Manchester United were nowhere near their best and struggled to find any sort of rhythm in the Newcastle match except during the last ten minutes or more.
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Manchester United have just seen out an extremely difficult week, which was filled with all possible outcomes. They started with a 3-0 win away to Everton before twice throwing away a two-goal cushion at Galatasaray in a crucial Champions League group stage clash. That 3-3 draw has put them on the brink of elimination from the group. The Red Devils followed it up by suffering a disappointing 1-0 defeat away to Newcastle United at the weekend.
Even though the scoreline might just read 1-0, the reality was far from it. Manchester United were nowhere near their best and struggled to find any sort of rhythm in the Newcastle match except during the last ten minutes or more. That performance was met with massive criticism from all corners. A lot has been said about the team’s training methods and even the dressing room in several media outlets.
Asked about it, manager Erik ten Hag, quoted on the club’s website, said ahead of the Premier League clash against Chelsea, “We had a week with two good performances and one bad performance so from there, we carry on. I think the team is in a good direction. I think we played very good football and scored very good goals against Galatasaray and against Everton. Against Newcastle, we didn’t play great.”
He added: “We knew that and we were not happy with that performance, although we stayed in the game until the final moment. With a little bit of luck, we had two opportunities at the end, we could have even stolen a point. If we had a little bit more determination in that moment, we could have got something from it. I think we are in a good direction. Of course, we dropped [in the Premier League table] but we are not too far away.”
The Dutchman also went on to say that how he always listens to his players. “I listen always to my players and I always give them opportunities to tell [me]. And if the players have a different opinion, of course, I will listen. But they haven’t told me – maybe one or two – but it’s about, in general, the majority want to play like this. Proactive, dynamic, brave. That is what they want. You can see the players are behind it because of the performances against Everton and Galatasaray, and we are improving. You see that [Garnacho] goal – do you think we can make a goal like we did against Everton if we didn’t embrace it? What do you think?” he stated.
More than the loss, the shocking performance against Newcastle shocked many people. Asked about it, ten Hag said, “So we are not robots. If you play three games in six days, tough games, by the end, fatigue can be an issue. It can never be an excuse but it is there. Against Galatasaray, against Everton, we played very good. Against Newcastle, we were not happy with our performance and we are the first to say. The players are the first, and so self critical that they admit this. We know and we have to do better than this.”
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