Manchester United are where they should be – fighting for all trophies and going against the big teams toe to toe.
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Manchester United are back to where they belong in the Premier League table – they are sitting ever closer to the top spot. It is fair to say that the Red Devils are not the favourites to get their hands at the coveted league trophy. Having said that, seeing United occupy the third place in arguably the most popular league is a sight that few would have predicted at the start of the campaign. Besides, The Reds are still competing for silverware in all of the competitions they have entered this season, demonstrating how far they have come in the span of a year.
There is one man who is largely responsible for the change in fortunes – Erik ten Hag. The Dutchman has turned the Red Devils from faltering pretenders to genuine contenders in all front. Their disastrous season last time out seems a distant memory – so is their poor start to the league campaign. Manchester United are where they should be – fighting for all trophies and going against the big teams’ toe to toe.
This man is a genius. pic.twitter.com/PRSDwpzZmp
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 19, 2023
The transformation in little over seven months in charge is incredible by ten Hag. He is rightly praised by the United supporters. Be it the way he responded to setbacks or handled the Cristiano Ronaldo situation, the Dutchman has emerged victorious in every battle he has fought till now at Old Trafford. It is still too early in his reign and tough challenges will await the Dutchman along the way. However, one thing is clear – the direction in which Manchester United are heading is the right one. It has been made possible undoubtedly with the arrival of ten Hag last summer.
It is surprising to think that the Red Devils are still in with an outside chance of winning the Premier League table. They are the least favoured to win it among the top three sides with Manchester City and Arsenal being the other two. However, the mere fact that United are placed among the teams within a touching distance of the top spot is alone a testament to ten Hag and his coaching staff.
| (22/23) | Name | M | W | D | L | Points |
| 1 | Arsenal | 23 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 54 |
| 2 | Man City | 24 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 52 |
| 3 | Man Utd | 24 | 15 | 4 | 5 | 49 |
| 4 | Tottenham | 24 | 13 | 3 | 8 | 42 |
| 5 | Newcastle | 23 | 10 | 11 | 2 | 41 |
| 6 | Fulham | 24 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 38 |
As things stand, United are placed third in the standings with 49 points from 24 matches. They are only five points adrift of leaders Arsenal in the table. Although United have played a game more, they are still within reaching distance of them. Post World Cup, Manchester United have been one of the in-form teams in the division. They have taken advantage of other teams around them slipping and dropping points.
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From being placed outside the top four positions before the commencement of the World Cup, the Red Devils have done incredibly well to not only climb into the Champions League places but have also inched closer to the top spot. Even though United themselves have been going through a sticky spell of late, the mere fact that they are still within touching distance of others indicates how far they have improved in just over a season.
The 2021-22 Premier League season is one to forget for Manchester United. It was a club record low for points in a Premier League season for the Red Devils. They were able to manage only 58 points from 38 games to settle for the sixth spot. Their previous lowest points tally in the Premier League was 64 points in 2013-14 – the first season after Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. It is incredible to think that the Red Devils are already close to reaching last season’s points tally this time around.
| (21/22) | Name | M | W | D | L | Points |
| 1 | Man City | 38 | 29 | 6 | 3 | 93 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 38 | 28 | 8 | 2 | 92 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 38 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 74 |
| 4 | Tottenham | 38 | 22 | 5 | 11 | 71 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 38 | 22 | 3 | 13 | 69 |
| 6 | Man Utd | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 58 |
United are astonishingly only nine points behind that mark at this point in the season. With about 14 league games still left to be played in this campaign, it is safe to say that Manchester United will definitely surpass that tally. They are also defending pretty well this campaign. United already have ten clean sheets in the Premier League this season, which is two more than what they managed throughout the whole of last league campaign. There is also a clear improvement in their attacking play, as the Red Devils are starting to function as a well-drilled unit. Below are other noticeable numbers:
| Season | Matches | Goals Scored | Goals Conceded | Clean Sheets | GD |
| 2022/23 | 24 | 41 | 28 | 10 | 13 |
| 2021/22 | 38 | 57 | 57 | 8 | 0 |
One of the biggest improvements Manchester United have witnessed this season is their performance at home. Erik ten Hag has made Old Trafford a fortress again. The Red Devils have won nine of their 12 home games in the Premier League this season, which is the second best in the league at this stage. In whole of last season, they managed only 10 wins from 19 games, illustrating the improvement in that department.
Not only with the home record, but their away form has also improved considerably this season. Manchester United have the third best away record in the league with six wins already from 12 matches. It is the same number of away victories United managed in whole of last season. A lot of credit must be given to ten Hag for that. Under the Dutchman’s management, the Reds have done incredibly well to be where they are right now.
| Home/Away record | EPL Rank | M | W | D | L | Points |
| Home (22/23) | 2 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 29 |
| Home (21/22) | 5 | 19 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 35 |
| Away (22/23) | 3 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 20 |
| Away (21/22) | 9 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 23 |
As a player, the 52-year-old Dutchman was not a famous and successful one, however he still had a good career. Erik ten Hag, who was a ball-playing defender, spent the majority of his career with the Dutch club FC Twente. He was a part of the team in three stints and also went on to win the KNVB Cup in 2000-2001. Not to mention that Ten Hag has also played for FC Utrecht, RKC Waalwijk, and De Graafschap. In addition, he won the Eerste Divisie with De Graafschap in 1990-91.
