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Jose Mourinho

LOS ANGELES. – Jose Mourinho was adamant before and after Manchester United’s first game of the summer, against LA Galaxy on Saturday, that his switch to a back three was just a trial.

He used it against FC Rostov in the Europa League last season, and matched Chelsea’s 3-4-3 on another occasion.

After watching his team dismantle the MLS side 5-2 on Saturday, he suggested he could use it more often, but that “usually” it would be back four.

It is telling, though, that he didn’t waste any time making the switch. The players started pre-season training on Monday but spent two days, Thursday and Friday, working on the new formation.

Logic suggests you work on your primary system first with variations eased in later on. Maybe Mourinho is just keeping his cards close to his chest.

It was a surprise when MUTV revealed ahead of the game at the StubHub Center in Carson that the team would start with three at the back. But it does make sense.

To play 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 regularly you need a lot of centre-backs. And Mourinho, at the moment, has eight. Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Daley Blind started the first half against Galaxy. Eric Bailly, Axel Tuanzebe and new signing Victor Lindelof came on for the second half.

Timothy Fosu-Mensah can play there, too. So can Marcos Rojo, although he is still recovering from knee ligament surgery. You also need players capable of playing at wing-back. You can argue Antonio Valencia is already doing a similar job, raiding up and down the right.

Luke Shaw, with his attacking instincts, might be better off as a left wing-back and there is plenty of cover in Jesse Lingard, Ashley Young, Matteo Darmian and Demetri Mitchell.

The system is named after how the defence is organised. But more exciting is how it would allow United to attack. Mourinho used 3-5-2 in both halves against Galaxy with Juan Mata and Marcus Rashford furthest forward in the first 45 minutes and Anthony Martial and Romelu Lukaku in the second.

But the United boss suggested afterwards that Rashford and Lukaku could play together as a front two. There is a chance he could try it later on the tour of the US.

Lukaku’s physicality and Rashford’s pace would scare most Premier League defences. Putting more strikers on the pitch is an obvious solution to the goalscoring problem that plagued last season. There are downsides. If Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera and a new holding midfielder are the preferred midfielder three, where do Martial, Mata and Henrikh Mkhitaryan play? Mkhitaryan, in particular, would be a big miss. – ESPN.