Manchester United “three-second” spell vs Dortmund gave glimpse of Erik ten Hag dream

Man Utd fell to a disappointing 3-2 defeat in their pre-season friendly against Dortmund, but there were encouraging signs for Erik ten Hag

Manchester United’s pre-season tour may have ended with a disappointing game against Borussia Dortmund, but Erik ten Hag still has plenty of encouraging signs ahead of the new season.

Pre-season is a good opportunity to strengthen relationships between players on and off the pitch and United’s players work hard on the training ground to execute the manager’s strategy.

The evolution of United’s playing style continued, with Mason Mount and Andre Onana adding more options to the Dutchman’s squad.

Although Onana will deliver a powerful exchange of blows between the posts, it’s no secret that Ten Hag wants the Cameroonian to help improve his side’s ability to play from behind.

Against Dortmund he once again demonstrated his precise passing game and his scope for distribution was a welcome enrichment for the squad. While Mount is expected to inspire more creativity, the England midfielder will hopefully improve United’s ability to put pressure on opponents.

This aspect of Ten Hag’s proposed game was particularly important to him on tour. After the Arsenal win, Ten Hag even admitted that he dreams of turning his side into an ‘ironing machine’.

“I think it’s very good, I was very happy with the way we played, with our activity on and off the ball,” he said. “It’s the way we want to play and it’s the only time of year you can really work in training.

I think the boys showed that and played a good game. I think we did well, we want to be like a press, so we have to do everything together.

“Today we did that in both halves. This helps us to progress and Arsenal are a really good opponent. They played incredibly good in the Premier League last season and it’s good to have a match with them.”

Pressing is always more effective when the players on the pitch hunt in packs and Mount can’t be expected to make the difference on his own. But it is something United finally appear to be doing as a team with more consistency now – and it’s already paid dividends.

Against Dortmund, while United were sloppy in periods, there were encouraging signs in their pressing. Antony’s second-half goal came as a direct result of his teammates working together to harry Dortmund high up the pitch in transition.

While Dalot’s cross in the 52nd minute pinged around inside the penalty area, first Facundo Pellistri stepped up to challenge Mats Hummels before Donny van der Beek followed in to win the ball back for United. While the midfielder’s first touch was far from perfect, it did tee the ball up for Antony to place it into the bottom corner for the equaliser.

United’s struggles in front of goal last season have been well documented but if the side can continue to create chances with their counter-press, Ten Hag will no doubt be very happy with the added opportunities that could be created this campaign.