Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag made a bold claim about his success rate at the club after they were humbled by Liverpool — and it's something his predecessor would disagree with.
The Red Devils were beaten 3-0 at Old Trafford by their fierce rivals on Sunday as Luis Diaz scored twice and Mohamed Salah struck in the second half, with all three goals coming from the home side losing possession in their own half.
With United having won one and lost two of their first three Premier League games of the season, Ten Hag is already back under pressure. The Dutchman was given a new contract after United's sporting operators INEOS looked for a replacement before deciding to keep faith with the man in charge, largely off the back of the surprise FA Cup final win over Manchester City in May.
That was the second trophy Ten Hag has delivered at United. He led the team to Carabao Cup success in 2022/23 and a third-place finish in the table that suggested the team was making progress following the dismal final few months under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. What followed was United's worst Premier League season in history as they limped to eighth, far behind the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool, with the FA Cup triumph unable to mask the issues in the team.
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That doesn't appear to be Ten Hag's view, though. After United's loss to Liverpool, when it was suggested to him that coaching was perhaps a problem at the club, he replied: "Are you sure? I don't think so… or you wouldn't win trophies like we did and to beat big opponents.
"I'm sorry for you. After Manchester City, we won the most trophies."
Fans were quick to highlight the difference in opinion between Ten Hag and Solskjaer, the man who was fired as United manager in late 2021 not long after a 5-0 home defeat to Liverpool.
The former striker had not managed to win a trophy as manager but has suggested silverware was not an appropriate marker of a team's development.
"It's in the league positions you see if there's any progress," he said three years ago. "It's not like a trophy will say that 'we're back'."