Ten Hag Criticizes Manchester United Players, deviation from Game Plan in City Defeat!
In a disheartening 3-0 defeat against Manchester City, Erik ten Hag, the Manager of Manchester United, has pointed out that his team strayed from their game plan, leading to their loss on Sunday.
The match began with United falling behind in the first half after Rasmus Hojlund’s foul on Rodri was spotted by VAR, resulting in Erling Haaland converting a penalty, putting City in the lead. Soon after halftime, Haaland doubled City’s advantage, while Phil Foden secured the victory with a goal from close range, wrapping up a commanding display for Pep Guardiola’s side.
While acknowledging his team’s ‘disciplined’ performance in the first half, Ten Hag expressed his displeasure with the players’ deviation from the game plan, especially their role in City’s second goal. He highlighted a crucial mistake wherein multiple United players were caught out of position, allowing City to break through.
“Our game plan in the first half showed great discipline, highlighting how successful we can be,” Ten Hag commented to Sky Sports. “However, in the second half, a mistake was made for the second goal. We made the wrong decision by approaching the keeper [Ederson] at the wrong moment and failing to recover swiftly.”
Ten Hag emphasized the error in the team’s shape and decision-making, attributing it to City’s subsequent dominance. “This lapse allowed them to gain momentum, control the midfield, disrupt our positioning, and ultimately score a fantastic goal,” he continued. “The root of the issue lies in our initial mistake, not maintaining our structure, which ultimately led to City outplaying us.”
Responding to inquiries about the team’s second-half strategy during the post-match press conference, Ten Hag admitted, “We were trailing, and I opted to introduce more attacking force [at half-time]. However, the mistake made in contradiction to the game plan—advancing on the keeper at that moment—led to being outplayed and a quick 2-0 scoreline. It was a challenging game, but the first half, don’t forget, was an example of how we should play against them.”
The defeat and the deviations from their planned tactics highlight the areas United needs to address, acknowledging the critical errors that shifted the game in favor of their rivals.