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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
George Smith

Erik ten Hag eyes first-team debuts and three more things spotted in Manchester United training

Manchester United quickly switched their focus to Thursday night's Europa League clash with Omonia Nicosia at their Carrington training base on Monday, less than 24 hours after beating Everton at Goodison Park.

The Reds, who beat Omonia 3-2 in an entertaining clash in Cyprus last week, recorded their fifth win in their last six Premier League outings with victory over the Toffees, recovering from a goal down to notch a 2-1 win. Antony and substitute Cristiano Ronaldo both scored to move United to within a point of the top four.

But despite another encouraging performance and result on Merseyside, manager Erik ten Hag did not grant his players a day off as a reward, instead ordering them to Carrington to start preparing for their fourth group game of their Europa League campaign. United have won their last two group games, meaning another three-point haul would all but seal their place in the knockout stages.

READ MORE: Antony is saving United from £200m embarrassment after potential mistakes

Such is the demanding schedule United are currently having to manage, Ten Hag is likely to rotate his pack on Thursday evening, meaning it was no great surprise to see several youngsters involved in Monday's training session. With that in mind, MEN Sport has taken a close look at that and three other things we spotted from the session.

Youngsters aim to impress

Ten Hag has not been afraid to promote youngsters to first-team training sessions since arriving at Old Trafford. A number of them have regularly had chances to rub shoulders with some of the club's most senior stars.

Monday's session, though, featured a larger pool of academy players than usual, with plenty of academy stars pictured taking part in the session. Among them to be included were Sam Murray, Kobbie Mainoo and Joe Hugill, as were Daniel Gore and highly-rated Norwegian Isak Hansen-Aaroen.

Joe Hugill trained under close watch from Scott McTominay (right). (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images.)

They will all have benefited from the opportunity to tune into one of Ten Hag's sessions, just as they will have benefitted from getting to train alongside the likes of Marcus Rashford and Ronaldo. Considering United have nine games in 29 days this month, it would be no surprise to see at least one or two youngsters included in the squad on Thursday evening.

Pellistri steps up

After being named on the bench in United's last three matches, Facundo Pellistri will be hoping to finally earn his competitive debut for the club when Omonia visit Old Trafford later this week. He suffered an ankle injury in August, ultimately denying him a loan exit before the summer transfer window closed.

But with the start of the World Cup now less than six weeks away, Pellistri will be determined to get some minutes in the tank, as he is expected to be included in the Uruguay squad despite his limited opportunities so far this season. He trained with the main group on Monday and will be hoping to do enough to creep into Ten Hag's thoughts for United's latest Europa League assignment, especially if he is planning to rotate his pack.

Smiles aplenty

After getting back to winning ways in the Premier League on Sunday evening, United's players had every right to feel jubilant during Monday's session. Several pictures were snapped of the players grinning from ear to ear, but none more so than Luke Shaw.

Luke Shaw was all smiles during Monday's training session. (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images.)

The left-back was awarded his first start since the 4-0 battering at Brentford, meaning he had every right to feel and look happy. He was snapped donning a huge smile while in conversation with Christian Eriksen. A confident and happy camp can only be a good thing.

Brazilian bonding

Both Casemiro and Antony made important contributions to the win over Everton. Casemiro provided the pass for Ronaldo's winner following Antony's smart equaliser.

Both joining United in the summer and being of the same nationality, it is no surprise that they have formed a bond on the training ground, though that has, of course, been helped by the time they have spent together on the international stage. They were spotted in conversation during the session, laughing and smiling.

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