Erik ten Hag accused his Manchester United gamers of an “unprofessional” and “unacceptable” efficiency as they crashed to a humiliating 7-0 defeat at bitter rivals Liverpool on Sunday.
United’s beautiful loss ranked as their worst-ever defeat in opposition to Liverpool and the joint heaviest of their complete historical past.
Ten Hag’s staff collapsed after falling behind to Cody Gakpo’s opener simply earlier than half-time.
Liverpool scored six instances within the second half, with Gakpo putting once more, whereas Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez netted braces earlier than Roberto Firmino capped one of the crucial astonishing ends in Premier League historical past.
United boss Ten Hag was ashen-faced on the touchline because the scoreline stored mounting, and he admitted his gamers had let themselves down badly.
“I think we played a decent first half. One mistake in organisation just before half-time. Second half it was just not us. It was not our standards. We didn’t play as a team. It was unprofessional. Yes (I am angry). Definitely,” Ten Hag instructed the BBC.
AS IT HAPPENED: Manchester United 0 – 7 Liverpool, Premier League sport, Highlights
“I am surprised because I have seen in the last weeks and months this team is resilient and has a winning attitude. Second half we didn’t have a winning attitude at all. We didn’t stick to the plan and we didn’t do our jobs. We didn’t track back and it was really unprofessional,” added United’s supervisor.
The unbelievable defeat got here simply seven days after Ten Hag’s facet had ended United’s six-year trophy drought by beating Newcastle 2-0 within the League Cup closing at Wembley.
Disappointed and indignant
That outcome was heralded as the beginning of a daring new period for United, with Ten Hag praised for reworking a staff that completed sixth within the Premier League final time period earlier than he arrived from Ajax within the shut season.
But United’s wretched show in such a major sport confirmed how a lot work Ten Hag nonetheless has to do to rebuild a membership that hasn’t gained the title since 2013.
United, who stay third within the Premier League, had already endured an embarrassing 6-3 defeat at Manchester City this season, in addition to a 4-0 loss at Brentford.
This was a brand new low, however Ten Hag urged his staff to make use of it as motivation for the remainder of the season, beginning in Thursday’s Europa League final 16 first leg at house to Real Betis.
“We have seen in the past we can bounce back. After Brentford, after Manchester City. This is definitely a strong setback and is unacceptable. I’m really disappointed and angry about it,” he stated.
“It is a reality check. We have to take this strong.”
United midfielder Bruno Fernandes echoed Ten Hag’s name for a powerful response to the abject give up on Merseyside.
“It’s very frustrating and disappointing. It’s sad because it’s a really bad result. We came here with a different mindset before the game,” Fernandes instructed Sky Sports.
“We tried to go forward and score goals and we lost a bit of balance. We gave too much space away against this kind of team. We have to avoid that.
“We had setbacks in the past and we have to come back quickly again. This is what Manchester United are about. We can go down but we have to get back up.”
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com