Bizarre Erik ten Hag decision has fans thinking he’s lost his mind – and the stats only back up the sentiment

Stretty News

·24 ottobre 2024

Bizarre Erik ten Hag decision has fans thinking he’s lost his mind – and the stats only back up the sentiment

Tasked with navigating the detrimental absence of one of his most trusted lieutenants, Bruno Fernandes, tonight, Erik ten Hag opted for a tactical change that raised more questions than it answered.

Nobody’s predicted line-ups could’ve even imagined what the Dutchman was scheming ahead of kick-off this evening, as he overlooked the host of attacking options at his disposal to utilise right-back Noussair Mazraoui in the No.10 role.

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Unsurprisingly, the experiment was far from a resounding success and came to an end shortly after the interval when Casemiro was introduced to the action.

Amad Diallo’s brutal omission raises the eyebrows of United fans

(Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)

Not only was Christian Eriksen, who opened the scoring inside 15 minutes, available to deputise in a more advanced position but Amad Diallo has been used sparingly in recent weeks despite starting the campaign as one of United’s standout performers – and he’s proven he can occupy the job on more than one occasion.

Indeed, the Ivorian livewire played a total of 1069 minutes as an attacking midfielder during his successful loan spell with Sunderland. During that time, he returned four goals.

In turn, Mazraoui – prior to kick-off – had spent merely nine minutes in the position, which came in one substitute appearance for Ajax during their 3-2 Champions League quarter-final win over Juventus in 2019, per StatmanDave.

Amad has been an unused substitute in United’s last two Premier League outings and was granted only five minutes off the bench in the 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last month. It’s remarkable when taking into account that he has created more chances (12) than any of his teammates in the league this season – despite featuring for only 54 per cent of the available minutes.

He did eventually get given the nod in tonight’s 1-1 draw – albeit it came after he replaced Antony in the 89th minute. It’s safe to say the 22-year-old would be well within his rights to feel aggrieved at his treatment this season.