Redknapp believes Man Utd star has saved Ten Hag through ‘incredible moments’ this season
Jamie Redknapp has detailed how he believes Alejandro Garnacho has kept “massively under pressure” Erik ten Hag “out of that pressure,” through his “incredible moments” this season.
Ahead of the latest United game, where they faced Luton, 19-year-old Garnacho had scored seven goals and assisted twice this season. He was still one of the only forwards still performing when Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford were in slumps.
Indeed, Garnacho scored the opener in a 3-3 draw with Galatasaray in the Champions League to keep hopes of getting through to the knockouts alive before United slipped up, and assisted the winner in a 2-1 victory over Chelsea in the league in December.
Now his teammates are finding form, he’s upped his level, too. Indeed, in the space of five Premier League games between late December and early February, the Argentine was directly involved in five goals – four of them in winning causes.
Redknapp believes his form is one of the reasons United boss Ten Hag is still in a job.
“To a certain extent, he has kept a manager who was massively under pressure, out of that pressure, because he’s led the way with some incredible moments for a young man,” Redknapp said on Sky Sports.
In the latest game against Luton, Garnacho continued his good form, assisting Hojlund for the second goal of the 2-1 win – doing so in the seventh minute to hurt the Hatters after a fast Red Devils start.
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He was putting in top performances when things were not going so well for United, but they’ve now won their last four league games on the trot, and he’s played a starring role in them.
As such, not only might he have saved Ten Hag from the pressure of the higher-ups at Old Trafford, but he’s now helping the side return to the level they think they should be at.
Indeed, before their recent run of good form, United were eighth in the league, and they’re now sixth and only three points off Tottenham in fifth, and five points shy of the top four.
Garnacho can certainly take some credit with some mature performances, and given his age, he’ll likely be involved in helping United return to the heights of the Premier League beyond just this season.
READ MORE: Dan Ashworth plans Man Utd ‘raid’ on Chelsea with ‘key appointment’ identified for ‘transfer team’
‘One in 10 finish’ – Liverpool man told he must ‘adapt’ after ‘insane’ option could’ve backfired
Liverpool breezed past Brentford with a 4-1 win in their last game. Nunez opened the scoring in the 35th minute, registering his ninth league goal of the season in the process.
The extravagant striker was played through on goal having gone in behind the defenders, and with Diogo Jota for company, he had the option to either square it or slot the ball past the keeper.
Rather than either of those seemingly safe options, he chose an audacious lob over the keeper, and while he scored, it was not too far from hitting the crossbar and rebounding.
Former Reds striker Owen waxed lyrical about the quality of the finish, but believes Nunez has to think about taking the safer option in future, as things could have backfired given how hard a goal it was to score.
“That finish from Darwin Nunez yesterday was insane. I can’t stop watching it. And I can’t begin to explain how difficult a skill that is. Moving at pace, the ball running away from you, being inside the box with no room for error. Incredible,” Owen said on X.
“BUT, it is also further proof that if he is to get closer to becoming the great player many people think he can be, he has to adapt his way of thinking. I mean, to even consider that finish is madness. It’s a 1 in 10, 2 in 10 finish at best.
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“Learning to slot, dink or go round the GK is a far more productive way to score and will increase his chances to 4 or 5 in 10, thus massively increasing his end return.”
Indeed, while Nunez is a player with a lot of quality, he also stresses people out given some of the choices he makes. Owen feels Liverpool would be grateful for him taking the safe option in future, while saving the flair for when games are already out of reach for their opponents.
“I’m really not trying to rain on his parade as that goal was pure class. But I’d rather see it when Liverpool are 3-0 up, not at 0-0,” Owen added.
READ MORE: Liverpool’s injury woes increase but laughable Brentford offer Reds no resistance
Liverpool’s injury woes increase but laughable Brentford offer Reds no resistance
Liverpool lost more players to injury but Brentford soothed Jurgen Klopp’s headache with a woeful defensive performance which was ruthlessly punished.
Premier League wins don’t come much more routine than Liverpool’s 4-1 triumph at Brentford. But the Reds leave west London with their title challenge in better shape than their squad after Jurgen Klopp suffered at least two more injury blows.
Neither Curtis Jones nor Diogo Jota made it to half-time and that was as far as Darwin Nunez was allowed to go before he was withdrawn for reasons as yet unknown. But only after a gorgeous opening goal from the Uruguayan merchant of chaos that provided the platform for Liverpool to establish a five-point advantage at the top of the table before Manchester City face Chelsea in what may – or may not – be a tricky test for the defending champions.
That is certainly never a tag you would give this particular Brentford side after another wretched rearguard showing from the hosts. Liverpool’s four made it 15 goals conceded in their last five home games. And few, if any, will match at least three of these on Saturday for catastrophe.
There was actually a lot to like about Brentford’s opening half hour. They created the better openings – most of them half chances – with the clearest sights of Caomhin Kelleher’s goal offered to Vitaly Janelt and Ivan Toney. Janelt pulled his fourth-minute attempt hopelessly wide, while Toney, with the angle closing, gave Liverpool’s stand-in stopper the chance to dirty his knee and fall on a tame shot.
