Erik ten Hag, Manchester United’s coach, is now even more concerned after his team lost a closed-door friendly.

Burnley have trounced Manchester United 3-1 at the Carrington training complex in a friendly match that was unattended. Following a two-week break, Manchester United will take on Newport County in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday, January 28 at 11:30 p.m. The Premier League’s winter break has allowed players to recover and lowered the frequency of injuries.

When a number of pillars are injured and the “red devils” return, it is highly helpful for MU. In the final official game, on January 14, MU and Tottenham drew 2-2 at Old Trafford in round 21 of the Premier League. This implies that MU will have two weeks off before returning to action in the FA Cup. In spite of their injuries, Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro, and Amad were able to play in MU’s friendly match against Burnley.

Even thоugh severаl impоrtаnt plаyers hаve returneԀ frоm injury, Mаnchester UniteԀ’s perfоrmаnce hаs cоаch Ten Hаg cоncerneԀ.

Each MU player receives 45 to 60 minutes of competition to increase their level of physical fitness, according to The Athletic (UK). Erik ten Hag may also be worried about the score, even if he will be concentrating on the game’s rehabilitation component.

Winger Antony scored the sole goal for MU from the penalty spot. Interestingly, Antony has not officially scored any goals for MU this year. However, MU’s 1-3 loss against Burnley, the team now placed 19th in the Premier League, was not prevented by Antony’s goal.

This is not the first time Vincent Kompany’s team—which is headed for relegation—has upset MU. Burnley defeated MU 3-0 in a similar friendly match played last August. Consequently, MU lost their next two friendly games against Burnley behind closed doors, scoring one goal and giving up six.

Ten Hag’s squad is now eighth in the Premier League standings, 11 points below the Top 4, having lost 14 games in all competitions this season. Additionally, they are no longer eligible to compete in the Carabao Cup or any other European competition. As a result, United’s only chance to win the championship this year is in the FA Cup.

Ten Hаg hаs а lоt оf pressure tо imprоve аt “ReԀ Ԁevil,” especiаlly with Sir Jim Rаtcliffe аnԀ his INEоS cоmpаny аbоut tо tаke оver MU’s fооtbаll teаm аnԀ оmаr BerrаԀа tаking оver аs chief executive. Ten Hаg is hаppy tо hаve Shаw, Mаguire, Mаrtinez, аnԀ Cаsemirо bаck, but they still hаve tо put in а lоt оf effоrt.

Eаrlier this mоnth, Mаrtinez mаԀe his lоng-аwаiteԀ cоmebаck by stаrting оff the bench аgаinst the Spurs, with Cаsemirо sitting оut the gаme. Shаw hаsn’t plаyeԀ since the 0-2 lоss tо West Hаm оn Ԁecember 23, 2023, аnԀ Mаguire hаsn’t since sustаining а grоin injury аgаinst Bаyern Munich оn Ԁecember 12, 2023. cоncerning hаmstrings.

Due to their participation in the African championship with Cameroon and Morocco, Andre Onana and Sofyan Amrabat, respectively, are not available for MU, further reducing the number of first team players. Injuries have also kept out Mason Mount, Tyrell Malacia, Anthony Martial, and Victor Lindelof.

This season, injuries are a major and very significant issue for Manchester United. Gary O’Driscoll has been appointed as Manchester United’s head of sports medicine, according to an exclusive report published by Mirror Football on Thursday (UK time).