Two and a half years after arriving at the club in 2022, Erik ten Hag was sacked as Manchester United manager.

Ultimately, it was Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to West Ham at the London Stadium that finally sealed Ten Hag’s victory at Old Trafford.

There won’t be many United fans who can say they didn’t expect this. With just three wins from their first nine Premier League games this season, United are in 14th place and their midweek draw against Fenerbahce extended their winning streak in Europe beyond a full calendar year.

But while Ten Hag’s time at United had more than its fair share of low points, he can point to the high points that saw him add two pieces of silverware to the club’s burgeoning trophy cabinet – the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup triumph over rivals Manchester City last season .

Here is the story of Erik ten Hag’s tenure at Manchester United in pictures:

Erik ten Hag was appointed as the new head coach of Manchester United on April 21, 2022 on a three-year contract with an option for a further year. The Dutchman became one of Europe’s most respected young coaches after leading Ajax to three Eredivisie titles in four years. He left his job at Ajax early to begin preparations for his first season at Old Trafford.

Ten Hag’s tenure got off to a rocky start, with United losing their first two games of the 2022/23 season. The Dutchman became the first United manager since John Chapman in 1921 to lose his first two games in charge of the club. A 2-1 defeat to Brighton at Old Trafford on the opening weekend was followed by a 4-0 defeat at Brentford, prompting reports of simmering tensions between the manager and United striker Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ten Hag had to wait just five months for his first trophy as United manager as his side beat Newcastle United 2-0 in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley thanks to goals from Casemiro and Marcus Rashford. United also recovered from their slow start to the Premier League season and showed strong form that made Ten Hag the fastest United manager in history to reach 20 wins in competitive games.

However, United’s weaknesses were clear to see and the team followed up their Carabao Cup triumph with a historic 7-0 defeat to Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool at Anfield. The result was United’s heaviest defeat in the club’s history and the first time since 1931 that they had conceded seven goals in a single game.

United eventually finished third in the Premier League and the Dutchman almost won the domestic double in his first season at the helm. In the FA Cup final in June, United lost 2-1 to local rivals Man City. Ilkay Gündogan’s brace – including the fastest goal in FA Cup final history (12 seconds) – was enough to secure the trophy for Pep Guardiola’s men.

After a lengthy period of negotiations with the club’s majority owners, the Glazer family, British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe concluded a deal to buy a 27.7 percent stake in United on February 20, 2024. It was announced that Ratcliffe’s Ineos group would take control. Ten Hag welcomed the club’s football operations at the time, saying that he and Ratcliffe were “very aligned” in their ambitions for the team.

Almost exactly a month later, Ten Hag secured perhaps his most famous victory as United manager: a 4-3 FA Cup quarter-final victory over Liverpool, considered one of the most dramatic games of the competition. United youngster Amad Diallo secured a memorable victory for Ten Hag with his extra-time winner after Liverpool had held the lead until the 87th minute of normal time and the 112th minute of extra time.

Despite a 2-0 away win at Brighton on the final day of the 2023/24 Premier League season, United finished the season in eighth place with 60 points, the worst result in the competition’s history. United’s worst result in the Premier League era was seventh place under David Moyes in the 2013/14 season. Their 14 league defeats in a single season were the most since 16 in the 1989/90 season under Sir Alex Ferguson.

But with his job seemingly on the line, Ten Hag pulled off a miraculous victory over Man City in the 2024 FA Cup final, avenging his team’s defeat last season. Goals from Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho secured Ten Hag’s second trophy in as many seasons and prevented Guardiola’s domestic double after Man City won their fourth consecutive Premier League title.

The FA Cup success earned Ten Hag a one-year contract extension at Old Trafford before the start of the new season, but United were unable to continue in the Dutchman’s third season, winning just three of their first nine Premier League games. Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to West Ham in east London was the final straw: Ten Hag sacked Ten Hag and announced that his assistant, legendary former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, was on an interim basis will take over the office.