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The Bees’ best work was coming on the counter, as it often does. They are similarly strong on set-pieces and when they loaded the Liverpool box for a 35th-minute free-kick from deep, they appeared to have a cunning plan. Cunning like Baldrick.
Ben Mee was the target and a loose ball landed closest to Virgil van Dijk. His clearance will go down as a pre-assist but it was no more than a hoik upfield, which somehow caught Brentford one-versus-two. And the one, Sergio Reguilon, offered no resistance. He did not have to win the ball, but allowing Jota an unchallenged header, dangling a foot rather than bodying the forward, was negligent. And Nunez is rapid, which feels like something the Bees ought to have considered.
As bad as the defending was, Jota and Nunez’s execution was sublime. Reguilon should have made it trickier but the difficulty level in Jota’s header, coming from well over his shoulder, was already as high as Van Dijk’s hoof.
And the finish: the Patrick Bateman ‘ooh face’ meme in football form.
Few would have staked big money on Nunez as he bore down on Mark Flekken’s goal. The Brentford keeper did what he had to do: closed space, narrowed angles and stood, daring Nunez to make the first move. With Flekken refusing to go low, Nunez’s dink may have been a questionable choice, but so perfectly was it flighted, the keeper’s presence was irrelevant.
Liverpool don’t lose leads. And once they established their advantage, never really did it look in danger, despite Brentford’s incoherent huffing.
Klopp’s biggest concern became the health of his players. Jones and Jota were both lost to injuries before the break, the pair joining Alisson, Dominik Szoboszlai and Trent Alexander-Arnold on the sidelines. Klopp had a half-time moan at the perceived physicality of their hosts – nothing to see there – and, evidently from Conor Bradley sticking his studs into Toney’s calf in the first 30 seconds after the break, the Reds boss urged his players to give as good as he felt they were getting.
Blow though any Jota absence would be, his replacement was tidy. Back from AFCON and a hamstring twang, Salah wandered on and his first touches around the box were undeniably rusty, especially when he went one-on-one with Flekken. Salah sought the far corner; he missed the near post by a mile.
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That, though, was enough to blow away the cobwebs. Salah teed up Alexis Mac Allister for a second goal that Liverpool gladly took but did not seem to really need. Their third and fourth goals, finished ruthlessly by Salah and fellow sub Cody Gakpo, were the consequence of more defending that would shame schoolboys.
Frank being the glass-half-full fella he is will probably point to the positives of the first third of the game, and perhaps a penalty he will feel Toney deserved when he bundled over by Andy Robertson. Liverpool will counter with the denial of a spot-kick when Luis Diaz’s ankle was tapped in the box. Neither really mattered. Liverpool, once they established their authority, never looked in danger, especially while Brentford were such accommodating, defensively incompetent hosts.
Man City know they ‘have to be stronger’ as ‘none’ of the top three will ‘win every game’ from now
Manchester City midfielder Rodri has detailed how the side “have to be stronger” for the rest of the season, as “none” of them, Liverpool and Arsenal “will win every game” until the end of the campaign.
City have won the Premier League in five of the last six seasons. That shows that they know how to overcome adversity, as they tend to romp home to the title in the final straight, as Arsenal found the hard way last term after leading for most of it.
As such, for the Citizens, it won’t be a massive worry that they’re currently four points behind Liverpool, who top the table.
However, star midfielder Rodri has suggested that while the Reds and the Gunners – the two sides above City – will not be perfect between now and the end of the season, neither will the serial winners.
“There’s still a long way until the end of the season. We have to win against Brentford,” he told BBC Sport.
“We were on a very good run and we know none of us three [City, Liverpool and Arsenal] will win every game until the end. We have to have strong mentality and move on to the next one.”
That City know they must win their next game suggests they believe their rivals will also continue to put in good performances, and even though he does not believe they’ll all be won, Rodri thinks his side have to do better in their games.
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“We have enough experience to know it’s just the beginning of the last part of the season. We want to win but we have to check ourselves and in the first half with our defending we have to be stronger for the rest of the season,” he added.
Indeed, the Spaniard felt the side should have put in a better performance as they were held to a 1-1 draw by 10th-placed Chelsea last time out, with the Blues leading for half of the game.
While City have had to deal with strong performances from Mauricio Pochettino’s side in both games they’ve faced them this season, they’ll expect to beat sides in a similar position to them in the league, and will be hopeful of doing so for the rest of the campaign, starting in the next game.
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Mbappe transfer: Ancelotti refuses to be ‘affected or worried’ until Real Madrid announcement comes
Carlo Ancelotti insists he will continue to not be “affected or worried” by reports about the future of Real Madrid target Kylian Mbappe.
Real are seen as the most likely destination for the French striker, who has informed Paris St Germain he intends to leave in the summer, but Ancelotti was careful not to fan the flames of those rumours.
