"I have to be clear. Only 100% is enough." That was Ten Hag's statement after the 1-1 draw with FC Twente in the Europa League. If the Dutch strategist hoped to get feedback from his players, that would never come true. 100%? Ten Hag only got half of that.
Against Tottenham, the "Red Devils" played much worse than when they drew with Twente in midweek.
A quick look at the score shows that the match revolved around Bruno Fernandes' red card right before the end of the first half. However, that would ignore Tottenham being the better team in the 42nd minute with the same number of players. Sometimes it felt like Tottenham had more than 11, while Man United's only player on the pitch was goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Spurs took a 1-0 lead thanks to an early goal by Brennan Johnson before Fernandes was sent off. The only surprise was that the score remained the same until the end of the first half. Ange Postecoglou has had to regret his students' missed opportunities over and over again. Meanwhile, it seems that Man United players are determined to create a performance that will see the coach fire.
Ten Hag likes to point to last season's FA Cup final as proof of what he can do. But the truth is, there were more disastrous performances similar to the one against Spurs.
"What I saw in the first 30 minutes was lower than we could expect from a team like Manchester United. Even if you conceded such an early goal, you should still stay calm, united and stick to the plan. At that time, you will have a place in the match but we did not do this" - Ten Hag said after the match.
Man United's list of mistakes is so long that it is difficult to know where to start. They often lost the ball, lost in disputes across the pitch, and ignored the opponent's wingers.
Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho let Micky van de Ven steal the ball without any obstruction. After that, this central defender ran half the length of the field in a straight line as if there was no one there.
Johnson was left un marked in the box after receiving a pass from Van de Ven and easily scored. This is almost a copy of the goal Twente scored 4 days ago.
Fernandes, meanwhile, slipped but still stepped out to stop Maddison. This was the detail that caused the Portuguese midfielder to be sent off the red card. To make matters worse, Kobbie Mainoo was forced to practice and leave the pitch due to injury shortly after.
In such a situation, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke scored more goals for Spurs in turn. Man United actually had a short period of rise but it was not enough.
Spurs have never won away from home so easily. They have only won 3 away matches since November 2023 but left Old Trafford with a "shower" of joy. Postecoglou's post-match assessment highlighted everything United lacked.
"We have shown real confidence in our game. Determined at all times, with and without the ball," said the Australian.
After such a disastrous defeat, the obvious question is how long will Ten Hag last? As for Man United fans, many people left Old Trafford when the score was 0-3.
