Erik ten Hag made some questionable decisions during Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Fenerbahce.
A third Europa League outing of the season for Manchester United rather frustratingly brought a third draw, with Erik ten Hag making a host of mistakes.
The current United manager has been on thin ice so long that we are starting to think he can walk on water, with the Dutchman surviving through worse than other managers were replaced for.
United drew 1-1 with Fenerbahce on Thursday night but without the heroics in goal from Andre Onana, it could have been another defeat we were talking about.
After a pretty deflating draw and performance, it is worth noting the numerous errors Ten Hag made in the game.
Noussair Mazraoui starting in attacking midfield
The most obvious of the things Ten Hag got wrong in this game was the decision to start Noussair Mazraoui as the attacking midfielder.
A completely ludicrous decision – when it is considered that talents like Amad Diallo and Christian Eriksen were at the disposal of the manager.
Noussair Mazraoui failed to create a single chance and was often caught out of position – this led to Ten Hag abandoning the experiment in the 55th minute.
It is safe to say that he will not be doing this again – despite Onana praising Mazraoui for his efforts.
Bringing on Antony instead of Amad
Amad is also indirectly involved in another mistake made by Ten Hag as he chose to bring Antony on for Marcus Rashford instead of the Ivorian.
Ten Hag attempted to explain this situation after the game as he said: “He’s [Amad] doing well but I must also reward to reward the performances of Antony in training. Antony is a threat almost every training”.
His explanation did not make much sense, with Amad far more deserving based on his performances this season – it was also a move that has lost him even more respect from the fans.
Amad cut an annoyed figure on the touchline – and who can blame him?
Erik ten Hag took zero risks
Risk-taking is part of being the manager of Manchester United, with youth involvement and attacking football unnegotiable, however, right now Ten Hag is ticking none of these boxes.
Ten Hag named two goalkeepers on his bench, with just one midfielder who is truly ridiculous when you look at the talented teenagers currently in the ranks at U21 and U18 level who could do a job for United – such as Jack Fletcher and Jayce Fitzgerald.
This is just one example of not taking risks, with others including his reasoning for Mazraoui starting at the No.10 position, which was that four attackers was too risky.
The Dutchman is on borrowed time right now, and he’s doing himself no favours with these self-inflicted wounds – something needs to change.
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