Back in October, when Manchester United supporters were still making their minds up about Erik ten Hag’s managerial nous, his suitability for English football and his judgment of players, he took his team to Stamford Bridge and claimed a notable victory in the tactical joust.
The Chelsea manager that day, the tactically admired Graham Potter, was check-mated from kick-off. United, Potter admitted, “were building their attacks too easily, and driving us back.”
Potter owned up to being out-coached with the kind of statement substitution no manager likes to have to make, redrawing his plans after barely half an hour by taking off Marc Cucurella, a defender and the Chelsea footballer Potter had the closest, longest working relationship with.
“We had to get another player in midfield, and put more pressure on them,” Potter explained.
He brought on Mateo Kovacic. Ten Hag later raised Potter again by populating his midfield further with the introduction of Fred. Fittingly, it was a goal from midfield, scored by Casemiro in stoppage time, that did justice to United’s performance by earning a 1-1 draw.
“That’s why we brought Casemiro in,” said Ten Hag, who had pushed for United to pay Real Madrid up to €80 million for the Brazilian, a judgment that has since been clearly vindicated.
That point gained at Chelsea, who had taken the lead late on through a penalty, will be appreciated all the more if United repeat or better it on Thursday evening at Old Trafford.
A draw ensures United finishing in at least fourth place in the final Premier League table, the principal target of the club’s executives and owners when they hired Ten Hag last summer. It means Champions League football next season, a privilege once taken for granted by United but which they have missed out on for two of the past four seasons.
With one point from either of their two remaining games, Ten Hag will have trumped Jurgen Klopp, whose Liverpool trail United by three points and have only one fixture left.
He will have left a similar exemplary memo to Chelsea’s muddled executives as he did with his shrewd game plan at Stamford Bridge; Chelsea are pondering the fact that Potter was one of four different managers who took charge of them during a season in which they are destined to finish in the bottom half of the Premier League, perhaps as much as 30 points shy of qualifying for the Champions League, a competition Chelsea won in 2021.
Ten Hag, whose first season in England has yielded silverware, with the League Cup – and could yet add more if United reverse expectations in the FA Cup final against Manchester City – appreciates that qualifying for Europe’s elite club competition can seem tougher than ever.
“We want to compete with the best,” he said. “So then you have to be in the Champions League. In the Premier League you have to be in the first four, that’s not easy. Many are competing for it. Many think they should be in it.”
Bournemouth 0 Man United 1: player ratings
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BOURNEMOUTH RATINGS: Neto 7: Brazilian keeper beaten all ends up by his fellow countryman, Casemiro, who opened the scoring with a wonderful bit of improvisation, but got down smartly to deny the same player a second. Also kept out efforts from Weghorst and Fernandes with decent stops. -
Adam Smith 6: Showed plenty of attacking intent with a series of marauding runs forward on the right as the Cherries grew into the contest, but his crossing often lacked quality. Getty -
Illya Zabarnyi 7: Kept his side in the game when he repelled Wan-Bissaka’s left-footed strike, before throwing himself in front of another strike as Shaw tried his luck. Produced yet more heroics to flick Fernandes’ strike wide. Getty -
Marcos Senesi 7: Thought he’d done enough to cut out Eriksen’s clipped forward pass, only to inadvertently cushion the ball down for Casemiro to score. Nearly grabbed a last-gasp leveller with a sweetly-struck volley that flew just over. PA -
Lloyd Kelly 7: Kept Antony quiet and got a vital challenge in when he just managed to nip in front of the advancing Eriksen. Caused problems at the other end when his inviting delivery was glanced away by Lindelof with Christie lurking. Getty -
Lewis Cook 6: Made himself busy all afternoon with a series of important challenges, the first of which saw him thwart Martial with a well-timed block. Booked for a naughty challenge on Eriksen, and he was perhaps fortunate not to see red. Getty -
Jefferson Lerma 5: Struggled to give his side a foothold in a game where he was outclassed by United’s trio of Fernandes, Casemiro and Eriksen. Schooled by Garnacho, but delighted the home faithful when he tried to assist Antony in leaving the field. Getty -
David Brooks 8: Brilliant to see the winger make his first start for 20 months. Produced some moments of class too, including a beautiful drop of the shoulder to beat his man on the edge of the box. Later forced a wonder-save from De Gea with a driven effort. AFP -
Ryan Christie 7: Showed excellent workrate to track back and get a foot in when the hosts were struggling to stem the tide. Did well to divert Smith’s poor cross towards de Gea’s goal but it was a simple stop for the Spaniard. PA -
Jaidon Anthony 6: Whipped in a peach of a cross from the lef early on but there wasn’t a single shirt in the box. Looked to stretch his legs on a couple of occasions but was kept on a tight leash by visitors. Getty -
