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How many hours sleep do you like to get the night before a game?<\/strong> What time do you typically wake up when you\u2019ve got a 3pm kick-off?<\/strong> What do you normally eat for breakfast?<\/strong> <\/p>\n What\u2019s your typical pre-match meal?<\/strong> What made you decide to become vegan?<\/strong> Does your meal change before an evening kick-off?<\/strong> How important is nutrition in helping you to perform on the pitch?<\/strong> How important is it to refuel at half-time?<\/strong> Do you use energy gels at half-time?<\/strong> Is there anything else you like to eat or drink at half-time?<\/strong> How soon do you eat and drink after a game?<\/strong>
\nJust enough time to feel good. I\u2019m not the kind of guy who needs an exact number of hours to feel better. Preparation for a game begins two or three days before \u2013 it\u2019s important to sleep properly in the build up to the game and not just the night before. If you\u2019ve had two nights of bad sleep before a Saturday game, it could be too late to recover.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nNormally I rise between 9am and 9:30am, which gives me time to have breakfast, and then a couple of hours to stretch, listen to music, or even watch another game, because there\u2019s normally an early kick-off on TV. Personally, I like to be relaxed in my room, I like to chat with friends or with family, but not about football. I just try to stay calm and not think too much about the game. One or two hours before a game, that\u2019s when I\u2019m really focused.<\/p>\n
\nMy breakfast is always light, normally I will just have an orange, a banana and some juice. I will then have a bigger pre-match meal, three hours before the game. That meal is normally pasta with some chicken or salmon and that\u2019s it. Before the game I don\u2019t like to drink coffee, either. The way I am as a character means I have enough energy to perform.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.scienceinsport.com\/sports-nutrition\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/11\/600x600_smalling_2.jpg\")
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\nI normally go for spaghetti bolognese. I\u2019m vegan now, so I just have a vegan version. That\u2019s been the meal I\u2019ve had for pretty much my whole career. I know it works so I don\u2019t like to change too much.<\/p>\n
\nA few reasons. One, the animals, but my wife has been vegan for a while, so I started trying a lot of her meals. After I changed my diet I started to notice a lot of differences in my body; for example I had a lot of inflammation in my knee but that seemed to really improve afterwards. Even my recovery after games has been a lot of better, so it\u2019s been a good move for me.<\/p>\n
\nThe meal is always the same but the timing is obviously different. So if we\u2019re playing at 7:45pm, our pre-match meal would be at 4:45pm. It doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s a day or night game, the time of our meal is always three hours before.<\/p>\n
\nIt\u2019s massive. I think nutrition is something that has been overlooked in football in years gone by. I think you can go to the gym and run on the treadmill or lift a lot of weights, but without the right food you won\u2019t improve. In my opinion, I\u2019d say probably 80% of your physical improvement comes from your food and 20% from the gym.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.scienceinsport.com\/sports-nutrition\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/11\/600x600_rashford_2.jpg\")
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\nIt\u2019s very important because the second half is always more difficult than the first. If you go out for the second half and you\u2019re not hydrated and you\u2019ve not refuelled then at best you\u2019ll have about 25 minutes or half an hour of being able to compete at the maximum of your ability before you start to tire. We know that rehydration and refuelling is really important.<\/p>\n
\nYeah, a lot of the players do. They give you that final push late on in a game. If you can get a second wind in the late stages of a game then it can make all the difference. They\u2019re great during tournaments as well when you\u2019ve got extra-time; they definitely help to give you a burst of energy in those final minutes.<\/p>\n
\nIt depends on how I\u2019m feeling. Sometimes I like to have some fruit or something like that, but not all the time. Then just maybe a water with one of the hydration tablets. That\u2019s usually my type of routine.<\/p>\n
\nStraight after, I\u2019m always starving after games. Our nutritionist always stresses how important it is to get something down you straight away. We have a nice set up at Old Trafford, so after the game the chef prepares the right food for us. We can go and get pasta and chicken \u2013 that\u2019s my usual meal \u2013 or whatever we want. Everything is ready for us so we\u2019ve got no excuses for not eating right after a game.<\/p>\n","product_skus":"","post_banner":"https:\/\/www.scienceinsport.com\/sports-nutrition\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/FTBL-Website-Resize-1600x500-V9.png"},"yoast_head":"\n