Tag: Erik ten Hag

Man United seals Champions League place by beating Chelsea, like everyone does these days

The Champions League will be back at Old Trafford next year

After a year away, Manchester United is back in the Champions League, having taken their final step at poor Chelsea’s expense.

Man United stomped the Blues 4-1 on Friday, handing them their ninth loss in 13 games under caretaker coach Frank Lampard.

Erik ten Hag’s first season in England has not seen linear progress, with Liverpool humiliating them in March and Sevilla serving up a rude reminder about the standard required in Europe in April.

However, the Red Devils ended a six-year trophy drought by winning the Carabao Cup, have the FA Cup final still to play, and are now assured of a return to global soccer’s biggest club event. It hasn’t been perfect, but after descending into “banter club” territory in recent years — last year was in fact their worst-ever Premier League season — it’s major progress.

Speaking of banter clubs, Man United pounced on another woeful Chelsea showing from virtually the opening whistle. Casemiro made their strong start count, heading home a set piece just six minutes in.

Chelsea offered a bit of pushback, but Man United signed off in the first half with Casemiro and Anthony Martial tearing the Blues apart to set Jadon Sancho up for a tap-in.

Bruno Fernandes would pile on with a second-half penalty kick, and Marcus Rashford would add an exclamation point with his 30th goal in all competitions after a defensive error that was embarrassing even by Chelsea’s 2022-23 standards.

Chelsea would get a very late goal from João Félix, but it hardly slowed the celebrations down at Old Trafford.

“This club belongs in the Champions League,” ten Hag told Sky Sports after the match. “It’s not easy [to win] Premier League, so a lot compete for that. It’s massive when you get it done.”

“We’re still not where we want to be but we’re back in the Champions League, and I think that was a really important step,” added the Dutch coach, who had continental success with Ajax that included a run to the semifinals in the 2018-19 Champions League.

Like ten Hag, Fernandes was both pleased to be back in UEFA’s biggest showcase, and not satisfied with where Man United is overall.

The Portugal midfielder called being back in the Champions League merely “decent,” adding that “it’s not perfect because we want more. For what we did this season, it’s perfect… Now it’s about finishing the league well and going to [the] FA Cup.”

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Ten Hag beside himself after Manchester United’s Europa League debacle

“It’s clear: We make such mistakes, it’s very difficult to win a football game”

Erik ten Hag could barely constrain his frustration after Manchester United fumbled their way out of the Europa League.

An error-strewn performance saw ten Hag’s side concede two calamitous goals on turnovers, as well as a soft set piece goal, en route to a 3-0 second leg loss at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán. Sevilla, as a result, is through to the Europa Leagues semifinals on a 5-2 aggregate win after having fallen behind 2-0 in the first leg.

This same opponent has ended Man Utd’s European dreams three times in the last six seasons, with this victory joining similar triumphs in the 2017-18 Champions League round of 16 and the 2019-20 Europa League semifinals.

Speaking to BT Sport after the match, ten Hag let out a sign before saying that he felt like the cause of their downfall was obvious. “It’s clear,” said ten Hag. “We make such mistakes, it’s very difficult to win a football game.”

Brushing off the chance to use the raucous atmosphere as an excuse, ten Hag asserted that a loud opposing fan base isn’t an explanation for his side’s meltdown. “[I] expect that we can deal with it. So I won’t say that’s an explanation for it. We have to do better. That is the demand.”

The Red Devils fell behind in the eighth minute as David de Gea’s iffy pass to Harry Maguire was made much worse by the England center back. Maguire’s attempt to spray the ball wide thumped into Érik Lamela, and Youssef En-Nesyri immediately pounced to side-foot past de Gea.

“You have seen what I have seen,” seethed ten Hag when asked about the shaky start. “We were not composed. We were not calm. Once you beat [Sevilla’s] press, huge spaces on the pitch, but we didn’t do it at the start, and it was so obvious how to do it.”

