Manchester United suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Fulham at Old Trafford, a defeat that extended their gap to fourth-placed Aston Villa to eight points. United have lost 10 of their 26 Premier League games this season and Ten Hag may be missing striker Hojlund in his director's box.
The Danish striker has scored eight goals in his last eight games, but injury has prevented him from playing for the Red Devils. Despite Fulham's lack of three main players, they were still able to emerge victorious at the Theatre of Dreams.
Ten Hag tried to change his line-up during the game, replacing Luke Shaw with Victor Lindelof and teenager Omari Forson taking Hojlund's place. However, the first half almost became Fulham's showtime, and if it weren't for Onana's brilliant performance, United could have fallen behind by more than a goal in the first half. United had chances to score, but Diogu Darlow's long-range shot went wide of the post, while Fulham's Muniz also hit the post. More often than not, United were able to hold on to their own half, with crowds unhappy with Rashford's performance and felt he wasn't committed enough on the pitch.
Ten Hag knew back in August that Rashford was not fit to play as a centre-forward, but he was criticised for letting the England star try his hand at the start of the season. Playing the 26-year-old Rashford as a central striker is considered a bad decision by the manager, and if a centre-forward is needed, it would be better to use McTominay. And the 19-year-old demon Foson, who got Ten Hag's restart, also proved with his performance that he was not worthy of the starter, and Manchester United reused him just to persuade him to renew his contract.
In the second half, Ten Hag brought on Scott McTominay after Casemiro was bleeding from his head after colliding with his opponent. United held on to a 0-0 draw in the first half, but in the 65th minute, Fulham took the lead. Andreas Pereira crossed from the right and the Reds watched the crowd in the box, with Bashi firing a volley past his team-mate.
In the final minute of regulation time, the combination of Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire, whom Ten Hag had wanted to clean in the summer window, tried again to renew the lives of Manchester United. B Fee on the left side of the cross like a shot, McTominay flicked in front, the goalkeeper saved the ball, Maguire sent the ball into the empty net at the back post, Manchester United 1-1 Fulham. Fourth** held high the sign of nine minutes of stoppage time, United launched a fierce attack, McTominay, Fernando and Lindelof shot in quick succession, and they should have played for 90 minutes instead of just nine. However, in the end, Fergus Time ushered in a goal-scoring stunner, but unfortunately it was not Manchester United.
Manchester United, known for their counter-attack, was counter-attacked by Fulham in the 97th minute, and Adama Traore counter-attacked at high speed with the ball, and Maguire was afraid of a yellow card without a foul, and finally Traore assisted Iwobi, who completed the stunner. Iwobi's 96:04 set the record for the second-most goal scored against Manchester United in Premier League history and the last goal ever scored by a visiting team at Old Trafford since 2006-07.
Fulham beat Manchester United 2-1 to take all three points, the Farmer's first away win since October 2003. Manchester United have lost eight times in all competitions this season, equalling the record of 2020-21 and second only to 1973-74 in history. Ten Hag could equalise and refresh that stat as Liverpool and Arsenal visit Manchester United next. Hojlund's last absence was also United's last defeat, and Ten Hag clearly misses the striker who has been on a hot streak of late.
If a team is missing one or two players and can't play at the same level, it means that they are not relying on the overall routine, but on the individual performance of the stars, and the manager is to blame for this. New boss Rajue said a lot of things this week, including how important Champions League qualification is. There could be five teams in the Premier League, but there are doubts about whether Manchester United can overtake Tottenham. After four wins in a row, things looked good for a while, but the in-form Hojlund was injured and the Reds were back to square one, which is a big proof of United's vulnerability.
Manchester United travel to Manchester City without Hojlund next Sunday and will be able to move away from the top four if they continue their current form. Ten Hag has spent more than £400 million on signings, and now it would be a reason to say that his squad lacks depth. In the 99th minute of the game, he replaced the Brazilian winger Antony, who he introduced for 100 million euros. The day of the match was Kompasu's 24th birthday, but it wasn't Ten Hag's birthday present to Antony, but another piece of evidence of his failure to manage and buy on the spot. Even if United do qualify for the Champions League this season, Ten Hag should be sacked, he is not a protagonist capable of leading Manchester United's revival. Giving a manager who is less than capable will not pay any dividends for a longer period of time, and Bayern Munich's case against Thomas Tuchel speaks for itself.
Ten Hag's tenure at Manchester United has been widely questioned, with both his tactical choices and personnel deployment being criticised. Despite spending a huge amount of money on new signings, there has been no significant improvement in the team's performance. Manchester United fans are skeptical of his ability to lead the team towards a revival.
United's current predicament is not Ten Hag's responsibility alone, but as a manager, he has to take some responsibility. He needs to find a tactical system that suits the team and find ways to bring out the best in his players. In addition, he will need to make smart decisions in the transfer market and bring in players who fit the needs of the team.
However, as things stand, it seems that Ten Hag has not found a solution to these problems. His tactical system didn't seem to suit United's players, causing the team to struggle in the game. At the same time, his decisions in the transfer market have been questioned, with some of the signings deemed unnecessary not bringing significant improvements to the team.
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For Manchester United, it's time to think about a change of manager. They need a manager who has the ability to lead the team towards a revival, a manager who can bring out the potential of his players and develop a tactical system that suits the team. Only then will United be able to return to the top of the Premier League and challenge the best teams in Europe.
Of course, changing the manager is not a simple matter. Manchester United need to think carefully about who to choose and ensure that the new manager can adapt to the culture and values of the team. At the same time, they also need to give the new manager enough time and space to build his team and achieve his goals.
In conclusion, Manchester United are going through a difficult period at the moment. They need to find a solution to the problem as soon as possible and find a manager who can lead the team towards a revival. Only then will they be able to regain the trust and support of their fans and achieve better results in future competitions.