Erik ten Hag admitted he was concerned about the eye-watering number of injuries Manchester United are picking up ahead of their Champions League opener at Bayern Munich.
This has been a challenging start to the season for the Old Trafford giants, with off-field issues compounded by a run of three defeats in their last four Premier League matches.
United’s 3-1 meek home loss to Brighton is hardly the best preparation to face Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich on Wednesday, nor are the injury problems that continue to pile up.
The Red Devils have lost Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire since the weekend, joining the likes of Raphael Varane, Mason Mount, Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia on the sidelines.
“Yes, of course it’s a concern,” Ten Hag said of the spate of injuries that leaves him with a 21-man squad in Germany featuring four goalkeepers.
“But we knew that before and that’s why we constructed the squad with depth, so we can deal with it, the squad can deal with it.”
Asked whether he can speak to the medical staff about the injury situation, the United boss said: “I don’t know if we have to go to the doctors or physios because they are dealing with the problems.
“First of all, injuries always come in top football because we’re living on the edge.
“Of course we analyse why things happen, but we also have to deal with the facts and it’s always about the players available.
“That’s a strong side we can line up and we have to get the best out of it and we’re focusing on that.
“To bring up tomorrow again, a good team, make the next step, integrate Rasmus Hojlund, (Sergio) Reguilon), two new players and we are here to get a result.”
Sofyan Amrabat, Kobbie Mainoo and Amad Diallo are others out of the Group A opener through injury, while Donny van de Beek is unavailable having been left out of United’s Champions League squad.
Beyond that, Jadon Sancho remains absent “pending resolution of a squad discipline issue” and Antony has been given a leave of absence following assault allegations against him.
“One thing is true, I think from the start last season I think I almost never started with the best starting XI – there was always something like injury,” Ten Hag said.
“But you have to deal with it and I think we always got the results in apart from the period where we are in now.
“That is football and I have the experience in the past, I managed it in the past. It’s not always going up and you have to deal with it.
“I like these situations because now we have to handle it and we have to manage this. You have to know what to do and that is focusing on the process.”
Ten Hag’s belief about their path is why he is not getting thrown off kilter by the negativity heading into United’s first Champions League match in 18 months.
“No, we don’t feel that we need a reset,” the former Bayern Munich reserve boss said. “Absolutely not. “We are in a process and what you see is that in parts of games we play very good but then also in parts of games we played below our levels.
“What we have to demand is be consistent, so we have to step up in certain levels all the time for 90-plus minutes. That is the demand on us.”
Wednesday certainly looks a tough ask for United, who will face England captain Harry Kane after he joined Bayern following a summer of speculation.
United were strongly linked with the 30-year-old but plumped for promise rather than a proven goalscorer by signing Hojlund, 10 years his junior, from Atalanta.
“I think we discussed (Kane and Hojlund during pre-season), so I don’t think we have to repeat this debate,” Ten Hag said.
“We are happy with Rasmus. Obviously first games he was injured, he played now Arsenal, he’s now started.
“Now of course we have to integrate him in a team but you can see he’s a big talent and he will contribute to our game. We are quite confident of that.”
Asked if he had regrets about not signing Kane, Ten Hag simply responded: “No.”
Liverpool 1-0 Real Betis: Szoboszlai gets Slot era up and running
Dominik Szoboszlai's goal was the difference as Arne Slot's first game in charge of Liverpool with spectators present ended in a 1-0 win over Real Betis in Pittsburgh.
Liverpool lost 1-0 in a behind-closed-doors meeting with Preston North End last week, but they were victors in sweltering conditions when their pre-season tour of the United States got under way on Friday.
Szoboszlai scored the only goal after 34 minutes, stroking his finish past Adrian after Mohamed Salah slipped a pass through to the Hungary international.
That goal came four minutes after Curtis Jones was forced off through injury, being replaced by 17-year-old Trey Nyoni.
Former Reds goalkeeper Adrian denied Conor Bradley as a strong Liverpool side chased a second, while Harvey Elliott nodded wide from a Kostas Tsimikas cross.
After Slot rang the changes with 63 minutes gone, Kaide Gordon missed Liverpool's best chance to make it 2-0 by dragging his effort wide, but it did not matter as a controlled performance saw the Reds home.
Data Debrief: Reds in cruise control
Slot had been expected to bring a slightly more measured approach than the "heavy metal football" preached by his predecessor Jurgen Klopp, and that was on full display on Friday as Betis were held at arm's length.
Liverpool enjoyed 62.7% of the possession throughout the match, though Slot will be looking for more penetration when they face Arsenal in the next game of their tour on Wednesday, having only recorded 12 touches in the penalty area to Betis' 10.
Sessegnon rejoins boyhood club Fulham after Tottenham departure
Ryan Sessegnon has resigned for Fulham on a free transfer, five years after leaving the club.
The 24-year-old signed a two-year contract with the Cottagers with the option to extend for a further year following his departure from Tottenham last month.
In his first spell at the club, Sessegnon worked his way through the academy over 11 years, scoring 25 goals in 120 first-team appearances.
He then moved to Spurs in a £25million deal in 2019, though struggled to nail down a place in North London, making just 57 appearances in all competitions, and scoring three goals.
"It's amazing to be back. Emotional, as well," he told FFCtv. "It's where it started for me, where everything began, and it's amazing to be back.
"It will always be home for me. I think it had the feeling that it was meant to be, coming back here, so I'm delighted to get it done."
Sessegnon is Fulham's first signing of the transfer window, though they have seen plenty of first-team departures already, with Joao Palhinha, Tosin Adarabioyo and Bobby De Cordova-Reid all leaving the club.
Dewsbury-Hall: Maresca will surprise people at Chelsea
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall believes new Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca will "surprise a lot of people" when they watch the Blues this season.
The Italian led Leicester City straight back to the Premier League as Championship winners in his only season in charge and succeeds Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge.
The Foxes topped the second division table with 98 points, with Dewsbury-Hall a key figure in his squad as he netted 12 goals and provided 14 assists last season – his best tally in a single campaign.
Dewsbury-Hall was also named Leicester's Player and Players' Player of the Year.
The midfielder made the switch to West London earlier this month for £30million and is confident that Maresca will have Chelsea challenging for trophies in no time.
"The manager was a big catalyst in wanting me to come," Dewsbury-Hall told BBC Sport.
"I knew from Leicester, a club that went down and had a lot of problems, how he managed to galvanise that if everyone manages to buy into the system.
"I genuinely think in a short space of time we can be pushing for minimum top four - but more than that.
"He may be unknown for a lot of people, but he is top, top level. He will surprise a lot of people."
Chelsea's pre-season got off to a frustrating start as they were held to a 2-2 draw by League One side Wrexham in Maresca's first game in charge on Wednesday.
Dewsbury-Hall did not play in that match but is training with the squad in the United States and could feature in their next outing against Celtic on Saturday.
The 25-year-old is confident the manager's tactics will come across soon, with the players buying into his style.
"We've only been doing it for two or three weeks, but the combination plays are really quick and tidy," he added.
"That's after two weeks. I remember he said to us at Leicester after six months or a year, there might be teething problems at the start, but it will improve.
"Within the first week at Leicester, I was convinced this was top, top level. I felt a bit stupid; I thought I knew a lot about football, but he was teaching me things on a daily basis that I didn't really know before. He has an aura, he can be strict, or gentle and soft - he has both sides.
"I am getting the same feedback here with the lads. They've bought into it here from minute one which is exciting. With a system and philosophy, you need everyone to buy in because, if they do, you can really achieve something."
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