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Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag acknowledged his players were well below the necessary level of performance in their 3-0 defeat to Tottenham on Sunday, but insisted the red card to Bruno Fernandes just before half-time had a “big impact” on the outcome.
Spurs started quickly and were ahead inside two minutes, Brennan Johnson tapping in from close range. And they hardly let up their assault on United’s box for the remainder of the first half, with the hosts managing just three shots and 37 per cent possession in the first 45 minutes, compared to Tottenham’s 12 efforts and 63 per cent.
Despite that, Ten Hag felt his side were close to coming back on terms after Alejandro Garnacho hit the outside of the post and Joshua Zirkzee saw an effort on the stretch comfortably saved, with Fernandes’ dismissal for a knee-high challenge on James Maddison the turning point which prevented his side finding a route back into the game.
“We could have come back in the game, we had chances with Garnacho and Zirkzee. But the red card changed the game,” Ten Hag told Sky Sports after the match.
“It was no good [first half]. It’s not possible the player from the back can dribble through the whole team and cross. We lost a bit of confidence and were so poor in possession but all the players know this.
“Absolutely they [the players] went missing. We know Tottenham presses high and have speed in front. You have to take your positions and we were quite undisciplined. We were too stressful on the ball.
“I don’t think it’s a red card. We had big chances [before it] and it’s only 1-0 so we could make a comeback. It had a big impact on the game.”
When asked whether United had shown the same failings as in previous defeats, related to trying to play out from the back and not showing cohesion in pressing from the front, Ten Hag claimed not to see the same issues – and said to to overcome this latest setback he would focus on rebuilding the squad’s confidence for the next game.
“I’m not aware of what you mean? The press was not good first half I agree. But we made bad decisions with counters after we counter.
“It’s always a new day, I told them tomorrow’s new, we have to learn and do things better on the ball. There were situations we could have done better to keep the ball and we didn’t do it. I don’t want to talk today about progress after such a defeat. We have to deal with this, show resilience.”
Responding to the Man United perfor,mance, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp said Ten Hag has nowhere to hide after another wretched showing.
“They are going backwards. Ten Hag’s got his team, he’s spent £616m. He’s got no excuses,” Redknapp said. “They are rock bottom right now, as bad as I’ve seen a United side. Gary called it disgusting, it’s embarassing – they shouldn’t be producing performances like that.
“When you’re the home side you’ve got to take the game to the opposition and they didn’t. They weren’t good enough in any capacity.”