Manchester United recorded their first Europa League win of the campaign on Thursday evening, beating Sheriff Tiraspol 2-0 at the Zimbru Stadium in Moldova.
After being beaten 1-0 by Real Sociedad in their Group E opener last week, United got their first points on the board without too much fuss, thanks to goals from Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo. The duo struck before half-time to ensure the Reds recorded a comfortable victory.
As well as Sancho's and Ronaldo's first-half goals securing a first Europa League group stage win of the season, they also secured a third successive away win without conceding, following the recent Premier League successes over Southampton (1-0) and Leicester City (1-0). Manager Erik ten Hag reverted back to his strongest back-four, handing recalls to Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez.
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The duo were replaced by Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof in the heart of the back-four for the defeat to Sociedad last week, with Ten Hag choosing to mix things up. However, after seeing last Sunday's trip to Crystal Palace postponed and this weekend's clash with Leeds United also cancelled, the Dutchman opted to reinstate his preferred centre-back partnership.
They have quickly developed a promising relationship, starting each of United's five victories this season. Every time Varane has started this term United have won, highlighting how influential he is.
And in a bid to improve their partnership and understanding, the duo were put through a new pre-match exercise during the warm-up on Thursday evening. Working with first-team coach Eric Ramsay, Varane and Martinez were tasked with passing the ball with their weaker foot, meaning Varane was working off his left and Martinez his right.
They then switched back onto their stronger foot and exchanged passes before playing one forward. It might have seemed an unusual pre-match drill, but Ten Hag, as recently revealed by the Manchester Evening News, is conducting extra training sessions at the club's Carrington training base to develop the weaker foot of his players.
The United manager has been doing wrong-footed sessions with members of the squad after the main training session. Certain players, including Luke Shaw, are believed to have taken part and Ten Hag is keen to improve that particular element of his players' credentials.
During his initial analysis at United, Ten Hag spotted a lack of left-footed players within his armoury, prompting them to try and solve the issue during the transfer window. Summer signings Tyrell Malacia, Martinez and Antony are all left-footed.
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