Is Manchester United regretting keeping Erik ten Hag as manager after another underwhelming performance on Sunday?
Liverpool dominated Manchester United in a 3-0 road victory, finishing with more shot attempts (11) and saves (three). Before this matchup, the Reds had only won two of their last 11 matches at Old Trafford, per Agence France-Presse of the Score.
The loss raises more concerns about the team. Manchester United (1-0-2) is 14th in the English Premier League and has only scored one goal over its last two matches.
“There’s no identity we know that,” former American goalie and NBC Sports analyst Tim Howard said of Manchester United in a postgame recap. “But at a certain point, you have to continue to ask questions with Erik ten Hag. Because the fact of the matter is, we can continue to say he doesn’t have his best players and all that. That has nothing to do with identity.”
Last season, Manchester United finished eighth in the Premier League, the worst in the club’s history. ten Hag probably saved his job when Manchester United upset Manchester City 2-1 in the final round of the 2023-24 English FA Cup.
The Red Devils were aggressive in the transfer window, signing forward Joshua Zirkzee, defender Noussair Marzraoui and Matthijs de Ligt. Given the club’s early struggles, though, it seems these moves aren’t paying off.
“It’s not like I’m Harry Potter,” ten Hag said after the loss, via France-Presse. “We just had a third game in the season, and again, we have to build a new team. We will be fine. It’s clear we must improve, but at the end of the season, I’m quite confident that we will have a big chance to lift another trophy.”
Although the club has won three trophies in three seasons under ten Hag, it appears it may be regressing.
Gary Neville of Sky Sports believes Manchester United will give ten Hag until Christmas to spark a turnaround. If he fails to do that, it should consider making a change.
