Erik ten Hag’s job at Manchester United is hanging by a thread after drawing 3-3 to Porto on Thursday evening.
The Dutchman was given two games to save his job by Sir Jim Ratcliffe after the awful defeat to Tottenham.
The first of those was Manchester United’s trip to face Porto in the Europa League, but the Red Devils were only able to rescue a draw in Portugal.
Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund gave United an early lead and it looked as though Erik ten Hag was going to buy himself some time in the managerial hotseat.
However, a six-minute collapse saw Porto draw level with goals from Pepe and Samu Omorodion in the first half, and the latter then fired the hosts into the lead just five minutes after the break.
Bruno Fernandes received a second red card within the space of a week but Harry Maguire rescued a point for 10-men United with an injury-time header.
READ MORE: Five things we learned from Manchester United’s bizarre 3-3 draw against FC Porto
Erik ten Hag now on the brink of being sacked
Ten Hag fumbled a huge chance to relieve some pressure around his job, and now it will all come down to Sunday’s clash against Villa.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is expected to attend Villa Park and the British billionaire may have to pull the trigger and sack Ten Hag if United suffer defeat again.
There was a reaction from the United squad after reports that the dressing room still supported Ten Hag, but it was short-lived and the usual problems resurfaced even after the bright start.
Ineos may soon be looking back on the managerial shortlist they drew up in the summer, and there are as many as 10 potential Ten Hag replacements they could consider.
Ultimately, the Dutchman needed the players he could trust to step up and perform for him. Unfortunately for Ten Hag, one of his own signings had a night to forget.
Lisandro Martinez let Erik ten Hag down vs Porto
It was clear from Ten Hag’s starting lineup against Porto that he wanted players he could trust on the pitch, and that included centre-back duo Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt.
The two former Ajax players have played under Ten Hag previously and have now become the first-choice combination at United.
Frankly, both were very disappointing against Porto and did very little to keep Ten Hag in the job.
But Martinez in particular had a nightmarish performance. The Argentine won just one duel across the entire match. He lost all three of his aerial duels.
Benni McCarthy predicted Martinez could struggle against Porto and it turns out he was absolutely right.
He was caught completely out of position for the opener and was burned for pace for Porto’s third.
Martinez had 70 touches of the ball but made just one tackle and one interception against Porto. His disastrous display was summed up by a wild shot that was so high and wide it nearly left the Estadio do Dragao.
Both Martinez and De Ligt were taken off by Ten Hag in the second half in place of Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans.
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