Manchester United 2-1 Sampdoria: Juan Mata nets winner as Red Devils claim victory in Dublin friendly as Nemanja Matic plays first game for new side

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As all eyes centred on Nemanja Matic's Manchester United debut, it was another former Chelsea man who claimed the glory for Jose Mourinho in Dublin.

On an evening in which the United manager saw new £40m midfielder Matic complete his first half of football for the club, Juan Mata popped up late on to ensure Mourinho ended pre-season with a victory.

It was a night that started peculiarly for United when one Dublin local pulled a prank and pretended to clamp the team bus into its parking space outside a city centre hotel. 

Manchester United playmaker Juan Mata celebrates with a clenched fist after scoring the winning goal against Sampdoria

The Spaniard is congratulated by compatriot Ander Herrera as United continued their preparations with another victory

Henrikh Mkhiatryan stoops low to head the ball at goal after it sailed over Romelu Lukaku to put Manchester United ahead

The Armenia international was in the right place to head home after a Manchester United counter attack at the Aviva Stadium

Mkhitaryan is congratulated by United team-mate Matteo Darmian after scoring the opening goal against Sampdoria

Dennis Praet, scorer of Sampdoria's second half equaliser, holds off the challenge of Daley Blind on the edge of the area

Belgium international Praet is congratulated by his Sampdoria team-mates after levelling the scores from distance

United skipper Michael Carrick and new boy Victor Lindelof looked dejected after conceding against the Serie A side

That, however, was as dramatic as things would get on a pleasing evening for Mourinho as Matic earned his first minutes of pre-season after spending the past few weeks training alone at Chelsea's training ground.

It is quite the compliment to Chelsea manager Antonio Conte that two of his competitors, Mourinho and Arsene Wenger, seem set to embark on the new season by imitating the formula that spearheaded Chelsea's title charge last season.

In Mourinho's case, he has even pinched one of the midfield heavyweights that greased the well-oiled Chelsea machine.

The Serbian Matic slotted in seamlessly to a 3-4-2-1 system that mirrored the role he played under Conte last season and we can expect to see United deploy this formation in their more challenging fixtures this season.

Afterwards, Mourinho described Matic as a 'genius', in a glowing tribute to his the player's intelligence and positional play in front of United's defence.

Yet for all the positives, some United flaws did reveal themselves against Sampdoria - the eleventh best team in Italy last season - and further ironing out is required before United's competitive action begins.

Certainly, Real Madrid in the Super Cup next week will offer a clearer barometer of United's suitability to this system.

The back three of Victor Lindelof, Chris Smalling and Daley Blind did not always look particularly assured, with the latter of the trio especially suspect.

It was Blind's complacent streak that very nearly led to United conceding the first goal of this game. As it transpired, the Dutchman's suspect backpass was instead the starting pistol for a chain of events that led to United taking the lead. 

Nemanja Matic sprays a pass from the centre of the pitch as he made his Manchester United debut on Wednesday evening

The United new boy, signed from Chelsea for £40m, acknowledges a fan after a robust challenge sent the ball into the crowd

Manchester United No 9 Romelu Lukaku, who joined this summer from Everton, attempts to curl a shot into the net

Goalscorer Mkhitaryan gets stuck in and slides to dispossess Sampdoria's Lucas Torreira during the first half of the encounter

Sampdoria defender Matias Silvestre flies through the air to get his foot on the  ball ahead of Lukaku at the Aviva Stadium

Manchester United right back Antonio Valencia attempts to get down the wing as Daniel Pavlovic sticks out his left foot

Summer recruit Victor Lindelof applies pressure on Sampdoria forward Gianluca Caprari as he gears up for the new season

In a most peculiar passage of play, United had appeared for all the world as though they were set to concede.

As David De Gea shimmied to the left side of his penalty area to offer Blind the option of a pass back, the Dutch defender lost sight of his goalkeeper's bearing.

In doing so, he applied too much force to his pass and further embarrassment was only spared as a heroic lunge by De Gea kept the ball out of United's own goal.

Yet in his desperation, the Spaniard used his hands and an indirect free-kick from point-blank range followed. A melee of United bodies stemmed the flow and in the blink of an eye, a sea of United shirts blitzed upfield.

Antonio Valencia led the pack down the right flank, carrying the ball fifty yards before Andreas Pereira switched the play with a clipped ball to Matteo Darmian. The Italian does not always appear entirely comfortable with the ball at his feet but here he chested it down before shuffling it across goal where Henrikh Miktaryan turned the ball in.

United coasted along with sufficient assurance for 60 minutes and Mourinho then altered the formation for the final half hour to a more conventional 4-2-3-1 system when he replaced Blind with Martial. 

Manchester United's Italian defender Darmian gets across to clear the danger as Praet bravely puts his head in

Mkhitaryan passes out to the right as Sampdoria frontman Edgar Barreto sticks out a boot in an attempt to stop the move

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho smiles as he is embraced by Sampdoria backroom staff ahead of kick-off

The Red Devils boss instructs Valencia as Lukaku makes way for striker Marcus Rashford midway through the first half

Rashford falls to the floor with his arms outstretched having been brought down after coming on from the bench

Sampdoria manager Marco Giampaolo barks orders at his team from the touchline as the Italians provided a tough test

United almost immediately extended their lead when two more substitutes combined, as Ander Herrera stroked home Marouane Fellaini's knockdown - but the linesman's flag curtailed the Basque midfielder's celebrations.

For United, it was a rare sight of goal in a rather ponderous performance in which their most talented players rarely demonstrated their gifts.

As United returned home to Manchester on Wednesday evening, Mourinho may reflect on the the manner in which his team rather allowed the match to drift along without too much urgency and in doing so, invited their limited Italian opponents to grow in confidence.

Sampdoria equalised just past the hour mark when a rampage down the left was only partially cleared by Smalling, teeing up the Belgian Dennis Praet to glide onto the scene and fire the ball in from just outside the penalty area. Smalling then doubled down on his error by shifting his body to block the strike, only to then withdraw at the final split-second to leave his goalkeeper deceived.

Yet with the clock ticking down and the Italians increasingly disjointed by a flurry of substitutions, Martial carried the ball into the penalty area and teed up Mata to seal the win.