International Champions Cup: 5 key takeaways for Manchester United from their match against AC Milan

AC Milan v Manchester United - International Champions Cup 2018
Alexis Sanchez slots the ball past Donnarumma to give United the lead - AC Milan v Manchester United - International Champions Cup 2018

#2 Shaky Defending

TOPSHOT-FBL-US-ICC-MILAN-MAN UTD
Chris Smalling tussling for the ball against Milan - AC Milan v Manchester United - International Champions Cup 2018 - TOPSHOT-FBL-US-ICC-MILAN-MAN UTD

United set up against Milan with three centre-backs and two wing-backs, slightly reminiscent of the way England had approached their ties at the World Cup in Russia earlier. Eric Bailly, Chris Smalling and Axel Tuanzebe all started in defence for United.

One would be forgiven for thinking Milan would have had a hard time finding their way through three centre-backs but that was not the case. All three of them looked absolutely lost when Suso got in behind them with a clever run to equalize on the 15-minute mark. Suso was played on-side by Smalling and Bailly while Tuanzebe fell asleep marking him. This gave him space and time to slot the ball past Lee Grant in the United goal.

This was an experiment from Mourinho which might have just worked as they conceded only the one goal but throughout the match the defence never looked solid. United have been in the market for a centre-back with Harry Maguire and Toby Alderweireld being their top targets. Looking at the United backline's display today, one can understand the reason.

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