Manchester United have just two weeks and two games left to prepare for the new season, and if Michael Carrick had arrived in Gothenburg with a good idea of how his team were shaping up, he will head to Ireland for a training camp with a couple of unwanted concerns back on the agenda.
Carrick's team selection and early concerns
Carrick's team selection against Paris Saint-Germain felt like it gave a few clues ahead of the Premier League campaign. Ayden Heaven and Harry Maguire continued at centre-back, despite Leny Yoro no longer being needed on right-back duty, while Andrey Santos and Mason Mount continued their own partnership in midfield, with Youri Tielemans forced to wait for his first appearance.
The decision to continue with those partnerships looked like the strongest evidence yet of Carrick's thinking for the trip to Hull City, but in pre-season, the best-laid plans can soon change, and midway through the first half in Gothenburg, they were, if not in tatters, then at least subject to a rethink.
Heaven's struggles and Mount's injury
Heaven, 19, had looked assured so far this summer, but he was caught out for Ibrahim Mbaye's goal and then showed his inexperience with a poor pass to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and a rash attempt to make up for it. Worse was to follow when Mount took a knock to the foot and decided he couldn't continue.
The former Chelsea midfielder has been the standout star of pre-season and he's been so impressive that plans to sign a third midfielder this summer have been reconsidered. But Mount's fitness record is always a concern and two weeks out from the start of the season, this was a worry Carrick could have done without.
Midfield depth and transfer implications
Tielemans only made his first appearance for the club later in the second half, and one sharp pass to Bruno Fernandes caught the eye, while Kobbie Mainoo will return to training next week. Any absence for Mount would leave United short in midfield and contemplating entering the market again.
His early departure felt like a reminder of the need to strengthen further. United will be back in the Champions League this season and eyeing up a 60-game campaign. They arguably need five midfielders anyway, and Mount's early withdrawal here should sharpen minds in the recruitment department at Old Trafford.
Slow starts and PSG's early goal
But on the pitch, United have made progress and they were the better side against PSG, although the obvious caveat is that they are further along in pre-season. One area of concern will be how they start games and for the second week in a row, they fell behind early in Sweden.
PSG only played their first friendly on Wednesday, losing 3-0 to Mallorca, and only arrived in Gothenburg on Saturday morning. It took just 101 seconds to shake off the rust. Noussair Mazraoui was sucked up the pitch by Kvaratskhelia and left space in behind down the left, which Dro Fernandez darted into. His low cross caught Heaven out and gave Mbaye a tap-in. Kvaratskhelia then forced Tom Heaton into a low save straight from kick-off.
Mbeumo's impact and attacking improvement
But United gradually settled and ended the half strongly. Bryan Mbeumo scored twice in Stockholm last week and continued to look the part as a No.9 here after a slow start. He twice tested Matvey Safonov with free-kicks and then equalised after sharp work from Amad. The quality of the Ivorian's pressing has been a feature of the last two weeks and he won possession high up the pitch again before finding Mbeumo, who drilled a low finish across Safonov.
More smart link-up play between Mbeumo and Amad ended with the latter testing Safonov as the attack began to click into gear. Mbeumo was suddenly at the centre of everything, bringing another save out of Safonov after a brilliant pass from Maguire.
Late chances and positives
United looked the likelier to win it. Tyler Fletcher had two close-range efforts blocked in the final moments and Fernandes fired an effort just wide. The captain will be a certain starter at Hull, as will Maguire, who was a major positive here. At one point in the second half he strode through the PSG midfield before firing a shot at Safonov and he ended the game making runs into the centre-forward position to try and win it. His passing was excellent throughout.
Around him, there are debates still to settle, and some have been reopened by events in Gothenburg. United have two games and two weeks to go until the real business begins.
