Scout Notes – Pre-Season Round Up – Wednesday

Harry Kane strikes as Spurs are beaten by MLS All Stars. United fall to defeat against PSG, David Nugent and Riyad Mahrez guide Leicester to victory, whilst Newcastle and Sunderland both suffer losses to lower league opposition. Here’s the round-up of the last 24 hours’ action…

York City 2 Newcastle 1

Ayoze Perez netted from an acute angle as Newcastle slumped to their third defeat in five matches. Rolando Aarons further bolstered his chances of securing a starting berth next term, clattering the bar with a header and routinely whipping in threatening crosses. Aleksandar Mitrovic fashioned a wealth of chances on his debut but was unable to convert.

The Magpies lined up in a 4-2-3-1 set-up, with a strong youth contingent in attendance. Karl Darlow kept goal behind a back four of Lubomir Satka, Gael Bigirimana, Jamaal Lascelles and Shane Ferguson. Mehdi Abeid and Yoan Gouffran operated in the double pivot, while Aarons, Siem de Jong (number ten) and Ayoze Perez provided the service for lone striker Mitrovic. Steve McClaren made just three second-half changes, with Aarons, Mitrovic and keeper Darlow the men to make way.

After the match, the Magpies boss admitted his new acquisition is still some way short of match sharpness:

“It was good to see Mitrovic playing. He has not trained for a couple of weeks and needs minutes. You could see from his movement and runs he is a good player. He has been training back in Belgium. Yet because of the ongoing saga of his transfer he has missed some days. We only expected one half from him but he wanted more. It shows his enthusisam on the field so we are pleased to get him on. He has only had 24 hours, trained then played. He is a good lad and he had a smile on his face. Once he crosses the white line he is a bit of devil.”

Doncaster Rovers 2 Sunderland 0

Jeremain Lens garnered all the plaudits as the Black Cats were humbled by the League One side. The Dutch forward’s searing pace and inventive wing play filled a niche that was sorely missing in Sunderland’s repertoire last season. Sebastian Coates earned his first minutes since penning a permanent contract at the Stadium of Light, while Younes Kaboul made his debut in the second period.

Dick Advocaat fielded his troops in a 4-2-3-1 formation, naming Costel Pantilimon in goal behind a rearguard of Billy Jones, John O’Shea, Coates and Patrick van Aanholt. Lee Cattermole and Jack Rodwell manned the engine room, while Jermain Defoe and Lens were stationed out wide, with Adam Johnson tucked in behind lone striker Steven Fletcher. Connor Wickham sustained a knock in training so played no part in this encounter.

Offering up his views after the match, Advocaat heaped praise on Jeremain and Kaboul, before calling on his players to improve against Hannover on Saturday:

“Everybody could see how well Jeremain played tonight. Kaboul also did very well when he came off the bench for the second half. The fitness has to be there but it was a poor result, so hopefully on Saturday we can show how far we are with our progress when we face Hannover.”

Rotherham United 1 Leicester City 2

Riyad Mahrez and David Nugent both netted their second goals of pre-season from the edge of the area, extending Leicester’s unbeaten streak to four matches. The forward pairing provided the supporters with something to cheer about, following an insipid first half in which the Foxes were devoid of creativity.

True to his moniker, Claudio “The Tinkerman” Ranieri opted for a change of formation, deploying his charges in a 4-2-3-1 set-up after sticking to a three-man defence in his first three matches in charge. Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer was shielded by a back line of Danny Simpson, Ritchie De Laet, Liam Moore and Jeffrey Schlupp. Ryan Watson and Danny Drinkwater occupied the defensive midfield berths, while Tom Lawrence, Mahrez and Nugent formed the trio behind Leonardo Ulloa. The Leicester boss made wholesale changes from the side that faced Burton Albion just 24 hours earlier, with all but Watson earning the full 90 minutes.

Ranieri is now confident that his side are well prepared to face Sunderland in their season opener, but his intention to employ a variety of formations will set alarm bells ringing for Fantasy managers:

“I feel good. I think the team is ready for the start of the season. I know last season that they played in different systems – we can do the same this season. Now, I will look at tonight’s game and the other training sessions and I will choose a staring XI. I think we are focused on the first match [against Sunderland], then the second match and then throughout the season. We have to fight every match with our character and strength.”

MLS All-Stars 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1

Harry Kane christened his pre-season debut with a spectacular 25-yard strike and enjoyed a raft of other opportunities at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. The North London club dominated proceedings – boasting 62% possession and 14 shots to the hosts’ seven – but fell to defeat due to a five-minute spell of sloppy defending.

Spurs lined up in their favoured 4-2-3-1 formation, with Michel Vorm keeping guard behind a back four of Kyle Walker, Toby Aldeweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Ben Davies. Nabil Bentaleb was joined by Eric Dier in the double pivot, while Mousa Dembele (right wing), Christian Eriksen and Nacer Chadli (left wing) threaded the balls through to Kane. Hugo Lloris (fractured wrist) and Erik Lamela (fitness) were not included in the squad. Pochettino changed his 11 starters over the course of the second period, with Kieran Trippier, Kevin Wimmer, Dele Alli and Tom Carroll coming on at the break.

Paris Saint-Germain 2 Manchester United 0

The Red Devils rounded off their pre-season tour of USA with a naïve defensive display against the Ligue 1 champions. David De Gea was uncharacteristically careless throughout the encounter, serving up misplaced passes and misjudging a through ball as team-mate Luke Shaw netted an unfortunate opener for the French side. Phil Jones was the chief culprit for PSG’s second, failing to pick up Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who stole in behind the English centre-back and tapped in from two yards out.

United adopted a 4-2-3-1 set-up, fielding a back five of De Gea, Matteo Darmian, Jones, Daley Blind and Luke Shaw. Michael Carrick and fit-again Bastian Schweinsteiger patrolled the centre of the park, with Ashley Young (left wing), Memphis Depay (number ten) and Juan Mata (right) operating behind lone marksman Wayne Rooney in what was the club’s final friendly of the summer.

Speaking on his favoured rearguard for United’s opener against Spurs, Van Gaal revealed he’s already decided in three of his back-four for the Gameweek 1 visit of Spurs:

“I have to start with the formation and when the formation is doing well, I let them pay in that formation. I think I shall play [Luke] Shaw with [Matteo] Darmian, and with Daley Blind. The right central position I have to consider. I am very pleased with the performance of Darmian, and you can see he can play on the right and left. Also, a benefit of this year’s tour is that we don’t have any injuries. Last year I was forced to use, for example, Tyler Blackett and Jesse Lingard in the first Premier League match. Now, I have a wider selection and I can use everybody who I think I have to use. There is more competition now and there is more balance in the selection. I have a lot of confidence to start the competition.”

The United boss also conceded that speculation over De Gea’s future is hardly helping, in light of the Spaniard’s error-strewn display:

“I cannot say he (De Gea) did not make a mistake. But everybody can makes mistakes and when a goalkeeper makes a mistake it is mostly a goal and that’s the difference. We have a situation that is not favourable for David de Gea, but neither for us and neither for the club [Real Madrid] that maybe he wants to go to.”