Man Utd win again: How Ten Hag’s start compares to former managers

Karan Tejwani

• 19 Jul 2022 15:15 BST
• 3 min read

Erik ten Hag’s perfect start continued at Manchester United, as his side won their third-successive friendly against Crystal Palace at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.

Manchester United had won their previous two friendlies as well, beating Liverpool in Thailand and then Melbourne Victory at the same ground as today.

The result give Ten Hag an encouraging start, and he has a record that matches previous managers, since Alex Ferguon’s retirement in 2013.

How did previous Manchester United managers who started off at the start of the campaign fare?

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David Moyes: 1 win, 2 losses

Moyes didn’t have a great tenure at Old Trafford, and perhaps there was a sign in pre-season, as his side won one game and suffered two defeats.

United went to the Far East, and lost a match against a Thai All-Star XI 1-0, before winning their second match 5-1 against an A-League All-Stars team.

The third game was in Japan against Yokohama F. Marinos, which they lost 3-2, and United would win just one of their remaining four pre-season matches.

Louis van Gaal: 3 wins

Ten Hag is Manchester United’s second Dutch manager after Van Gaal, and he started his reign with three pre-season wins as well.

This time, United were touring the United States in 2014, and they beat LA Galaxy 7-0 in his first game, before beating Roma 3-2 and Inter on penalties.

United had a perfect record in that pre-season, winning all six of their matches, before having a positive season, as they secured a return to the Champions League.

Jose Mourinho: 2 wins, 1 loss

For Mourinho’s reign, there was plenty expected as he joined his dream club, and he had a decent start in pre-season, as they beat Wigan Athletic in his first game with the club.

Then, the Red Devils went to China, and had a tough start as his side lost 4-1 to Borussia Dortmund, before a 5-2 win over Galatasaray in Norway.

For the season, Manchester United finished sixth, but ended up with two trophies – the League Cup and Europa League – which are the last trophies the club won.