Man Utd flops nudge Erik ten Hag closer to the inevitable despite late Porto equaliser

PORTO 3-3 MANCHESTER UNITED: Whatever Erik ten Hag may say about him and Manchester United’s leadership being aligned and on the same page, one thing is certain: his players are most definitely not.

There was euphoria after their late equalizer, but there was no escaping the faults that have plagued Manchester United under Erik ten Hag.

Harry Maguire’s 91st-minute header may have saved a tie and spared Ten Hag the agony of another defeat, but the late goal may simply postpone the inevitable. For this exhibition gave solid confirmation, if any more were required, that United are still regressing under Ten Hag, whose future appears more gloomy.

Whatever Ten Hag says about him and United’s leadership being on the same page, one thing is certain: his players and he are not. How else to explain how United blew a 2-0 lead when it was in control, only to trail 3-2 and left Ten Hag looking like a dead man walking until Maguire rescued a draw in extra time?

On the eve of the game, Ten Hag challenged his seasoned players to stand up and be counted. However, captain Bruno Fernandes, central defenders Matthijs De Ligt and Lisandro Martinez, as well as midfielders Casemiro and Christian Eriksen, all performed as if they knew Ten Hag was on the way.

Fernandes, who had his red card against Tottenham revoked, was sent off for a second yellow card in the 82nd minute for a reckless and high challenge, raising more concerns about his fitness to wear the armband.

After a 3-0 defeat to Tottenham, which might have been much more humiliating, United needed to be tight defensively, but after taking a two-goal lead, they returned to form, surrendering possession cheaply and failing to follow fundamental defensive rules.

On Sunday, United will go to Aston Villa, who are fifth in the Premier League and coming off a stunning Champions League victory against Bayern Munich. If United defends as haplessly at Villa Park as they did here, Ten Hag might as well empty his desk. United took the lead after seven minutes, with Marcus Rashford racing past two defenders and firing a low drive at Diogo Costa, who will cringe when he sees the footage. The Porto goalkeeper let the ball slither under him and beyond the line when he could have made a simple save.

Worse was to follow for Costa in the 20th minute, when he was beaten again at his near post, this time by Rasmus Hojlund, who scored his first goal of the season. Costa managed to get a hand on the ball but was unable to keep it out.However, United’s proclivity for self-destructive behavior raised its head once more, allowing Porto to recover in the 27th minute. Andre Onana saved a header from his own defender, Noussair Mazraoui, but Pepe responded quickly to the rebound, beating Martinez to nudge the ball in.

United were still reeling from that goal when the hosts equalized seven minutes later, with Samu racing ahead of De Ligt to meet a cross and smash a close-range header beyond Onana’s grasp. Rashford was replaced by Garnacho in the second half, but United could not blame the substitution for nearly falling behind inside two minutes of the restart, with Onana stopping an effort from Francisco Moura, who should have scored.

However, Porto did not have to wait long to reclaim the lead, with United’s defence breached again three minutes later, Samu racing past of De Ligt to drive a first-time effort into the top of the goal, before Maguire saved a point at the death.

Only time will tell if it is enough to save Ten Hag, but this dismal performance highlighted United’s glaring flaws, with the Dutchman running out of time to prove he is the man to address them.