Man Utd train in random Portuguese stadium as Ten Hag gets straight down to business before must-win Aston Villa game
MANCHESTER UNITED trained in a random Portuguese stadium after their draw with Porto.
Erik ten Hag and his players got straight down to business on Friday ahead of their must-win game against Aston Villa.
The Red Devils travel to Villa Park in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
It comes after Harry Maguire’s late header rescued a point in Portugal on Thursday night.
Following their Europa League match, though, United remained in the country overnight.
As a result, the players trained at the nearby Estadio do Bessa in Porto on Friday.
The 28,263-capacity stadium has been home to top flight side Boavista since it was built in 1911.
It also hosted three matches at Euro 2004 after being renovated ahead of the tournament.
United’s players were pictured on the pitch on Friday for a session ahead of their flight back to England.
The likes of Antony, Harry Maguire, Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee were all put through their paces.
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Following their session, the squad returned to Manchester to continue preparing for Sunday’s match.
Ten Hag is looking to secure a first win since the 7-0 thrashing of Barnsley in the Carabao Cup last month.
Man Utd ratings vs Porto
MAN UTD ended up with a 3-3 draw after throwing away a 2-0 lead away to Porto.
Here’s how SunSport’s Dylan Terry rated the Red Devils’ stars performances in Portugal
Andre Onana – 6/10
Reacted brilliantly the first time he was called into action with a flying save, only for Porto to score the rebound.
Porto then scored with their next shot on target too – Omorodion’s header – and Onana could do little about the excellent finish for Porto’s third.
Made two great stops to keep Man Utd in the game.
Noussair Mazraoui – 4
Looked fairly stable in the first 45 minutes but waned as the game went on.
All at sea at the start of the second half as Porto cut through the right-hand side of Man Utd’s defence with ease.
Matthijs de Ligt – 4
Looked imposing in the air as he dealt with Porto’s crosses from both sides, but then failed to get in front of Omorodion for the hosts’ second goal.
Like most of the Man Utd side, his performance dropped as the game went on and he was bullied by Porto’s No9.
Lisandro Martinez – 4
Should have reacted quicker for the first Porto goal as Pepe got ahead of him to nod into an empty net – with Martinez static on the six-yard box.
There is clearly not much of a partnership with De Ligt as Porto pulled them apart all evening.
Diogo Dalot – 4
Porto enjoyed a lot of success down Man Utd’s left-hand side and Dalot looked all at sea on several occasions.
Had little help from Martinez but still looked exposed.
Casemiro – 3
Anonymous yet again in Man Utd’s midfield – the ball just passes him by.
Could not even manage one of his customary fouls.
Christian Eriksen – 5
Looked leggy out of possession but produced an impressive run before laying it off to Hojlund for Man Utd’s second goal.
Then failed to make much more of an impact and his delivery from wide areas left a lot to be desired.
Bruno Fernandes – 4
A damning indictment of Man Utd’s current predicament as Fernandes was shown a red card for a second successive game.
Two high boots, two yellow cards, and another early bath for the Portuguese playmaker – who had worked tirelessly prior to his dismissal.
Amad Diallo – 5
Very quiet aside from one burst through the middle as Rashford received all of the ball over the other side.
Replaced by Antony who arguably created even less.
Rasmus Hojlund – 7
Made his case for starting ahead of Joshua Zirkzee with a goal, firing beyond Costa at the near post.
Held it up and then showed his strength and pace to run at Porto before the break – showing little rustiness in his first start of the season.
Marcus Rashford – 8
Rashford showed his directness for the opening goal, driving at the Porto back line and forcing the error from Costa.
A constant threat in the first half as he assisted Hojlund’s strike.
But he was then surprisingly hooked at the break, a decision that will need an explanation from Ten Hag.
The Dutchman is under mounting pressure following defeat to Tottenham and Thursday’s Europa League collapse.
United had raced into a two-goal lead before Porto’s turnaround and needed a stoppage time strike from Maguire to rescue a point.
Meanwhile, co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has failed to back Ten Hag after admitting it will not be his decision if he is sacked.
Instead, CEO Omar Berrada and sporting director Dan Ashworth will be the ones to decide on his future.