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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
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Matthew Hobkinson

Erik ten Hag's impact on display as Marcus Rashford absent - six things spotted in Man United training

Manchester United were put through their paces by Erik ten Hag on Monday ahead of their Europa League clash against Sheriff Tiraspol.

United will be looking to bounce back after their opening defeat to Real Sociedad in Group E last week. Ten Hag's side lost to their La Liga opposition owing to a controversial penalty decision that cost the Reds at least a point.

It was not the best performance from United's squad this season, as Ten Hag hoped his rotated side would have put in a higher level of performance. There had been doubts over the match after the Premier League - and Football League - decided to postpone all games over the weekend after Queen Elizabeth II passed away, aged 96, on Thursday, at her Balmoral estate in Scotland.

ALSO READ: Ripping up Solskjaer's defence and more - what Ten Hag has improved at United

The club have confirmed that this week's game will definitely go ahead and that match arrangements will remain the same as already planned.

Ten Hag would have been eager to get back to the training pitch as quickly as possible after the defeat to Sociedad, and we've picked out the key moments from United's latest training session on Monday.

Youngsters on display

Charlie McNeill, Marc Jurado, Zidane Iqbal, Alejandro Garnacho and Omari Forson were all pictured training with the senior squad, as Ten Hag gave United's crop of talented youngsters the chance to impress in training.

Just how many minutes they will get against United's Moldovan opponents is still yet to be seem, but they are certainly getting their chance to show their manager what they can do.

A mixture of youth and experience was on display at Carrington (2022 Manchester United FC)

Ten Hag and his coaching staff cast relaxed figures

If the defeat to Real Sociedad has annoyed the Dutchman, he certainly wasn't letting it show in training.

Ten Hag was seen sharing a joke with his coaching staff as spirits appeared to be high ahead of their next Europa League match in Moldova.

While the pressure may now be on United to get all three points in their next fixture, the United boss certainly wasn't letting it get to him.

Erik ten Hag shares a joke with his coaching staff (2022 Manchester United FC)

Cristiano Ronaldo and Casemiro set to start?

Both Ronaldo and Casemiro started for United during the 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford last Thursday, and neither of them took their chance to lay claim to a starting position.

Ten Hag may well be keen to see the pair in action once again, but whether their performances warranted a second start in a row is still to be decided.

The former Real Madrid duo train alongside each other (2022 Manchester United FC)

Scott McTominay and Casemiro kept apart

Although they were together in training, the keen advocates of 'bib watch' would have spotted that Ten Hag may be keeping the pair at arm's length when it comes to game time.

The Dutchman has slowly introduced Casemiro to football at United, with his first start finally coming last Thursday. McTominay has largely been preferred over the Brazilian so far, and if the latest training photos are anything to go by, it appears that only one of the duo will start in the game against FC Sheriff.

The pair appeared to be on different teams during training which would suggest it is still very much a case of one of them playing - if their lack of matching bibs is anything to go by.

Casemiro and McTominay compete for the ball in training (2022 Manchester United FC)

Ten Hag's weak foot focus on display

There has been a lot of discussion surrounding the right-foot dominance within this current United squad, so much so that Ten Hag has held special training sessions purely focusing on the use of players' weaker foots.

A glimpse of this was on display in United's recent training session, where Victor Lindelof was seen passing the ball with his left foot, not his dominant right and it appears that Erik ten Hag's impact is already on full display.

Signs of Ten Hag's philosophy are filtering through in training (2022 Manchester United FC)

Notable absences

Anthony Martial's injury has prevented him from taking part in training again this week, yet he wasn't the only absentee from United's front line. Marcus Rashford also appeared to be missing from training, as concerns over an injury are raised ahead of the Europa League clash on Thursday night.

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