London - Jose Mourinho was as animated as ever in his first Manchester United match in charge - never more evident than when Eric Bailly began juggling the ball on the halfway line.
The £30million central defender was in a United shirt for the first time since his move from Villarreal and out to impress.Sure, nothing meaningful can be gleaned from a pre-season friendly, even if United looked serene in the sunshine thanks to goals from Will Keane and the promising Andreas Pereira.
Yet Bailly offered a short glimpse as to how he deals with possession when snuffing out potential danger in the centre circle, controlling a long ball over the head of Will Grigg - the subject of the fans’ song of the summer in Euro 2016 - chesting down with ease and spraying a pass into midfield.
Mourinho, visibly engaged despite the low-key affair, motioned his head towards play, unsure of quite what Bailly was attempting.
All fine though, no danger, and perhaps one of the reasons the new United boss referenced Raphael Varane, who he managed at Real Madrid, when asked about the 22-year-old.
Make no mistake, Bailly was a Mourinho signing. A left-field capture who the Portuguese believes he can nurture into an imposing figure. Eighty-two minutes represented a strong start ahead of the trip to China, where United will face Borussia Dortmund and neighbours Manchester City.
Mourinho said: ‘With Eric, the way the fans showed how much they liked his performance when I changed him. That is enough. Of course he is a young boy coming from a different environment, but you could see what he is at this moment.
‘I will give him everything to try to make him better, like I did with other central defenders I’ve had in my hands, like, for example, Varane. I will try to make him the best I can. He has shown the potential we saw when we decided to buy him.’
Saturday was a worthwhile exercise for Mourinho. He toyed with a 7,000-strong travelling support who chanted his name.
He also watched £26m signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan shine for 45 minutes, gliding past defenders. That - and the return of Luke Shaw at left back after 10 months out injured - pleased Mourinho, who is cutting a relaxed figure residing in his new home.
Daily Mail