A day after their manager came out fighting at Carrington, Manchester United’s players did the same at Old Trafford. This wasn’t a faultless performance, but in an uncompetitive market, it was one of their best of the season.
It was also a necessity to deliver. United and Ten Hag’s response to legitimate stories that some in the dressing room were losing faith in his methods was always going to make this an unmissable litmus test. After a season of mostly drudgery, it was time for both manager and players to deliver.
They certainly did that in a display that contrasted sharply with what they served up in Newcastle on Saturday night. United set the tone from the opening seconds, racing after Chelsea straight from kick-off. They looked ready to prove a point.
All three midfielders flew into early challenges and the ball was eventually back under lock and key. It didn’t always stay that way for long in another game that occasionally threatened chaos, but it was a platform to work from. For once this season, United’s players weren’t outworked. This was a performance that included plenty of quality, but it was built on energy and aggression, areas where they have been lacking too often this season.
Ten Hag had insisted on Tuesday that his players were behind him, that there were no cracks in the dressing room. He claimed performances had done the talking in that regard, but he was referencing scrappy, unconvincing wins against Burnley, Brentford and Fulham. When the heat was really turned up, the players had been finding it a little too hot.
The United manager went a step further later in his press conference. “I know we will get where we want to be,” he said. “Why? Look at my record. Everywhere I was, every season, I got my targets. If we stick together, stick to the plan and the strategy, we will get where we want to be.”
It was a bold defence of his own methods at a time when they are being called into question like never before. It didn’t so much demand a response as require one. Ten Hag’s United had lost to every good team they had faced this season, yet the 53-year-old hadn’t lost faith in his methods.
That record required a win against Chelsea, who might be below United in the table but had hinted at their own improvement under Mauricio Pochettino. The start was electric, but when Bruno Fernandes wasted a chance from the penalty spot you feared the worst.
That error didn’t change the flow, however. United continued to pour forward and they ended the first half with 18 shots and a goal. But Chelsea ended it with five and a goal of their own.
The hosts should have had more than Scott McTominay’s half-volley to show for their domination, but then while Chelsea’s shot count was low, their threat was not. Far too often they carved their way through an overexposed midfield, running rings around Sofyan Amrabat but wasting several good opportunities around the edge of the area.
When Cole Palmer danced his way across that box to equalise shortly before half-time, you again feared the worst for Ten Hag’s brittle side. But their response to this setback was perhaps the most impressive element of the night.
They regrouped at the break and dominated the second half, mostly nullifying Chelsea’s threat on the break and continuing to carve out excellent chances of their own. It took McTominay, now this season’s top scorer, to restore the advantage.
Yet by the final reckoning United had racked up 28 shots to 13 and were the better side by some distance. They ended the night just three points behind Manchester City and Ten Hag left the pitch to a loud rendition of ‘Erik ten Hag’s red and white army’.
The challenge now is to repeat this performance and then some. They will still have to improve to reach the top four. But after a performance that plumbed the depths on Saturday night, Ten Hag attempted a move straight out of the Sir Alex Ferguson playbook. He’s gone for the siege mentality and on Wednesday night his players followed him into the trenches.
They will have to keep digg