MANCHESTER, England – Manchester United coach Erik ten Hoag had a good day as his team beat Newcastle United 3-2 at Old Trafford on Wednesday. There’s only hope for a few more episodes before this miserable season ends.
It was the third time in almost three months that Manchester United won a Premier League game, amid debate and speculation over the Dutchman’s status as manager. This was achieved thanks to the goals of three young players: Kobi Maino, Amad Diallo and Rasmus Hoylund, while Ten Hoag managed to recover from the injuries of Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and, above all, Lisandro Martinez.
With one game still to play, Manchester United can keep alive their hopes of finishing in the top seven and qualifying for European competition via the league table. Furthermore, with the FA Cup final against Manchester City later this month, there is hope that this disastrous season will end on a positive note.
Only the club’s new investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS will know whether that is enough to keep Ten Hog in business.
“It’s a victory. “I’m happy with the team’s performance,” said Ten Haag. It’s always difficult playing against Newcastle, they are very physical, but we played good football and scored some good goals, especially the first goal. It was a great team goal. We have more players available.
This time the press conference after his game was more positive.
Thanks to Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Brighton on Wednesday, Manchester United can realistically only climb to seventh place, which would still be their worst finish in the Premier League.
But they avoided their 10th home defeat in all competitions in the final game of the season at Old Trafford and after a season-ending bout and injury, Ten Hoag is determined to pick up as many small victories as possible.
Although the result against Newcastle was pleasing, there were still parts of the performance that raised more questions than answers.
One of the reasons for this is that it took so long to give Amad Diallo a chance. The 21-year-old Ivory Coast player gave Manchester United the best moment of his season with an extra-time winner in the FA Cup against Liverpool in March, but will have to wait another two months before competing in the Premier League.
Diallo, who was eventually selected for Sunday’s game against Arsenal, kept his place against Newcastle, providing an assist for Maino and then firing a wild shot into his own net.
Ten Haag said: Amad had a difficult season due to a serious injury. He fought very well in training and development and performed very well. Now he has a chance and he has been given a chance and he has to make it happen. “There is always internal competition and I think I am very happy with his level.”
One of the criticisms of Ten Hogg was his loyalty to Anthony’s underperforming £85 million. However, with the Brazilian left on the bench, Amad took his chance and is unlikely to start in the FA Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley on May 25.
As if to underline this point, the stadium began chanting “Come Diallo” midway through the second half. This was followed by cheers from the coach and chants of “We march with the Ten Hog Corps.”
Most fans aren’t sure whether he should continue next season, and so far the club isn’t sure either. He has been in terrible form since the end of February and the win against Newcastle gave him some breathing room. A decision on his future will be postponed until after the trip to Wembley.