Man Utd are in great form at Old Trafford and under Erik ten Hag they look like making their home ground a fortress once more.
United celebrate during their sixth successive win at Old Trafford
It’s been more than five years since Manchester United were this good at Old Trafford. Nothing has summed up United’s demise over the last decade more than their once impenetrable home being ransacked by visiting teams on a regular basis, but under Erik ten Hag the fortress is being rebuilt.
David Moyes’ team lost at home to West Brom, Everton, Newcastle and Swansea, who also beat Louis van Gaal’s side at Old Trafford. The Dutchman was also beaten by Southampton (twice), West Brom, again, and Norwich at home.
Jose Mourinho came with a record of being unbeatable at home, but lost tamely to Sevilla, West Brom (them, again), and twice to Manchester City.
The Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era included home defeats by Cardiff, Crystal Palace (twice), Burnley and Sheffield United. Ralf Rangnick’s temporary reign still included a loss to Wolves at Old Trafford.
You get the picture. The fear factor had vanished and the crumbling Old Trafford stands were a metaphor for what was unfolding beneath them.
A lick of paint has been applied to the exterior of the stadium but the greater structural work has taken place on the pitch. Ten Hag has transformed United’s fortunes in a matter of months, improving key players and making some transformative signings.
The mood is as buoyant as it’s been for a long time and while every home goal is still accompanied by chants of ‘we want Glazers out’, the fans are finally appreciating what they’re seeing on the pitch again. It does feel like United are on the way back under the no-nonsense Dutchman.
Nottingham Forest on Tuesday was eye-catching. It’s the kind of fixture they’ve often struggled in since 2013 but suddenly some home games are becoming routine again.
Ten Hag’s reign actually began with an Old Trafford embarrassment and the defeat to Brighton on the opening day of the season. There was also a loss to Real Sociedad when there was too much rotation.
But Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham have already been beaten at home this season and United’s six-game winning run at Old Trafford is their longest such sequence since winning the first 11 at the start of the 2017/18 season.
Five of those wins have involved keeping clean sheets and United have shut out the opposition in six of their last seven home games.
The manner of those wins has often been impressive. Sheriff Tiraspol, Burnley and Forest were swatted aside with ease. Tottenham were dismantled. Against Aston Villa they showed character to fight back and against West Ham they dug in to win a game they perhaps didn’t deserve to.
Suddenly it feels like the opposition are in for a tough time when they come to Old Trafford again. Bournemouth, Everton and Charlton are the next three in the Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup and on recent evidence you would expect all three to end in routine home wins.
Those are the first three of four successive home games for Ten Hag’s team in the space of 11 days, a run that ends with the Manchester derby.
United have won only one of the last seven home derbies and since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, they’ve won just three of 12 home games against City, losing seven. They lost Ferguson’s last two Old Trafford derbies as well, though, including the 6-1, so it wasn’t always perfect.
Winning all four of those games would recently have looked like a tall order for United, but under Ten Hag they are flowing again and they’re starting to make Old Trafford a fortress, with the supporters responding and playing their part.
It’s entirely possible United go into the derby on the back of nine home wins in a row, which would set the game up perfectly.
SOURCE: manchestereveningnews.co.uk
