There was no rest for the wicked as Manchester United were back in training on Thursday following their friendly defeat to Cadiz.
A youthful United, obviously lacking the majority of their senior stars, fell to a 4-2 defeat to the Spanish outfit in their first friendly on their warm-weather training trip. The hosts raced to a two-goal lead before Anthony Martial's Panenka'd penalty and Kobbie Mainoo 's deflected finish dragged them level. However, Cadiz would restore their advantage to run out winners.
United have their final friendly of the trip on Saturday against La Liga side Real Betis so with little time to prepare they were back on the training pitch on Thursday and put through their paces by Erik ten Hag. A series of photographs have been released from the session and here is what we spotted.
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1 - Shola stuck in
Shola Shoretire looked to be on the cusp of a first-team breakthrough under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but has slipped down the pecking order considerably in the last year, with senior minutes a rarity. The versatile attacker is still just 18 years old, though, and still has plenty of time to establish himself.
Shoretire looked bright off the bench on Wednesday as he attempted to add impetus to the attack and he was certainly getting stuck in in training as he challenged Scott McTominay for the ball.
2 - Mainoo continues to establish himself
While Alejandro Ganrahco grabbed the headlines with his goals in United's FA Youth Cup triumph last season, it was Kobbie Mainoo who was the beating heart of the team. The agile and elegant all-action midfielder has been impressive and earned a spot on the bench for the goalless draw against Newcastle.
If Ten Hag wanted to get a closer look at him in Spain then he must have enjoyed what he saw when he forced in the equaliser. He's continuing to establish himself in a first-team setting and it might not be long at all before he makes his senior debut, perhaps even against Burnley.
3 - Van de Beek and Ten Hag embrace
A midfielder who didn't impress against Cadiz was Donny van de Beek. The Dutchman has struggled ever since his move to Old Trafford and even the man who spotted and harnessed his potential at Ajax hasn't been able to get a tune out of him yet.
The playmaker was anonymous in his three successive starts before the break and needs to use the trip to prove he can still be an asset to Ten Hag. It didn't start well on Wednesday so a big improvement will be needed against Betis. Ten Hag was snapped clasping hands with his fellow Dutchman and he still has faith he can succeed at Old Trafford even if it won't be easy.
4 - Plenty of smiles
It might have been a defeat and not a particularly good performance against Cadiz but that hasn't upset the mood in the camp. There were still plenty of smiles on the faces of plenty of players during the session, with the goalkeepers especially seeming to enjoy a game of what can only be described as 'goalkeeper tennis.'
Results in friendlies don't matter, of course, and getting fitness up is the main aim of the trip after a short break but Ten Hag may well be hoping to see an improvement from the players on Friday as he decides who plays against Burnley.
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