Ten Hag criticizes the ‘unprofessional’ Manchester United’s humiliation at the hands of Liverpool
Erik ten Hag slammed his Manchester United players for a “unprofessional” and “awful” performance in their 7-0 loss to bitter rivals Liverpool on Sunday.
United’s devastating defeat was their worst ever against Liverpool and the joint heaviest in their history.
Ten Hag’s team imploded shortly before halftime after falling behind to Cody Gakpo’s opening.
Liverpool scored six goals in the second half, including another goal from Gakpo, as well as goals from Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez, before Roberto Firmino capped one of the most incredible Premier League results in history.
United manager Ten Hag was ashen-faced on the touchline as the scoreboard continued to rise, and he conceded his players had failed miserably.
“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 told the BBC.
“I am surprised because I have seen 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.
“The second half is… unprofessional that is not Manchester United” ❌
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) March 5, 2023
Erik ten Hag was unforgiving in his assessment of his side today!
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“We didn’t track back and it was really unprofessional.
The incredible defeat came just seven days after Ten Hag’s side had ended United’s six-year trophy drought by beating Newcastle 2-0 in the League Cup final at Wembley.
‘Disappointed and angry’
That victory was regarded as the beginning of a daring new era for United, with Ten Hag lauded for changing a team that placed sixth in the Premier League the previous season before he arrived from Ajax in the offseason.
Nonetheless, United’s dismal performance in such a crucial game demonstrated how much work Ten Hag still has to do to restore a club that hasn’t won the league crown since 2013.
United, who are currently third in the Premier League, have already suffered humiliating 6-3 defeats at Manchester City and a 4-0 setback at Brentford this season.
This was a new low for Ten Hag’s club, but he urged them to use it as inspiration for the rest of the season, beginning with Thursday’s Europa League last 16 first leg at home against Real Betis.
“We’ve seen in the past that we can recover. Manchester City came after Brentford. This is unquestionably a significant setback. “I’m quite dissatisfied and outraged,” he remarked.
“It is a reality check. We have to take this strong.”
United player Bruno Fernandes reiterated Ten Hag’s desire for a forceful response to Merseyside’s utter collapse.
“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 told 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.”
