Two days after Jim Ratcliffe, a British billionaire, agreed to acquire a minority stake in Manchester United, his associate Dave Brailsford witnessed the team’s impressive comeback from a 2-0 deficit to beat Aston Villa 3-2 in a match. Brailsford, who is the director of sport at INEOS and has been named a director of United following the Ratcliffe deal, watched the Tuesday victory from the director’s box, signifying a new beginning that the manager Erik ten Hag welcomed.
“We are looking forward, I think it’s positive for the club that they are stepping in,” Ten Hag told reporters. “They have a lot of experience in sport on the highest level, F1, the cycling team (INEOS Grenadiers), other football clubs, so it can only help and support us to get our targets.
“So we are looking forward. They want to work with us and we want to work with them.”
The match on Tuesday saw a turnaround in the second half, as fans at Old Trafford booed the team off the pitch at halftime. Alejandro Garnacho scored two goals and Rasmus Hojlund broke a Premier League scoring drought of 1,027 minutes with the winning goal in the 82nd minute, earning the team a delighted singing and standing ovation at the final whistle.
“So we said: keep going and believe it, in ourselves,” Ten Hag said. “And I said that is what I demand from the team, I said it before the game, I said it during halftime, keep believing and we will win this game.”
Hojlund, who joined United from Atalanta in August, scored five goals in four Champions League games but struggled to connect in the Premier League. Ten Hag said, “Yes, of course,” on keeping Hojlund’s confidence up, adding, “I’m sure now the first goal is in he will net more.”
“When strikers don’t score, it’s a problem, but he has a strong character, he is so resilient, he is so determined, he has a big personality and I think that is what a striker needs.” United’s win moved them up to sixth place in the standings with 31 points.
Ratcliffe is set to take a 25% stake in United, after a deal announced on Christmas Eve, and has pledged to invest $300 million in the club to try to revive their fortunes. The deal is subject to regulatory sign-off. (Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
