A long term request from the vast majority of the Manchester United fanbase, José Mourinho finally decided to bench Wayne Rooney for the game against Zorya in the Europa League, and continued to do so against Stoke City at the weekend.
While the performance against the Ukrainian side left a lot to be desired, the Red Devils fully turned up against Mark Hughes’ team on Sunday, and should have won comfortably.
Manchester United’s performance was one the better ones under Mourinho so far, and Christophe Dugarry pinpointed exactly where it all clicked for SFR Sport.
He said: “It was much better than what I’ve seen since the start of the season. It’s the second game without Rooney, and this time without Fellaini, they play much better, much faster.
“Yes, they should have won, but the goalkeeper has the game of his life. It’s just bad luck. But to hope to get something this season, they need to reproduce this performance. Had they done this before, they might be a bit more secure right now.”
The Stoke goalkeeper denied Zlatan Ibrahimovic a number of times, also producing great saves from Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata, while Pogba squandered a golden opportunity earlier on in the game.
The draw meant United remained sixth in the Premier League with 13 points from their first seven games, while Stoke remained in the bottom three, yet to win a game.
