Erik ten Hag and Man United claim made as Unai Emery and Aston Villa pile on pressure

Manchester United will face an Aston Villa team full of confidence on Sunday with the club’s first home Champions League clash producing an eye opening result at Villa Park.

Unai Emery’s men came out as 1-0 winners over German Champions Bayern Munich. Jhon Duran was again the hero from the substitutes bench, catching Manuel Neuer out in the second half to score the winning goal.

Villa earned their place in the new league stage of the competition via a fourth place finish. United finished the same season in eight place, earning their place in Europe through winning the FA Cup.

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It was just two seasons ago, in the 2021/22 campaign when Villa finished in 14th place in the Premier League. Emery was appointed the following November, and the club haven’t looked back since.

The result against Bayern has caused comparisons between United and Villa in the national media. The comparison will be made directly at the weekend when United travel to Villa Park, ahead of that game, Emery’s impact has been compared to Erik ten Hag’s current struggles at Old Trafford.

“A club that are moving backwards, Manchester United are in Portugal for a comparatively low-key Bigger Vase adventure tonight as they try to bounce back from Sunday’s embarrassment at home to Tottenham, and it seems inconceivable that their owners haven’t noticed how Villa have been utterly transformed under Unai Emery,” Barry Glendenning wrote in the Guardian.

“Appointed before Emery, Erik ten Hag continues to bleat incessantly about needing more time and of player knack, while the Spaniard leads Villa from strength to strength, just getting on with his job without so much as mentioning the rotten run of knack with which he has had to contend.”

Emery’s role at Villa PArk was highlighted, in comparison to Ten Hag’s at United. Tom Collomosse of the Daily Mail wrote:

“As Villa players celebrated wildly in the dressing room, Emery was already talking about facing Erik ten Hag’s beleaguered side at Villa Park on Sunday. The Basque’s reign began with a 3-1 home win over United and nearly two years later, a repeat could end the Dutchman’s tenure at Old Trafford.

“The contrast between the two clubs could not be sharper. In many areas of modern football, the manager’s brief is narrowing by the year. Sporting directors drive recruitment, analysts determine tactics and specialist coaches work individually with players, with the whole operation driven by armies of data experts crunching dizzying quantities of numbers. Yet they have a different approach at Villa, and they are making it work by following a plan that conventional wisdom says clubs should avoid.

“Villa have an analyst, all right. His name is Unai Emery. The same bloke who spends hours fine-tuning the tactical approach for every match, leading every training session, working with individual players and driving transfer policy. Though he has trusted staff to support him in all these areas, Emery – hunched over his laptop – is across the lot. ‘Workaholic’ does not even begin to cover it.”

Villa’s success under Emery in just under two years has turned heads. On the pitch, Villa could pile more pressure on Ten Hag this weekend with a win.

But they may also be doing it off the pitch. United will be watching the success at Villa Park and will want to replicate that. If they are not able to under Ten Hag, then a change could be on the cards.

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