Giggs expects Manchester United to be hard to stop under Mourinho

Joe Wright

Giggs expects Manchester United to be hard to stop under Mourinho image

Former Manchester United star Ryan Giggs believes his old side's impressive start to the season suggests they will be difficult to stop in their hunt for silverware.

Jose Mourinho's men made light work of West Ham and Swansea City in their opening two Premier League matches of 2017-18, winning 4-0 on each occasion.

Man Utd 9/4 to win PL

Their stylish victories have come amid uncertain starts for some of their title rivals, with Chelsea having lost at Burnley on the opening day before beating Tottenham on Sunday, Arsenal losing 1-0 to Stoke City and Manchester City and Liverpool being held to draws by Everton and Watford respectively.

Giggs says United are beginning to look like successful Mourinho teams of old and feels their ability to score from different areas of the pitch will stand them in good stead to challenge for trophies.

"When Jose Mourinho's sides get going, they are very difficult to stop. He's done it in the past and, while it's important dealing with the expectations with the media making a lot of it, managing that is something he is great at," Giggs wrote for Sky Sports.

"There's also a lot of experience within the squad and they'll all play their parts. Michael Carrick and Ashley Young haven't been involved yet but have that experience to slot back in and be trusted, while Chris Smalling and David de Gea also have that experience of winning the league.

"Before the first two games I thought that the title was between Manchester City, who have the firepower, and Manchester United, who have the balance to their squad.

"They look powerful with Nemanja Matic and Romelu Lukaku, but what is pleasing to see is the creative players doing well as well. Henrikh Mkhitaryan already has four assists and that will do him the world of good, so hopefully he can get back to his [Borussia] Dortmund form.

"There's a lot of players contributing to goals which is crucial to winning the league. Juan Mata scores year in, year out, Antony Martial chipping in and when Marcus Rashford and Mkhitaryan join the party you've got options. You can't just rely on Lukaku."

Joe Wright

Joe Wright Photo

Joe is a Senior Editor at Sporting News. He was previously a sub editor and writer for Goal.com before spending six years as part of the Stats Perform editorial news service, covering major global sports including football, tennis, boxing, NBA, rugby union and athletics. Joe has reported live on some of the biggest games in football, including two UEFA Champions League finals, Euro 2016, the Confederations Cup 2017 and the 2018 World Cup final at the end of a month in Russia.