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The Red Devils boss told fans at Old Trafford that his side would give everything against Manchester City on Saturday. Will his troops heed those words?
Erik ten Hag was not blathering when he spoke to Manchester United supporters after they had defeated Fulham in the final game of their Premier League season at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils closed out the Dutchman’s first year in England with a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford, prompting the Carabao Cup winner’s remarks after the game.
Ten Hag thanked the fans for their support throughout a testing campaign for the former Ajax manager before reminding them the team had one task to go.
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21:38 - 28.05.2023
We will do everything to beat Man City — Ten Hag assures
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag talks up his team ahead of the FA Cup final against Manchester City,
“I want to thank you for the contribution, for the backing, for the support, it was great,” said the United boss.
“But when I say about support… there is still one game to go, and I am sure that these players will give everything to beat Manchester City next week.
“We count on you as well. With you on our back, I am sure we have a really good chance to take the cup back to Old Trafford.”
To grasp how United have gotten within a domestic double at the end of this season, a recollection of Ten Hag’s debut year in Manchester is essential, especially after last year’s shambles under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick.
How the Red Devils have evolved under Ten Hag
If the Manchester United boss was offered third place in the league, a League Cup winner’s medal and a possible FA Cup win before his first competitive game in charge; he would have taken it.
Had the same been offered after United were beaten 2-1 by Brighton & Hove Albion and 4-0 by Brentford in gameweeks one and two, Ten Hag and United would have bitten the offerer’s hand off.
Those pair of chastening defeats were accompanied by the expected schadenfreude, with rival supporters wondering if the Dutchman’s Old Trafford spell would get off the ground.
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A response to a winless start at the Theatre of Dreams was opting to go longer from goal kicks, evidenced by 32 long pass attempts in the 2-1 home success over Liverpool in August. Against Brighton, David De Gea attempted seven long passes. In the Brentford defeat, it was 10.
Including the win over Jurgen Klopp’s men, the following 10 Premier League matches saw the United goalkeeper play more long passes than those two opening defeats before nine long pass attempts in the 3-1 loss at Aston Villa in November.
That alteration was a recognition and acceptance that his new side was not equipped to play out from the back and the pragmatism to tweak his approach.
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The Brighton loss was their only home defeat of the league campaign, with 15 wins and three draws this season. Two of those ties ended goalless.
Ten Hag’s men have embraced their strength in transition again this term, underlined by their 102 direct attacks.
This outdid every team in the English top division in 2022-23, and interestingly more than Manchester City (52), the side they face in this year’s FA Cup final.
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Furthermore, the Red Devils were committed to pressing and counter-pressing their opponents this term, seeking to win the ball high up the pitch.
This is underscored by their 61 shot-ending high turnovers, outdone by only Brighton (67) and Arsenal (62).
While Ten Hag’s men could do with scoring more from those situations next term — four goals are fewer than relegated Leicester City (seven) and Guardiola’s men (nine), both of whom had 50 shot-ending turnovers.
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Despite the improvement in United’s pressing game, it was not plain sailing.
Ten Hag’s 2022-23 challenges
The Cristiano Ronaldo situation could have derailed the Red Devils’ season but was handled amazingly by the Dutchman, who never cowered to one of the game’s greatest players.
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03:46 - 01.11.2021
Ronaldo: Help or hindrance for Man Utd?
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored seven goals in 10 matches since his return to Manchester United
Ten Hag’s discipline was felt by Marcus Rashford, whose lateness to a team meeting before facing Wolverhampton Wanderers cost the Englishman his place in the team at Molineux in December.
Nevertheless, those issues were minute in the grand scheme of things for the Red Devils boss, who has got bigger fish to fry against City on Saturday and onwards.
While the underlying numbers show that only Guardiola’s men surpass United’s open-play Expected Goals (xG), the red half of Manchester falls to fourth bottom for xG from set-plays, outranking Southampton, Aston Villa and Wolves.
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An improvement in generating high-quality openings from dead balls is imperative in the Dutchman’s second year.
Furthermore, the proclivity to play in transition and seldom control games effectively has brought about far too many end-to-end games for Ten Hag’s men.
To avoid more frantic games in the following season, evolution is undoubtedly imperative, and it is fascinating to watch how the manager pulls this off.
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07:48 - 14.04.2023
UEL Absence of control, not Rashford, was Manchester United’s biggest miss against Sevilla
The Red Devils still cannot get the better of Sevilla, and Erik ten Hag will bemoan his team’s egregious game management at Old Trafford.
Going deeper, the overreliance on Rashford for goals and Casemiro for midfield coherence must be reduced in year two.
Despite Solskjaer’s limitations, the Norwegian did create a side that spread out the goals, and a similar output is required in 2023-24 if the team expect to avoid dips in form when the England international is unavailable or not firing.
Apart from personnel, the second-rate road record has been worrisome. Ten Hag’s troops won three of their last 10 away games, losing five and playing out two draws. That is not good enough if they intend to challenge Guardiola’s dominance next term.
Stopping City’s Treble
They can start this year by beating their fierce city rivals on Saturday and prevent the Cityzens from potentially being 90 minutes away from emulating that 1998-99 side.
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19:53 - 02.06.2023
Man City vs Man United: ‘It's not about stopping them’ says Ten Hag
Manager Erik ten Hag says that he has no desire to disrupt Manchester City's chances of winning a treble in the FA Cup final tomorrow.
Much has changed in 24 years, with City celebrating promotion to the second tier when Sir Alex Ferguson reigned supreme at home and abroad.
Ten Hag is motivated to throw a spanner in the works to that ambition on the blue half of Manchester to secure a second title of the season.
It would be a win-win outcome for the Dutchman, and the Red Devils must heed their manager’s promise at a capacity crowd at Wembley.
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