Man Utd 0 PSG 2. Manchester United slipped to a 2-0 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the final match of their pre-season tour of America, but manager Louis van Gaal declared himself "satisfied" with the result.
Luke Shaw put into his own net at Chicago's Soldier Field after 25 minutes and nine minutes later Zlatan Ibrahimovic doubled the French champions' lead. And that's how it remained as United finished their four match tour with a defeat.
United are already back in the UK, having jetted across the Pond in the wee small hours, and the squad will spend the next week at their Aon Training Complex prior to their opening league game against Tottenham on Saturday week.
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"I am really satisfied about the performance," said Van Gaal prior to boarding the plane. "If you lose, maybe that's also good, because last year we won everything [in pre-season] and then we lost the first match against Swansea. Now the sequence is a little bit different, but I am not superstitious."
Van Gaal's biggest dilemma in the next week will be his defence, United's weak spot in recent seasons. Phil Jones struggled against PSG, and the Dutchman will have to consider whether to jettison Jones and partner Chris Smalling with Daley Blind in central defence.
"I think I shall play Luke Shaw and Matteo Darmain, with Daley Blind on the left side of defence," said Van Gaal. "The right central defensive position I have to consider, but I am very pleased with the performance of Darmian today, and you have seen he can play on the right and the left of defence."
Talk then turned to the whereabouts of Angel di Maria, who hasn't been seen Stateside and is said to be close to agreeing terms with PSG. Asked where the Argentine was, Van Gaal replied: "Maybe you know? I don't know that."
When it was suggested he was finalising a contract with Laurent Blanc, the PSG manager, the grim-faced Dutchman retorted: "I don't know, because I'm not the same manager as Laurent Blanc, I don't want to answer these questions... I have said that many times. We will have to wait and see and I don't want to interfere [in the discussions]."
And Van Gaal's humour didn't improve when he was asked about unsettled goalkeeper David De Gea, Real Madrid's No1 target this summer, who played the first half against PSG. "We have a situation that is not favourable for David De Gea or us, or the club he maybe wants to [go to]," muttered the United manager. "We will have to wait and see."