The poor first half could have been worse, with VAR spotting that Marcos Acuña was narrowly offside before sending in a cross that eventually ended with Lucas Ocampos firing past de Gea. Again, it was a play that started with careless play: Casemiro’s pass out to Aaron Wan-Bissaka was misplaced badly enough that Acuña could make an interception deep in Man Utd’s half.

For ten Hag, Man Utd’s mistakes were compounded by being out-fought by Sevilla.

“Bad decisions, and then also, we lose the battles. They had more passion and more desire, more willingness,” said ten Hag. “So then, it’s difficult to win big football games.”

That was likely on ten Hag’s mind when thinking of the second goal, as Loïc Badé simply beat Casemiro to a corner, using his shoulder to guide the ball over de Gea, off the bar, and just over the line.

Summing up a bumbling display by just about everyone in red on the night, de Gea completely mis-controlled a hopeless long ball, turning an easy situation into a brace for En-Nesyri. Any chance of a Man Utd comeback was completely dead and buried.

Man Utd were without several key players, with Raphaël Varane and Lisandro Martínez both suffering injuries in the first leg and Bruno Fernandes suspended. Maguire and Victor Lindelöf stepped in as the center back duo, while Marcel Sabitzer replaced the influential Portuguese playmaker.

Still, ten Hag refused to point in the direction of his absent starters, reiterating that the team on the field just didn’t deliver.

“It’s about the players who are on the pitch. They have to perform,” stated ten Hag. “I believe in them, I trust them and then they have to show. But today, we were not good enough.

“We showed so many occasions [with] good performance and good things, but tonight — and also we had some occasions [like this] — we were not ready for the game. And it can’t be when you are on this level, when you’re playing for Manchester United. You have to be ready for every game. This is a great opportunity. This is a great occasion, a quarterfinal in Europe, to win something, and then you give it away. So, we have to blame ourselves.”

Watch ten Hag go off after Man United’s poor showing

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Manchester United have themselves a trophy

For the first time since 2017, the Red Devils have won a piece of silverware

For a club like Manchester United, six years is a long time to wait for a trophy.

But after a period of floundering, United finally appears to have put two essential pieces in place: a coach and a midfield anchor. That, along with one of the most in-form players in Europe, has made all the difference.

With Erik ten Hag, Casemiro and Marcus Rashford leading the charge, United easily ended their title drought on Sunday by defeating Newcastle 2-0 in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley.

Casemiro opened the scoring in the 33rd minute with a header off Luke Shaw’s free kick delivery. Six minutes later, Rashford was on hand to score what appeared to be his 25th goal of a prolific campaign, only for the scoring to eventually be changed to a Sven Botman own goal.

Newcastle would hardly threaten the rest of the way at Wembley, as David de Gea needed to make just two saves all afternoon to notch his 181st clean sheet with Manchester United — breaking Peter Schmeichel’s all-time club record.

In Ten Hag, United appears to finally have their first post-Sir Alex manager worthy of leading the club for the long term. The Dutchman has instilled a clear style of play, a system of discipline and has helped rid the club of some of its bigger distractions.

Sunday marked the end of United’s trophy drought but it may not be the last piece of hardware the club lifts in 2022-23. They’re third in the Premier League table and still alive in the FA Cup and Europa League.

For the first time in a while, there is a real sense of optimism at Old Trafford. Now, about that ownership situation…

Watch Man Utd’s goals vs. Newcastle

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Antony spun around a couple times and now everyone is Very Mad

Words like “embarrassing” and “ridiculous” were tossed around with reckless abandon

With just a couple twirls, Antony managed to set off something of a firestorm.

The Manchester United winger performed his signature move against Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League on Thursday, which was immediately followed by an errant pass that went out for a goal kick.

Many observers, including his manager Erik ten Hag, didn’t seem to be amused.

Antony was taken off at halftime of United’s eventual 3-0 win, with Ten Hag saying the following day that he wants his flair players to display equal parts fashion and function.

