Man United had an open training session that lasted an hour at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday night.
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United trained on Tuesday night
United trained on Tuesday night
Before Manchester United went through their back-to-front attacking drill, Ruben Amorim headed over to the inflatable right back mannequin that was flopped over.
Amorim attempted to get the dummy upright but it sagged again. Eventually, it was replaced by a United staff member, who then drained it of the water by the side of the pitch. A dummy at right back. Right-back flop. Etc.
United had requested mannequins for their open training session and the locals, eager to impress, provided them with the most expensive kit. The inflatable mannequins have to be weighed down with gallons of water, so they are so heavy that staff can only haul out two at a time.
Amorim presided over a light session at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium. United trained for around an hour in front of dozens of enthusiastic fans who had gained access to the 87,000-seater stadium that hosts the Malaysia national team.
Temperatures have been north of 30 degrees ever since United touched down in Kuala Lumpur on Monday and the humidity is similar to when they were in Thailand for their pre-season tour in 2022. Those open sessions, some of United's first under Erik ten Hag, remain the most insightful that they have put on.
You can work up a sweat by just sitting down in this part of Asia. Under Ten Hag, United were intense and prompt with their passing on the eve of his first match in charge against Liverpool. Players senior and junior had points to prove. United beat Liverpool 4-0.
The post-season dynamic is markedly different. Some players are winding down and others have imminent international commitments. Casemiro's 19-month exile from the Brazil squad has been ended by his old Real Madrid mentor Carlo Ancelotti.
Open training sessions are usually restricted to 15 minutes and can be perfunctory. Tuesday's session was extended to an hour. The United fans who had gathered sang Amorim's song and one optimistic supporter held up a shirt to the players which had 'COME BACK STRONGER 26' on the back of it.
United went through the familiar routine of constructing attacks by progressing the ball from defence to attack. This was how Amorim's training was introduced to supporters back in November when the club published a lengthy glimpse of his methods. The mannequins at Carrington were plastic and more pliable.
The 'opposition' dummies were placed in a 4-4-2 formation as United remained wedded to 3-4-2-1. The attacks commenced with a goal kick from one end to the other, with Harry Maguire often receiving the ball to start the build-up.
The passing was glacial in pace, intended to give every player a touch in the build-up before one of the wingers crossed for the striker, Chido Obi, or one of the playmakers. Shea Lacey was prominent in the penalty box.
During the brief practice match, Obi clipped in a fine strike beyond the reach of Andre Onana. Onana also conceded an own goal, moving left to receive a pass only for the ball to go to where he was previously standing.
Matthijs de Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee emerged around 30 minutes before the full squad for individual sessions. Amorim admitted last week Zirkzee was "pushed" to be available for the Europa League final, a strategy that failed to arrest United's goalscoring ills.
Luke Shaw and Mason Mount, elected to flank Amorim at the pre-match press conference in the afternoon, were on exercise bikes with physio Jim Moxon and did no training on the grass.
United staff have found the players to be in a better mood than expected after last week's anaemic defeat in Bilbao. The players are ostensibly happy to be here. Alejandro Garnacho posted on Instagram (again) how much he is missing his son - a dog, not his actual son.
Garnacho has not spat his dummy out yet.