Manchester United drew 2-2 with Aston Villa in their fourth pre-season friendly.
United’s two first-half goals were cancelled out by a determined Villa side in the second half.
Erik ten Hag will be disappointed with the inability of his team to retain the 2-0 lead.
United were dominant in the first 45 minutes and imposed themselves upon the opposition. After the break, however, Ten Hag decided to make plenty of changes to give more minutes to the youngsters.
This saw United lose control of the match and eventually ended up losing their lead.
Here are three things we learnt from today’s game.
Jadon Sancho is special
The 22 year old looks better every game and today was another splendid performance. Sancho is exactly the type of attacker United have been crying out for years.
Jadon Sancho’s game by numbers vs. Aston Villa:
100% shot accuracy
34 passes
12 final third passes
6 touches in opp. box
3 possessions won
2 shots
1 key pass
1 goalLocking down Man Utd’s RW. 🔐🔐🔐 #MUFC pic.twitter.com/K6qvsKVUVJ
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) July 23, 2022
His creativity and composure on the ball put him a cut above the rest. The Englishman scored the opening goal finishing a fine team move.
Sancho will be looking to take this form into the new season, and he could be one of United’s standout players.
Ten Hag needs Frenkie de Jong
Yes, despite many United fans being frustrated at the long drawn-out De Jong saga, it is vital that he comes.
In today’s match, we saw the glaring issue that is midfield. Donny Van de Beek was forced to play deeper and while Fred and he kept things neat, United still struggle with building attacks from the back.
De Jong is a world-class midfielder who would take this midfield to a whole new level.
His technical prowess and vision would facilitate fluid football – something Ten Hag loves.
Patience in possession
If there is one thing we can take away from these pre-season games it is the patience United have shown with the ball.
Under Ole Gunnar Solskjer everything seemed too rushed and direct, with no clear plan. Ten Hag has instilled in the players a sense of awareness, which has improved the performances of certain players.
It is refreshing to see United passing it around patiently without panicking.
The patterns of play were visible and it looked like most of the players had bought into Ten Hag’s philosophy.
Man United now travel to Oslo to play Atletico Madrid on the 30th of July
