Man United weren’t at the races, admits Tom Cleverley after Yokohama loss
Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley admits the Red Devils weren't at their best after a surprise 3-2 loss in Japan
Tom Cleverley admitted Manchester United weren’t “at the races” after a surprise 3-2 loss to Yokohama F-Marinos on Tuesday.
David Moyes watched on as the Red Devils succumbed to the first defeat of his short reign on their pre-season tour of Asia, with the home side scoring an 87th-minute winner.
But Cleverley felt United were given a proper workout by the Japanese side and the Premier League champions will feel the benefit once the new season kicks-off on 17 August.
“It was very tough, I don’t want to make excuses but we travelled a long way yesterday and we have come up against a sharp team in hard conditions,” Cleverley told MUTV.
“I’m sure we can play better, we weren’t really at the races but it was a good workout for us.
“It will be good for us. You can’t get much better workouts than that. They made us work really hard, they were running for 90 minutes and had great movement. We would like to improve on the technical part of our game but as a workout, it was 100 per cent.”
He added: “It is not easy but is something different.
“It is a new experience. We would like to win these games to get our confidence but the second most important thing is working hard and getting our fitness up.”
