We didn‘t have to wait too much to see Erik ten Hag struggling for his job. Just two months into the new season, the Dutch coach is already the talk of the league due to the same old situation: his team is playing bad, they are losing even though a huge amount of money was spent (again) in the June transfer window. After a 3-0 humiliation from Liverpool at Old Trafford, the exact the same one followed against Tottenham, with a disappointing 1-1 at home to Twente switched in between. Needless to say, the Ten Hag‘s successors list is already circling through the British media but the Dutchman is not worried, as he says that he is mad about the 3-0 defeat from Spurs, but that he is only interested in the things which are said within the Old Trafford walls, not in the media.Sir Alex has a surprising proposition if Ten Hag gets the boot“As always when we are not winning, we are very disappointed and we are also mad. Mad with ourselves and especially when you lose a game like Sunday. From the madness, we have to get motivation and go onto the next game. It’s not important what is external. It’s only important what is internal. We are dealing with a defeat and nothing else. We talk every day and we are on a common journey. We made that agreement in the summer. We made our decisions, we refreshed and reset the staff. I appointed my assistants. We refreshed the squad as well. We chose to contract young players. It’s a long-term target. We went in that boat and we will keep going. It is not necessary for them to give me confidence, but we talk every day about how we can improve“ he said ahead of the game with Porto.Football legend hits hard: “United spends a fortune on nothing more than decent players”The former Portuguese champion was chosen as the favorite to win this year‘s Europa League by the Opta‘s super computer, while the Red Devils were only in sixth place, even below Tottenham. And after this tough draw, Manchester United will travel to Birmingham to face the high-flying Aston Villa before the start of the international break. There will be enough time for sir Jim Ratcliffe to eventually find a replacement and give him time to work with the squad, if he decides to sack Ten Hag. But the Dutchman believes that if his strikers were more concentrated, everything would be better.“If we didn’t create chances then I should doubt if players are following my tactics but we create a lot of chances, but I think we have the third highest xG in the Premier League. We have to be more effective, but it is also to do with the fact one of our top scorers has not been available until now. Rasmus Hojlund has not had a start so far. We have to improve the final third and our box game, be more killers there. Our strikers are capable of doing this“ he said.Even the AI doesn‘t believe in Man Utd: Super computer predicts Europa League winnerAnd he was wrong. According to Opta, Man United are actually fifth in the Premier League for expected goals (xG) this season. Tottenham lead the way with an xG of 13.69, followed by Liverpool on 12.64, Man City on 12.37 and Chelsea on 12.2. Man United come next with 10.55, narrowly ahead of Mikel Arteta’s title chasing Arsenal side on 10.26. The Red Devils, however, are the worst performing team in the top flight compared to their xG, with their haul of five goals down on their expected tally by 5.55. They need to perform better tonight.UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 2Thursday19:45: (1.85) Lazio (3.50) Nice (4.40)19:45: (3.00) Maccabi T.A. (3.40) Midtjylland (2.35)19:45: (2.15) Slavia Praha (3.45) Ajax (3.35)19:45: (2.15) Olympiakos (3.40) Braga (3.40)19:45: (1.75) Sociedad (3.50) Anderlecht (5.00)19:45: (8.00) Rigas (5.30) Galatasaray (1.35)19:45: (2.05) Qarabag (3.45) Malmo (3.60)19:45: (2.05) Hoffenheim (3.50) Dynamo Kyiv (3.50)19:45: (8.50) Ferencvaros (4.90) Tottenham (1.37)22:00: (2.80) Twente (3.40) Fenerbahce (2.50)22:00: (2.55) Rangers (3.35) Olympique Lyon (2.75)22:00: (1.75) Plzen (3.60) Ludogorets (4.90)22:00: (4.40) Elfsborg (3.60) Roma (1.82)22:00: (2.75) Besiktas (3.35) Eintr.Frankfurt (2.55)22:00: (1.73) Ath.Bilbao (3.60) AZ Alkmaar (5.10)22:00: (2.95) Porto (3.40) Man.Utd. (2.40)22:00: (1.65) PAOK (3.70) FCSB (5.60)22:00: (2.00) St.Gilloise (3.50) Bodo (3.70)***odds are subject to change***
