They have been at the two biggest teams in their native Netherlands; now they are at the two most successful ever in England. It was Ajax against Feyenoord. Now it’s Manchester United versus Liverpool. Ten Hag is both the more established and the man whose position has been in greater peril. He has won two trophies in England. He had to wait a couple of weeks after the second, May’s FA Cup, to discover he wasn’t being dismissed. United forever feel a work in progress, while regressing last season to their lowest-ever Premier League finish.
Slot, he suggests, has a better inheritance. Jurgen Klopp left a team who came third and who sustained a title challenge until April. Indeed, their chances of the quadruple were only ended by United at the end of March in the FA Cup. Liverpool finished 22 points above United last season, though that is partly an indictment of Ten Hag. They were the last Premier League club to make a signing this summer. “It is difficult for us to make the team even stronger,” said Slot, but United seem to have a permanent need for more players.
This story is from the August 31, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the August 31, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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