Manchester United brought their pre-season campaign to an underwhelming conclusion after suffering a 4-2 defeat against Rúben Amorim’s AC Milan, just days before their Premier League opener against newly promoted Hull City on August 22.

Following their extended post-World Cup breaks, Lisandro Martínez, Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford all returned to Michael Carrick’s squad. The match also marked Rashford’s first appearance in a United shirt for more than 18 months.

United made the perfect start when Harry Maguire headed home from a corner to give his side an early advantage. However, Milan quickly took control and created most of the chances. Their pressure eventually paid off in the 37th minute, when they found a way past Senne Lammens after the goalkeeper had already produced several impressive saves.

United regained the lead shortly after half-time when Patrick Dorgu found the back of the net. Their advantage was short-lived, though, as Cisse levelled the contest with a simple finish at the far post.

The situation then deteriorated for Carrick’s side in the closing stages. Milan struck twice in quick succession, with Gonçalo Ramos and Ruben Loftus-Cheek finding the net in the 68th and 71st minutes respectively.

The late double capped a frustrating evening for United, who now turn their attention to their Premier League opener and will need to address several concerns exposed in their final pre-season outing.

Overall, Manchester United can look back on their pre-season positively, bouncing back from a 1-0 loss to Wrexham in their first game to deliver several promising performances this summer.

As reported by Laurie Whitwell for The Athletic, Harry Maguire was positive about United's end to pre-season, but didn't hold back about the side's performance on the day against AC Milan.

“That was probably our worst performance in pre-season [vs AC Milan]," he said. “But it’s a week before the Premier League starts and we’ve come through it injury-free. That’s the most important thing. Minutes into the boys’ legs and I feel like we’re in a good place to go into the Premier League now.

“It was at a slow tempo and credit to AC Milan, they were a little bit more aggressive than us. They deserved to win.

“It was hot out there, I must say. I think it was 34, 35 degrees. So it was a hard game, but it wasn’t the most intense game. It was played a bit flat, and for ourselves, we were far too passive as a team.”

Maguire has been the target of criticism ever since making the switch from Leicester City to Manchester United in 2019 for a world-record £80 million fee, even being stripped of the club captaincy in 2023.

While it would have been easy for the 33-year-old to cut his losses and move away from all the noise, Maguire showed great character to stay at the club, face the criticism head-on and establish himself as a starter at Old Trafford.

Last season, it was clear United needed Maguire, as the club's performances were noticeably worse when he wasn't in the side. After losing a major dressing room figure in Casemiro this summer, the centre-back has a key role to play behind the scenes, especially with the likes of Ayden Heaven and Leny Yoro at the club, where Maguire will be looking to help usher in the next generation of centre-backs.

With the injury issues plaguing the likes of Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martínez throughout their time at United, Maguire could still feature regularly as a starter for Michael Carrick, while also being an excellent option to come off the bench owing to his experience and leadership qualities.