Mourinho praises Matic after Samp win

Cape Town - Jose Mourinho was full of praise for new signing Nemanja Matic after his debut for Manchester United in a 2-1 win over Sampdoria in Dublin.

The 29-year-old Serbian international, who signed from Chelsea last week for £40 million, played the first half at the Aviva Stadium.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan headed the opener on nine minutes for United, before Dennis Praet grabbed the equaliser for Samp from range just after the hour.

Juan Mata then came off the bench to score the winner in the 81st minute when he side-footed home Anthony Martial's cross.

Matic slotted seamlessly into the side and gave a good account of himself, which left Mourinho purring with delight after the final whistle.

“He needs time but [his] experience, intelligence, a genius in the way he thinks - he thinks football,” Mourinho said.

“We will help him to be ready sooner rather than later.”

Mourinho's side ended their pre-season program with six wins and one loss from seven games.

United now play Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup final on Tuesday before getting their Premier League season underway on Sunday August 13 when they host West Ham.