United's opening opponents appoint new manager
Manchester United's first opponents in the 2023/24 Premier League season will be under brand new management, following Wolverhampton Wanderers' appointment of Gary O'Neil today (Wednesday).
The announcement from Molineux comes less than 24 hours after Julen Lopetegui stepped down from the post he was given last November.
Later that same month, his successor O'Neil took over the permanent reins at Bournemouth, after a spell in interim charge, and both men went on to keep their clubs in the top flight, arguably against the odds. Wolves were bottom when Lopetegui took over and they eventually finished 13th, while the Cherries ended the term two places below them but still five points clear of relegation.
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“We wish Julen and his team the very best of luck for the future, and they will always be welcome at Wolves.”
In Wolves' subsequent press release to announce O'Neil's arrival, Hobbs said: “We’re delighted to welcome Gary to the club.
“He’s a highly motivated young coach with strong principles and very well thought of by everyone he has worked with, and we’re excited to see what we can achieve together at Wolves.”
Last season, his Bournemouth side lost home and away to Erik ten Hag's men - 3-0 at Old Trafford and 1-0 at the Vitality Stadium, with Casemiro on target in both games.
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Ten Hag may have been at the M16 helm for only one season but he already has experience of facing three teams under new management.
Last term, Europa League opponents Sheriff Tiraspol turned up at Old Trafford in October with a caretaker boss, Victor Mihailov, after Stjepan Tomas stepped down two days before the Moldovan club's visit.
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The Croatian reportedly felt it was his fault the team had lost their domestic game against Petrocub in the preceding weekend.
The following month, United were the opponents for Aston Villa's first two games under their new boss Unai Emery.
Ten Hag's team were on the receiving end as the Spaniard made a winning start by overseeing their 3-1 Premier League triumph at Villa Park.
However, the Reds avenged that defeat just four days later by knocking the Midlands club out of the Carabao Cup, a competition we went on to win of course. Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay all scored in a thrilling 4-2 victory at Old Trafford.
It was a similar story against Leeds in February. In a quirk of the fixture list, due to an original meeting being postponed following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Reds were tasked with playing against the Yorkshire club in back-to-back Premier League games.
Just before the first one, at Old Trafford, Leeds parted company with their American manager Jesse Marsch and it was therefore a caretaker trio of Michael Skubala, Paco Gallardo and Chris Armas who took them into the two meetings.
The Reds came from behind to draw 2-2 in M16 before going on to win 2-0 at Elland Road four days later.
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