Martin Samuel: Manchester United’s derby victory and its stunning revival is Erik ten Hag’s

As of this morning, United sit a point behind Manchester City. They are significantly ahead of Liverpool, a country mile in front of Chelsea. This is down to the coach. The players, sure – there are players at United in the form of their lives right now. But again, whose gift is that? It is not as if Ten Hag has benefited from a radical overhaul. Indeed, his acumen in the transfer market is the only area in which the jury is out. Lisandro Martinez cannot get in the team right now, Antony does not always start. Tyrell Malacia has only recently become the preferred left back. United have spent money, yes, but that is not the reason for their resurgence. Nobody can look at Saturday’s win and think Ten Hag has simply bought his way out of trouble.

Bruno Fernandes talked of United becoming a team again – which some will see as implied criticism of his departed countryman Cristiano Ronaldo – yet that is testament to Ten Hag’s methods, too. With his insistence on team values and discipline, he has moulded a United team with attitude, but not petulance.

Saturday’s win, with goals coming in a second half that Manchester City appeared to be controlling, is what comes from setting high standards. United were resilient, they worked hard, they worked for each other. The acquisition of Casemiro has helped enormously – much as another Brazil veteran, Thiago Silva, initially changed the defensive dynamic at Chelsea – but this was Ten Hag’s victory. He stood firm against the Ronaldo machine, he was prepared to drop his best player, Marcus Rashford, against Wolverhampton Wanderers on a matter of principle, and here was his reward. Manchester United may even be considered title contenders if Arsenal misstep in Sunday’s north London derby. Nobody would consider City out of it, and United are breathing down their necks.

Six years. It seems a preposterous thought now, given United’s immense financial clout. Of course it would not take six years to get back in the game if United ever found a coach capable of harnessing the club’s resources. Such long-term projections shielded Ten Hag’s predecessors from criticism by painting the picture of an impossible job. No wonder guru Ralf could do nothing with this sorry group. Didn’t you hear – six years? By the time United were in any way presentable Rashford would be in his thirties and the goalkeeper David de Gea nearer 40. Ten Hag has exploded that myth, thumbed his nose at the received wisdom. Rangnick was a coach and developer who barely advanced United’s players a yard down the road. Ten Hag has reacquainted many in the same group with the long-forgotten best version of themselves.

Fernandes, outstanding on Saturday, is again playing the ambitious passes that caught the eye when he first arrived three years ago; Luke Shaw is proving an intelligent, versatile defender, capable of keeping Martinez, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof out of the team at centre half. In tandem with Raphael Varane, he ensured Erling Haaland’s second Manchester derby passed in a cloak of grey anonymity after the fireworks marking his first. Fred now looks like the player United thought they had bought, not the one City must have been delighted to miss out on.

As for Rashford, in terms of goals and assists, he is the most prolific performer in European football since the World Cup. This is his most impactful run of form since first breaking into the team under Louis van Gaal and he is again playing with the intelligence and clarity of a confident young striker. Where was that player before Ten Hag arrived? People had stopped even wondering why Rashford couldn’t get in England’s squad yet on Saturday he equalled Dennis Viollet’s record of a goal in nine consecutive home games. Viollet was a Busby Babe.

Nods to the past at Old Trafford are further signs of a team taking shape. Rashford missed two first-half chances. That happens. Then, when he went down injured late in the half, a lesser coach might have panicked, brought him off. Ten Hag didn’t. He persevered, let Rashford see the half out. He made a substitution – but it was the ineffectual Anthony Martial who made way. That was a brave call, but the right one. Rashford’s football smarts helped create the equalising goal before his goalscorer’s instinct won the game. It was evidence not just of a player in form, but a manager comfortably trusting his judgment, making the big calls and getting them right.

One man inside Old Trafford will certainly know how that feels. Watching from his usual seat, wrapped up against the January cold: Sir Alex Ferguson. With nine in a row, Ten Hag has now equalled the longest winning run in all competitions since he stepped down in 2013. It began on November 10, three months after the start of the Premier League season. That’s a long way short of six years; just as this is a long way ahead of where United have been at any time since Sir Alex left.

– The Sunday Times

Originally published as Martin Samuel: Manchester United’s derby victory and its stunning revival is Erik ten Hag’s