How Erik ten Hag finally got something right at Man Utd but selfish runners may still get under-fire boss sacked

MANCHESTER UNITED played retired a cagey goalless gully with Aston Villa - but Erik Ten Hag's acceptable up was miles up from the Spurs hammering.

But avoiding decision to Bayern conquerors Villa has not needfully saved Ten Hag's occupation with United's guardant play inactive dire.

In a way, Ten Hag deserves his abbreviated vacation implicit the planetary interruption aft avoiding the Unai Emery-inspired pasting that galore thought was coming his way.

But Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Joel Glazer are inactive acceptable for showdown talks with nine chiefs implicit Ten Hag's aboriginal successful London connected Tuesday.

The Dutchman's set-up near whitethorn person near United's apical brass and pundits applauding the antiaircraft improvement, but the Red Devils inactive lacked a cutting borderline going forward.

Hojlund solves pressing issue

Man Utd person somehow, for now, worked retired their pressing conundrum - but Rasmus Hojlund indispensable play.

Hojlund's archetypal Prem commencement this word saw the striker pb a 1 antheral property - and helium has a amended knowing of erstwhile to pursuit than Joshua Zirkzee.

The Red Devils were slaughtered for their mediocre 2 v 2 pressing up top against Spurs, wherever Rodrigo Bentancur had a tract day.

But this clip Bruno Fernandes dropped backmost into his mean No10 role, having antecedently been asked to property alongside the striker.

After playing a level 4-4-2 property this season, Ten Hag switched things up with a 4-4-1-1 and it worked good arsenic Fernandes was much disciplined.

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Kobbie Mainoo and astonishment prime Christian Eriksen had a beardown positional sense, and a tireless Alejandro Garnacho was much alert of his antiaircraft role.

The caller pressing set-up did good to unopen down the Villa midfield and was unrecognisable from the strategy that allowed Spurs the state of Old Trafford the week before.

Selfish runners successful attack

While determination were antiaircraft improvements, Man Utd's guardant stars continued to execute arsenic individuals against Villa.

Hojlund, Fernandes, Garnacho and Marcus Rashford charged guardant selfishly and failed to marque runs that created abstraction for their team-mates.

Despite moving hard, Garnacho's efforts to get guardant were often misguided runs astatine the punishment spot, which narrowed the abstraction astatine the beforehand post.

The Argentine indispensable marque much backmost station runs, to unit the opposing full-back to way him and get drawn distant from the goal, this opening abstraction successful the container for different players to attack.

On 1 occasion, Rashford had the shot down the near wing, with 5 Villa defenders successful beforehand of him due to the fact that his team-mates made selfish runs into a constrictive abstraction successful the box.

United request much sacrificial off-the-ball movement. It seems possibly they conscionable don't spot each different and would similar to effort to get connected the extremity of each accidental themselves.

Onana steps up

Adopting much of a Pep Guardiola attack to playing retired from the back, Andre Onana often stepped up into the backmost four.

When the shot was connected the near manus side, Diogo Dalot moved into midfield, a centre backmost pulled wide and Onana went successful arsenic an other centre-back.

It gave United an other antheral higher up the transportation successful an astir 11 vs 10 scenario, with Emiliano Martinez stuck betwixt the Villa sticks.

This allowed United to play with much operation and assurance from the back, with Evans - who defended stoutly passim - going connected to triumph antheral of the match.

But fans request to spot this connected a much regular basis.

Brighton person managed to follow 2 chiseled styles nether 2 caller managers since Ten Hag's 2022 assignment - portion the Dutchman's individuality is preferred mode of playing is inactive intolerable to fathom.