Lys Mousset stars again as Blades record an emphatic friendly victory over Doncaster Rovers

Sheffield United ran out 4-0 victors in their second pre-season friendly of the summer, and the first on English soil, as 3,000 Blades fans got their first glimpse of their side in the flesh under new manager Slavisa Jokanovic at League One Doncaster Rovers.

The Serbian manager’s appointment was announced just weeks after the South Yorkshire side’s Premier League relegation, with the coup an instant statement of intent bellowed out to the rest of the second tier.

Having enjoyed two promotions from the Championship with Watford and Fulham, the 52-year-old is certainly a manager of high calibre in the second division, with instant promotion certainly the target for the upcoming campaign that begins in just over a week.

Jokanovic named arguably his best available 11 to start the match, a lineup that wouldn’t have raised eyebrows in doubt had it been named in the Premier League last term.

The likes of John Fleck, Sander Berge and Aaron Ramsdale started the friendly, with the latter two subject to transfer speculation.

Premier League outfit Arsenal had reportedly seen a second bid rejected for goalkeeper Ramsdale last week, who had just returned from being involved in England’s EURO 2020 squad. However, the 23-year-old played the first half at the Keepmoat Stadium.

Berge too has attracted interest from the Gunners, however, Slavisa Jokanovic stated after the friendly win that he would be “hurt” if both Ramsdale and Berge were to leave this summer.

The Norwegian was excellent during the 45 minutes he played, being strongly involved for the Blades’ second goal.

Oliver Burke had put the visitors ahead as the winger capitalised on a dreadful backpass from Rovers ‘keeper Louis Jones before Berge produced an impressive run from midfield to cut back across goal for a teammate. A deflection against the post saw the ball fall for the Frenchman, who calmly bundled it home.

The 25-year-old added a third and doubled his tally for the evening just before halftime as John Fleck picked out the forward who slotted the ball past Jones cooly.

The former Bournemouth man had a largely disappointing campaign last term, scoring zero goals in an inury-hit season. However, the forward has looked sharp in pre-season, scoring three in two and could prove to be a vital player for the South Yorkshire side in the second tier.

A Luke Freeman header in the second half wrapped up the contest with 23 different players getting a run-out across the 90 minutes.

The result is certainly pleasing and the performance was strong, albeit against lesser opposition, and should certainly boost spirits ahead of the final friendly against Premier League new boys Norwich City at Bramall Lane on Saturday with the season opener against Birmingham City just nine days away.

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