Manchester United saw pre-season end disappointingly with a 3-0 loss to Liverpool, here’s what we learned.
With pre-season concluded Manchester United will head back to Carrington ahead of a week to prepare for the Community Shield.
The tour ended with a 3-0 defeat to Liverpool although, against Liverpool, Erik ten Hag will have been happy with how his team played, besides finishing off chances and also some sloppy defending.
There were still several players who impressed in the game as United once again looked far better than much of last season.
Here are the five lessons we have taken from the game.
Harry Amass has a bright future but has work to do
One positive note from this season which everyone can agree on is the emergence of Harry Amass and against Liverpool there were once more some positives to take.
The 17-year-old took on Mohamed Salah and on most occasions they duelled, it was Amass who came out on top, winning most of his one-on-one duels.
The left-back however did switch off at times defensively, as he did against Arsenal and Real Betis, and it is clearly something he needs to work on going forward.
That being said, the neutralise a player like Salah shows just how talented he is – don’t be surprised to see Amass established this time next year as the first-choice left-back.
Jadon Sancho has a place at United
One player nobody thought would play for United again let alone be putting in encouraging performances is Jadon Sancho.
Sancho looked sharp against Liverpool and was linking up nicely with Mason Mount and Amad Diallo – playing his role as a false nine perfectly well.
Ten Hag gave Sancho 70 minutes, which indicates he is planning to use him – if Sancho manages to come back and be a success at United it would be an incredible turnaround.
But for now, there are some slight signs that this could happen, but we will not be getting carried away.
Defensive investment is needed immediately
This summer might have already seen Leny Yoro arrive at the club, but his injury against Arsenal has left United threadbare at centre-half.
With Lisandro Martinez yet to return – the options at Ten Hag’s disposal are just awful with Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof both simply not good enough.
So United will always be an injury away from disaster at centre-back. Therefore, Ineos need to invest more in the defence and bring Matthijs de Ligt into the club.
- READ MORE: Manchester United confirmed signings, transfers in, out, loan exits, releases for 2024/25
Result aside United are impressing
While losing to Liverpool is never a good feeling, solace can be taken due to the fact the performance itself was deserving of a win.
United had more shots, won more tackles and duels and dominated large parts of the first half.
The new game plan for United is impressive and already the team look far more prepared and organised than last season.
Hopefully, we capitalise on the good displays against City and win the Community Shield.
Add in our star players and United could be a real threat
While United will be disappointed, it’s important to remember that this loss came in the absence of effectively eight of the strongest starting lineup.
So when our star players are added to this team, with the same style of play it could be an entirely different story, and hopefully, it will be in three weeks when Liverpool come to Old Trafford.
The addition of Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Dalot, Joshua Zirkzee, Alejandro Garnacho, Kobbie Mainoo and others could be pivotal in United seeing the positive performance turn into a win.
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