Ten Hag made same Man Utd mistake as Mourinho after Solskjaer blast

11 May 2023 , 23:00

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Erik ten Hag's reign at Manchester United has hit a fresh low point (Image: Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Manchester United's defeat to West Ham last weekend ensured that Erik ten Hag unwillingly followed in the footsteps of Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Mourinho and Solskjaer were Ten Hag's predecessors as the Red Devils' permanent boss, with the Dutchman taking over in the summer. It has largely been a successful debut campaign for Ten Hag, winning the Carabao Cup.

But there have been several stutters, including a defeat to Sevilla in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. United's latest stumble came last Sunday when they were beaten by struggling West Ham to put a dent in their hopes of finishing in the top four.

The London Stadium has not been a happy hunting ground for the Red Devils, winning just two of their last six visits to the Hammers. Mourinho in particular struggled for results at the ground in Stratford.

He led United in a 1-1 draw in May 2018, before he was in charge of a 3-1 defeat in September of that year. He was sacked in the December following a poor run of results, with Solskjaer coming in to replace him.

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United's miserable run at the London Stadium continued under the Norwegian with a 2-0 defeat in September 2019. Mourinho was a pundit that day and launched a furious blast of his former team.

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hit out at Jose Mourinho after a defeat at West Ham

Solskjaer was left disappointed by Mourinho's comments though after being asked to respond. He took aim at the Portuguese manager's own record against the Hammers as he hit back.

"He's got his right to his own opinion. Of course we lost here last year - it's always a difficult ground to go to and we hoped to do better than we did," Solskjaer said.

"We hoped for better. But the key moments they grasped and we didn't. They had two fantastic finishes from two left feet, we just didn't take the chances when we had them."

While Solskjaer was able to banish the curse, it appears to have returned under Ten Hag. Said Benrahma's first-half strike squeezed under David de Gea for the winner, with Ten Halg left frustrated.

“Of course, we are really disappointed, as you see. So the game, I think we started well. I think in the first half we played well and we created good opportunities. We hit twice the post, we had many more opportunities and then one mistake," he said.

"And then you're following effects. And the second half we couldn't bounce back. We created and we had the game in our hands. In front of the goal, we had to be more clinical. I counted four or five really good chances and it was not by coincidence."

Jacob Leeks