“I do not have a problem with that, as long as it is functional,” the manager said. “So from him, like everyone else, I demand more. More runs behind, being more often in the [opposition’s] box. More pressing. More dribbles against opponents. More playing in the pockets. We demand more dominance.

“Then there is a trick like that which is nice, but as long as it is functional and you do not lose the ball. Then it is OK. But it is a trick and because of the trick, I will correct him.”

Ten Hag may have been measured in his criticism, but Antony’s spin cycle caused several Man Utd legends to lose their minds.

Words like “embarrassing” and “ridiculous” were tossed out by Paul Scholes and others.

Antony, for his part, made a defiant post on Instagram, saying he wasn’t about to stop showing off the kind of skill that earned him a €95 million move to United.

Let’s check just a few of the reaction’s to the 720 heard round the world.

Marcus Rashford está rejuvenecido igual que el Manchester United

Era muy divertido burlarse del Manchester United después de dos juegos Los Red Devils estaban en el fondo después de que una humillante derrota 4-0 ante el Brentford los dejó sin puntos. El proyecto de Erik ten Hag parecía destinado al fracaso antes …

Era muy divertido burlarse del Manchester United después de dos juegos

Los Red Devils estaban en el fondo después de que una humillante derrota 4-0 ante el Brentford los dejó sin puntos. El proyecto de Erik ten Hag parecía destinado al fracaso antes de que incluso comenzara.

Pero tres semanas después, las cosas se ven muy diferentes para el Manchester United.

United derrotó al Arsenal 3-1 el domingo, acabando con el inicio perfecto de los Gunners y moviéndose a tan sólo tres puntos del primer lugar después de un cuarto triunfo consecutivo.

¿Cómo cambió las cosas el United? Primero que nada, Ten Hag realizó tres cambios importantes a la alineación.

Se eliminó a Luke Shaw y Harry Maguire de la alineación inicial, reemplazados por Tyrell Malacia y Raphaël Varane.

Y tal vez el cambio más significativo, Cristiano Ronaldo fue dejado en la banca, con Marcus Rashford se convirtió en el delantero inicial del club.

Rashford se ha visto positivamente rejuvenecido después del ascenso, anotando tres goles, incluyendo dos contra el Arsenal el domingo, para quedar a uno de sus cuatro totales en la liga la temporada pasada.

Tener €95 millones extras también ayuda, con la nueva contratación de Antony encontrando la red en su debut contra los Gunners para abrir el marcador.

Traducción.- Estrella instantánea en la lado de Stretford. Antony anota en su debut y United toma la ventaja 1-0 sobre el Arsenal. #MUFC

“Los dos jugaron increíble, una amenaza continua,” dijo Ten Hag a Match of the Day de Rashford u Antony después del juego.

“Sé que nuestra ofensiva es realmente fuerte — son creativos y tienen velocidad. Esta es la primera vez que juegan juntos y es increíble ver esta actuación.

United tiene recursos más allá del alcance de casi cualquier otro club, pero eso no se ha visto reflejado en éxito en el campo en años. La temporada todavía es joven, pero Ten Hag, Rashford y Antony tienen el optimismo más alto en Old Tratfford de lo que ha estado en un buen tiempo.

Traducción.- Marcus Rashford está de nuevo en el marcador y Manchester United retoma la ventaja.

Traducción.- ¡Rashford tiene la pareja gracias a la generosa jugada de Eriksen! Manchester United lidera 3-1. #MUCF

Manchester United’s Ten Hag says he could have substituted his entire team vs. Brentford

It was that kind of day for Man Utd

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said in the aftermath of a 4-0 debacle of a loss at Brentford, he could have made 11 substitutes at halftime if it were legal to do so.

“It is my responsibility to give an explanation. It is clear the performance was really poor. When you make mistakes like this, you can’t win the game,” Ten Hag told the BBC after his side gave up all four of the game’s goals before halftime.

“It was more to bring three fresh ones. You see, 4-0, it’s not possible (to come back),” said Ten Hag on a halftime triple substitution. “It’s the message… I could have changed all eight others as well.”

