Judge me at the end of the season, says Ten Hag

PORTO, Portugal — Erik ten Hag pleaded to be given until the end of the season as Manchester United boss, after needing a late Harry Maguire equalizer to salvage a 3-3 draw at Porto in the Europa League on Thursday.

Ten Hag was under major pressure before the trip to Portugal, as just two wins from United's first six Premier League fixtures this season have left it languishing in 13th place in the table.

The Red Devils have also only managed to draw their opening two Europa League games, and sit 21st in the 36-team table.

"We will get there, don't judge us in this moment," said Ten Hag.

"Judge us at the end of the season. We will improve, we have two seasons where we achieved finals. Just wait, we will develop and progress this team."

Ten Hag has fiercely defended his record after winning the League Cup and FA Cup in his first two seasons in charge at Old Trafford — ending United's six-year trophy drought in the process.

A shock victory over Manchester City in last season's FA Cup final was widely credited with saving his job, despite the team finishing eighth in the Premier League.

But, the United hierarchy could be forced to act during the upcoming international break should the team's travails continue at Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday.

Ten Hag could not have asked for a better start in Porto, as goals from Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund put United 2-0 up inside 20 minutes.

However, the English giant has failed to win any of its last four away games in Europe, despite scoring three times in each of them.

Last season it crashed out of the Champions League at the group stages after losing 4-3 away to both Bayern Munich and FC Copenhagen, while only managing a 3-3 draw at Galatasaray.

Another six-goal thriller took place at the Estadio do Dragao as Pepe and Samu Omorodion brought Porto level before halftime.

Omorodion then smashed the home side in front early in the second half, before United captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off for the second consecutive game.

The Portugal international was dismissed for two bookable offenses — just days after he was shown a straight red for a dangerous tackle in United's 3-0 loss against Tottenham on Sunday. A three-match suspension for that sending off was later overturned on appeal, but, in the 81st minute in Portugal, he was given his marching orders again, as United battled to avoid another defeat against Porto.

Fernandes was shown his second yellow card for a high boot that caught defender Nehuen Perez.

However, a Maguire header from a corner in the first minute of added time salvaged a point for Ten Hag.

"When you get 2-0 away from home, you have to be a little bit more solid, and there were far too many gaps," said Maguire.

"Too many crosses were coming into the box for sure, and they ultimately punished us for it."

The England international has lost his regular starting spot in the side to Matthijs de Ligt, who previously worked under Ten Hag at Ajax.

Maguire said the pressure his manager was facing is what comes with the "privilege" of being in the spotlight at one of the world's biggest clubs.

"I've played for this club for six years, I know how it works. When you go on a bad spell, players come under pressure and so does the manager," added Maguire.

"He's experienced enough, and been at this club long enough, so I'm sure he knows how to deal with it. It's part of the privilege you have playing for this club."

Make-or-break trip

Ten Hag desperately needs a reversal in his side's Premier League fortunes on Sunday against an Aston Villa team that is on a high after beating Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Aston Villa relived its greatest-ever night on Wednesday as Jhon Duran fired it to a 1-0 win over the German giant — a repeat of the 1982 European Cup final.

Villa's resurgence under Unai Emery began with a 3-1 win over United in the Spaniard's first match in charge in November 2022.

Ten Hag can ill afford to see Villa repeat another famous victory, one which would leave his superiors with two weeks to stew over whether the time has come for a managerial change at Old Trafford.

Ten Hag survived by the skin of his teeth last season, but hopes that the FA Cup win and another transfer splurge would lead to better things have so far proved misplaced, as United has already been schooled at home by Liverpool and Tottenham.

AFP