Ten Hag urges Man United to improve after goalless draw with Villa

Erik ten Hag acknowledged Manchester United‘s need for improvement in forward areas after a goalless draw at Aston Villa on Sunday extended the club’s winless run to five matches. Despite Bruno Fernandes hitting the crossbar from a second-half free-kick, United have now gone three consecutive Premier League games without scoring.

The stalemate left United in 14th place, having won just two of their opening seven league games. “We know in this moment we have a lack of goals,” said Ten Hag. “In that perspective, it’s not a good start, and we have to step up. That’s an area we have to improve.”

Aston Villa, who had beaten Bayern Munich 1-0 in midweek Champions League action, missed the chance to move into the top four. United, meanwhile, have been under increasing pressure following a 3-0 loss to Tottenham last weekend and a 3-3 draw against Porto in the Europa League.

Ten Hag reacted to the Porto result by making defensive changes, dropping Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt in favour of Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans, who delivered a man-of-the-match performance at Villa Park. Despite the defensive improvement, United’s ongoing struggles in front of goal remain a concern, with the team netting only five goals in their first seven league matches—an all-time low in the Premier League era.

Ten Hag also defended his decision to manage the minutes of his wingers, including Marcus Rashford, who had been United’s biggest threat against Porto but was replaced at half-time in that match. He remained focused on the positives, highlighting a more solid defensive performance against Villa: “You see we had a very good organisation and togetherness. There was good character and spirit as a team.”

United’s co-owner Jim Ratcliffe was present at Villa Park amid growing speculation over Ten Hag’s future. Although the Dutchman signed a contract extension until 2026 in July, he faces mounting pressure with the team sitting in 14th place ahead of the upcoming international break.

“We are all on board together, on one page, we know what we are working through, it’s a long-term process,” Ten Hag concluded. “We have come through two very tough away games. This is a team, and we showed the belief and faith we have.”