How Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has proved again he is a Premier League elite

Manchester United's season has gone just about as well as anyone could have hoped for.

The club stand on the verge of securing Champions League qualification less than 12 months after the ignominy the season before under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick, with silverware already in the trophy cabinet and the hope of more to come - and fans all know who they can thank. Manager Erik ten Hag has, quite simply, been a revelation at Old Trafford following his arrival from Ajax last year.

The Reds have a clear identity on the pitch, the players are back to their best and the fans, as mentioned, have the one thing they crave above all else once again - hope. It's been a remarkable season for the Old Trafford outfit and it all started with the announcement that Ten Hag would be taking over.

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The small factor of Champions League qualification remains before we can confidently mark the last year down as a success - but should they secure a top four spot it would prove the club's manager can go toe-to-toe with the Premier League's best exponents of managerial mind games.

While United have been struggling to get over the line and secure their place in the Europe's premier competition for next season in recent weeks, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was doing all he could to help encourage a slip-up.

On April 28, two days after United had drawn 2-2 with Tottenham, Klopp drew attention to his side's 7-0 demolition of United more than a month prior.

Speaking in a press conference about what he hoped would be remembered about Liverpool's season, Klopp said: "So this season, if we don't do something really special, will be remembered for the 7-0 win against