Man Utd in crisis? Erik ten Hag laughs off suggestion as Red Devils move to within three points of champions City in Premier League table

The Red Devils have lost 10 of the 22 games that they have played in all competitions this season, with disappointing setbacks being endured in domestic and Champions League action. A 2-1 win over Chelsea at Old Trafford has, however, lifted United to sixth in the English top-flight – three points back on arch-rivals City, who won a historic Treble in 2022-23.

Ten Hag told reporters after seeing Scott McTominay bag a match-winning brace against inconsistent Chelsea: "Crisis? Not for us. We are on a journey, we keep calm, we look to the process, we know where we have to build, we know what we have to build on. As I say, we go in the right direction, we don't get distracted by criticism around us. We are very critical of ourselves, we know we are not quickly satisfied and happy, we always want to do things better and if we do things not good we want to put things right and we want to keep going in this process. And we want to keep going in this progress because we know the season is long, we have to improve a lot if we want to be successful but this team is capable of being successful.”

United saw captain Bruno Fernandes miss a penalty against Chelsea, but his fellow midfielder McTominay stepped up to the plate to take his goal tally for the season to six – with the Scotland international thriving in a more advanced role. Ten Hag added on bringing more out of the 26-year-old home-grown star, who has grown accustomed to filling more defensive-minded roles: “Talking about the dynamics, sometimes he is deep, sometimes he is lower, but in our tactics and planning, our game plan is often that we want him to be high. So the team has to make it happen that he can go high, that he can come into positions where he is around a striker and then he can make runs. He has a very good smell when to arrive and then he has also a very good finish and the team has to make sure we bring the ball with him. It's not hard, it's a matter of organisation, so we have to get the players in the right positions and that is our job to get him and it means other players have to play deeper and bring them in their best skills. And it's all about getting individuals in the right positions on the pitch and that you make use from their skills and attributes.”

United will remain on home soil for their next two fixtures, with Bournemouth due at Old Trafford on Saturday before Harry Kane and Bayern Munich then pay a visit to Manchester next Tuesday for what is a must-win Champions League game for Ten Hag’s side.