October 27th 2023.
Erik ten Hag will have a tough challenge ahead of him on Sunday when his Manchester United side face off against Manchester City at Old Trafford. Despite the Red Devils having won their last three games, former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher believes that they are showing signs of 'regression' and will only be capable of pulling off a derby upset by playing 'underdog football'.
The United manager has been at the helm for nearly 18 months with few of his major summer signings having made a significant impact. The club's headline purchase, Casemiro, has struggled and is currently out injured. Meanwhile, their victory over FC Copenhagen in the Champions League was only assured due to a dramatic injury-time penalty save by Andre Onana.
Carragher noted that United are reaching 'the end of a cycle' and that there is a 'lack of style and panache' amongst the team. He believes that in order to beat City, Ten Hag's side will need to rely on 'counter-attacking and hoping defensive resilience yields a reward'.
Ten Hag was hired with the intention of him introducing a possession-based style of play akin to the one he employed at Ajax, however, Carragher claims that there is little difference between this United side and those of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho.
He said: 'The most damning criticism is that they are not. Their game plan is virtually identical. If United are successful this weekend, it will be by virtue of using the counter-attacking strategy which brought Solskjaer and Mourinho their best results in their first few years. There is nothing 'Dutch' about United under Ten Hag. They bypass their midfield, play direct to their front men and seek to make the most of their possession high up the park.'
Ten Hag will need to find a way to outwit Manchester City if he wants to prove that his style of football is the right one for United and that he is capable of taking them to the next level - only time will tell if he'll be able to do so.
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