Erik ten Hag made a deadly error as Liverpool’s £64 million storm was about to blow apart.
Erik ten Hag made a grave error that Jurgen Klopp could have prevented and that could have cost him the Man United job.
Not everything at Manchester United is good. The Red Devils are off to their worst start to a season since 1962–1963, having lost eight of their first fifteen games.
At the midway point of the Champions League group stages, they are eight points behind Liverpool and the top four in the Premier League standings and in eighth place. Their losses to Galatasaray and Bayern Munich further make it difficult for them to advance.
Their most recent low was a 3-0 loss to Newcastle United at Old Trafford on Wednesday night in the League Cup fourth round. They had won the competition last year, their first and only trophy since 2017, at Wembley in February against the same opponents.
Their setback to the Magpies was their second straight 3-0 loss at Old Trafford; only a few days prior, they had been destroyed by local rivals Man City in the Manchester derby. As a result, it seems likely that Erik ten Hag, manager of the Premier League, will be the next to go; the Times claims that the Dutchman is “on thin ice” and that the club is looking at other options. He has only been employed for eighteen months.
All is clearly not right at Old Trafford when you factor in the off-field turmoil, which includes the expulsion of Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho after arguments with their manager, well-documented scandals of much greater severity and the moral conundrums they raise, and the ongoing saga surrounding the Glazers’ ownership of the team and potential takeover.
For any club, such unwanted news off the pitch would be a distraction. However, given that they continue to be jeered both at halftime and after the final whistle against Newcastle, only Ten Hag and his players can truly know how much they are affecting the United dressing room and their performances.
Nevertheless, the Dutchman has pledged to persevere, stating that he is the ideal candidate to halt Old Trafford’s continuous decline that began with Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure in 2013.
With a new ‘undroppable’ emerging for Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool has a £64 million storm brewing
Darwin Nunez ultimately destroyed Liverpool fans at the Vitality on Wednesday night after holding strong against Storm Ciaran for 70 minutes.
Nunez dismissed the jeers directed at him after his clumsy first touch by the Reds striker, beating Andrei Radu with a stunning goal that may have been his best to date. The 1,300 supporters in the away end that evening soon overshadowed the ironic cheers of the home crowd.
Darwin showed his class and finished the game very much for us, according to Jurgen Klopp, while Cody Gakpo thought it was a wonderful goal, cutting inside, top corner, fantastic. It was an absurdly ambitious objective.”
The nine-time winners used it to earn a hard-fought 2-1 victory and go to the Carabao Cup last eight, which has started off wonderfully for them. If Liverpool can defeat West Ham at home in the quarterfinals next month, Klopp will start to envision the Wembley arch in the distance before a two-leg semifinal match the following year.
It also carried on Nunez’s overall run of good luck since his late double in the victory over Newcastle in August, which gave him a lift in confidence. He is a crucial member of a lethal group of attacking alternatives that have already scored 30 goals between them this season, with seven goals in all competitions.
Erik ten Hag has made fatal mistake as Liverpool have £64m storm brewing
Erik ten Hag has made fatal mistake Jurgen Klopp avoided that could cost him Man United job
All is not well at Manchester United. Losing eight of their first 15 matches, the Red Devils are suffering their worst start to a season since 1962/63.
Down in eighth in the Premier League table, eight points behind Liverpool and the top four, defeats to Bayern Munich and Galatasaray also leave them with it all to do at the halfway point of the Champions League group-stages if they are to stand any chance of progression.
Their latest low came on Wednesday night as they lost 3-0 to Newcastle United at Old Trafford in the League Cup fourth round. They had defeated the same opposition at Wembley back in February to win the tournament last year for their first, and only, piece of silverware since 2017.
That loss to the Magpies was their second-successive 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford, having been dismantled by local-rivals Man City in the Manchester derby just days earlier. Consequently, manager Erik ten Hag is now one of the favourites to be the next Premier League manager to lose his job, with the Times reporting that the Dutchman is ‘on thin ice’, and that the club are considering alternatives. He has been in the job for only 18 months.
Throw in all the off-field turmoil, from Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho being banished following squabbles with their manager, well-documented much more serious scandals and the accompanying morality quandaries, and the ongoing debacle surround the Glazers’ ownership of the club and a possible takeover, and it’s clear that all is not well at Old Trafford at all.
Such unwanted headlines off the pitch would be a distraction for any club. But how much they are truly impacting the United dressing room and their performances, only Ten Hag and his players could possibly say as, booed both at half-time and after the final whistle against Newcastle, their latest crisis continues.
Regardless, the Dutchman has vowed to fight on, insisting that he is the the right man to stop the downward spiral at Old Trafford that has been ongoing ever since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.
Liverpool have £64m storm brewing as new ‘undroppable’ emerges for Jurgen Klopp
After 70 minutes of standing firm in the face of Storm Ciaran, it was Darwin Nunez who eventually blew away Liverpool supporters at the Vitality on Wednesday night.
The ironic cheers from the home fans that greeted the Reds striker’s imperfect first touch were quickly drowned out by the genuine ones of the 1,300 in the away end on the night as Nunez shrugged off the mocking by skipping past Chris Mepham before planting arguably his best Liverpool goal to date past Andrei Radu in stunning style.
“It was an amazing goal – cutting inside, top corner, fantastic,” was Cody Gakpo’s assessment, while Jurgen Klopp remarked: “Darwin showed his class and put the game pretty much to bed for us. It was an unbelievable goal.”
It was enough to secure a hard-fought 2-1 victory to move into the last eight of a Carabao Cup that has opened up nicely for the nine-time winners. Negotiate West Ham at home in the quarter-finals next month and Klopp will begin to see the Wembley arch in the distance ahead of a two-legged semi next year.
It also continued the general upturn in fortunes that Nunez has experienced since that confidence-boosting shot in the arm that came via his late double in the win over Newcastle in August. Now up to seven goals in all competitions, he is a vital part of a devastating set of attacking options that have already plundered 30 between them this term.
