Manchester United have played the last of their pre-season friendly fixtures.
United beat Everton at Old Trafford on a pleasing afternoon for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Here is a look at five things we learned from the game, and you can also watch the goals…
Returning internationals got minutes
A host of players got their first action of pre-season here.
David de Gea, Luke Shaw, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Bruno Fernandes and Anthony Martial started the game. Fred and Paul Pogba came off the bench at half-time.
There has been concern about United’s pre-season and whether too many stars would go into the campaign undercooked after their international exploits.
That meant it was important that so many returning players got minutes here.
Van de Beek impresses in deeper role
It was also Donny van de Beek’s first pre-season start, and he played alongside Nemanja Matic in one of the two deeper midfield roles.
His quick passing helped set the tempo during a first half when United ripped Everton apart.
You can’t read too much into pre-season and Everton were poor but United’s attack looked sharp and fluid.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer might be looking to move away from the Scott McTominay and Fred double axis for some games this season and van de Beek showed what he can offer here.
Maguire lays down a marker
Harry Maguire hasn’t scored as many goals for Manchester United as he should have done.
He’s a near constant attacking threat for his country but hasn’t been able to replicate that for United – yet.
His bullet header from Shaw’s corner was impressive and it’s something he should be looking to replicate when the season proper kicks off.
The understanding with Shaw, developed with England, should help with that and help United score more from set pieces.
Bruno isn’t rusty
We have to talk about that Bruno Fernandes free kick. It was an absolute stunner.
It had whip and pace and gave Jordan Pickford absolutely no chance. Bruno also clearly loved celebrating in front of the fans at Old Trafford once again.
Fernandes looked leggy at times near the end of last season but if this game is anything to go by, he’s recharged his batteries over the summer and showed no signs of rustiness here either.
That bodes very well indeed ahead of the season opener next weekend.
United needed a tougher test
It was a very comfortable afternoon for United.
With the excitement building ahead of the new season and so many fans back at Old Trafford after so long away, maybe we shouldn’t turn our nose up at that.
But United needed a really testing runout here, because Leeds will come to Old Trafford next week full of running, keen to avenge last season’s 6-2 defeat.
What they got was a stroll. It was fun to watch and great for confidence, but perhaps United needed a more stringent test.
It’s something Solskjaer might well be thinking about despite all the positives from the performance.
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