Saturday 23 July 2016 07:44, UK
Jose Mourinho put Manchester United's 4-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund in Shanghai on Friday down to the Bundesliga side's greater fitness levels in pre-season.
United were easily beaten in the opening match of the International Champions Cup by goals from Gonzalo Castro - who scored a brace either side of half-time - a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang penalty and Ousmane Dembele.
However, Friday night's match at the Shanghai Stadium was already the fifth friendly for Thomas Tuchel's team this summer, whereas United have played only Wigan Athletic so far in pre-season.
"I know that in pre-season the team that is in the advanced stage of preparation looks far better than the other team," said Mourinho after the game.
"This happens year after year, some good teams lose to a big result, but I think it was too obvious, it was too obvious.
"If we do not know, I think after 10 minutes we know that one team started training 10 days ago and played one match and the other team started one month ago and already played four matches.
"It is too easy to see the difference in intensity and sharpness, so for us it was very difficult and I think the second half was better, we adapted better to the game."
United's consolation effort just before the hour-mark was scored by recent signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan against his old club, although Mourinho thought the final scoreline was harsh on his players.
"I think 3-2 would be more natural than the 4-1," he said. "But I think they showed the good quality that they have individually and collectively and they showed they were in a much more advanced stage of their preparations."
United's next match in the tournament against rivals Manchester City is scheduled to take place in Beijing on Monday.
You can watch highlights of all of United's International Champions Cup fixtures across Sky Sports platforms.
The International Champions Cup continues on Saturday, with Melbourne Victory v Juventus (SS1, 10am) and Celtic v Leicester City (SS1, 5pm) both live on Sky Sports.
