Erik ten Hag spared no time in blasting Manchester United players. The Old Trafford side lost 3-2 on Sunday night to Borussia Dortmund. According to the Dutchman, his side ‘did not follow the rules at all’.
United took a 1-0 lead in Las Vegas but conceded two quick-fire goals from Donyell Malen, on the stroke of half-time. The first had some chaotic defending. And the second coming worst after Victor Lindelof had passed straight to a yellow shirt on the edge of his own box.
Though Ten Hag saw his side drew level at 2-2 shortly after the restart through Antony. But the Dutchman was quick to see United ending the match in lethargic and error-strewn fashion. Another poor pass from Aaron Wan-Bissaka had allowed Youssoufa Moukoko to score a late winner.
National Daily can confirm that the defeat is the third in a row for United. They had previously lost to Wrexham, Real Madrid and now Dortmund. Ten Hag was extremely disappointed with what he saw from his players particularly in the second half against Dortmund.
And Ten Hag when asked what he made of the performance, he told MUTV: ‘Two parts. The first hour was good, performed well, playing as a team, a lot of dynamism, good pressing, so it was really enjoyable to see and that is what I wanted to say to the team at half-time.
‘And then all of sudden they gave away two goals – and they were really giveaways! So that was already annoying.
‘But the last half-an-hour, that was bad. That was a poor performance. Didn’t follow the rules at all. Not in pressing, not in building up and not in attacking.
‘So there were 11 individuals finally on the pitch and that wasn’t good at all.’
Asked if the tour has still been useful, he replied: ‘I think so. So the same thing I said to the team, I think it was a good tour but you want to finish with a good performance.
‘And you see only 60 minutes where I was pleased with it – but not with the goals we conceded, because that was really poor. First one really poor defending and the second one really poor in building up. That is not us.
‘We have to keep the control and keep the responsibility on the ball. And it was the same for the 3-2 goal for Dortmund. So that can’t happen. It’s unforgivable, even if it’s a friendly.’
Asked by MUTV analyst Andy Cole if the long tour caught up with his players, Ten Hag replied: ‘But you play so long in top football! There are never excuses!
‘We have to perform no matter what. And then you have to be ruthless and win games because we are Man United and the fans expect wins from us.’