Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admits Tony Popovic’s Perth Glory side made life difficult for Manchester United at Optus Stadium.
The Hyundai A-League Premiers worked tirelessly to stay on level terms for more than an hour before England international Marcus Rashford broke through with a deadly 65th-minute strike.
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The three-time European champions finally got a second in the 85th minute when 18-year-old substitute James Garner pounced on a Glory defensive error.
United used two separate line ups in each half of their 2019/20 pre-season opener and Solskjaer heaped praise on the level of workout that Perth provided.
“We played against a well-organised, disciplined team that didn’t really give us too many gaps,” Solskjaer told MUTV.
“It was a game where we had the ball all the time more or less and we kept possession well.
“We created half-chances. We got 45 minutes of work for most of them, which was the main objective and of course you always like to win games.”
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Kicking off #MUTOUR 2019 with a W 👍 pic.twitter.com/UVqwHurVHx
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 13, 2019
Missing a long list of senior players including attackers Diego Castro, Chris Ikonomidis and Andy Keogh, Glory struggle to assert themselves on the game and did not manage a shot on goal.
The opening match of Solksjaer’s maiden pre-season at the Old Trafford club may not have been the sternest test, but the Norwegian believes it could be the first step on the road to a golden season for the Red Devils.
“When you’re at Man United you aim for trophies and we have a possibility of winning trophies,” he added.
“If we sit here in nine months or 10 months with a trophy, I think that’s a successful season.”
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