Manchester United concluded their pre-season preparations ahead of the start of the new Premier League season with a 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Gracing the Old Trafford technical area for the very first time, manager Erik ten Hag saw his side let a one-goal lead slip, meaning they ended their pre-season schedule on a run of three games without a victory. Amad's opener, which arrived just three minutes into the second-half, was cancelled out less than ten minutes later by Alvaro Garcia.
After watching his side face Atletico Madrid in Oslo a little over 24 hours earlier, Ten Hag fielded a new-look team against Vallecano, with new signings Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen earning their first starts for the club.
READ MORE: Erik ten Hag is reigniting Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's plan for Manchester United forwards
Cristiano Ronaldo also racked up his first minutes of pre-season, starting up front, but was taken off at half-time and was replaced by Amad. The Portuguese star was not included in the pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia due to personal reasons amid his wish to leave the club this summer.
But while Ronaldo's return was the main headline of the afternoon, it was the midfield performances of Donny van de Beek and Eriksen, who joined forces with James Garner in a midfield-three, that earned plenty of attention. Both Eriksen and Van de Beek will be knocking on Ten Hag's door for a starting berth ahead of the season opener against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday and neither of them failed to bolster their chances.
As the half hour mark approached, Eriksen and Van de Beek, both formerly of Ajax, combined beautifully to beat the Vallecano midfield press and instigate a United attack. Forming a little triangle with Ronaldo, they managed to work the ball through the La Liga side's midfield and find Ronaldo, who attempted to pick out Alejandro Garnacho with a threaded through ball. Unfortunately for him it was a tad overhit and found Vallecano goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski instead.
Nevertheless, it was a smart passage of play and further underlined that United's players are listening to Ten Hag's demands and are producing what he wants from them. A clip of the move was shared on reddit and it garnered a positive reaction from supporters.
Lgeee posted: "Eriksen and Donny have similar vision, looking forward to seeing more of their link-up play this season."
TacoDityToMe said: "It's a shame that Ronaldo seems so adamant about leaving. I think Eriksen, Van de Beek and him looked very good whenever he dropped to make a triangle. They kept breaking presses and starting counters all half."
dumpyredditacct added: "Eriksen is going to be a big player for us."
INTHERED1999 commented: "This is the way."
Kinglex1 said: "Frenkie de Jong, Eriksen and Van de Beek would be such liquid football. It's a shame we can't play that midfield in the Premier League, though; would get bullied too easily."
Benphyre added: "Pass and go, fluid football so exciting to watch."
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