Dominic Solanke 6: Sprang to life in 27th minute when he controlled the ball well under pressure and shrugged off the challenges before testing De Gea. Looped a header onto the roof of the net in first-half stoppage time and later fizzed a low effort across goal. PA -
SUBS: Kieffer Moore (On for Brooks 56') 5: Just four Premier League goals this season for the bit-part striker, who wasted a big opportunity to grab a fifth when he placed his effort straight at De Ge, who stood up well at his near post. -
Matias Vina (On for Smith 66') 6: A final run-out on home turf for the popular loanee. Showed excellent composure at one point to chest the ball back to his goalkeeper at the back post. AFP Dango Ouattara (On for Christie 66') 6: Stretched the United defence on a couple of occasions, including a threaded pass to pick out Moore. -
MAN UNITED RATINGS: David De Gea 8: Got down low to his left to save from Solanke in first half Better save with his legs from Moore seven minutes from time when the goalkeeper was the last man. Faultless. Getty -
Aaron Wan-Bissaka 7: Right-back, yet an important attacking player for United as he overlapped with Antony. Won the ball back, picked Fernandes out with a pass to set up the Portuguese in second half. Dealt well with Bournemouth’s Anthony. Getty -
Raphael Varane 7: Strong – as he needed to be – against Solanke. Smart idea to play a ball between the lines towards Sancho just before half-hour mark. Reuters -
Victor Lindelof 8: Crucial for the first as he made an interception to win possession back. His header stopped a 33rd minute Bournemouth attempt on goal and he read the balls forward to Solanke well. Solid to the last and praised by his manager. Getty -
Luke Shaw 7: Abused for his Southampton connections by Bournemouth fans, he didn’t look in the slightest bit bothered. Stealing a few extra metres on a second half throw in wound the home fans up even more. Read Ouattara’s movement well enough to nullify his threat. Reuters -
Casemiro 8: Overhead kick on the spin from six yards out for early goal. Controlled a loose ball to shoot low on target on five minuites before break. Accurate long balls, usually to Antony. Praised by his manager for his movement and for exceeding expectations. Reuters -
Christian Eriksen 7: Curled a ball towards the Bournemouth goal which led to the opener. Short corner attempt with Shaw didn’t work. AFP -
Bruno Fernandes 6: Helped United dominate in the first half but gave the ball away to assist a 35th-minute attack. Volleyed shot on target 15 minutes from time, then a struck an 84th-minute effort which was anything but. AFP -
Jadon Sancho 6: Worked hard. Came deep, supported Fernandes. Neat, but final ball didn’t come off enough in the first half. Tried to find pockets of space in front of the home defence. PA -
Antony 7: Went down heavily in the first half after a challenge. Gave the ball away to set up one first-half Bournemouth attack. Weak shot bobbled across goal just before hour mark. Needs to be more effective in front of goal. Getty -
Anthony Martial 6: One shot in first half went well over. Nudged towards goal in the first attack after the break and led an attack with a double one-two on 56. He was substituted ten seconds later. AFP -
SUBS: Wout Weghorst (On for Martial 57') 8: Had a shot which came back off the keeper and played a neat ball in the subsequent attack. Defended to stop a Bournemouth attack, then set up McTominay. Getty -
Alejandro Garnacho (On for Sancho 72') 7: Came on to chants of ‘Viva Garnacho’. Skinned Lermana to create a chance, but his ball across goal was a poor one. Reuters -
Scott McTominay (On for Eriksen 86') N/A. AFP Fred (On for Antony 86') N/A.
That sense of entitlement is being sharply challenged. The 2023-24 Champions League will have an uncomfortable look for several clubs who regard participating as almost a given.
Of the nine who have reached the last six European Cup finals, four are likely to miss out entirely next season. There will probably be no Juventus, penalised for financial mismanagement; certainly no Chelsea or Tottenham Hotspur; and, should United earn that remaining point, no Liverpool.
Ajax may very well be absent, too, for the first time in 12 years. That speaks for how much Ten Hag’s former employers have missed him. Going into this weekend’s last game of the season, Ajax sit third in the Eredivisie, a league in which only the title-holder is guaranteed a Champions League group phase entry.
Ten Hag had guided Ajax to three successive Dutch titles – and a Champions League semi-final in 2019 – before United poached him.
“We are still on a journey,” he said reflecting on a first year in England that began with two defeats and United bottom of the Premier League.
By the time he took his players to Stamford Bridge, they had gathered enough momentum to be nuzzling up to the cherished top four, and as he was out-calculating Potter tactically, he was also showing himself to be a bold, brave dressing-room strategist.
That trip to Chelsea marked a significant milestone: it was the first time Ten Hag dropped Cristiano Ronaldo from the match-day squad, suspending the Portuguese for indiscipline.
It was the beginning of the end of Ronaldo’s relationship with United. It was the moment a new manager made sure everybody knew who was the boss.
