Erik ten Hag must learn Manchester United lesson to compete on all fronts

When the whistle blew to end last season's FA Cup final, Manchester United's players slumped to the floor.

Beaten by their neighbours, who went on to win the treble, it wasn't the dream ending the Reds had hoped for and you could be forgiven for thinking there was an element of exhaustion as well as disappointment on that May evening.

United had played a mammoth 62 games across four competitions, and it could have been higher had they reached the Europa League final instead of losing in the last eight. The Reds were not alone in their hectic workload with City playing one match more and West Ham also facing a heavy workload amid European successes.

The winter World Cup didn't help as the fixture list was condensed to fit the tournament in while the likes of United had plenty of representatives in Qatar. Thirteen Reds players started 27 games or more across last season and that tally would likely have been higher if Lisandro Martinez wasn't injured.

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Ten Hag often selected his strongest side in cup competitions - a decision that paid off with extended runs in both and breaking the silverware duck by lifting the Carabao Cup. But the Dutchman can find a balance.

The second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final, with United already 3-0 up, surely didn't require starts for Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro, Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez. There were other examples of where rotation could have been married with a result, the second leg against Real Betis for one.

If Ten Hag is to close the gap to City domestically and compete on the continent on United's return to the Champions League, then he has to trust the squad he's built. It's not a perfect one by any means but