Manchester United suffered a 3-0 defeat at the feet of arch-rivals Liverpool in South Carolina, but perhaps the most desperate thing was that two more were injured, both of them at the back. The Red Devils have been injured in each of the three games of the United States trip, and Marcus Rashford and Antony, who were injured in the last game against Arsenal, were lucky and fine, but this time Will· Fish and Wan-Bissaka may not be so lucky, especially the youngster Fish, who was taken off the pitch on a stretcher, and Ten Hag also stepped forward to check.
Ten Hag won 4-0 over Liverpool in his first warm-up game in charge of Manchester United, but this time the new boss took over and almost returned him the same scoreline. In this warm-up match, the Red Devils exposed a long-term ill of a lack of chances in front of goal.
While Rashford's form has picked up slightly from last season and he has created some threats, his lack of precision in the final shot has not changed.
United were not without chances to score, with Mason · Mount, Marcus Rashford, Scott McTominay and Ethan · Wheatley all having good chances in both halves, but their shots were either off target of their own or saved by goalkeeper Kelleher, all without rewriting the scoreboard.
Ten Hag was clearly unhappy with United's forward performance and shouted in the direction of Jadon Sancho at the start of the second half, unhappy that the striker dropped too deep. United have been lacking an efficient scorer, a problem that has been going through last season and has cost them a clean sheet in a game with more shots.
The team's £73 million goalscoring centre-forward Hojlund will be out through injury until September, and new signing Zirkze has a poor past goalscoring record, but he will be under increasing pressure to take on the burden of scoring for the Red Devils.
As with the attack, Ten Hag has to worry about United's defence, with injuries to their starting centre-backs in all five warm-up games. Maguire was not on the squad for this game and was suspected to have suffered a minor injury, so Ten Hag had to re-use Lindelof, who was ready to be sold, as a precautionary measure.
Under Ten Hag, Academy centre-back Fisch was unfortunate. After being sent off in Ten Hag's first warm-up game in charge and suffering an injury in the first warm-up game of the summer, he came off the bench in the second half only to end up on a stretcher after a foul that resulted in his ankle.
After Fish retired from injury, midfielder Maxi · Ojedler had to make a cameo at centre-back as Ten Hag was no longer available. Argentina internationals Lisandro · Martinez will not return until Monday, and he is the only option for the Reds, along with Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Evans, one less than last season.
After that, the injured Wan-Bissaka was able to walk off on his own, and Manchester United hope that the thigh injury of "Spider-Man" will not affect his next transfer, and only after selling him can Ten Hag sign Bayern's Mazraoui.
In Liverpool's first goal, the United penalty area was full of players, but a simple touch from Fabio · Carvalho shook off all the defense and easily scored with a low left-footed shot into the far corner to give Liverpool a 1-0 lead.
United's midfield problems have also made the defence more difficult. According to a statistic, Manchester United's double midfielders won only one of the 12 duels against their opponents in the first 40 minutes, with a success rate as low as 8%! Before Carvalho's goal, the Manchester United players who shook off were Casemiro who was not flexible enough.
The aging "Fat Tiger" started all five warm-up games as captain, but the 32-year-old Brazil superstar now seems to be better at attacking. Teenager Toby · Collier was favored by Ten Hag, but his defence was also not ideal, and Salah shook him off and set up Curtis · Jones to make it 2-0 down at half-time.
In the second half, United's left-hand defence was broken down again, with Onana saving his first shot but Tsimikas slotting into the net to make it 3-0. Fans on both sides were unhappy after the game, with Liverpool supporters fearing back-to-back wins over Arsenal and Manchester United would make the team stop buying, while United supporters demanded a new midfielder to replace Casemiro as soon as possible.