After a cagey 35 minutes of action at Old Trafford yesterday, Liverpool cruised their way to a 3-0 win over Manchester United as soon as the deadlock was broken.
Such a one-sided performance has catapulted Erik ten Hag back into the firing line once again, after a season in which he led the Red Devils to their worst-ever Premier League finish on record.
Now that he’s been backed more than adequately with five shiny new signings worth a combined £205 million, it remains to be seen how much credit he has left in the bank as United enter the international break on the back of two straight defeats.
Much will be made of Casemiro’s woeful first-half showing, and rightly so, but you’d struggle to pinpoint where the side looked even slightly put-together across the pitch. It’s evident that whatever they’re being told in the dressing room just isn’t working.
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Virgil van Dijk and his defensive contingent were quick to pick up on such frailties, too. He admitted post-match that he was well aware of how Ten Hag would set his squad up heading into the match, and when the game began exactly as Liverpool expected, they were able to bide their time before asserting their dominance.
Van Dijk’s telling post-match reaction
“We know they like to do this passing in behind, but we nullified it quickly,” the Anfield skipper revealed. “Our game plan worked. We kept patient.”
He also disclosed that with him being well-acquainted with compatriot Joshua Zirkzee, he knew the forward wouldn’t be playing as an out-and-out No.9 from the get-go.
“Joshua Zirkzee now plays as a striker for them, but I know he likes to drop in and receive the ball to his feet,” he added.
That’s got to be it now for the EtH experiment. He’s not going to turn things around; not suddenly going to produce a team that knows what it’s doing, one where the players don’t collectively lose their heads when they concede. We thought beating Fulham showed progress (!) but then played two teams who generally just have to show up to beat us – and that’s exactly what happened.
Don’t doubt Ten Hag is a decent enough chap, but clearly he’s out of his depth at this level. No shame: he’s not the first Dutch Manager to fail in England, and certainly not the first Manager to fail at United. But, time to move on now. Before things turn really toxic.
Perfectly summed up. Totally agree
Wish I was wrong, tho: was totally convinced we’d got the right man when he was appointed. Ah well, we’ve got the Cup to keep us warm…for a while.
bang on
patient is what we need because I strongly believe that this team will very much kick into gears soon.