7 lesson Ten Hag has learned during mixed international break for Man Utd stars

For the first time in three months, Erik ten Hag has had some time to relax. Well, at least time away from the touchline.

The international break brought to an end the new Manchester United manager’s first set of matches, including an encouraging five wins, and precedes a hectic run of fixtures before this winter’s World Cup. With club duties on hold, many of the Red Devils’ players have been stationed around the world to be in action for their countries, as Ten Hag keeps a keen eye on their performances.

With the small matter of his first Manchester Derby up next, the United boss will be desperate to pick up where he left off with his squad, having won four successive Premier League games to recover from a nightmare start. He’ll need a group of in-form players to take on Pep Guardiola ‘s Man City, though, and the past week has given Ten Hag plenty of food for thought.

With that in mind, here are seven lessons which he’ll have earned over the international break.

1. Shaw’s still got it

Starting at Wembley, where you’d usually expect to find most Manchester United players during the international break, Luke Shaw sent Erik ten Hag a clear message that he’s not ready give up on his place back at Old Trafford. The left-back, now 27, followed a late cameo appearance against Italy on Friday with a start at home to Germany, and he took his chance with both hands.

Notably scoring the goal which ignited England’s comeback during a thrilling 3-3 draw, Shaw impressed in a wing-back role and looked to have the bit between his teeth in a bid to wrestle back his starting spot at Old Trafford from Tyrell Malacia. As well as his strike, the Red Devils defender created one big chance, made eight recoveries and won 100 per cent of his aerial duels.

Shaw knows that he needs to keep on impressing in order to return to United’s starting XI, telling talkSPORT post-match: “The only thing I can do is train hard and wait for my opportunities, whether that’s in the cup games or the Premier League, whatever I play in I just have to be ready and play at the standard I should be at.”

2. Maguire in a rut

In contrast, Harry Maguire’s attempt to stake a claim to Ten Hag proved a calamitous one. Having given away the penalty for Germany to take the lead against England and playing a part in their second, a steady 90 minutes in Italy prior to Monday’s disaster won’t help render his week away from Manchester anything other than a failure.

Firmly behind Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez in the pecking order at United, he’ll likely be spending plenty of time on the bench before the World Cup. At least Shaw’s backing him. “Harry is an amazing player, an amazing character,” he told BBC Sport. “He’s taken a lot of stick, probably more than I’ve ever seen before in football but he never hides away, he’s always there.”

3. Malacia’s new position

Speaking of centre-backs, Maguire might find himself competing with someone else for his place soon enough. That’s because Tyrell Malacia, who’s shone at left-back since Ten Hag brought him into the team against Liverpool in August, was deployed in the Netherlands’ three-man defensive line in the second half of their 1-0 win against Belgium to send the Dutch through to the Nations League final.

Having boldly selected Malacia as the man tasked with stopping Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne in the latter stages, ex-Red Devils boss Louis van Gaal explained: “I put him on the left of the central defence because De Bruyne played a lot on that side. It’s better to have a pitbull like that instead of someone like (Daley) Blind, who tries to solve it tactically.

“De Bruyne has more acceleration than Blind as well, so I put Malacia there. I had already discussed this with him the day before yesterday, that he could play as a left centre-back. The defensive work he did very well.”

4. Dalot on a hot streak

Switching to the right-hand side of the Red Devils’ defence, Diogo Dalot continued his excellent start to the season while on duty for Portugal. The 23-year-old scored two goals during their 4-0 victory away to the Czech Republic to reaffirm his role as United’s first-choice right-back over Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Not only did Dalot get on the scoresheet twice but he also completed two dribbles, created one chance and won 100 per cent of his tackles. “A night to remember. How special it is to play and score for Portugal,” Dalot wrote on Instagram after his heroics. It certainly was memorable.

5. Fernandes dispels Ronaldo myth

Staying in Prague, Bruno Fernandes silenced those who claim that he can’t contribute whilst playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo for both Portugal and the Red Devils, scoring one goal and registering one assist on Saturday.

The 28-year-old, like Dalot, was outstanding in the romp which puts his nation in pole position to join the Netherlands, Italy and Croatia in next summer’s Nations League finals – a feat they’ll achieve if they avoid losing at home to Spain on Tuesday. Fernandes created a whopping four chances, the most of any player in the match, and even contributed defensively with five recoveries.

Ten Hag will be thrilled with his playmaker’s output behind Ronaldo, who also earned an assist while leading he line. Fernandes is confident that the duo can be a success at United this season after struggling to click last term. “I played the last four Premier League games without Cristiano starting and I scored only one goal. So it is not because of Cristiano,” he recently told the Athletic. “It is about momentum, timing. Sometimes it goes in a bad way and sometimes a better way.

6. In-form midfield

Undoubtedly Ten Hag’s biggest area of concern upon taking the job, the Red Devils’ midfield suddenly looks to be a thriving engine room. Despite £60million signing Casemiro coming in, Scott McTominay and Christian Eriksen have done a sterling job as a midfield paring and continued their form for their respective nations.

Eriksen’s sublime goal against Croatia came before a mesmerising display in Denmark’s stunning 2-0 win at home to France, while McTominay bossed midfield for Scotland in their 3-0 victory over Ukraine last Wednesday and put in another all-round clinic at home Ireland on Saturday, as the Tartan Army on 2-1. Ten Hag won’t think twice about sticking with his midfield for Sunday’s derby.

7. Undroppable Varane

Last but not least, a man who’s quietly gone about his business this campaign is Raphael Varane. Taking time to adapt to the Premier League in his first season at Old Trafford last time out, the four-time Champions League winner has been showing his class under Ten Hag this time around.

When it came time to suit up for France, manager Didier Deschamps handed him the captain’s armband. Varane demonstrated his leadership ability and guided Les Blues to a comfortable 2-0 win at home to Austria. Perhaps most notably, though, he was rested the defeat to Denmark and it proved to be fatal for Deschamps’ side. Simply undroppable for club and country.