Coach Ten Hag and assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy seemed to engage in a more heated discussion than necessary during the 0-0 draw with Aston Villa.
MU arrived at Villa Park hoping to end their winless streak, but ultimately settled for a goalless draw in West Midlands. This poor performance did little to ease the pressure on Ten Hag, and fans noticed an uncomfortable moment between Ten Hag and Van Nistelrooy.
Sky Sports cameras captured the duo having a tense conversation in the technical area. Both appeared visibly displeased through their body language.
While it was hard to read the lip movements of what was being said, it was clear that the Dutch duo did not see eye to eye. This has sparked lively discussions on social media:
- “Erik ten Hag and Ruud van Nistelrooy seem to disagree on the bench.”
- “Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Erik ten Hag are arguing on the bench like Harry Potter and Voldemort.”
- “A spirited conversation between Erik ten Hag and Ruud van Nistelrooy might just be the highlight of this match.”
Van Nistelrooy, who scored 150 goals for MU, returned to Old Trafford last summer to become Ten Hag’s assistant. MU is experiencing the worst start in Premier League history, having only earned 8 points from 7 matches, leading to speculation about Ten Hag’s potential dismissal. One of the potential candidates for the interim coaching position is Van Nistelrooy.
A source in the Netherlands said, “Van Nistelrooy is a principled person. He feels betrayed at Eindhoven – and he wouldn’t want to be seen as someone standing behind Erik ten Hag.”