Jose Mourinho says Manchester United's North American tour 'perfect'

Premier League club conclude their trip with a game against Barcelona in Washington DC on Wednesday

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho relaxes ahead of Manchester United's pre-season match against Real Madrid in Santa Clara, California, on July 23, 2017. Alan Greth / Reuters

Jose Mourinho says Manchester United's hectic-looking pre-season schedule will help rather than hinder, going as far to say as their American tour is "perfect".

Complaints about the fixtures list dominated the end of last season, with the Portuguese's side not only juggling domestic exertions but their run to Europa League triumph.

It was therefore a little bit surprising to see how packed their 2017/18 preparations have been, with Sunday's penalty shoot-out win against Real Madrid their fourth friendly in nine days.

Matches against the LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake and Manchester City in Houston preceded the Santa Clara encounter, with United then heading to Washington to take on Barcelona in Wednesday's final match Stateside.

Friendlies in Norway and Ireland follow before the Uefa Super Cup in Macedonia on August 8, but Mourinho does not fear the schedule will negatively impact United.

Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini, left, and Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric, centre, and Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane in action. John G Mabanglo / EPA

Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro, centre, is greeted by teammates after scoring against Manchester United during the second half of the International Champions Cup match at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, USA, 23 July 2017. Manchester United defeated Real Madrid in the penalty shoot-out. John G Mabanglo / EPA

Real Madrid defender Marcelo, right, and Manchester United defender Eric Bailly in action. John G Mabanglo / EPA

Manchester United's Scott McTominay, left, and Real Madrid's Fabio Coentrao jump over Real Madrid goalie Francisco Casilla. Ben Margot / AP Photo

Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas watches as a Jesse Lingard opens the scoring for Manchester United. Beck Diefenbach / AFP

Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro, left, scores from the penalty spot. Beck Diefenbach / AFP

Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard, right, in action against Real Madrid defender Marcelo. John G Mabanglo / EPA

Manchester United's Andreas Pereira, front, and Real Madrid's Gareth Bale go for the ball. Ben Margot / AP Photo

Real Madrid's Marcelo, right, kicks the ball away from Manchester United's Timothy Fosu-Mensah. Ben Margot / AP Photo

Real Madrid defender Marcelo, right, heads the ball. Beck Diefenbach / AFP

Manchester United goalkeeper Sergio Romero, left, attempts to block a shot while defender Phil Jones and Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale collide. Beck Diefenbach / AFP

Asked if the air miles being put into his players' legs were a concern, the United manager retorted: "No, no, no. For us, not a lot of travelling.

"We managed to organise the pre-season in a way where we were based in LA for 15 days, which is fantastic to be always in the same hotel, always in the same training ground.

"The flights were quiet, short flights to go to Real Salt Lake, Houston was not a problem, and now we are on our way back home.

"We come here and now we go to DC and DC is halfway home, almost.

"In terms of jet lag, it is halfway home, so these next three days in DC is not a problem, it is just a good thing for us on our way back.

"And after that we have two more matches to play in Norway and Ireland, travelling in the same day, short flights, so I am really happy with our pre-season.

"And if [Juan] Mata and Ander [Herrera] are not a real problem in terms of injuries, I would say perfect pre-season for us."

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United's American tour has certainly gone far smoother than last year's farcical trip to China.

Bureaucracy, disorganisation and bad luck meant their money-spinning International Champions Cup involvement ended shambolically, with the friendly against City in Beijing called off to the quagmire Bird's Nest surface.

Mourinho has long preferred pre-season taking place in the USA, in particular Los Angeles, and will be pushing to come back across the Atlantic next year.

"It is the best," he said earlier in the week. "It is the best and I will try everything with my club to be back because, with all the respect, Asia is beautiful, commercially it's fantastic for the clubs, but the conditions to work are completely different.

"Here it is about the facilities, about the organisation and everything is perfect, so we are going to try to persuade the club ... to bring us back again."