Ten Hag entering his Solskjaer period as Man Utd target Branthwaite passes test
Robin Bairner
- 26 Nov 2023 13:11 CST
- 4 min read
Manchester United may have claimed a 3-0 Premier League win over Everton on Sunday, but the result gave little illustration of how Erik ten Hag’s side laboured to victory at Goodison Park.
Alejandro Garnacho lit the game up with one of the all-time Premier League goals after just three minutes thanks to a spectacular bicycle kick, yet that moment was entirely out of fitting with much of the fare that Man Utd produced over the course of the match.
Marcus Rashford added a penalty in the second period, his first Premier League goal of the season, and Anthony Martial tapped home a third to seal the win, but these moments aside, the Red Devils were outplayed.
Everton, who will not go down despite their current predicament, had more of the ball, more than twice as many shots and much of the territory. It’s true they didn’t score, but that was as much to do with the type of wayward finishing befitting a team second from bottom of the table, albeit stationed there due to a 10-point penalty.
It’s difficult to escape the feeling that Ten Hag is now playing out time as Red Devils boss.
He is falling out with players at an increasing rate, and with Sir Jim Ratcliffe set to takeover 25% of the club imminently, a sceptic of the former Ajax boss is poised to be his ultimate boss. Results like Sunday’s will help his cause, performances of that genre will not.
Ten Hag, for the moment, is doing what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer mastered for much of his spell at Old Trafford. United are not bad enough to get the manager sacked, but neither are they good enough to seriously challenge for honours.
That may be good enough for the Glazer brothers, it is unlikely to be sufficient for Ratcliffe.
Ten Hag may cling on until the end of the season for the sake of continuity, but it is hard to see him hanging around much longer than that unless there is an unexpected change of gear from his Man Utd squad.
Branthwaite impresses but..
One player that Ratcliffe’s recruitment team has their eye on, meanwhile, is Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite, who enhanced his prospects of a move to Man Utd with an accomplished defensive performance at Goodison.
He won 86% of his seven duels, three of his four aerial battles, and posted a joint-match leading figure of three tackles. On top of this, he chalked up a team-high four clearances and recorded three interceptions.
Jarrad Branthwaite vs Man Utd
| Minutes | 90 |
| Touches | 66 |
| Duels won | 86% |
| Aerial duels won | 75% |
| Tackles | 3 |
| Clearances | 3 |
| Interceptions | 3 |
| Fouls committed | 0 |
| Pass completion | 75% |
One point of concern was his low pass completion rate, but given the direct manner Everton played, his figure of 75% should be taken with a pinch of salt.
It was certainly a performance that will have encouraged Man Utd to take another look.
