Coach Ten Hag’s side ended a miserable 18-month run with victory at Villa Park, but was it a one-off thanks to current good form, or a sign of something lasting? Which match at Villa Park was a turning point?
Assessing Erik ten Hag’s reign as Man United manager, the standout moment came at Wembley when he lifted the League Cup last season. But most of the decisive victories, the reasons to believe that Ten Hag is suitable for Man United, took place at Old Trafford.
Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City, Barcelona, Aston Villa, Chelsea: Ten Hag has amassed an impressive collection of wins. But only at home. More than 18 months after Ten Hag’s debut, Scott McTominay added to his tally of important goals by leading Man United to victory at Villa Park. It’s not just a result. Firstly, if they lose in the “6-point match”, they will be 11 points behind Villa, meaning they will be eliminated from the race to qualify for the Champions League.
But more importantly, this was Man United’s first victory on the field of a direct opponent since their last stand under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in October 2021 against Tottenham. Speaking of which, it is also a sign that it was a different era: the two scorers at that time were Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani, who had a combined age of 75.
So in a way, Ten Hag cannot be blamed for Man United’s sad away days in the next seven months. “I think we can beat any opponent away or at home,” said Ten Hag, whose long wait ended with an encouraging victory. However, this season, except against West Ham and Aston Villa, Man United mainly defeated stronger teams at home. Over two seasons, they have never defeated big opponents away from home. Not counting Villa, they have only 2 points after 13 matches against teams that were in the top 9 last season and teams that are currently in the top 9.
This “phenomenon” started with a painful loss to Brentford in Ten Hag’s second match in charge. Last season, Man United conceded 28 goals in 8 such matches (while losing only 15 goals in the remaining 30 matches in the Premier League). This season, Man United had a 0-0 draw at Anfield in a match in which they defended tirelessly against 34 shots on goal from the opponent. They arrived at Villa Park with only 1 goal in their last 5 away matches. Then they scored 2 goals and won. Therefore, this match is ranked as one of the best results during Ten Hag’s reign.
The Dutch coach believes things could have been better: “We could have won at Arsenal; We could have won in Liverpool. It’s about belief and the team today believed we could win.”
So the question is: is this a new beginning or just a one-time thing? The difference at Villa partly comes from the striker in high form, Rasmus Hojlund, while last season only expected Marcus Rashford, who only scored 2 goals in those 8 important matches, so the Knocking out their opponents may be their best strategy. United may lack the solidity to win 1-0 like that. From another perspective, Man United seems to become “weak” when playing in these matches. Aside from 66% in the match against West Ham, a team that always tends to give the field to their opponents, Man United has never surpassed the 45% away possession rate of a top 9 team this season. Even at Villa Park, they only control 44%. It seems like they can’t escape that pain.