Erik Ten Hag has his first victory as Manchester United manager. Few saw last night's 2-1 victory over Liverpool coming, considering how badly beaten his troops had been by Brentford 9 days previous.
Ten Hag finally got through to his players and coaxed a performance out of them that will lift the frenzied atmosphere of doom that surrounds the club for the time being. If the Manchester United's players responded last night, perhaps it's because their manager has shown he'll suffer alongside his players.
It was well-documented that Ten Hag cancelled a day off following the Brentford thrashing and made players run 13.8km - the difference in distance covered between the two teams that day. The decision to undertake such a gruelling run on one of the hottest days of the year raised a few eyebrows from sports scientists.
What's surfaced today - according to Laurie Whitwell of The Athletic - is that Ten Hag did the run himself with the players.
It's interesting that Ten Hag put himself through the same punishment as his players. They suffered together that day and celebrated together last night.
Bruno to remain captain?
Meanwhile, Rio Ferdinand has insisted that Bruno Fernandes should remain captain at Manchester United after Harry Maguire was dropped for their 2-1 win over Liverpool at Old Trafford last night.
Erik Ten Hag started Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez in defence as his side picked up their first points of the Premier League season.
With Maguire seeming to fall out of favour with Ten Hag, Ferdinand believes the Portuguese midfielder should keep hold of the armband.
"I think I’d stick with who we’ve got at the moment," Ferdinand said on his own show 'Vibe with Five'.
"He looks like he feeds off that responsibility. Bruno has an ego and wants to be the main man.
"I think when Bruno came here he was the main man, a cult figure because of his performances and goals and that was kind of put in the shadows when Cristiano Ronaldo came. He’s come off the levels as much as anyone because he was hitting such high levels.
"Listen, the levels he was hitting he couldn’t continue that because it was ridiculous what he was doing, the output. But to drop off from where he was, he would benefit the most from getting the armband."
Maguire has been the Manchester United captain since early 2020 but his performances in the last year have garnered a lot of criticism from fans.
When Tag Hag was appointed manager he stuck with the England International despite calls for change amongst the fan base.
The likes of David De Gea and Raphael Verane have also captained the club in the past.
United's much improved performance with Maguire on the bench indicates that he may face a stint on the sidelines.
Chelsea have also reportedly shown interest in signing Maguire with a swap deal involving Christian Pulisic mooted.
United's position is that there captain is not for sale.
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