The United starting XI against AC Milan.

Which Red featured the most on Tour 2018?

Wednesday 01 August 2018 14:22

The aim of any pre-season campaign is for the players to get minutes under their belts and, naturally, this was achieved during Tour 2018, presented by Aon.

Regardless of the results, after the 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in the final International Champions Cup match, our research shows Andreas Pereira finished the trip by appearing on the field more than any of his team-mates.

The 22-year-old's performances have been a real positive and he earned the trust of manager Jose Mourinho throughout the tour, operating in the no.6 role in midfield.

With some big-name colleagues still to return to the fold after their World Cup involvement, the Brazil Under-23 international could keep a place in the XI for the friendly against Bayern Munich on Sunday, and will hope for another opportunity to impress ahead of the Premier League opener with Leicester City.

Ander Herrera was a leading figure for the Reds throughout the tour.

Ander Herrera was only 120 seconds behind his fellow member of the engine room, registering 441 minutes, and he is another who came to the fore in the US.

Not only did he take on the captain's armband at times, but he also managed to get forward to claim the eventual winner against Real and will surely benefit in the long run from so much playing time.

Eric Bailly was the only other player to top 400 minutes across the five games, even if he was not originally on the teamsheet for the clash with Liverpool. The Ivory Coast international stepped up to the plate when Chris Smalling was withdrawn due to injury in the warm-up, and he has been a key member of the defence.

Scott McTominay, despite picking up a couple of knocks, was relied upon and even played in a three-man central defence against the European champions.

Matteo Darmian benefited from an injury to Antonio Valencia and Juan Mata also clocked up plenty of mileage, while Alexis Sanchez quickly adapted following his delayed arrival and looked sharp throughout the pre-season tour.

All 25 members of the travelling party managed to get some action and the manager remarked on how much James Garner, for instance, will have learned from competing against Isco, Toni Kroos and Marco Asensio.

Ethan Hamilton's figure is a little misleading, because he also took part in the lengthy penalty shoot-out against AC Milan, and the priority for the youngsters across the Atlantic was to be part of the first-team training sessions before returning to the youth ranks at the Aon Training Complex.

James Garner picked up more valuable experience against Real Madrid.

MINUTES ON TOUR

Every member of the squad received playing time in the USA, as you can see below, yet the countless hours of training and team bonding are arguably just as important ahead of the 2018/19 season.