Erik ten Hag gives thoughts on facing ‘example’ Jose Mourinho, hypes Man Utd’s game vs Fenerbahce

Add as preferred source on Google

Manchester United have a semblance of momentum again with their 2-1 win vs Brentford but the fixtures are coming thick and fast now.

Next up is a game with many storylines as Manchester United face a daunting trip to Turkey to get their tottering Europa League campaign back on track.

With two draws in the first two games, it has hardly been the ideal start and a Jose Mourinho team is not the ideal opponent when you’re in a rut.

Even more difficult is the fact that Mourinho will undoubtedly be relishing to land a hit on his former employers with his new team and he’s still a master of managing a one-off game for a result.

Erik ten Hag gave his thoughts on the game and broke his silence on facing Mourinho for the first time as Man Utd manager.

Erik ten Hag on Jose Mourinho

The game against Fenerbahce was circled by many Man Utd fans when it was confirmed because, for all his crashing and burning at Old Trafford, Mourinho remains an adored figure at United.

In fact, he was the last person to win a trophy at the club before Ten Hag broke the six-year drought with the Carabao Cup in his first season.

In addition, there are other familiar faces too, with Fred and Sofyan Amrabat now plying their trade for Fenerbahce too.

Therefore, it is a game with many added dimensions. Ten Hag was at the Football Writers Association event recently and spoke about the prospect of facing the Portuguese manager.

He said, “It’s a big game for both of us. I really enjoy facing him and playing against him. He has always had good teams, and he is a winner. He has won so many trophies, and I think he’s an example for many managers.”

Fenerbahce have won one and drawn the other of the two games played which puts them two points ahead of United so both clubs need a win here to establish themselves in the top-eight and qualify for the round-of-16 directly.

Ten Hag and Mourinho are more alike than different

It is ironic that Ten Hag was seen as the antithesis of Mourinho when he arrived at Man United because his Ajax side thrilled Europe in the Champions League with their attacking style.

However, in his third year at the club, it is clear that the two share more similarities than one might think.

For one, they are both pragmatists to a fault. Getting a positive result in a one-off game, even if it means changing the whole philosophy or ceding the advantage isn’t an anathema to either.

Ten Hag, like Mourinho, has become a master at it and the result is two trophies in two seasons even though United have struggled to dominate games.

Mourinho famously put all his eggs in the Europa League basket in his debut season as he finished sixth in the league but qualified for UCL with the European trophy.

Ten Hag qualified for the Europa League this season despite finishing eighth as the team won the FA Cup.

Mourinho insists to this day his tenure at United was a huge success due to his trophies won, something that Ten Hag has already started saying in pretty much every press conference.

Therefore, this clash will be extremely interesting from a tactical point, as well as a narrative point of view since the managers are more similar than they would like to admit.