For all the attention on Erik ten Hag’s job, the word from inside Old Trafford has been that we are not at the point of contemplating his tenure in the past tense. Nevertheless, the Manchester United manager undoubtedly knew the significance to his future of the match at Aston Villa after the brutal loss to Tottenham Hotspur and the wild draw at Porto. A defeat in Birmingham would have felt terminal, at least from the outside.
So to drop Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez, two players he signed at a combined cost of around £95million ($125m), struck as a manager willing to take radical action to shake up performances. Martinez was one of Ten Hag’s stalwarts in his debut campaign, and his absence through injury last season was regarded as a key reason for the team’s downturn. De Ligt is a player Ten Hag made captain at Ajax aged 18 and pushed to be reunited within Manchester.
But both defenders were poor in Porto, hooked at 78 minutes for Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans. If that double substitution caused a stir, then the sight of Maguire and Evans on the team sheet for a Premier League game of such consequence to Ten Hag created an even bigger ripple.
Ten Hag put the call down to rotation but, given he justifiably ascribed last season’s defensive issues to an ever-changing back line, to voluntarily alter that crucial area of the side cannot be explained away so simply. At least one person close to the dressing room — who, like everyone in this piece, spoke anonymously to protect relationships — felt Ten Hag wanted to provoke a response from his team by trying something different, as well as rewarding Maguire for scoring a crucial goal in Portugal.
On one hand, he was brave to leave out players aligned with him. It pushes back against allegations of favouritism. But considering the replacements were a 31-year-old who was nearly sold in 2023, and a 36-year-old who only started back at United to keep fit as a free agent, the selection somewhat undermines the club’s recruitment policy. It creates a sense of flux, rather than progress.
De Ligt and Martinez were part of a bench that cost nearly £400million to assemble, with around £335m of that coming since Ten Hag took charge. There were expensive players starting also, but it was striking to see several recruits brought in by Ten Hag considered only necessary for cameo appearances when the pressure dial is turned right up.
For a second successive game, Manuel Ugarte, pitched as the No 6 to aid United’s stability defending counter-attacks, went unused.
Joshua Zirkzee came off the bench but never looked like adding to his one goal this term. Rasmus Hojlund toiled without success. Both were signed with the future in mind, as emerging talents from the continent. But Ten Hag needs goals now, and time is ticking. United’s tally of five Premier League goals is better only than Southampton’s four. United fans showed great patience in waiting until the 86th minute to chant, “Attack, Attack, Attack”.
After the final whistle, Ruud van Nistelrooy soaked up those supporters singing his name at a ground where he scored twice in a stirring FA Cup comeback.
Perhaps it was in concern over United’s scoring propensity that Ten Hag went for the belt-and-braces approach of Evans and Maguire, just as he had gone pragmatic when telling David de Gea to kick long in his third game after back-to-back defeats.
On that front, Ten Hag was validated. Both centre-backs were excellent. At one stage, they each found themselves on the wing at a breakdown to a set piece, with Maguire on the ball and Evans making an overlapping run. In the circumstances, it was a charming expression of Total Football. Maguire fell looking for a foul, and Villa took a quick throw, that Evans chased and won back.
After being forced off injured, Maguire was seen wearing a protective boot, but Evans, now partnered by De Ligt, kept going through the second half. Evans put crucial tackles in on Ross Barkley, Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins, and twice strode forwards looking to assist counter-attacks. He even managed to keep Jhon Duran quiet, a man whose presence has caused opponents to quake this campaign.
But United should be achieving more than finding salvation from a 0-0 draw at Villa. They lie 14th after the worst start in Premier League history, and that is why focus is falling on Ten Hag.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe watched from the stands and, on occasion, the cameras captured a look of ennui. Ratcliffe had flown to England after watching INEOS Britannia get through to the America’s Cup final, celebrating with Moet champagne sprayed in his face while he stood on the yacht’s hull.
There is a juxtaposition for his football team. But also a comparison. INEOS Britannia got off to a terrible start before persevering and becoming the first British sailing side to reach the America’s Cup final in 60 years.
Ten Hag made an unexpected call here, staved off the worst, and will hope for similar upturn.
(Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
