Manchester United played their second game in 24 hours when they took on Spanish outfit Athletic Bilbao in Dublin, earning a 1-1 draw in the process.
Just a day after toppling RC Lens at Old Trafford, the Red Devils made the trip to Ireland for their last taste of pre-season action before their Premier League opener against Wolves next Monday. It was a completely different starting line-up to the one that took on Lens, with boss Erik ten Hag making clear who he views as the priority players before the new campaign begins.
Jadon Sancho was played through one on one inside the opening three minutes, but could only fire straight at goalkeeper Unai Simon. Nico Williams made United pay, putting Athletic in front after Harry Maguire was guilty of some poor passing.
Mid-way through the second-half, Aitor Paredes was shown a red-card after he cynically hauled down Hannibal Mejbri when the Tunisia international would have been through on goal.
It was a fiercely contested affair considering this was the last friendly before competitive action gets started, with plenty of thunderous tackles flying in throughout.
In the dying moments, United youngster Facundo Pellistri spared Maguire’s blushes with the last kick of the match. The Uruguayan volleyed home from close range to ensure the honours ended even.
United’s £72million man is still yet to enjoy a full campaign of stellar performances in a Red Devils shirt and will be desperate to buck that trend.
The early signs look good this pre-season and considering Sancho was one of the few players to star in both games this weekend in some capcity, he looked surprisingly sharp in game two.
As mentioned, the England international enjoyed one of the best chances of the game very early on but his effort was too tame to beat Spain shot-stopper Simon.
There wasn’t much for the crowd inside the Aviva stadium to get off their seats about inside the opening 25 minutes, but Sancho’s delightful nutmeg in the middle of the park got quite the cheer.
The former Borussia Dortmund man often picked up pockets of space while operating as a false nine, a role that appears to suit Sancho. Replaced by Joe Hugill after 63 minutes, Ten Hag will be pleased with what he saw from his number 25.
Harry Maguire’s inclusion in the starting line-up for this contest is a damning indictment of his standing in the Red Devils pecking order.
This contest was little more than a fitness exercise for United’s fringe players, with the real big-hitters and those at the forefront of Ten Hag’s mind featuring yesterday against Lens.
