Fitness and minutes in the legs of the players was always going to take priority over the result when Manchester United faced Cadiz CF at the Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla in a low-key friendly on Wednesday evening.
But there was aspects of United's 4-2 defeat to the Spanish side that will have left manager Erik ten Hag seething. Regardless of the competition or the opposition, Ten Hag, as we all know only too well, demands nothing but the very best from his players.
Considering the 29-man squad he has taken with him to Spain for this week's training camp and two fixtures is made up of mostly youngsters, with the odd dash of experienced talent thrown in, the Dutchman was never going to be able to expect perfection. The bulk of his star players are still in Qatar chasing football's ultimate prize.
