The first drill was Kane.
A reserve striker started high, then kept dropping toward midfield. A second reserve played Musiala, drifting in the pocket nearby. The reserve wingers were told to attack whichever channel opened up the moment anyone moved.
Ten Hag stood by the edge of the grid.
"Demien, Kobbie, Harry, Raphaël," he called. "Nobody follows automatically. Nobody. You talk before you move."
The first repetition started.
The reserve Kane dropped.
He looked free. Nobody near him. The ball was about to go into his feet.
Demien stepped with him.
He covered the ground fast and closed the striker down — but in doing it, he'd pulled himself several yards beyond where he should have been. The reserve Musiala slipped straight into the pocket Demien had just left, took the next pass, turned, and played the winger in behind Dalot.
The winger shot. The keeper saved it.
"Stop!" Ten Hag called.
He walked into the grid. Not angry. Just direct.
