Manchester United faced Athletic Bilbao at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, in the final pre-season game before the new Premier League campaign kicks off in eight days’ time.
Just a day after United beat RC Lens at Old Trafford, Erik ten Hag named a much-changed starting XI.
Tom Heaton started in goal and captained the side. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Alvaro Fernandez started in defence.
In midfield, Dan Gore, Christian Eriksen and Donny van de Beek were tasked with patrolling the middle of the park.
Jadon Sancho led the line once more and was flanked by Omari Forson and Facundo Pellistri.
Here are three things we learned from Manchester United’s 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao.
Harry Maguire must leave United for his own sake
The Red Devils were pretty much in control of proceedings during the opening 45 minutes until Bilbao took the lead just before the half-hour mark through Nico Williams.
A poor pass from Maguire was quickly intercepted and the ball turned over to an opposition player. Williams was played in and the 21-year-old put the ball into the back of the net despite Heaton’s best efforts to keep it out.
Maguire’s blunder, which essentially put the Red Devils on the back foot, is just the latest high-profile error from the former skipper.
Against Borussia Dortmund, an equally similar mistake put him at loggerheads with Andre Onana, who made no secret of his anger.
In no way has Maguire been the only player culpable of calamitous faults at the back. Just yesterday, Diogo Dalot’s inaccurate pass also led to a Lens goal.
However, for the England international it’s a case of his mistake-strewn displays being an almost assured occurrence in every match.
Fans would be forgiven for thinking that he always has a costly error in him.
It does not help that the 30-year-old is now almost a symbol of scorn and ridicule in the eyes of supporters. He has been booed on every occasion he has graced the pitch during the club’s pre-season tour.
He was once again the subject of audible boos at the Aviva Stadium every time he got on the ball.
Amidst interest in him from a number of English clubs such as West Ham and Everton, it would be in Maguire’s best interests to leave Old Trafford and look to revive his struggling career elsewhere.
At United, he is almost at a point of no return and it would take some doing for trust to be restored in him.
Already, he is below Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof and even Luke Shaw in the pecking order. Going by his displays in recent pre-season games, he has done very little to convince Ten Hag of a rethink.
A parting of ways is arguably best for all parties at this point and Maguire would probably be best served by pushing for an exit himself.
Alvaro Fernandez very impressive
One of United’s outstanding performers was Fernandez.
It was a huge vote of confidence in him from Ten Hag that he was picked ahead of Brandon Williams, who boasts more experience.
Fernandez repaid his manager’s faith in kind in what can only be described as an impressive outing from him.
The Spaniard did not look fazed in the least bit and was confident in every action he took. His awareness, while not elite, was still very good. He will only get better as he progresses.
Fernandez showed his skill and especially caught the eye with a fabulous 360 degree spin that saw him leave a Bilbao player on the floor and oblivious of what had happened.
The 20-year-old was direct and demonstrated exceptional passing ability, especially going forward.
In general, his overall game was very solid and he will be pleased with what he has personally put up during pre-season.
Ten Hag seemed to also have liked what he saw, going by how he took time to chat to the left-back when he came off for Jonny Evans in the second half.
For his development, a loan spell next season would be a good idea. Premier League newcomers Burnley are thought to be keen on temporarily signing him and it’s easy to see why.
Van de Beek uninspiring
In a team consisting of so many youngsters, the expectation to carry the team and be a leader fell to the more experienced professionals, including Van de Beek.
The Dutchman was however disappointing to say the least.
He barely had any impact and it hardly shocked anyone that he was taken off at the interval.
Van de Beek’s below par performance was made even more glaring by his replacement, Hannibal Mejbri, who gave a much better account of himself.
It looks like Van de Beek’s days as a United player are numbered, especially with Real Sociedad knocking on the door for him.