Manchester United

Ellie Norman (pictured), who as chief communications officer will now sit on Manchester United FC's executive leadership team, was previously global ...

Manchester United has now won four in a row, quieting the alarm raised by opening its Premier League season with two losses.

We have many players in the team who have won trophies and they have to bring that standard.” That is my demand and the players in our team have that demand. I know we have the right characters. I love to manage that on and also off the pitch. I have been so busy I didn’t notice it has been 100 days, but that is a good signal. Two weeks ago, Manchester United was a mess and the pressure was squarely on manager Erik ten Hag.

The Gunners' unbeaten streak is over as Erik ten Hag's risky moves, plus the $100 million arrival of Antony, have the Red Devils flying high after a poor ...

It is a team set up to counterattack, and it was the mobility of the forward line necessary for that setup that was so disrupted by the signing of Ronaldo. There was plenty to admire here as well, but a couple of slight defensive questions that had emerged in the first month of the season were further exposed and, possibly more troublingly, it lost a game it was dominating largely because of naivety. A turnover deep in United’s own half, a rapid forward pass from Eriksen and a ball from Fernandes to Rashford and United was through again. This time, Rashford took on the opportunity himself and scored with the help of a slight deflection that lifted the ball over the legs of Ramsdale. One of the great strengths of Arteta’s side this season has been its resilience. The goal, though, exposed defensive issues, with Gabriel seemingly caught unaware, Oleksandr Zinchenko failing to track and Aaron Ramsdale committing too early so the finish was relatively straightforward.

Marcus Rashford struck twice as Manchester United made it four wins in a row and ended Arsenal's perfect start to the Premier League season with a 3-1 ...

"I told the players at halftime that the game is there for the taking and if we play with more courage we win the game. We haven’t won it because we lacked some discipline in some moments and we weren’t ruthless enough in front of goal," he said. It is a big lesson if you want to win here you have to do everything so right," he said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com The game was there for the taking. It was another swift counter that led to United's third with the excellentEriksen breaking clear and slipping the ball across to Rashford for a simple finish.

Erik ten Hag says Manchester United are not ready to challenge the Premier League's top teams despite ending table-topping Arsenal's perfect start.

[Gabriel Martinelli](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/269844/Gabriel-Martinelli) after VAR Lee Mason had encouraged the referee to take a second look on the monitor. We haven't won it because we lacked some discipline in some moments and we weren't ruthless enough in front of goal." "I haven't seen the action [again], but they said it was a soft foul," Arteta said. We have to get better if you want to win trophies in the end." "I know our offence is really strong -- they are creative and have speed. "We have to start doing things much better than we do, that's an investment.

United made it four consecutive wins in the Premier League and ended Arsenal's perfect start, thanks to goals from Antony and Rashford.

[Martin Odegaard](https://theathletic.com/football/player/martin-odegaard-hRSWwjJppH2Xn0jr/) responsible for five of the nine strikes. [Aston Villa](https://theathletic.com/football/team/aston-villa/) the subject of three bids in the final few hours of the window. Rashford followed up his smart assist for Sancho at Leicester with another well-weighted pass for Antony and was measured when it mattered after the break. This means they are stood behind them, in a blind spot, so the opposition player cannot see them and the ball simultaneously… Antony’s shot, which ends the sequence, can be seen as his shirt number (21) has a bolder white outline. Every single United player touched the ball in a sequence consisting of 18 unbroken passes. The decision to push for a new No 6 was prompted by injuries to [Thomas Partey](https://theathletic.com/football/player/thomas-partey-WvYPPsYnodFQ5XO1/) and [Mohamed Elneny](https://theathletic.com/football/player/mohamed-elneny-fPweHDfEZTmUJqFs/) — manager Mikel Arteta says they’ll be missing for “weeks” and “months” respectively. It seemed to cause an unnecessary degree of disruption and defensive vulnerability. Antony’s first shot, from range, went well off target but his second, at the end of a flowing move, was sweet. The pair tried to link up more but were occasionally off frequency. Antony’s attempted chest pass didn’t quite work but it was a sign of the invention that would characterise his game. That makes it four consecutive wins for United in the league, and Ten Hag will be delighted by the impact of Antony following his move from Ajax this week.

Four consecutive wins are reward for quickly integrating new signings, reinvigorating others and, most of all, being decisive.

He and the team are sure to stumble but standing three points from the top after six games is a convincing return and, as the 52-year-old likes to repeat, there is vast room for improvement in his fledgling tenure. [For £12.9m, Tyrell Malacia](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/jul/05/manchester-united-confirm-tyrell-malacia-as-first-signing-of-ten-hag-era-cristiano-ronaldo) appears as close to a bargain as [Eriksen’s free acquisition](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/jul/15/christian-eriksen-completes-manchester-united-move), the young left-back dislodging Luke Shaw, though the sight of Bukayo Saka wheeling past him as if on skates on Sunday is a concern. The Argentinian loves to defend, can initiate moves from the back and has an element missing from United recently: personality. The headache may become a migraine after Ronaldo did not depart in the window – Ten Hag might privately believe building spirit and cohesion is easier without a discontented megastar around the place – but as the former Ajax manager had overseen three victories by the transfer deadline, his use of Ronaldo as an impact substitute was a fillip for his authority and the team’s potency late on in games. The prevailing sense was of surprise at a memory: that this is how it felt during the golden years of Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign and that feeling may be starting to become present again. And his man-management is markedly improving the squad.

United's opener against Arsenal started with backwards passes that were jeered by the opposition - but they were key to the goal.

[Granit Xhaka](https://theathletic.com/football/player/granit-xhaka-701HGKSsMRGk4Bry/) is infield watching [Scott McTominay](https://theathletic.com/football/player/scott-mctominay-rXernJIkIW9dTOdt/). [Marcus Rashford](https://theathletic.com/football/player/marcus-rashford-xgQlXcNj79jwXiD4/) makes a run in behind. And now, this feels a very familiar situation for Erik ten Hag’s sides — they’re about to move the ball from one flank to another, having sucked the opposition to one side, [just as they did for the opener against Liverpool.](https://theathletic.com/3530553/2022/08/23/man-utd-liverpool-ten-hag-solskjaer/) [Antony](https://theathletic.com/football/player/antony-wnm4X5Bgf4PfC0PP/), up against two Arsenal players. It’s difficult to imagine Manchester United scoring a goal like this in previous seasons. Antony, on the far side, is already calling for the ball. When Antony had the ball in the corner, they were perfectly organised. … and that means he’s not close enough to win the ball here. The ball goes out to Both are sideways passes, really, but both are taking the ball closer towards Manchester United’s goal rather than the goal they’re attacking. There’s little point throwing a hopeful cross into the box here. It was about how they created the situation — playing four backwards passes and going from level with the opposition penalty area right back to their goalkeeper.

Our new signing tells us how it felt to score on his United debut, in an exclusive catch-up at Carrington.

They know and that's how I celebrate." He slipped the ball and I took the chance well." "Sancho made the touch to Marcus and I knew he could slip the ball either way. Yes, it gave me goosebumps for sure." I was very happy to just go with my instinct." "From the moment I stepped on to the pitch, I already had goosebumps because I know how much I wanted to be here and I know how much the crowd wanted this.