The proof that Ten Hag is talking s***

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 30 Apr 2024 09:22 BST
• 3 min read

Erik ten Hag has been accused recently of morphing into Jose Mourinho due to the number of self-important - and at times, delusional - comments he has made blowing up his rather meager achievements at Man Utd.

The most recent example of this came after the 1-1 draw at home to Burnley on Saturday, a result that ended Man Utd’s slim hopes of qualifying for the Champions League and puts into jeopardy their chances of qualifying for the Europa League.

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What did Ten Hag say?

Ten Hag bizarrely insisted that, on form, United are one of the most exciting and attacking teams in the Premier League.

“We are one of the most dynamic and entertaining teams in the league at this moment,” Ten Hag said.

“We are creating loads of chances by playing good football.”

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But Athletic journalist Ben Dinnery has demonstrated how these claims are simply not true.

On current form, since matchday 29, Man Utd are 16th in the Premier League for Expected Goals (xG) with an xG of just 6.97. Their non-penalty xG (NPxG) of 5.35 places them in 18th place.

Man Utd are ninth for big chances created, and also ninth for shots. They are 19th for crosses and eighth for final third passes.

This goes to show that United are certainly not one of the “most dynamic and entertaining teams at this moment”, nor are they “creating loads of chances”.

Ten Hag record at Man Utd

Ten Hag joined Man Utd in the summer of 2022 and enjoyed a decent first season as he took the club back into the Champions League, won the League Cup and reached the FA Cup final.

However, the 2023-24 campaign has been a total disaster for Ten Hag. United have lost 12 of their 34 Premier League games and have a goal difference of +1.

They went out of the League Cup early but worst of all were humiliated in the Champions League group stages.

Ten Hag has fallen out with a host of players during his time at the club, most notably Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho, while there has been scrutiny over his reported bad relationship with Marcus Rashford.

The Dutchman is expected to be sacked at the end of the season.