On Monday, Manchester United's players were seen in training at Carrington in preparation for Thursday's critically important match against Real Sociedad in the Europa League.
United is enjoying a strong run of form as of late, as evidenced by the fact that they have gone winless in their last eight matches across all competitions. Their most recent victory came on Sunday, when Marcus Rashford scored the game-winning goal in a 1-0 win over West Ham. This goal was Rashford's 100th for the club.
The team returned to training yesterday in preparation for their upcoming game, and Erik ten Hag is taking extra precautions to ensure that they do not become complacent. United is aware that a win in Spain may be all that is needed to put them on top of their Europa League group.
1) Cristiano Ronaldo in good spirits
The star player for Manchester United has had a tumultuous couple of weeks, but it is obvious that he is enjoying his time back with the first-team squad. It would appear that the Portuguese ace has been welcomed back into the fold with open arms after sharing a joke with Lisandro Martinez before training and having a deep conversation with Diogo Dalot while warming up.
2) Some words of wisdom from Martinez for Rashford
Martinez and Rashford were both lauded for their performances in the game that took place on Sunday. It is abundantly clear that the former player is taking great pleasure in his position as a leader at Old Trafford. As he appeared to offer some guidance to United's newest member of the 100 club, he once again displayed the leadership qualities that have made him so valuable to the club. During the pregame warm-up, Martinez and Rashford were overheard engaged in a meaningful conversation.
3) Donny van de Beek keeps up his fight with his fitness routine
When the former Ajax manager first arrived, Van de Beek likely had different expectations for his reunion with Ten Hag than what has actually transpired. The Dutchman has only played thirty minutes of competitive football so far this season, so it has been difficult for him to demonstrate his qualities to Ten Hag once more. Van de Beek has been dealing with a knock all season, but he played against Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League and was an unused sub in the Premier League on Sunday. Despite this, he did play in the game against Sheriff Tiraspol. He participated in training once more as he continues to fight his way back into the starting eleven.
4) Scott McTominay and Jadon Sancho hold training sessions with members of the fringe.Ten Hag may have provided a hint as to where he envisions McTominay and Sancho fitting in with his plans for this Thursday. Both men participated in a session along with other players on the fringes of the team, such as Zidane Iqbal and Alejandro Garnacho, as well as players coming back from injuries, such as Van de Beek and Anthony Martial.
The fact that starters like Christian Eriksen and Marcus Rashford were not used in this mini-session may be interpreted as a sign that both players still have some work to do in order to be considered by Ten Hag prior to their match against Real Sociedad.
5) First-team coaches Benni McCarthy and Mitchell van der Gaag keeping a close eye on training
On Monday, first-team coaches Benni McCarthy and Mitchell van der Gaag were both keeping a watchful eye over the fringe players as they trained. It is reasonable to assume that both of these men will be reporting back to Ten Hag regarding which players should be given the opportunity to demonstrate their worth on Thursday night.
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