Christian Eriksen is the man who will shoulder most of the blame as Manchester United dropped to FC Twente, but Owen Hargreaves believes a few questions should be asked of his teammate too.
Has any performance ever summed up the Erik ten Hag era as succinctly as this?
Manchester United were in full control for around 70 minutes. Completely dominant, creating opening after opening and wasting countless chances to add to Christian Eriksen’s first-half stunner.
But, once United gifted FC Twente a leveller following an unlikely mistake from the in-form Denmark international, heads dropped, panick set in, and Ten Hag’s team fell victim again to those oh-so familiar weaknesses.
In the build up to Wednesday’s Europa League opener, the legendary Paul Scholes labelled Eriksen a transformative addition to Man United’s midfield.
Back in the XI and starting four successive games for the first time since September 2023, the veteran playmaker rolled back the years as he rattled a thumping finish past an excellent Lars Unnerstall in the 35th minute.
It was, however, the man who gave Man United the lead who would then gift the visitors an equaliser completely against the run of play. Eriksen was caught in napping before Sam Lammers levelled.
Though former Red Devil Hargreaves feels that Andre Onana may have a tough time looking himself in the mirror too after the goalkeeper was beaten at his near post.
Manchester United duo Christian Eriksen and Andre Onana questioned
“Eriksen made a mistake a player of his calibre would not normally make,” former Old Trafford midfielder Hargreaves tells TNT Sport. “And, at this level, you are going to get punished.
“You see Erikson there, just pass it back to Onana.”
As for Onana, Hargreaves cannot help but wonder if the Cameroon international could have done better when one-on-one with former Rangers flop Lammers.
Shaping up as if he was going to fire the ball into the far corner, the Twente striker then completely deceived Onana as he whipped the ball in at the near.
After saving a penalty against Southampton and pulling off more heroics at Selhurst Park – Onana’s ‘unbelievable’ double save denied Crystal Palace a win on Saturday – the way he was left stranded by Lammers’ sharp finish may spark yet more debate over his position between the sticks.
“Onana will probably look back and think; ‘Maybe I should have covered the near post’,” muses Hargreaves, a Champions League winner under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2008.
“It is a couple of mistakes and they add up to a moment like that.”
Hargreaves says one thing will really worry United boss Erik ten Hag
Hargreaves does feel there were some signs of positivity, however.
Even if, like the 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace – not to mention against Man City in the Community Shield and in that late loss at Brighton too – Man United would limp off the pitch having shot themselves in the foot once again.
“It was nice to see the way United played in the first half,” adds Hargreaves, Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez pushing up and Diogo Dalot inverting to create room for Eriksen to pull the strings.
“The centre=halves were almost in the opposition half, which allows Erikson to get free. It was a brilliant strike from Christian Erikson.
“That is the thing they need to address; consistency. When it goes against them, they tend to go down a little bit more. Really, I think [the Twente goal came in] the 65th minute. There is plenty of time to get a second goal.
“They didn’t do that and I think that will be the worrying thing for Ten Hag.”
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