Bruno Fernandes and Liverpool may have pushed Man Utd to brink of another huge decision

Erik ten Hag’s job as Manchester United manager is safe despite their 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool on Sunday. A Luis Diaz brace and further strike from Mohamed Salah clinched an emphatic victory for Arne Slot’s men at Old Trafford.

The victory maintained the Dutchman’s 100% winning start to life as Reds manager, with his side second in the table behind Man City on goals scored alone. In contrast, the Red Devils are already six points and 12 places behind them in 14th after suffering back-to-back defeats.

While United won the FA Cup last season, qualifying for Europe in the process, they endured a miserable season under Ten Hag.

An eighth place finish was their lowest since 1989/90, with the Dutchman belatedly hanging onto his job after a prolonged end-of-season review. But while he survived, many of his backroom staff didn’t, and a poor start to the season has only heightened the pressure he is facing.

And with United legend Ruud van Nistelooy appointed his assistant manager this summer, having previously impressed in charge of PSV Eindhoven, you can't help but suspect that Red Devils bosses might have already got Ten Hag's would-be successor in place - even if only as caretaker - following in the footsteps of Ryan Giggs, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick.

“I don't think anything is really going to change,” Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher said of Ten Hag’s United when speaking on Sky Sports after the final whistle. “What we saw there is what we saw last season where teams are running at United's back four.

“I've seen this before at Liverpool in Brendan Rodgers' final season, FSG didn't know what to do so they changed the staff, exactly like Erik ten Hag's done. The manager is the main man, he dictates, not coaches, Rodgers was gone in October.

“Erik ten Hag said we'll see where we are at the end of the season, yes it's three games, I'd be surprised if he's still in charge at the end of the season, the football, Jason Wilcox made a statement at the end of last season about a philosophy - there isn't one.

“We can see it with Slot in the first three games, doesn't mean he'll be successful but you can already see something. With United, it looks like a mess.

“I'll be totally honest, the ownership didn't want to keep him, the cup win put them in a position where they were scurrying round Europe speaking to agents and managers trying to find someone better than Erik ten Hag.

“They couldn't so they stuck with him and they didn't have the nerve to make the change they felt they needed to do. It felt like they were delaying the inevitable.”

However, Ten Hag retains the full backing of Manchester United's football leadership team, despite both CEO Omar Berrada and sporting director Dan Ashworth not being involved in the decision to retain the Dutchman - and hand him a one-year contract extension - this summer.

"In terms of the contract, that was a decision that was taken prior to both of our arrivals," Berrada explained prior to United’s defeat to Liverpool.

"But we're very happy with that decision. Erik has our full backing and we have worked very closely together in this transfer window.

"We're going to continue working very closely with him to help him get the best results out of the team.

"Do we still believe in Erik? Absolutely. We think Erik is the right coach for us and we're fully backing him."

For how long he retains such backing remains to be seen. But with their 3-0 schooling at the hands of Liverpool demonstrating little improvement to their flailing fortunes of last year, it could prove costly for the Dutchman in the long run.

After all, it would not be the first time a hefty loss to the Reds has acted as a first death knell for a Manchester United manager, with the Red Devils now onto their eighth different boss, including caretakers and interims, since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement back in 2013.

David Moyes was sacked by United on April 22, 2014 two days after a 2-0 loss to Everton at Goodison Park. But 37 days earlier his Red Devils side had been humbled 3-0 at home to Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool.

Followed by a 3-0 home defeat to Man City and Champions League quarter-final exit to Bayern Munich, the loss to Everton was the final straw as Moyes’ Old Trafford reign was cut short.

Fast forward to Jose Mourinho’s United reign, and a 3-1 defeat at Anfield in December 2018 ultimately earned the Portuguese the sack.

Xherdan Shaqiri emerged from the bench to score a brace and earn victory for Jurgen Klopp’s side on December 16, with Mourinho being handed his marching orders just two days later.

The Reds had a decisive say in the fortunes of his successor, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, too, with the writing very much on the wall after his side were thrashed 5-0 at Old Trafford in October 24, 2021.

Hanging onto his job on that occasion, the Norwegian was sacked just 28 days later on November 21 - the day after a 4-1 defeat away at Watford.

Liverpool would win the reverse fixture at Anfield in equally emphatic fashion, thrashing interim manager Ralf Rangnick’s side 4-0 on April 19, 2022.

The German had been appointed until the end of the season back in December, with it stated at the time of his appointment that he would continue in a consultancy role with the club for a further two years. But his comments after the defeat at Anfield did not go down well as he admitted United needed to overhaul their squad.

"It's embarrassing, it's disappointing, maybe even humiliating," he said. "We have to accept Liverpool are six years ahead of us now.

"When Jurgen Klopp came they changed at the club and lifted not just the team but the club and city to a new level. That is what needs to happen with us in the next transfer windows. There will be a rebuild for sure but that does not help us when we still have five games to play.

"If you analyse the situation it is not difficult to analyse. For me, it is clear there will be six, seven, eight, maybe ten new players. Before you sign those players you need to be aware how you want to play.

“Right now we are not good enough to get points against Liverpool. I don't think we have checked out, they are just better than us. They have 25 Formula One racing cars in their squad."

Ten Hag was officially announced as United’s next manager just two days later, and while Rangnick saw out the season in interim charge, he left the club altogether that summer rather than take up his consultancy position.

In hindsight, the German was not wrong about the gap between Liverpool and Manchester United, with Ten Hag unable to overturn the deficit in his two seasons in charge to date.

Speaking after the latest loss to the Reds, captain Bruno Fernandes would concede: “Yes, I am perfectly aware that this Manchester United is not ready to win the Premier League.”

Meanwhile, club legend Paul Scholes would admit that Liverpool are ‘miles ahead’ of his former side, while Peter Schmeichel confessed he ‘could cry’ after witnessing their latest loss to the Reds alongside Ferguson.

"I've sat with Sir Alex today," he said. "It's really sad. I mean what he did for this football club everything that we enjoyed, everything that we enjoyed, the great times and everything. To sit with him and he's watching this... that for me is really, really sad.

"He did something really extraordinary with this football club. And all of that is not there anymore. The club changed. Then you have somebody coming in running the club.

“They've supported the manager, they've given him money. We've played three games, we've lost two. I don't see the difference. I could really cry because of that because I want this team to do really, really well."

Ten Hag remains Manchester United manager for now, with there being no sign of the Dutchman being handed his marching orders just yet.

“Ten Hag’s at the wheel!” chanted jubilant travelling Kopites at Old Trafford on Sunday, having serenaded Solskjaer in similar fashion less than three years prior when running out 5-0 victors at the home of their bitter-rivals in October 2021.

Long may the Dutchman continue in such a role, they will surely hope. But while his job is safe for now after the weekend's vote of confidence from his bosses, you can't help but wonder for how much longer will that remain the case.

His predecessors' stay of execution after such losses lasted only weeks at best, after all. With the Red Devils’ fortunes seemingly not improving based on this early-season evidence, Liverpool might have just pushed him one step closer to the exit door as a result.

Ten Hag only just survived the summer at Old Trafford. As Carragher warned, while perhaps not imminent, at this point another premature parting of the ways seems almost inevitable.