Every pre-season game – including Aston Villa (10:45 BST on Saturday) – will be shown live on MUTV, now available in our app and on ManUtd.com.

After landing in Western Australia late on Wednesday, Manchester United’s squad trained at Perth’s famous WACA Ground on Thursday morning, in front of thousands of adoring fans.

In the second open training session of Tour 2022, following a similar set-up in Bangkok, Erik ten Hag’s men worked together out on the pitch ahead of Saturday’s final game of the trip against Aston Villa at the neighbouring Optus Stadium.

It was a mixed day weather-wise, with the Reds arriving at the stadium – which was used for Test cricket between 1970 and 2017 – to bright sunshine and warm weather.

The lads had a short session in the gym initially, before emerging out of the tunnel and heading onto the turf.

Like the MCG, it’s a wide expanse of grass here, with the stadium more accustomed to hosting cricket and Australian rules football than Premier League players.

We only played in Perth relatively recently, for games with Leeds and Perth Glory in 2019, but there was still a great turnout as supporters packed out the Lillee Marsh Stand.

Those in the front rows showed particular dedication, as the heavens opened and released a particularly heavy downpour just as the United players completed some initial warm-up jogs.

They were rewarded for their dedication by seeing the vast majority of their heroes train in the flesh, with only Scott McTominay absent from the session as he undertook a recovery session in the gym following his half-time substitution in the 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace.

Of course, watching United train up close and personal is an opportunity which is rarely afforded, so supporters will have enjoyed seeing the lads play a small-sided game on the touchline right in front of them, with the ball zipping along the wet surface – although, by this point, the sun was once again beaming down.

United have showcased their penchant for pressing so far during the Ten Hag era and that was evident during play.

The biggest cheers were reserved for the ‘wow’ moments of skill – a Rashford flick, Fernandes’s cute finish, Martial rounding the goalkeeper – while there was a great moment at the end of the session too.

Local children were given the chance to take penalties against David De Gea and Matej Kovar, while Tyrell Malacia, Donny van de Beek, Fred, Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes helped out too and joined the kids for a photo at the end.

Tour isn’t just about getting minutes in the legs ready for pre-season – opportunities like this come round once in a lifetime.