The key to Ten Hag’s future at Manchester United is Garnacho.
Manchester, United Kingdom At halftime, with a 2-0 lead over Everton, the Manchester United players vanished via the Old Trafford tunnel to the sound of “Viva Garnacho” from the Stretford End supporters. Manager Erik ten Hag trailed behind with his typical stony-faced attitude, though it would not have surprised us if he was mentally singing along.
Alejandro Garnacho won two first-half penalties, which were converted by Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford, to help United secure a much-needed victory in the race to qualify for the Champions League next season. This came after a week in which the Dutch manager has come under increasing pressure.
Ten Hag remarked afterward, “I think the lads did a very good transfer of the game plan.” “By letting Bruno and Scott [McTominay] go [deeper], and then allowing Garnacho and Rashford to score runs from behind.” We anticipate Everton applying intense pressure, since their double six matches our double six, and we made the necessary space in the rear. After that, we scored the goals and the penalties, which made me happy.”
After leading United to their first Premier League victory in three games, Ten Hag is still balancing his job as manager, but Garnacho will play a factor in whether or not he stays in the position come summer. The 19-year-old is not only his most effective attacking player, but he also views the winger’s rise from Argentina as one of his biggest achievements while at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag has to close off the season well and persuade new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe that he’s the right guy for the job in the long run after a mainly unsuccessful campaign that saw United finish sixth in the standings. Garnacho is essential to both of those. He prevented another unpleasant afternoon for United against Everton, and he might have also prevented Ten Hag from having another awkward talk with Ratcliffe.
“He’s progressing very well and we are very pleased with this,” Ten Hag stated. “His dashes and dribbles today were a major impact. The audience finds it appealing as well, so it’s clear that we want to demonstrate something. Well-earned penalties, in my opinion. If he can maintain his concentration and make the necessary effort—sometimes it might be challenging for inexperienced players. We must do their work. In subsequent games, he will get better if he maintains this focus. You have to be perfect the week you win your game.”
However, Garnacho is unable to hide every flaw in this United team, and even though Everton came into the game having gone 10 games without a victory in the Premier League, they were still able to reveal a few well-known weaknesses.
This season, United has been criticized for giving up too many shots; after 45 minutes, Everton had already allowed 11 shots. Raphaël Varane’s block of Dwight McNeil’s third attempt of the half just before halftime would have made it 2-1 instead of 2-0 after the player twice flashed attempts past the post.
Midfielder Casemiro gave up possession eight times in the first 25 minutes of the match, which was indicative of United’s dismal start, which saw them give Amadou Onana a chance just two minutes after kickoff. You could get away with it against Everton, who are among the lowest-scoring teams in the league, but most likely not against Liverpool, who visit Old Trafford the following weekend. Everton finished with 23 shots on goal, bringing United’s total from just their last six league games to 134.
“If you see their xG [expected goals] is not that high [1.51] and ours is much higher [3.12],” Ten Hag responded in response to the question of whether it is feasible to face more than 20 shots in a game (although two penalties aided United slightly). “Some of our guys are at ease playing low defense. However, you must be very well-incorporated and disciplined.
“These are not great opportunities. You can see that they had several opportunities, and our set-play defense was excellent, in my opinion. We were all highly focused and well-organized, and we completed our tasks. We performed fairly well overall, albeit there were one or two-second phases where they had some possibilities.”
Despite Ten Hag’s assertion that the number of shots the opposition has doesn’t count, Liverpool will be happy with the amount of opportunities Everton produced before their FA Cup quarterfinal.
Rasmus Højlund, a striker, may be available for United’s match against Jurgen Klopp’s team, but Garnacho won’t be sacrificed for him to do so. The winger was replaced with seven minutes remaining in the match and Everton eventually won. He hadn’t missed a game since the derby loss to Manchester City in October. For one of Ten Hag’s most important players, any downtime is crucial ahead of a stretch of games that will determine Ten Hag’s fate near the finish of the season.
Garnacho was named Man of the Match, but to fulfill his media obligations, he had to stay on the field after the game. When he eventually left, the fans who had stayed behind gave him a standing ovation and continued to yell “Viva Garnacho.”
Ten Hag’s ambitions of continuing as manager of United and the team’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League are both being sustained by the teenager.