Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera has attributed his team’s lack of match fitness and sharpness compared to Borussia Dortmund for their loss on Friday in Shanghai.
Jose Mourinho’s men started off their summer tour of China with a humbling 4-1 defeat at the hands of Thomas Tuchel’s Dortmund in Shanghai.
The Bundesliga side already had four pre-season games under their belt ahead of their match against the Red Devils and looked sharper and more match-fit than Manchester United, who had only one game against Wigan last weekend.
Herrera admits that it was clear from the start that the Dortmund players had more minutes under their belt compared to his Manchester United team-mates, which is important during pre-season.
He admits that the Red Devils should be doing better but stressed that pre-season is all about building fitness ahead of the start of the campaign.
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The midfielder said on MUTV: “They are a very good team, and they had already played four games [in pre-season].
“When you have already played four games, you are fitter, you are better but no excuses.
“We are Manchester United, we shouldn’t lose and we want to win every game, but of course it’s pre-season; we want to take minutes in our legs and we can be satisfied about that.”
Mourinho will look to get his players ready and fit ahead of Monday’s match against Manchester City in Beijing.
Manchester United have three more games, including the Wayne Rooney testimonial on 3rd August, left to get ready before they play Premier League champions Leicester City for the Community Shield at Wembley on 7th August.
