Ten Hag’s list of problems to solve after Porto ‘mess’

Robin Bairner

• 4 Oct 2024 07:03 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United’s 3-3 Europa League draw left as many questions as answers about Erik ten Hag’s future at the club.

United United impressed in the early stages of the game as goals from Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund carried them into a 2-0 advantage.

They were pegged back before the break, though, and in the second half fell behind when Samu Omorodion grabbed his second strike of the night.

READ MORE: "The most HUMILIATING manager ever!": Man Utd fans let rip on Ten Hag after Porto collapse

Bruno Fernandes was then sent off but a late header from Harry Maguire salvaged a second successive European draw.

TNT Sports pundit Owen Hargreaves, though, was left cool on the comeback with 10 men, instead focusing on the “mess” that had preceded it.

“There were so many positives in the first 20 minutes, you could never have anticipated they would throw that game away. They were so clinical in front of goal. But defensively, there were so many gaps,” Hargreaves said.

“At 2-2, you really feared for United because the momentum was with Porto.

“The first 20 minutes were good but after that it was a mess, really. And that’s the issue. They’ve got goal scoring issues and then today they’ve got defensive issues. At times it looks like they get something sorted and then something else goes wrong.”

'Not the level they need to be'

According to Hargreaves, there are still issues all over the park for Ten Hag to solve – and the former Man Utd midfielder says that should be enough to set alarm bells ringing.

“He’s got to find a consistent starting centre-back partnership. He took off his two starting centre-backs, and brought on ones that have been there for over a long time, Jonny Evans and Maguire,” he said.

“He’s got to find goals at the top of the pitch, a defensive partnership and a midfield partnership. There’s a lot of issues. He’s been there for a while now and a lot of that should have been sorted by now so I think there’ll be a lot of questions asked. That’s not the level they need to be.”

Man Utd tackle Aston Villa on Sunday, with speculation raging that a negative result might finally see the end of Ten Hag’s stay at the club.