Premier League 2019-20: 3 most disappointing Manchester United players in the pre-season

Manchester United v AC Milan - 2019 International Champions Cup

Manchester United had an excellent pre-season, winning all of their six friendly games. The Red Devils managed to score consistently, although Romelu Lukaku was barely seen in the pre-season campaign.

Now, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should be ready to play either Marcus Rashford or Anthony Martial up front following Lukaku's departure.

United's defense has seen a notable improvement since Aaron Wan-Bissaka joined the club. Nonetheless, Solskjaer still has several problems to solve. The Red Devils midfielders were inconsistent and unable to match Rashford and Martial's brilliant form during the pre-season.

Scott McTominay seemed like the only United midfielder capable of maintaining a high standard throughout the campaign. United's overall defensive strength has improved, but some of the club's defenders put in below-par performances.

Without further ado, let's take a look at three United players who performed below expectations throughout the pre-season.

#3 Luke Shaw

Arsenal FC v Manchester United - Premier League

Luke Shaw was one of United's best and most consistent players last season. He seemed on the verge of leaving the club after suffering a broken leg in 2015, but fortunately the 24-year-old managed to step up his game and amassed 29 starts in the 2018-19 season.

Surprisingly, he failed to live up to the expectations in the pre-season. The left-back rarely marauded forward, although Manchester United were dominant in most of the pre-season games. He bombed forward only when United faced defensive-minded opponents such as Kristiansund.

Shaw's defending was decent. However, the 24-year-old was at fault for Lucas Moura's goal in the Tottenham Hotspur game.

He remains United's most likely starter for the left-back position, despite fellow left-back Ashley Young outshining him in the pre-season. Shaw will surely need to improve if he does not want to lose his starting spot in the upcoming season.

#2 Andreas Pereira

Andreas Pereira is one of United's most promising talents. He was a regular at Granada at 21 years of age, amassing 34 appearances as a starter.

But Pereira has yet to become a Manchester United regular since he got promoted into the senior team. He had a decent loan spell at Granada and Valencia, but the 23-year-old ended up claiming just 595 minutes of game time in the Premier League last season.

Nevertheless, United have recently decided to extend the player's contract until June 2023 with an option for another year.

Unfortunately, Pereira was inconsistent throughout United's latest pre-season campaign. He was United's star performer against Tottenham Hotspur, creating several good movements and assisting Anthony Martial's goal. However, the Brazilian failed to make any impact in the other pre-season games and played mostly as a substitute.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer even assigned him to an unsuitable position in the AC Milan clash. Pereira looked frustrated as expected, and was replaced with Jesse Lingard at the 65th minute.

#1 Nemanja Matic

Nemanja Matic was one of United's key players under Jose Mourinho. He bossed the midfield throughout the 2017-18 campaign and helped United finish second in the Premier League table. Unfortunately, his fine form did not last long.

Many criticized the 31-year-old for failing to catch up with the speed of the game last campaign. Matic did make several decent tackles and interceptions, but he struggled to keep the ball. He was easily outmuscled and even gave away the ball at times.

Matic's pre-season was just as horrendous as his latest Premier League season.

He lost the ball in a dangerous position which led to Suso's goal during the AC Milan game. The Serbian was also barely able to pass forward against Inter Milan and became a liability in midfield.

Surprisingly, Solskjaer played Matic as a starter in the majority of United's pre-season games despite the player's evident decline in performance.

Edited by Musab Abid