Erik ten Hag won't repeat what Jose Mourinho did at Manchester United five years ago

"I didn't learn anything."

That was Jose Mourinho's rather dim view of Manchester United's five-game tour of the United States back in July and August 2018.

By December, Mourinho had been sacked and Manchester United were five years away from going back across the pond. Mourinho's rather dismissive reaction to the tour is by no means a shock - he never has been one to mince his words.

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United's squad was missing many of the big names which would go on to represent the Reds in the Premier League that season. Youngsters dominated the 24-man squad and only Diogo Dalot, Luke Shaw, Scott McTominay and Anthony Martial remain in the first-team set-up this season under Erik ten Hag.

Nevertheless, the tour would be a big chance for this young side to stake their claim for future opportunities. First on the agenda was a match against Mexican side Club America, in Arizona.

As Manchester City found in their 2022 tour of USA, playing teams who are ready to start their season is a tough challenge. And, so it proved as the Reds needed a late strike from Juan Mata to rescue a draw.

Afterwards, Mourinho remained diplomatic: "It was good. After five days of training, you need to play and it’s good to play against a team that is three days away from starting their Mexican league. [They were] a team with intensity, a team with quality that pushed us to levels that we weren’t prepared for but pushed us to these levels, so it was a good training session."

Three days later, San Jose Earthquakes were the opponents and things took a turn for the worse. A boring, lacklustre 0-0 draw did not reward the United fans in attendance nor the ones who had stayed up late back home to support