Manchester United took part in a behind-closed-door friendly game against Burnley at the Red Devils’ Carrington Training ground, according to reports.
With the Red Devils not featuring in the Premier League last weekend, it has been a mini-international break of sorts for United, and Erik ten Hag has organised a friendly match for his group.
United return to action this weekend when they take on Newport County in the FA Cup hoping to book their place in the fifth round of the competition as they hope to emulate their final appearance of last season.
However, this campaign has been very disappointing and Ten Hag may well be on his final warning at the club with a change of manager potentially in the offing in the summer.
United’s friendly result
Well according to Norwegian journalist Fredrik Fildvelt, and Laurie Whitwell of The Athletic, the Red Devils lost 3-1 against Vincent Kompany’s side once again which is a repeat of their previous friendly loss to the Lancashire side back in August.
At the moment, Burnley are firmly embroiled in a battle to beat the drop. The relegation strugglers are in 19th position, with just 12 points after playing 20 games but United have lost to them again.
Antony played and scored from the spot in the defeat. His agent said this week he wanted to score more goals, and that’s one way to do it.
The result really doesn’t matter as there have been plenty of occasions where the Red Devils have lost friendly games against lower-ranked opposition.
Few stars return
According to The Athletic’s report, who has proven to be a reliable source of information in the past, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martínez, and Casemiro all played at least 45 minutes vs Burnley.
As well as this, Luke Shaw and Amad Diallo also took part in the fixture which suggests they could be fit for Sunday’s FA Cup match.
This would be a huge boost for Ten Hag who has had to play the majority of the season without the majority of his key men.
Shaw, Casemiro and Martinez, in particular, almost single-handedly got United into the Champions League places but due to injury, and poor form, the trio have hardly been seen this season.
Perhaps an appearance from the bench from one of these three players against Newport would be ideal in building up their match fitness.
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