United's derby performance shows there is an authority to Ten Hag's instructions - this has led to his team challenging for the title...
[Liverpool](https://theathletic.com/football/team/liverpool/) and [Chelsea](https://theathletic.com/football/team/chelsea/) are faltering dramatically. [Scott McTominay](https://theathletic.com/football/player/scott-mctominay-rXernJIkIW9dTOdt/) and Martinez. [Raphael Varane](https://theathletic.com/football/player/raphael-varane-fqIirRcGC4muo1f5/). [Lisandro Martinez](https://theathletic.com/football/player/lisandro-martinez-lZNyZmtnsD6xHZZP/) is only out of the side because he went and won the [World Cup](https://theathletic.com/football/world-cup/) with [Argentina](https://theathletic.com/football/team/argentina/). [Erling Haaland](https://theathletic.com/football/player/erling-haaland-UqdITFAwdmIrBQfd/) when City were 1-0 up, seemingly wanting more dynamism from his runs in behind. [Tottenham](https://theathletic.com/football/team/tottenham-hotspur/) have been patchy. [Kevin De Bruyne](https://theathletic.com/football/player/kevin-de-bruyne-TX7pFeb0aiHzuvjI/). [Manuel Akanji](https://theathletic.com/football/player/manuel-akanji-Yp2KW0dxtNBRNgBB/) also shuffled along, leaving a gap for Fernandes to run into. [League One](https://theathletic.com/football/efl-league-one/), but winning is a habit and can translate to the Premier League. [Bruno Fernandes](https://theathletic.com/football/player/bruno-fernandes-qr6VV7sJwbrbqULf/) and [Christian Eriksen](https://theathletic.com/football/player/christian-eriksen-IdnyhU0AWBdF3utd/) for the two [Marcus Rashford](https://theathletic.com/football/player/marcus-rashford-xgQlXcNj79jwXiD4/) chances in the first half. [Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City: Statistics, formations, xG](https://theathletic.com/football/game/manchester-city-vs-manchester-united/IUgRfLMa3GGlWkuh/) [Erik ten Hag on Man Utd title hopes: ‘The fans may dream but we are not’](https://theathletic.com/4090655/2023/01/14/erik-ten-hag-manchester-united-title/) [Manchester United](https://theathletic.com/football/team/manchester-united/) will never be 5,000-1 — the odds you could get on Leicester at the start of the 2015-16 season — to finish atop the English pyramid, but equally, nobody would have picked Erik ten Hag as a potential title winner in his first campaign in charge, especially after such a disastrous start.
For years, Manchester United ruled over English football, collecting 13 Premier League trophies between 1992 and 2013, as well as the world's best players ...
“At a top club like this, it has to be like that,” defender Luke Shaw said, according to ESPN, after Ten Hag dropped Rashford. “He’s the cement between the stones. “He’s so important,” said Ten Hag, according to the BBC. It all culminated in November when Ronaldo said he felt “betrayed” by United and that he has no respect for Ten Hag in a controversial interview with Piers Morgan for TalkTV, and he later left the club with immediate effect. Following a disastrous start to his tenure, Erik ten Hag appeared to be conforming to the pattern but he has stamped his authority on this United side on and off the pitch. Only Jose Mourinho lasted more than two years.