Erik ten Hag and Marcus Rashford of Manchester United have been named the Premier League manager and player of the month for September respectively.
Ten Hag, 52, led United to four straight league victories after losing his first two competitive games after joining from Ajax.
In August, victories over Liverpool and Southampton came before victories over Leicester and Arsenal in September.
While 24-year-old Marcus Rashford scored twice against Arsenal to spark United’s comeback.
Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, Erik ten Hag is the second Manchester United manager to receive the honor; Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did it in January 2019.
The Dutchman defeated Gary O’Neil, the interim manager at Bournemouth, and Antonio Conte of Tottenham to grab the monthly honour for a Premier League manager.
The improvement of United can be attributed in large part to his choice to place Rashford in a more central attacking role and benched iconic members of the squad like Cristiano Ronaldo and the team’s captain Harry Maguire.
The England forward, who was injured during the most recent international break and was unable to play, assisted Anthony’s opening goal in United’s 3-1 triumph over Arsenal at home and set up Jadon Sancho for the game-winning goal against Leicester.
“My favourite moment of September was an assist actually,” Marcus Rashford said.
“Antony’s first goal, on his debut. It was a massive moment and it gives us strength and courage. Seeing him come into the team and score right away was massively important.”
Rashford wins his first player-of-the-month honor since January 2019, having also scored in the triumph over Liverpool in August.
He won a six-man shortlist that also included Philip Billing of Bournemouth, Kevin de Bruyne of Manchester City, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg of Tottenham, Alex Iwobi of Everton, and Jacob Ramsey of Aston Villa.
“It’s a good feeling,” he continued. “We didn’t start the season so strongly so to get four wins on the bounce is really good.”
“It’s still fairly new with the manager and we’ve got much better at doing the things he wants us to. But there are still a lot of steps to take and we’re all looking forward to doing that together.”
United’s winning streak has helped them move up the Premier League standings, from last after two games to sixth. After games against Crystal Palace and Leeds United were postponed due to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, they only played two league games in September.
During the month, no Premier League club played more than three league games. Ten Hag, Conte, and O’Neil, the other two candidates for Manager of the Month, each had two games to oversee.
Erik was chosen as the winner of the September award after input from experts and fans. Erik’s United blueprint is becoming more and more obvious with each game.
The manager will undoubtedly be eager to add another Premier League victory to his accomplishment this Sunday, October 2 as he is expected to lead United to nearby Etihad Stadium for the Manchester derby.
Erik ten Hag
The manager of Premier League team Manchester United is Dutch professional football coach and former player Erik ten Hag (born 2 February 1970).
Ten Hag participated in the Dutch league for 13 years as a center back, appearing for Twente (twice), De Graafschap, RKC Waalwijk, and Utrecht.
He won the 2000-01 KNVB Cup with Twente and the 1990-1991 Eerste Divisie with De Graafschap.
Ten Hag was chosen to lead Go Ahead Eagles in the Eerste Divisie in 2012. From June 2013 until June 2015, he coached Bayern Munich II, and during that time, Ten Hag guided his team to the Regionalliga Bayern.
Ten Hag led Ajax to their record-extending 20th KNVB Cup in 2021. He then became the league’s fastest manager to reach 100 victories with Ajax in January 2022, accomplishing the feat in 128 games, before moving to Manchester United in May of the same year.
Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford MBE, an English professional footballer who plays forward for Manchester United in the Premier League and the England squad, was born on October 31, 1997.
Rashford, a Manchester United player since he was seven years old, scored twice on both his first-team UEFA Europa League debut against Midtjylland in February 2016 and his Premier League debut against Arsenal three days later.
He also scored on his EFL Cup and UEFA Champions League debuts, as well as in his first Manchester derby. Rashford has won the UEFA Europa League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, FA Community Shield, and EFL Cup with United.
Rashford became the youngest English player to score in his maiden senior international game when he did so on his England debut in May 2016. He represents England at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Euro 2020, and he played as the youngest player at the UEFA Euro 2016 competition.
In the United Kingdom, he fights prejudice, homelessness, and child hunger. Rashford has won accolades for leveraging his profile to promote philanthropy and political activism in order to affect societal change.
He has been widely praised for his efforts, recognized for them by organizations both inside and outside of sport, and the subject of a mural in Withington created by street artist Akse.
