Manchester United were given Frenkie de Jong transfer reminder by Atletico Madrid

Atletico re-match

These two sides met twice just a few months ago, with Atletico Madrid winning 2-1 on aggregate in a Champions League last-16 tie, a scoreline that did not do justice to the dominance of Diego Simeone's side.

Atletico were the better side in both games and while Manchester United's 1-1 draw in Madrid might have been one of the better results of the Ralf Rangnick era, it was also wholly unjustified. Justice was done in the second leg when United never looked particularly threatening at Old Trafford.

We should caution against reading too much into this pre-season friendly, but the contrast was obvious, as was the impact Ten Hag is having. United matched the intensity of Atletico in Oslo and they were relentless in their desire to win the ball back.

READ MORE: United player ratings vs Atletico Madrid

This looked like a contest between two well-matched teams, although the result was familiar. On the balance of play, Atletico probably didn't deserve to win, but Joao Felix produced a moment of quality to decide the game.

This was a reminder of the importance of quality and depth in a squad and for all the good work Ten Hag has done with this group of players, it is also obvious they need to step up their transfer activity with a month of the window to go.

United are yet to sign Ten Hag's midfield priority in Frenkie de Jong and the frontline is still lacking reinforcements. The drop-off between Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga was stark and there were no game-changing options in attack off the bench. That has to change.

Malacia

A week out from the start of the Premier League season it doesn't feel like there are too many selection decisions hanging over Erik ten Hag, but he might just have been given one in