Erik ten Hag still has a tough job ahead of him at Manchester United, that is the overall conclusion of the English media after the 1-2 defeat at Old Trafford against Brighton & Hove Albion. During his first official game as manager of Manchester United, the Mancunians not a convincing impression. Ten Hag himself called the defeat against Brighton ‘a big disappointment’.
Ten Hag had to admit after the defeat that ‘a hell of a job’ awaits him at United after he opened the new Premier League season with a defeat. The Red Devils did not get over two goals before halftime by Pascal Gross at Old Trafford on Sunday. “We have to work very hard, analyze and then move on,” said Ten Hag in front of the camera BBC. “Of course, this is definitely a setback and big disappointment. I knew from the start it wasn’t going to be easy. We gave away two easy balls and the organization was not good.”
United made anything but a good impression on the English media. The Guardian talks about a ‘horror start’ for Ten Hag. “All the optimism of the pre-season and a new manager died down, while Old Trafford turned out to be the ‘theatre’ of Ten Hag’s worst nightmares. The kind of football fans have been hoping for seems weeks, if not months away, and the Ronaldo saga seems no closer to a solution. If he really wanted to know how difficult the job as a manager at Old Trafford is, then Ten Hag will know after one official game.”
“A new season, the same problems for Manchester United,” writes the BBC. “Before kick-off, there was a sense of optimism around United. Erik Ten Hag tries to convey his personality to his players, yet many of the old problems persisted. There was no cohesion on the field, despite the good debuts of Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martínez.”
Nothing destroys optimism more than a dose of reality.” Sky Sports. “With the arrival of Erik ten Hag and a number of new signings, there was hope that this would be the year when Manchester United would finally do well. It should come as no surprise, however, that the problems from previous seasons hadn’t magically disappeared. Not everything lost for Manchester United, but Ten Hag’s renaissance is far from started.”