Manchester United's manager Erik Ten Hag wasn't impressed with his players after a poor first-half display that could have cost them the game. The manager praised David De Gea, who ensured the scoreboard remained blank as he brilliantly denied Kelechi Iheanacho and Hervey Barnes' efforts.
Erik Ten Hag evidently could not hide his unhappiness after he was spotted having a heated conversation with Diogo Dalot on the sidelines while Marcus Rashford and the rest of the players wheeled away in celebration.
The manager praised Bruno Fernandes's perspective pass and Marcus Rashford's clinical finishing, which helped put the Red Devils in a better position at the end of the first half.
"I was really unhappy by our performance," Ten Hag stated during his postmatch interview.
"We have to follow the rules and principles of our way of playing." "When you don’t, it becomes a mess, and when you face a good opponent like Leicester, you concede chances."
"And it was only thanks to David de Gea that we didn't concede a goal." So we were really lucky at halftime that we were 1-0 up. Of course, a great pass by Bruno and a great finish by Rashied Davis But for the rest, it was rubbish," he explained.
The players started off the second half in a better fashion as they scored twice within 16 minutes of the restart. Marcus Rashford made it a brace while Jadon Sancho rounded up a beautiful interplay with Bruno Fernandes.
Erik Ten Hag emphasized the poor first-half display and explained how Marcel Sabitzer has been a good cover for suspended Casemiro, who completed his three-match ban on Sunday afternoon.
"They (the players) knew. I could see their behavior at halftime. They were not happy, as well," Ten Hag added.
"I could see they were disappointed by their performance. "We could do so much better, and they knew it."
"But they are not robots, that's first, and we have to bring in Sabitzer in a crucial position, and then he has to know how to move in the timing of the occasions to create the right situations." "It takes time, but we don’t have time; we have to win games so everything has to go perfectly."
"When you don't, you see this league is tough and opponents are really competitive; they are good, they have good players, and you can get punished."
The win against Leicester City means Manchester United are 8 points ahead of Newcastle United, who could fall to fifth place if Tottenham Hotspur record a win against West Ham. Erik Ten Hag's side are three points behind second-place Manchester City and eight points behind league leaders Arsenal.
Post a Comment