There was no holding back for anyone at Man Utd, with Ten Hag saying that while he wants to improve his squad with transfers, the players that are in place are also more than qualified to avoid being steamrolled.

“It is clear we need players but I don’t want to think about that in this moment. The good players we had should have been better,” said Ten Hag. “This team is good enough to beat Brighton and Brentford. which we didn’t do, so we have to question ourselves.”

“You have to take responsibility on the pitch as a team and as individuals, that’s what we didn’t do,” continued Ten Hag, whose start with Man Utd after an impressive spell with Ajax has the Red Devils at the very bottom of the Premier League table.

While Ten Hag was critical of his players, he did also hold his hand up. “Don’t get me wrong: The manager is responsible as well. He has the main responsibility and I take that. I will work on that.”

While David de Gea blamed himself for the result, Ten Hag said “he’s a great goalkeeper,” before acknowledging that it’s a clear mistake. For Ten Hag, though, the concern was more in Man Utd’s reaction to the goal.

“Still, that is what I mean. You have to stick to the plan, and move on. Mistakes, that’s part of football,” said Ten Hag. “You have to keep going, play as a team, and especially, act.”

Watch Ten Hag’s postgame comments

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Cristiano Ronaldo left at halftime of a preseason game. Erik ten Hag is not happy.

The ongoing saga at Old Trafford has taken another turn

The Cristiano Ronaldo saga at Manchester United took another turn on Wednesday, as head coach Erik ten Hag said it was “unacceptable” for the striker to leave at halftime of a preseason game.

After missing United’s tour of Thailand and Australia due to a family issue Ronaldo made his preseason debut on Sunday, starting against Rayo Vallecano before he was taken off at halftime.

With his services no longer needed, the Portuguese star decided to head out and was pictured leaving with Diogo Dalot – who, unlike Ronaldo, was not in the squad on the day.

Asked if he was comfortable with his Ronaldo leaving, Ten Hag told Viaplay Sport: “He was not the only one who left after halftime, I tell them (the players) that it’s unacceptable. That we are a team, and that you need to stay right until the very end.”

Ronaldo’s search for a new team

Transfer rumors have been swirling around Ronaldo all summer, with the 37-year-old reportedly looking to leave Old Trafford after only making his return last summer.

Ronaldo is in search of a team in the Champions League, but has so far been unable to find a suitor. Several clubs, including Atlético Madrid and Bayern Munich, have publicly ruled out a move for the forward.

According to the BBC, United has continued to maintain that Ronaldo is not for sale.

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It sure sounds like Erik ten Hag wants Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United next season

The 37-year-old has been tipped to leave Old Trafford this summer, but it appears he may not be going anywhere

After another below-par season, one of the biggest questions Manchester United will have to answer this season surround the future of Cristiano Ronaldo.

In his first season back at the club, Ronaldo has been somewhat of a divisive figure. On one hand his goal return has been typically impressive, as he’s tallied 24 times in all competitions to easily top United’s scoring charts.

However, there have been questions about Ronaldo’s work-rate and defensive contributions, and his presence has, of course, not led to any notable success on the pitch.

The 37-year-old has a contract through next season and, in an interview with De Telegraaf, incoming manager Erik ten Hag made it clear that he expects to work with the Portuguese star next season.

“I look forward to working with him,” Ten Hag said. “Ronaldo is a giant. Because of what he’s already shown and I think he’s still very ambitious. Of course I’d like to keep him.

“He has been very important for Man Utd this year [and he] can produce great statistics.”

Last week, Ronaldo himself hinted that he is likely to stay next season, saying he is looking forward to working with Ten Hag.

“What I know about him is he did a fantastic job for Ajax, that he’s an experienced coach,” Ronaldo told United’s official website. “But we need to give him time.

“Things need to change the way he wants. I hope we have success, of course, because, if you have success, all of Manchester is going to have success as well. I wish him the best.

“We are happy and excited, not only as players, but the supporters as well.

“I wish him the best and let’s believe that, next year, we are going to win trophies.”

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