A defeat at Villa Park this weekend would have been the end of Erik ten Hag's Manchester United career. However, a point against a team that just beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League is not a bad result for the "Red Devils". Therefore, Ten Hag can breathe a sigh of relief even though his future is still uncertain.
The past week has been a constant breath-taking for Man United in the Europa League and Premier League. They were underestimated when playing away against FC Porto and Aston Villa when their form was at rock bottom. In the match at Dragao, The Red Devils' defense was so bad that they conceded 3 goals in a row after leading 2-0. At Villa Park, with a completely different pair of central defenders, they stood firm against Unai Emery's army.
125 million Euros is the price Man United spent to bring Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt to Old Trafford. However, this duo played so badly against Porto that they were left on the bench for the trip to Villa Park. After many years and a lot of money, finally M.U had to rely on veterans who were thought to have been eliminated, Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans. Remember, when M.U was just a few minutes away from losing at Dragao, it was Maguire who headed the equalizer to 3-3 to keep 1 point.
Since last season, Ten Hag has been talking about the need for rotation. That is why in the summer transfer window of 2024, the Dutch strategist added Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt. However, unlike the midfield and forward lines, rotating the defense is dangerous and is usually not done. The foundation of a good team must come from the shield in front of the goal, but perhaps 125 million Euros is not enough for Man United.
Therefore, both as a temporary solution and as a philosophy, Ten Hag should rotate his defense until he finds the most compatible center-back pairing. It might not be De Ligt - Martinez, it could be Maguire - Evans. Evans' inclusion in the starting lineup at Villa Park shows two things. First, Ten Hag is showing everyone that M.U has enough players to rotate. Second, there is no way he favors his former students at Ajax when both De Ligt and Martinez have to sit on the bench.
Against Aston Villa, Maguire and Evans showed that they had the experience and class to cope with the fast-paced opposition. The criticism that the pair were too slow and unable to help progress the ball from the back was somewhat quashed. In many situations, Maguire or Evans would both break forward on either flank or one would drop back to cover, supporting the other to progress forward.
After Maguire left the pitch due to injury, De Ligt was brought on to partner Evans. Aston Villa's most dangerous situation came from a cross from the left wing when De Ligt slipped. If it weren't for Dalot's back, Onana's net might have been shaken. Before and after that moment, Evans still almost balanced the home team's defense with direct battles with Ross Barkley, Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran.
After the match, Man United got 1 more point but that was only the 8th point of the season. After 7 matches with 14th place on the rankings, Ten Hag set another record when this was the "Red Devils" worst start in the Premier League era. However, for Evans, he had a full day of competition with the MVP title.
If he stays at Man United, Ten Hag will have 2 weeks to calm himself and find new tactical options. The draw with Aston Villa taught the Dutch strategist a valuable lesson that sometimes new recruits worth tens of millions of Euros are not as good as experienced players who always play with the greatest pride like Evans.
