Manchester United played their first pre-season friendly of the season at the Lerkendal Stadium against Rosenborg and came out as the losers, conceding a goal in the 93rd minute.
For United, it was a grim start, as Ten Haag naming several first-team players in his lineup did little to help them. Mason Mount, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Marcus Rashford all started, with Casemiro as the team’s captain. Still, the Red Devils failed to find the back of the net before half-time, following which manager Erik Ten Haag changed the XI completely.
On came the academy stars to carry forward the seniors’ underwhelming display. Conceding 22 shots on target, United were lucky not to concede more goals. And after the match ended, Ten Haag didn’t hold back while criticizing his players.
“The performance is more important,” he said as quoted by Sky Sports. “The performance was below standard.”
Manchester United has four more pre-season friendlies before the season kicks off with the Community Shield next month.
The team will play Rangers on the 20th of July before facing Arsenal on 28th July. Then, they play Spanish side Real Betis on 1st August before rounding off their pre-season by going up against old rivals Liverpool on 4th August.
Ten Haag and the Old Trafford faithful will be hoping for better results and more importantly performances, in these upcoming fixtures.
