Erik ten Hag laid down the law on discipline straight away upon his arrival at Manchester United.
The Red Devils came from behind to beat the Blaugrana 4-3 on aggregate courtesy of goals from Fred and Antony in the second half, setting up a round of 16 contest with Real Betis.
There’s a lot to like about Ten Hag and the job he’s done, but his no-nonsense approach has earned him plenty of admirers.
And he took no prisoners from the off. According to Simon Stone of the BBC, wonderkid Alejandro Garnacho was late for a meeting while the team were on their pre-season tour of Australia.
The Argentine did not feature again during their trip, with Ten Hag punishing him for his lateness.
And he took the exact same measures when the poor timekeeping was repeated by Marcus Rashford on New Year’s Eve.
The England international came off the bench to score the only goal of the game and afterwards, accepted the decision from his manager.
“I was a little bit late. I slept in, I overslept,” he told BT Sport.
“It’s the team rules and a mistake that can happen. [I was] Disappointed not to play but I understand the decision. I’m happy we managed to win the game. I think we can draw a line under it and move on.”
Jadon Sancho was sent to the Netherlands for a lengthy hiatus, while Cristiano Ronaldo was punished for leaving the Spurs win early and eventually made surplus to requirements following that controversial interview with Piers Morgan.
Bruno Fernandes, who has been United’s captain for large spells this season, likes the authority displayed by Ten Hag.
“He first arrived and we went on tour and the training sessions we had, he demands, ‘you do it or you’re out’ You don’t play,’ Fernandes said on Rio Ferdinand‘s Between The Lines.
‘Everyone was a little bit like in the beginning, ‘will he do that or not? If a big player doesn’t do what he wants will he pull him apart or not?’
“And he did that many times, he did it with Cristiano, with Jadon, with Marcus.”
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