Erik ten Hag has been given a Manchester United defensive dilemma ahead of Brighton fixture

It is not very often that a manager gets the opportunity to assess all of his centre-backs in match-action in the space of just over 24 hours.

But that is exactly what happened to Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag over the weekend, as he watched his side lose 1-0 to Atletico Madrid on Saturday and draw 1-1 with Rayo Vallecano on Sunday. United completed their pre-season schedule with a Spanish double header over the course of just two days, meaning Ten Hag got the opportunity to rotate his pack and run the rule over his players one last time ahead of the competitive action getting under way this coming weekend.

The Dutchman, who ended his first pre-season campaign as United manager with three wins, two draws and a defeat to his name, fielded a more recognisable and stronger line-up against Atletico than he did against Vallecano, even though the latter of those two line-ups featured an array of top talent, as the likes of Raphael Varane, Christian Eriksen and Cristiano Ronaldo all started. Neither side, however, managed to secure a clean sheet, meaning the Reds recorded just one shut-out in six pre-season matches, highlighting that Ten Hag is yet to eradicate their defensive woes.

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Nevertheless, that area of the operation was always going to be a work-in-progress. Ten Hag, despite all of the good things he has done so far at Old Trafford, is not equipped with a magic wand. A degree of patience is required on the defensive front.

Ten Hag, as was expected ahead of the weekend, fielded two different central-defensive partnerships, with Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof, who started four times alongside each other in