Ten Hag, who was a 32-year-old back then, announced his retirement after the 2001-2002 Eredivisie season while playing for FC Twente. The Dutchman really began to make a name for himself during his coaching days. Ten Hag joined the management ranks of the second-tier Go Ahead Eagles in 2012. He helped the Go Ahead Eagles win their first promotion in 17 years in just one season.
| Club | Duration | Matches | Win | Draw | Loss |
| Go Ahead Eagles | July 2012-June 2013 | 39 | 18 | 11 | 10 |
| Bayern Munich II | June 2013-May 2015 | 72 | 48 | 10 | 14 |
| FC Utrecht | May 2015-December 2017 | 111 | 56 | 26 | 29 |
| AFC Ajax | December 2017-May 2022 | 215 | 158 | 28 | 29 |
| Total | 437 | 280 | 75 | 82 |
Erik ten Hag then took over as manager of Bayern Munich II, the reserve team of the German giants. During his stay in Germany, Ten Hag met current Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who was the manager of Bayern Munich at the time. Notably, ten Hag has previously discussed how much of an influence Guardiola had on him during his time with the German club.
After two years, he returned to FC Utrecht in the Eredivisie. He led the team to a fourth-place finish in the 2016-17 season, earning them a spot in the Europa League qualifying round. Ten Hag’s time with Ajax, on the other hand, has helped him gain global attention. He needed little time after joining Ajax in December 2017 to get the players accustomed to his style of play. It was mainly during the 2018-19 season, fans and pundits began to notice ten Hag’s work.
That campaign, he led Ajax to the Champions League semifinals before losing heartbreakingly to Tottenham Hotspur. Ajax had beaten defending champions Real Madrid in the last-16 and Juventus in the quarterfinals on their way to the final four. In that same season, ten Hag had won the KNVB Cup and the Eredivisie titles.
Erik ten Hag has brought on several changes to club since taking over the managerial role last summer. One of the notable differences he has successfully managed to achieve was the change in mentality for the big games. Manchester United are no longer just mere pushovers against the top sides. It has been evident with the way they have responded to the big occasions in the Premier League this season.
On the back of a poor start to the season, Manchester United welcomed Liverpool to Old Trafford. United were expected to lose the match badly at home but the spirit, determination and grit shown by the players on the pitch was the watershed moment in ten Hag’s reign at United. That inspiring 2-1 victory over Jurgen Klopp’s side paved the way for the Red Devils to embark on a good run which saw them produce other noticeable results. Soon after, Manchester United defeated Arsenal 3-1 at home, putting an end to the Gunners’ unbeaten start to the season.
Then they got a rude awakening when Manchester City thrashed them 6-3 at the Etihad Stadium. However, United quickly recovered from that setback, going on a fantastic run that saw them climb the table and into Champions League positions. During this time, they defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at home and staged a late comeback to hold Chelsea to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge. Besides, they produced a late fightback to shock Manchester City 2-1 at Old Trafford. However, a late goal condemned United to a 3-2 defeat at Arsenal – still the improvement is clear for everyone to see.
| Manchester United’s opposition | Results (2021-22) | Results (2022-23) |
| Liverpool (H) | 0-5 (L) | 2-1 (W) |
| Tottenham Hotspur (H) | 3-2 (W) | 2-0 (W) |
| Arsenal (H) | 3-2 (W) | 3-1 (W) |
| Arsenal (A) | 3-1 (L) | 3-2 (L) |
| Chelsea (A) | 1-1 | 1-1 |
| Manchester City (A) | 1-4 (L) | 3-6 (L) |
| Manchester City (H) | 0-2 (L) | 2-1 (W) |
| Total points from these matches | 7 | 13 |
Even last season, Manchester United had defeated Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford. However, on both occasions, they relied on Cristiano Ronaldo’s brilliance. Ronaldo scored twice against Arsenal and netted a hat-trick against Tottenham. Both victories arrived due to individual brilliance rather than through a collective effort. Meanwhile, they were fortunate to escape Stamford Bridge with a 1-1 draw last season.
That performance against the Blues paled in comparison to how United performed there this season, as they were unlucky not to get all three points. The biggest change, however, was how they performed against Liverpool and Manchester City. Last season, Jurgen Klopp’s team decimated Manchester United 5-0 at Old Trafford, signalling the beginning of end of former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tenure.
In contrast, Erik ten Hag announced his arrival in England after the stunning 2-1 win over Liverpool in August. They produced another stellar performance to get the better of Man City this year – compared to the 2-0 defeat against the same opposition at Old Trafford last season. The progress is there and clearly visible for everyone to see. The message is loud and clear from ten Hag’s United – they fear no one.
