After the loss to Liverpool on Sunday, Erik ten Hag was very upset with his team.
Reports say that Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag punished his team in six different ways after a humiliating 7-0 loss at Liverpool.
On Sunday, at Anfield, the Red Devils gave up seven goals to Jurgen Klopp’s team. This made the manager of the Red Devils very angry.
He also didn’t try to hide how he felt about how his team did in the game.
Public criticism
Ten Hag said at a press conference, “I was really sᴜrprised at how quickly they gave up the game after halftime.
“The first two goals were both defensive transitions. The first was a turnover, and the second was a counter. Bad decisions. The first one, of course, was about making decisions about the ball.
“But the way we plan and how we give up the goal is really annoying, and the third goal was a counter, which was also so unprofessional: following in, running in, moving forward, giving up space in the back of midfield, not tracking back, especially that one.
“Then it’s 3-0, and the game is over. As a team, you need to stick together, and we didn’t do that. It sᴜrprised me because I haven’t seen anything like this from my team. I don’t think it’s us or Manchester United. It’s terrible and awful.”
Be quiet! or else
The Mirror says that he also made his players sit in silence in the locker room after the game so they could hear the celebrations going on around them.
He may have told them to use it as a lesson so they don’t fall apart like that again.
The ‘hairdryer’ treatment
The Sun says that the humiliation at Liverpool made the Dutchman “angrier than he’s ever been.”
The report also says that no player was able to avoid his anger, which went on for a few minutes.
Threat of demotion
The Mirror also says that he told senior players that they would be sent to the reserves if they played like that again at the weekend.
A source said, “Ten Hag was angry, and he told them they were lucky to be going back to Old Trafford on the team bus and not with the fans.”
“He told them that if something like that happened again, they wouldn’t get another chance and would be moved to the Under-21s.”
Getting up early
The Daily Mail says that he also told the whole team to meet at Carrington at 9 a.m. on Monday for training.
Now, how’s that for getting up early?
Relive the bad dream
But if that wasn’t bad enough, they say he also made them watch highlights to show them where they went wrong.
Still, at least they didn’t have to watch the whole game!
At Manchester United, Erik ten Hag might have found his most important player
The first half of Manchester United’s game against Liverpool was better than the second. This was one of the many ways in which this game was different from those that came before it.
In the last few weeks, United has made it a habit to start games slowly and rely on a tactical change in the middle of the game to get going. At Anfield on Sunday afternoon, things were completely different. In the second half, they let six goals in without answering, which was something no one could have predicted at halftime.
Even though Cody Gakpo’s goal put United behind at halftime, they had had the better chances in the first half and were still in the game. But any chance of a comeback was dashed when Darwin Nunez put the home team up by two goals in the first two minutes of the second half.
United was in trouble from that point on. They had lost their minds, and Liverpool was making fun of them by scoring so quickly that reporters couldn’t finish telling about one goal before they were telling about another.
The way United played in the second half showed that, as Jamie Carragher said on Monday Night Football, when Casemiro doesn’t play, United doesn’t play well either. Casemiro was on the field on Sunday, but it was hard to tell. This was not the case against Arsenal, Brentford, or Manchester City, where he came off the bench late in the game. He chose the worst afternoon possible to have his worst game for United so far.
Many people think that the Brazilian has been United’s most important player this season. He has played so well in the middle of the field that he has almost single-handedly changed their fortunes. United really missed his defensive smarts, leadership, and calmness with the ball while he was out for three games last month.
Even though United won seven out of a possible nine points in the three games he missed, they never played as well as they could have. Before making a comeback, they were down 2-0 at home to Leeds United. Four days later, against the same opponent, they were slow and boring for most of an hour, and they only got back in control when Lisandro Martinez came off the bench. They also got lucky in the first half of their 3-0 win over Leicester City. They gave the ball away too easily, gave Leicester City several chances, and didn’t have the control Erik ten Hag often wants, even though they went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
Even though the way they lost on Sunday showed their weaknesses more than ever, United haven’t always had the control in games that Ten Hag always wants in the past few weeks. Of course, you have to take into account that the Reds are still better at playing on the counter-attack, but there have been too many times when they have looked confused and had trouble getting back on their feet.
All of this is because Christian Eriksen is not there. The Dane hasn’t been able to play since January because of an ankle injury. He won’t be ready to play again until at least the end of April.
Even though the 31-year-old was known as an experienced attacking midfielder, he moved into a deeper position with ease during the first half of the season. He worked with Casemiro to make a perfectly balanced midfield pair. The Dane was the Reds’ conductor-in-chief, starting attacks and acting as a shuttle between the defensive line and the forwards. This was a big part of why the Reds had a lot of luck.
On the ball, he was the epitome of class, and his ability to lead and direct games has been sorely missed in recent weeks. Casemiro missed three Premier League games and last week’s FA Cup win over West Ham United, all of which would have been easier to win back control if he had been there.
Even though Marcel Sabitzer and Fred have shown what they can do without Eriksen, the Dane is better when he has the ball. He was the glue in United’s midfield for the first half of the season, and the last few weeks have shown how important he is to the way Ten Hag wants this team to work.
Eriksen’s time away from the team so far has been very important for Ten Hag’s plan to add another midfielder this summer. He doesn’t have a good back-up plan that United can count on to give them the control they need.
