Back in October, when Manchester United supporters were still making their minds up about Erik ten Hag’s managerial nous, his suitability for English football and his judgment of players, he took his team to Stamford Bridge and claimed a notable victory in the tactical joust.
The Chelsea manager that day, the tactically admired Graham Potter, was check-mated from kick-off. United, Potter admitted, “were building their attacks too easily, and driving us back.”
Potter owned up to being out-coached with the kind of statement substitution no manager likes to have to make, redrawing his plans after barely half an hour by taking off Marc Cucurella, a defender and the Chelsea footballer Potter had the closest, longest working relationship with.
“We had to get another player in midfield, and put more pressure on them,” Potter explained.
He brought on Mateo Kovacic. Ten Hag later raised Potter again by populating his midfield further with the introduction of Fred. Fittingly, it was a goal from midfield, scored by Casemiro in stoppage time, that did justice to United’s performance by earning a 1-1 draw.
“That’s why we brought Casemiro in,” said Ten Hag, who had pushed for United to pay Real Madrid up to €80 million for the Brazilian, a judgment that has since been clearly vindicated.
That point gained at Chelsea, who had taken the lead late on through a penalty, will be appreciated all the more if United repeat or better it on Thursday evening at Old Trafford.
A draw ensures United finishing in at least fourth place in the final Premier League table, the principal target of the club’s executives and owners when they hired Ten Hag last summer. It means Champions League football next season, a privilege once taken for granted by United but which they have missed out on for two of the past four seasons.
With one point from either of their two remaining games, Ten Hag will have trumped Jurgen Klopp, whose Liverpool trail United by three points and have only one fixture left.
He will have left a similar exemplary memo to Chelsea’s muddled executives as he did with his shrewd game plan at Stamford Bridge; Chelsea are pondering the fact that Potter was one of four different managers who took charge of them during a season in which they are destined to finish in the bottom half of the Premier League, perhaps as much as 30 points shy of qualifying for the Champions League, a competition Chelsea won in 2021.
Ten Hag, whose first season in England has yielded silverware, with the League Cup – and could yet add more if United reverse expectations in the FA Cup final against Manchester City – appreciates that qualifying for Europe’s elite club competition can seem tougher than ever.
“We want to compete with the best,” he said. “So then you have to be in the Champions League. In the Premier League you have to be in the first four, that’s not easy. Many are competing for it. Many think they should be in it.”
Bournemouth 0 Man United 1: player ratings
That sense of entitlement is being sharply challenged. The 2023-24 Champions League will have an uncomfortable look for several clubs who regard participating as almost a given.
Of the nine who have reached the last six European Cup finals, four are likely to miss out entirely next season. There will probably be no Juventus, penalised for financial mismanagement; certainly no Chelsea or Tottenham Hotspur; and, should United earn that remaining point, no Liverpool.
Ajax may very well be absent, too, for the first time in 12 years. That speaks for how much Ten Hag’s former employers have missed him. Going into this weekend’s last game of the season, Ajax sit third in the Eredivisie, a league in which only the title-holder is guaranteed a Champions League group phase entry.
Ten Hag had guided Ajax to three successive Dutch titles – and a Champions League semi-final in 2019 – before United poached him.
“We are still on a journey,” he said reflecting on a first year in England that began with two defeats and United bottom of the Premier League.
By the time he took his players to Stamford Bridge, they had gathered enough momentum to be nuzzling up to the cherished top four, and as he was out-calculating Potter tactically, he was also showing himself to be a bold, brave dressing-room strategist.
That trip to Chelsea marked a significant milestone: it was the first time Ten Hag dropped Cristiano Ronaldo from the match-day squad, suspending the Portuguese for indiscipline.
It was the beginning of the end of Ronaldo’s relationship with United. It was the moment a new manager made sure everybody knew who was the boss.
Story%20behind%20the%20UAE%20flag
%3Cp%3EThe%20UAE%20flag%20was%20first%20unveiled%20on%20December%202%2C%201971%2C%20the%20day%20the%20UAE%20was%20formed.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIt%20was%20designed%20by%20Abdullah%20Mohammed%20Al%20Maainah%2C%2019%2C%20an%20Emirati%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EMr%20Al%20Maainah%20said%20in%20an%20interview%20with%20%3Cem%3EThe%20National%3C%2Fem%3E%20in%202011%20he%20chose%20the%20colours%20for%20local%20reasons.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20black%20represents%20the%20oil%20riches%20that%20transformed%20the%20UAE%2C%20green%20stands%20for%20fertility%20and%20the%20red%20and%20white%20colours%20were%20drawn%20from%20those%20found%20in%20existing%20emirate%20flags.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Points tally
1. Australia 52; 2. New Zealand 44; 3. South Africa 36; 4. Sri Lanka 35; 5. UAE 27; 6. India 27; 7. England 26; 8. Singapore 8; 9. Malaysia 3
THURSDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 10am:
Lucrezia Stefanini v Elena Rybakina (6)
Aryna Sabalenka (4) v Polona Hercog
Sofia Kenin (1) v Zhaoxuan Yan
Kristina Mladenovic v Garbine Muguruza (5)
Sorana Cirstea v Karolina Pliskova (3)
Jessica Pegula v Elina Svitolina (2)
Court 1
Starting at 10am:
Sara Sorribes Tormo v Nadia Podoroska
Marketa Vondrousova v Su-Wei Hsieh
Elise Mertens (7) v Alize Cornet
Tamara Zidansek v Jennifer Brady (11)
Heather Watson v Jodie Burrage
Vera Zvonareva v Amandine Hesse
Court 2
Starting at 10am:
Arantxa Rus v Xiyu Wang
Maria Kostyuk v Lucie Hradecka
Karolina Muchova v Danka Kovinic
Cori Gauff v Ulrikke Eikeri
Mona Barthel v Anastasia Gasanova
Court 3
Starting at 10am:
Kateryna Bondarenko v Yafan Wang
Aliaksandra Sasnovich v Anna Bondar
Bianca Turati v Yaroslava Shvedova
Hamilton profile
Age 32
Country United Kingdom
Grands Prix entered 198
Pole positions 67
Wins 57
Podiums 110
Points 2,423
World Championships 3
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.5-litre, turbocharged 5-cylinder
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 400hp
Torque: 500Nm
Price: Dh300,000 (estimate)
On sale: 2022
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Kat Wightman's tips on how to create zones in large spaces
- Area carpets or rugs are the easiest way to segregate spaces while also unifying them.
- Lighting can help define areas. Try pendant lighting over dining tables, and side and floor lamps in living areas.
- Keep the colour palette the same in a room, but combine different tones and textures in different zone. A common accent colour dotted throughout the space brings it together.
- Don’t be afraid to use furniture to break up the space. For example, if you have a sofa placed in the middle of the room, a console unit behind it will give good punctuation.
- Use a considered collection of prints and artworks that work together to form a cohesive journey.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
England's lowest Test innings
- 45 v Australia in Sydney, January 28, 1887
- 46 v West Indies in Port of Spain, March 25, 1994
- 51 v West Indies in Kingston, February 4, 2009
- 52 v Australia at The Oval, August 14, 1948
- 53 v Australia at Lord's, July 16, 1888
- 58 v New Zealand in Auckland, March 22, 2018
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
Muguruza's singles career in stats
WTA titles 3
Prize money US$11,128,219 (Dh40,873,133.82)
Wins / losses 293 / 149
