Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia is looking to get one over on bitter rivals Manchester City, as the two sides meet in pre-season in Beijing.
The Red Devils travel to China for their pre-season tour, and they meet Pep Guardiola’s City on 25 July, and Valencia stated that United will not be taking this game lightly.
It will be the first meeting between new United boss Jose Mourinho and Guardiola since the pair were appointed at their respected clubs.
Manchester derby means a lot to players
Last season, the two Manchester sides met twice, and there was only one goal in those games from youngster Marcus Rashford, who sealed the 1-0 win at the Etihad Stadium.
And Valencia, who has been in the United States on international duty with Ecuador at the Copa America, said that he is looking forward to the tie, saying it means “an awful lot” to the players.
The winger, who spoke to the club’s website, said: “Before the match you can’t wait to get underway so you can show how much you want to win and perform well and try to make the fans happy.”
Ecuador exited the Copa at the quarter-final stage, which means Valencia can now focus solely on club duties, and the winger will be looking to make his mark in pre-season under the new manager.
Good to go away with teammates
Valencia claimed that he is excited to be linking up with his teammates once again, while also getting into the best possible shape because the season is “very long”.
“I enjoy going away with my teammates and also the younger kids who are in the process of moving up through the ranks to the first-team squad,” he added.
Although many fans won’t be concerned too much about the result in the Far East, it would mean a lot in terms of seeing which squad has the capabilities to push for the Premier League title.
United have only lost once to their rivals in the last four games, and getting one over on City would go a long way for confidence in the squad.