Manchester United served their fans the full European experience under Erik ten Hag in their latest 3-3 draw at FC Porto.
It is now one win in ten European fixtures and this one had all the hallmarks of what is quickly becoming a standard Manchester United European display.
There was the early lead, an embarrassing collapse, then trailing, and the final flourish which gave them a point, and Erik ten Hag a reason to talk about the spirit of the team.
However, it no longer looks like “spirit” alone can salvage the season and more drastic measures are needed to do so.
Of course, sacking the man making these decisions is the obvious one, but he is definitely getting the game vs Aston Villa.
But there is one decision that he can make for that game which is staring him in the face now. He will have to swallow his pride for it though.
Erik ten Hag’s major decision
It is ironic that last season’s results were written off due to a myriad of injuries but this season, the team’s worst performances have arrived when Ten Hag has played his strongest team.
There is a clear hierarchy in place in all positions in the squad except for maybe the wings, where Marcus Rashford, Amad, and Alejandro Garnacho are rotated regularly.
Even there, Rashford feels like he’s the first-choice among equals and the same can be said for the defence.
Ten Hag has settled on a back five of Onana-Mazraoui-De Ligt-Martinez-Dalot which makes sense on paper in the absence of a natural left-back.
The defence wasn’t even that big a problem in recent games barring the Spurs fixture which was as much a collective failure of the system as it was defensive errors.
However, the draw at FC Porto has made one decision clear to make for Ten Hag, he will just have to swallow his pride to do it.
Harry Maguire’s rescue act with his goal was the icing on the cake of a performance that was as good as Matthijs de Ligt’s was bad.
The swap that nobody saw coming
Before piling on De Ligt, it is also worth noting that when Maguire was a starter as the Dutchman built up his match fitness, he hadn’t done much wrong.
Still, it was clear from the first day that as soon as De Ligt was fit enough to start, he would take Maguire’s place.
That is exactly what happened and De Ligt, shaking off his international troubles even looked good, if not brilliant. Until the last three games.
The Dutchman has looked panicked and the air of serenity that should be around a dominant centre-back is the smell of opportunity for strikers right now.
Attackers know he can be had if they get him one-on-one or draft him away from the security of the box which is exactly what Porto did for fun.
It is the system that leaves him exposed more often than not, but his own performances haven’t covered him in glory.
Maguire, on the other hand, can conceivably ask the manager why De Ligt deserves to continue starting in a squad game where the competition for places is so high.
At this moment, Maguire looks better than Ten Hag’s marquee signing so he should have that position until he loses it himself, or De Ligt wins it back the same way Maguire is doing right now.
That’s the ethos of a competitive squad and it should begin with this ruthless decision vs Aston Villa.
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