Christian Eriksen was pleased with how his Old Trafford bow for Manchester United went, against Rayo Vallecano, and highlighted the optimism within the camp afterwards, .
The recent recruit started for the first time since joining the Reds, appearing in midfield ahead of James Garner and Donny van de Beek, in the 1-1 draw with the Spanish side.
The competitive action gets under way next weekend, on the same stage, with Brighton & Hove Albion providing the opposition, and the new no.14 is confident Erik ten Hag’s team can make a good start in the Premier League, ahead of a reunion with his former club Brentford in United’s opening away fixture.
“It was very different, also when walking into the stadium,” he said of his first appearance at home as a United player. “I had to go right instead of left. But it was special, it was a nice feeling. It’s been a nice day and wearing the home shirt here is definitely a new feeling I need to get used to,” he told MUTV.
“The people were very welcoming and I had a good feeling. I feel good. The group has taken good care of me. I haven’t had that many sessions with the team, obviously as they’ve been on tour, but I’ve played a game to get some minutes in my legs and I feel good. I feel fresh. The team feels good and the whole vibe around the changing room has been very good.”
Eriksen operated largely in a no.10 role but did drop deep at times to influence the play and feels he is flexible enough to do whatever Ten Hag asks of him.
“First of all, I think you play where the manager wants you to play,” he told MUTV. “He puts out a team and you try to go from there. Then obviously, in some games, you come into different situations and the aim is the same, to be involved as much as possible, whether it’s as a no.10, an eight, anywhere.”
There will be an intense week of training at Carrington ahead as Ten Hag and his coaching team have the final preparations in advance of next Sunday’s big kick-off.
Eriksen, who was a whisker away from scoring his first goal for the club with a fine effort in the first half, knows the focus now switches to the Premier League.
“It’s always a good feeling to finish a pre-season and now the real work starts,” he added. “The real season starts. It’s always nice to play the last pre-season game to really get the good feeling and the fitness from pre-season. In the end, it’s all about being ready mentally for the first game.
“Yes, I’m definitely optimistic. Obviously, I’ve only been here for a short period of time but it looks good and it feels good among the players in the first team. There’s a good feeling around after the tour and I hope it can continue. It starts with Brighton and, hopefully, it will be a good start.”