With his side leading the way in LaLiga and well fancied to secure the title, the Italian coach is more interested in what happens in their away game at Rayo Vallecano on Sunday than what happens in the transfer market at the end of the campaign.
Pressed on the club’s interest in the 2018 World Cup winner, he said: “I see and hear what has happened. I understand that it’s the subject of the day for you, but for us it’s tomorrow’s game.
“Vallecas is always a tough place to play at. It has been in the past and it’ll be a tough game against a team that needs points.
“Do I seem affected or worried (about Mbappe) today? No. It will be the same at the next press conference.
“We have to finish this season well. We’ve discussed the game, we’ve watched a video and we’ve tried to prepare for the game as well as possible.
“It’s a vital game for our season. I’d like to finish this season well and try to win trophies. There’s plenty of time to think about next season.”
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While Ancelotti was not keen to discuss the possible arrival of one global star, he was willing to reflect on the reduced role of another: Luka Modric.
The 38-year-old has had to settle for a more peripheral role than he is accustomed to this season and, although he looks certain to leave at the end of his contract, he has continued to make a positive impression behind the scenes.
“A player who is used to playing every game finds it tougher than others to sit on the bench,” admitted the head coach.
“But I understand and respect him. His behaviour is that of a very serious professional who continues to train and fight to be able to play.
“He’s available to play in any game, even tomorrow’s. He continues to contribute in the dressing room just as he did before when he played all the games.
“He’s a highly-respected player and an example of how a professional should be. He continues to be a figurehead for the squad.”
Former assistant Inigo Perez faces a baptism of fire as Vallecano’s new coach, attempting to lift a side who have lost five and drawn one of their last six and sit 14th in the standings.
“Four days are enough to work on an idea and it is not a new project because I already knew them,” he said.
“When it comes to picking up a team in the middle of the season, I’m lucky because I know everything.
“It’s relatively easy. But a team like Madrid demands the maximum from you in all aspects.”
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Erik ten Hag issues Man Utd warning amid claims he's turned things around at Old Trafford
Erik ten Hag insists he never wavered in his belief that he could turn Manchester United's fortunes around - but warned that the Reds' season is still in the balance.
United are back in the hunt for Champions League qualification after a six-game unbeaten run that has also taken them into the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Ten Hag's position at Old Trafford has come under increasing scrutiny during a campaign, which has seen his team crash out of Europe and lose 14 of their 34 games.
And the Dutchman seemed to suggest that he still feels he has to prove himself to United’s new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in the coming months.
Ten Hag said: “First of all, I think it’s too quick to say we have turned a corner. We are not there yet, we are still not in a position to say so. We are back in the race, but not in the position we want to be at this club – that is a minimum of the top four - so we have to catch up and we are still doing that.
“But I do think that now we are going in the right direction. I was always convinced we would once the players were available. With this squad, I knew that with me and my coaching staff and players, and the togetherness, we have the quality to play for the top four. Of course over the season we had to prove it – but I was always convinced we would.”
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Ratcliffe has moved quickly in his bid to resurrect United both on and off the pitch. Britain’s richest man is committed to either revamping or rebuilding Old Trafford completely in a development that will cost between £1billlion and £6billion depending on what option is taken.
Ratcliffe’s INEOS group has snatched Omar Berrada out of Manchester City's boardroom to become the club’s new chief executive and are in talks with Newcastle's sporting director Dan Ashworth to take up a similar role with United.
Ten Hag was part of an Ajax dream team that included chief executive Edwin van der Sar and director of football Marc Overmars. Working in tandem they shared a philosophy that led to three successive Dutch titles as well as the brink of the 2019 Champions League Final.
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Ten Hag said: “I am working very good here - but that (Ajax) is a good example. When we started that (2018-19) season with Ajax, no one expected us to achieve the Champions League semi-finals.
“We were already happy just to be in the Champions League because we had to go to three pre-rounds just to qualify. No one expected us to progress so quickly - and that can also happen here. Sometimes a season is not going the way you want. All the injuries we have had in autumn means you can’t play on the highest levels.”
That glut of injuries has forced Ten Hag to rely on youngsters like Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund to save United’s season.
They travel to struggling Luton knowing they can’t afford any slip-ups after a six-game unbeaten run that has taken them to the cusp of the Champions League qualifying places and the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Ten Hag is aware that he must continue the United tradition of blooding homegrown talent. But after a UEFA study confirmed that the most expensive squad in football last season was housed at Old Trafford, he declared that the club must continue to challenge in the transfer market.
Asked if United wasted a fortune on flops before his arrival, Ten Hag said: “I can’t tell because I wasn’t here. It is difficult to have an opinion about that.
“The only thing I know is Man United will always be a buying club - but I think history proves it always gives opportunities from the academy through to the first team if a player deserves it. It’s in the DNA. In my opinion, there were players who had the potential. We have given them the time to develop and progress.
“We have been mentoring them in their way through because we saw their potential was higher than the current squad in that moment and in those positions. You see when you give them the opportunity, they progress so quickly and bring the team to higher levels in the long-term.”
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