Manchester United supporters can be forgiven for feeling wistful as bitter rivals Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City go head-to-head for the Premier League title.
A three horse race between a trio of top stallions, while Erik ten Hag, having stumbled over the first hurdle, pleads not to be sent on a one way trip to the nearest glue factory.
Manchester United are seventh. In danger of their worst-ever league placing and over 20 points adrift of the trophy-chasing trio.
Understandably, given the sheer extent of the Red Devils’ underperformance, Ten Hag’s future is far from certain. Especially with the ambitious Ineos pulling the strings these days, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe a man never afraid to make big and sometimes brutal decisions.
Erik ten Hag fighting for his Manchester United future
By our count, over 15 managers have been linked with Ten Hag’s job. One of those, Simone Inzaghi, woke up on Tuesday morning a Serie A champion for the very first time. Often referred to as something of a ‘cup specialist’ – he won a combined eight Coppa Italia’s and Supercoppa Italiana’s at Lazio and Inter Milan – Inzaghi ended his wait for league success last night, and in some style too.
Ok, it wasn’t quite ‘triumphing at the home of your enemy’ – Inter and Milan share the San Siro, after all – but securing the Scudetto in front of thousands of furious red-and-black clad supporters is the stuff dreams are made of.
“It was hard to imagine a group like this, but the work and availability of these players have made all this possible,” Inzaghi beamed after Inter became the champions of Italy for the 20th time, via Football Italia.
“I want to share this with everyone. Everyone contributed to this achievement. Inter fans deserve it. They’ve always been extraordinary in victories and defeats.
“We wanted to win (the title) tonight. We had great feelings, we worked on details that were important during the match, we put in a smart performance and could have scored more goals in the first half.”
Inter Milan win Serie A title
Inzaghi, linked with the Man United post by TuttoSport, admitted a few weeks back that he was flattered by those Red Devils rumours. But, on the other hand, he does not appear to be in any rush to pack his bags and head off in search of a new challenge.
And, for a trio of former Man United misfits, Scudetto success must have tasted all the sweeter following largely disappointing spells at Old Trafford. Matteo Darmian started at wing-back on Monday, Henrikh Mkhitaryan came off the bench, while Alexis Sanchez has played his part in a remarkable campaign too, Inzaghi breathing fresh life into the 35-year-old forward.
“A special moment,” sighs Darmian, himself in his mid-30s these days. “It’s beautiful. It always is when you win something special, and to do it in the way that we did this season is an incredible thing.”
“We started the season strong. And, in the end, we got what we wanted.”