Man Utd: Ten Hag sack inevitable with frail Red Devils predictably exposed in latest infuriating slip
Sir Jim Ratcliffe wasnāt enthusiastic in his backing of Erik ten Hag in the summer and a mid-season sacking remains likely after Man Utdās latest slipā¦
Most of the pre-FC Twente talk centred around Marcus Rashford, while Man Utd are reportedly considering ātwoā potential replacements for Erik ten Hag amid the perennial sack speculation.
Having scored three goals in two games against Southampton and Barnsley, Rashford was supposedly ārotatedā for the visit to Crystal Palace as he missed out on Ten Hagās starting XI.
This raised a few eyebrows as cynical club legend Paul Scholes claimed Ten Hagās decision not to start the forward at Selhurst Park was *actually* down to yet another breach of discipline.
Ten Hag went as far as to say claims of this nature were ācrazyā and Rashford did the Man Utd boss a favour on Wednesday night, showing no sign of feeling ill effects against Twente as several pundits were made to look pretty foolish.
Rashfordās poor form from last season carried over into the start of this campaign and he was justifiably getting pelters left, right and centre before the international break.
While the infuriating early-season international break is a burden for most football fans, Rashford clearly used this time to reset and has given a far better account of himself in recent matches.
This made Ten Hagās decision to bench him against Palace all the more baffling, especially given how early into the season we are and his sideās inability to edge past Oliver Glaserās side despite having more than enough chances to claim three points.
READ: Ten Hag sack talk returns with Southgate favourite to be next Man Utd manager
In their Europa League opener, Man Utd faced an opponent of a similar standard to their post-international break foes in the Premier League. The Dutch outfit ā who finished third in the Eredivisie last term ā stuck to an increasingly familiar script when a fearless team visits Old Trafford as they played freely when in possession and caused the hosts several issues in the early stages.
The visitors had the best chance in the first quarter of the match. Diogo Dalot dilly-dallied when trying to see the ball out of play and was dispossessed by Bart van Rooij following a corner. He played in a crisp pass to Sam Lammers, who shot narrowly wide as Man Utd were given a big scare.
Man Utdās start to the match wasnāt terrible, but it was flat and this mood spread around the stadium.
They showed signs of threatening FC Twente in flashes and their best moments came through Rashford. He combined well with summer signing Joshua Zirkzee at various moments, while a tricky Amad Diallo gave left-back Anass Salah-Eddine the runaround.
The version of Rashford on show against FC Twente was a far cry from the cowering variant booed by his own fans in the 3-0 loss to Liverpool.
Confidence was oozing through Rashford as he upstaged the other 21 players on the Old Trafford pitch with cheeky flicks and powerful runs aplenty.
Surprisingly, Rashford was not in the thick of the action for Man Utdās opening goal after 35 minutes.
Dalot drifted centrally when United were in possession and this enabled Christian Eriksen ā who was making his fourth straight start after being linked with a summer exit ā to roam freely as an extra No.10 with Bruno Fernandes and this tactic was key to them breaking the deadlock, as the Denmark international superbly fired a shot from the edge of the penalty area into the top corner.
Speaking pre-match, Ten Hag called on his players to ākill in the boxā after they were shoddy in attack against Palace; Man Utd did not heed this message.
MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365ā¦
šĀ Ten Hag sack? Man Utd āseriously consider changeā as ātwoā potential replacements āstand outā
šĀ Paul Scholes claims new Man Utd signing is ānot an upgradeā on Ā£80m defender
šĀ Man Utd rejected Osimhen as one āconcernā made Ten Hag āscepticalā amid new Toney revelation
Playing in third gear, the Red Devils allowed the second half to drift with their one-goal advantage and Eriksenās stunning goal undone by a huge mistake.
The lax 32-year-old had the ball snatched off him and after Lammers spurned a great chance in the first half, he made no mistake with this attempt as he smashed the ball past a helpless Andre Onana to equalise.
This goal came out of the blue considering the run of play. But itās hard to say that it was not inevitable as Man Utd let their opponents off the hook; another inferior opponent took advantage of their frailness under Ten Hag.
In the remaining minutes, Man Utd huffed and puffed in search of a winner but that goal did not come as this needlessly proved to be another frustrating match for Ten Hag and his players.
The Red Devils have now won just one of their previous nine matches in Europe under Ten Hag. Gulp.
In the summer, co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his new recruitment team were hardly overly enthusiastic when backing Ten Hag with a measly one-year contract extension. He remained on the tight-rope heading into this season and required a strong start to the campaign.
Despite having the clear positives of Rashfordās recent upturn in form and a promising summer transfer window, Man Utd remain miles away from where Ratcliffe wants them to be and the same mistakes continue to be made by the players and Ten Hag, who will be under immense pressure once again if his side lose or even just fail to claim three points at the weekend as they host Tottenham.
A bullish Ten Hag said the Europa League is a āroute into the Champions Leagueā. But if things do not drastically improve, he will be fortunate to still be Man Utdās head coach as this competition nears its end. A post-sacking promotion for assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy still feels like one of this seasonās most likely events.
