#TenHagOut trends as Man Utd fans lash out at the Dutch

Erik ten Hag has a lot at stake in the coming weeks. With his team out of the qualifying places for European competitions in the Premier League and also out of the ticket places for the last 16 of the Champions League in group A, they suffered a painful defeat against Manchester City in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford. Pep Guardiola and his side comfortably outplayed them and highlighted shortcomings in his tactics that have had a certain section of the fans fed up.
In fact, after the match, the hashtag #TenHagOut became a 'treding topic' on Twitter - or X-. Fans complained that their manager's approach was too defensive and reliant on counter-attacks, but above all that the back line was led by Harry Maguire and Johnny Evans with Raphael Varane, an experienced centre-back in such demanding matches, on the bench.
The manager, in his press conference afterwards, explained that he left the Frenchman out for tactical reasons. This argument protects Evans' presence rather than that of Maguire, who has improved his form this month after a long period of criticism from Red Devils supporters. Perhaps his boss also wanted to allude to an emotional component, that of vindication, and so relied on him to continue a dynamic that Andre Onana maintained.
Erik ten Hag is largely responsible for Manchester United's return to the Champions League, although it is also true that he lacked a response to City's absolute dominance in the second half of the derby. It felt as though once they conceded 0-1, the result of a penalty for Hojlund's foul on Rodri inside the box, their gameplan fell apart and there was no chance to rebuild as their goalkeeper saved a flood of City chances.