 2009-10.
Overall United’s defending was solid, however, with their offside trap particularly effective during the second half, and while Daley isn’t a typical Mourinho centre-back, he produced a commanding performance alongside newcomer Eric Bailly.
United will have more difficult tests this season, but it is impossible to ignore the huge contrast between this efficient performance and their struggles in the 2-1 defeat at the Vitality Stadium last season under Louis van Gaal. With Henrikh Mkhitaryan playing only the final 15 minutes, and world record signing Paul Pogba unavailable through suspension, United’s best is clearly yet to come.