We gave them a chance 😅. We can't win all the time 🤣.
But on a serious, who actually cares what the result and performance was like from this mixed bag of United players?
A blend of youth and experience took to the pitch for Erik ten Hag's side in a match that was more to get some competitive-ish minutes in the legs. After having nearly a month off for holidays, the players need to get back into it ahead of what is a very important campaign for MUFC.
Erik ten Hag went as strong as possible with the available squad with the likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jonny Evans, Casemiro, Mason Mount and Marcus Rashford being some of the heavy hitters in the starting XI.
The manager then made ten changes for the second half with only goalkeeper Radek Vitek keeping his spot in the side.
Rosenborg dominated proceedings as they created a mammoth 22 shots with 7 on target with young 'keeper being called into action on several occasions to keep MUFC in the game. He was eventually beaten late-on as Noah Holm scored in the 93rd minute to give Rosenborg the deserved win.
Those 22 shots were reminiscent of United from last season as we know how often we let oppositions have so many opportunities at goal.
This is only pre-season though, so whatever 😬.
Vitek was the obvious standout performer as he made save after save with a couple being absolutely superb to keep the score at 0-0. He was United's MOTM.
Others such as Toby Collyer - who recently signed a new three-year contract with the club, and Harry Amass were top performers.
However, others stood out for sort of the wrong reasons.
Casemiro for one, appeared as if he was moving through cement at times due to his sluggishness. Mason Mount and Marcus Rashford both didn't really leave too much of a mark on the game either.
While this is a pre-season friendly, those three players have a lot to prove for the upcoming season. This wasn't a good start by them.
A lot of people put this performance down to a lack of fitness which I suppose is fair but still, this lack of energy by the team is unacceptable.
Erik ten Hag after the game said that “This is not the standard for top football. We can’t be match fit at this moment. They have a much higher fitness level but we are Manchester United we must perform better.”
Clearly the United boss was not happy with his side's lack of fitness despite it being the opening pre-season fixture.
ten Hag also spoke about his new assistant and ex-striker Ruud van Nistelrooy saying that “He is a very ambitious manager. He has a great skill set. He will help the team - definitely attacking-wise.”
While it was a great performance by Vitek in goal, Erik ten Hag did say that he was helped by the rest of the team being well, shite. He didn't use that word by he may as well have.
A bit brutal from the manager but truthful as well.
There was also a horrific tackle on Casemiro that could've been a lot worse but luckily it didn't turn out to be too serious.
Final Thoughts
Of course, not the best of starts to pre-season as no one likes to lose but to get the team back on the pitch is always a good thing. We should be seeing an improvement in game two as we cannot be any worse than this.
A lot of (big) players need to be better because this is a chance for them to showcase why they should be considered as starters next season.
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