Manchester United beat Leeds 5-4 on penalties last night after the friendly finished 1-1. Bruno Fernandes surprised everyone when missing the target with his spotkick, but that didn’t put Noussair Mazraoui off from scoring the winner.
Speaking to the official site after the game, Mazraoui reflected on the game and atmosphere.
It’s nice to score the winning penalty, but even in friendlies, the aim is to win the game. I think the best way to prepare for the full season is to go into every game to win. Even here [in Dublin], you can feel the rivalry of this game. It was an amazing atmosphere.
Mazraoui was in the USA over the summer representing Morocco at the World Cup, who were knocked out in the quarter-finals by France after finishing on the same points as Brazil in the group stage. He said playing in that tournament has kept him at a good level physically.
I don’t think you lose too much in three weeks off. I’ve played a lots of games at the World Cup, so physically, I’m not too far off from being at my top level. I feel fresh and I’m ready to begin the new season.
Mazraoui also reflected on how well new signings Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans have already settled in at the club.
They’ve settled in really well. We have a good group of guys – very easy going, and I think we have players who give this feeling to the new signings. You can see that straight away in the quality they show in games.
The post Mazraoui: Nice to score the winning penalty against Leeds first appeared on Republik Of Mancunia: A Manchester United Blog.
