Trainer Erik ten Hag has had a bad start to the season with Manchester United. After his team already lost to Brighton & Hove Albion last week, Brentford was too strong on Saturday with 4-0. Manchester United are in last place in the ranking after the two losses.
Also read: Ten Hag’s false start at United is not completely unexpected
At Manchester United, Ten Hag had Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo start in the starting line-up, but he too could not prevent his team from conceding four goals after 45 minutes. Goalkeeper David de Gea let an eye-catching ball through at the opening goal, after which Brentford ran further in front of his own audience, which was partly due to new bumbling from De Gea and Christian Eriksen.
For example, the pressure on Ten Hag will be high early in the season. The 52-year-old Haaksberger, who became champion with Ajax last season, has just been brought in to pull the top club out of the doldrums. Manchester United finished in sixth place last season, just a block away from champions and rivals Manchester City.
To provide the selection with fresh blood, Manchester United’s technical leadership shopped in the Eredivisie. It attracted Tyrell Malacia (from Feyenoord) and paid more than sixty million euros for Lisandro Martinez of Ajax. Eriksen also came over. United are still looking for a new striker, in case Ronaldo does leave, but has not yet found the right candidate.