Manchester United were beaten 3-1 by Burnley in a behind-closed-doors friendly at their Carrington training ground on Wednesday.
United face Newport County in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday after a two-week break in their schedule. The winter break was established by the authorities in order to give players some time off and minimise the number of injuries.
It has been useful for United, who have been able to usher back some of their absentees in the period following their 2-2 draw against Tottenham in the Premier League on January 14. Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Amad have all been missing through injuries but made a tentative comeback in the Burnley game.
The Athletic reports that each player was given between 45 and 60 minutes to sharpen their fitness levels. And while Erik ten Hag will have been focusing on the physical aspect of the friendly, he might also have been concerned by the scoreline.
United’s only goal came from the penalty spot and was scored by under-fire winger Antony, but it could not prevent a defeat against a Burnley side who sit 19th in the Premier League and have won just three of their 21 matches this season. It is not the first time United have been beaten by Vincent Kompany’s relegation-threatened side either, with Burnley also winning 3-0 in a similar fixture back in August.
Ten Hag’s side have lost 14 matches in all competitions this season and sit eighth in the Premier League, 11 points adrift of the top four. They have also been knocked out of all European competitions, meaning the FA Cup represents their only hope of having any kind of successful campaign.
With Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS team poised to take over control of the club – and Omar Berrada taking over as chief executive – the pressure is mounting on Ten Hag to improve results. While he will be delighted to welcome back key players like Shaw, Maguire, Martinez and Casemiro, they will need to hit the ground running.
Martinez returned from his lengthy lay-off by coming off the bench against Spurs earlier this month, with Casemiro staying on the bench for that fixture. Maguire has not played since suffering a groin injury against Bayern Munich on December 12 and Shaw hasn’t featured since the 2-0 loss against West Ham on December 23 due to a hamstring issue.
United remain without a whole host of other first-team players, with Andre Onana and Sofyan Amrabat away at the Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon and Morocco respectively and Mason Mount, Tyrell Malacia, Anthony Martial and Victor Lindelof out with injuries. Injuries have been a big problem this season and Mirror Football exclusively reported on Thursday that United have made a change in their physio team following a review led by head of sports medicine Gary O’Driscoll.