Have Man Utd improved under Erik ten Hag? Damning stats reveal whether Red Devils should have just stuck with Solskjaer
MANCHESTER UNITED’S nightmare start to the season got even worse as they slumped to a demoralising 3-0 defeat to Manchester City.
Their rivals ran riot at Old Trafford yesterday with the club in crisis.
Former captain Roy Keane claimed United are “short in every aspect – technically, tactically and, worryingly, even physically”, while Gary Neville slammed the Glazers’ ownership.
Erik ten Hag is now under increasing pressure to turns things around or could face the sack.
He is into his second season in charge and has already splashed £390million on players.
With Man Utd eighth in the Premier League and in the danger of crashing out of the Champions League in the group stages, many fans will be questioning whether Ten Hag has actually improved the club.
Therefore, SunSport have crunched the numbers to compare the Dutchman with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The club legend was in charge for three years before he was axed in November 2021 for interim boss Ralf Rangnick.
Ten Hag has so far took charge of 48 Premier League games and we have weighed up the stats during his tenure to the final 48 matches that Solskjaer was at the helm for, which resulted in his sacking.
And the numbers are damming, showing there has been little difference overall in terms of points.
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Ten Hag’s side managed to pick up 90 points and Solskjaer achieved slightly less with 88.
The current boss has won three more games on 28 compared to 25, but meanwhile has lost four more times, suffering 14 defeats instead of 10.
There has also been far fewer draws under the ex-Ajax gaffer – six compared to Ole’s 13.
There is one goal difference defensively in favour of Ten Hag witrh them conceding 59 rather than 60.
But fans had more to cheer under Solskjaer.
His attack fired and he seemed to get better from Marcus Rashford and certainly Bruno Fernandes, who Keane believes should be stripped of the captaincy.
The stats show the old attack that relied on Anthony Martial, Mason Greenwood, Edinson Cavani and Paul Pogba are far more clinical.
The manager also got Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku firing in brief 16 and nine game spells under him respectively.
Additions of Christian Eriksen, Mason Mount, Antony and Rasmus Hojlund, as well as Wout Weghorst last season, have led to the goals drying up.
Overall, the Red Devils create more with Ten Hag but struggle to convert.
They have shockingly taken 744 shots under him versus 676 with Solskjaer and scored 20 times fewer with just 69 goals.
The other major difference comes via tackles with Ten Hag’s pressing style seeing them put in 818 challenges compared to 674 under the Norwegian.
It is worth noting that Ten Hag did lift the Carabao Cup last season after the club went trophyless for three years under his long-term predecessor.
But nothing sums up the club’s staggering decline better than the the fact that United have now lost as many home games since Sir Alex Ferguson left as he did during his reign from 1986 to 2013.
Fergie oversaw 405 home league games and suffered defeat on 34 occasions.
There has been 196 Old Trafford Prem matches in the dire decade following his retirement and 34 defeats have already been reached by eight successors.
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