“Ten Hag – I’m gonna call him ‘One Hag'” – Jermaine Pennant Says Manchester United Would Sack Manager If He Does Not Deliver Against Aston Villa

Former Liverpool man Jermaine Pennant has said Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has just “one life left”, claiming the game against Aston Villa could be his final game in charge of the English outfit.

Manchester United Now Winless in Four Games

Fresh off a demoralizing 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford, Manchester United travel to Estadio do Dragao for their UEFA Europa League Matchday 2 clash with FC Porto on Thursday, October 3. After playing out a 1-1 draw with FC Twente on Matchday 1, the Red Devils needed an exhibition of intent against the Portuguese outfit. Unfortunately, that did not turn out to be the case.

Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund put Man Utd 2-0 up inside the opening 20 minutes, but the visitors could not preserve the lead. Inside the 34th minute, Porto were level, leaving United in a state of shock. The hosts went 3-2 up early in the second half, and in the 80th minute, Bruno Fernandes got sent off for the second consecutive game.

Out of desperation, Ten Hag played a Hail Mary, bringing Harry Maguire to dominate set-pieces. The decision paid dividends in injury time, as the Englishman scored a thumping header from a Christian Eriksen corner to make it 3-3.

The draw at Porto extended Man Utd’s winless run to four games in all competitions, with them losing once and drawing thrice since the third week of September.

Jermaine Pennant Says Erik ten Hag Has One More Life Left

Manchester United will travel to Villa Park for their next Premier League game clash against Aston Villa, and Pennant says it is do-or-die for the Dutch manager.

Speaking on talkSPORT, he said:

“Two goals up to go two all? That is just not Man United. That was really poor. Then they’re having to bring on Harry Maguire to save the day in the 90th minute?

“Ten Hag – I’m gonna call him ‘One Hag’, because he’s got one life left. It’s not Ten Hag anymore, it’s ‘One Hag’. ‘One Hag’ with one life left.”

He added:

“It’d be cheerio. If it’s a bad result, it’d be cheerio. I think they’re papering over the cracks at the moment with that performance and performances that we’ve seen previously. It’s just not good enough.

“I’ve said this before, he’s not the guy to take you forward. Man United with this third season, it’s like they’re going backwards. They’re going backwards. I can’t see performances getting better under this regime with Ten Hag.”

While Man Utd are struggling, Aston Villa are enjoying an excellent 2024-25 season. They are in fifth place in the Premier League rankings and bagged a historic 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday.