Henrikh Mkhitaryan steals the show in Manchester United win over Wigan in pre-season friendly [Best Tweets]

Manchester United have played their first match in the Jose Mourinho era, easing past Championship side Wigan Athletic with a 2-0 win.

Fringe players Will Keane and Andreas Pereira scored the two goals to give Mourinho his first win as manager of Manchester United, albeit in a friendly.

However, it took the Red Devils almost 50 minutes to break the deadlock against Wigan, which was cause for some concern among the United fans. The Manchester United players showed a lot more intent (than they showed under former manager Louis van Gaal) though, which is something that the fans appreciated a lot.

Mourinho had sanctioned the £37.1 million sale of Juan Mata (arguably Chelsea’s best playmaker at that moment) to Manchester United, reportedly due to the Spaniard’s low defensive work rate. Hence, when the Portuguese took over the reins at Old Trafford, it was speculated that Mata would be on his way out of the club.

Ironically though, it was Mata’s pressing high up the pitch that created the chance for United’s first goal of the match.

The Red Devils’ latest centre-back signing Eric Bailly churned out a calm and composed performance at the back, something that soothed a lot of United nerves.

However, the biggest praises of the day went to Armenian playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who excelled in the no.10 role for United in the match. There was a lot of doubt over whether the former Dortmund midfielder could match up to the physicality of the English game, but judging by the 27-year-old’s performance, he is going to be a big hit at Old Trafford next season.