39
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has insisted that his players were in control against West Ham but ultimately, struggled to break down the Hammers’ stubborn and resolute backline.
United were beaten by two goals to nil by West Ham at the London Stadium.
The Red Devils were toothless and lacked any cutting edge despite their huge share of the ball.
The team was made to pay for its mistakes in the second half when Jarrod Bowen caught Luke Shaw sleeping inside the box before beating Andre Onana from close range.
Mohammed Kudus scored his side’s second of the match to secure the win and seal United’s fate.
After the final whistle, Ten Hag spoke to reporters and gave his verdict on the clash.
The Dutchman said, “It was a solid performance but we didn’t score.”
“We were in total control in and out of possession. We gave them nothing until the 72nd minute when we switched off.”
He explained, “We tried. West Ham weren’t running behind us for a long period in the game, and then they got the goal, and then, of course, you encourage the team. From that, they were very aggressive defending the box and from that moment, it’s difficult to create a chance.”
Alejandro Garnacho had one or two very good opportunities to score and give United the lead but unfortunately, the Argentine couldn’t make any of his clear-cut goalscoring chances count.
Ten Hag was asked about the winger’s lack of clinical nature in front of goal.
The United boss remarked, “I think he is confident, he’s in good form at the moment. He was one-on-one with the keeper, and he could’ve taken it, but we didn’t.”
Ten Hag also stated on his side’s poor run of form this season, “At this moment, we are not top, but we have seen last week against the top of this league, we were head-to-head. We didn’t score, we had the best opportunities of the game.”
“There [Liverpool], we defended very well for 90 minutes, that has to be always our standard like what we did there. You have to bring that to every game on the pitch.”
The 53-year-old divulged that there are evident reasons for United’s decline this campaign.
He blamed injuries and claimed that when the players who are currently sidelined make their respective returns to competitive action, United will become a much better unit capable of performing against the very best.
This website aggregates and curates news articles, blog posts, and other content from a variety of external sources. While we aim to link back to the original source, this site does not own or claim ownership of any articles, posts, or other content indexed on this site. The views, opinions, and factual statements expressed in each piece of aggregated content belong solely to its respective author and publisher. We make no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of aggregated content. Visitors are advised to verify facts and claims through the original source before reuse or redistribution.
