Reuters
[Source: Reuters]
A calamitous performance by Manchester United in their 3-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday has put Erik ten Hag back in the hot seat but the beleaguered manager said he was confident that he remained on the same page as the struggling club’s owners.
Sunday’s game was not three minutes old when Ten Hag’s men allowed Micky van de Ven to run half the length of the pitch with ease and find the unmarked Brennan Johnson who tapped in for the opening goal. A rout at Old Trafford was on the cards.
However, Ten Hag, whose job security was the subject of speculation for much of last season, insisted he was not concerned about his status with the club.
The loss left United, who finished a worst-ever eighth in the Premier League last season, in 12th place after six games.
It was their second consecutive 3-0 home league defeat after they lost to Liverpool on Sept. 1, and thousands of fans beat a hasty exit from Old Trafford well before the final whistle.
Former United defender turned pundit Gary Neville called it a “disgusting performance.”
Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp said in the Sky Sports broadcast: “United have been so abject, no confidence, no identity, they have been playing like the away team.
Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke also scored for Spurs, who from the start ran circles around a United side reduced to 10 men when captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off in the 42nd minute for his high challenge on James Maddison.
Ten Hag was particularly frustrated that Johnson’s early goal was almost identical to one United conceded against Twente in a 1-1 Europa League draw only four nights earlier.
