Aheed Abrar
Erik ten Hag frustrated with Manchester United stars spamming crosses to Cristiano Ronaldo in Aston Villa defeat
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has expressed his frustration at players relentlessly crossing to Cristiano Ronaldo in the defeat to Aston Villa. The Dutch manager feels it was unnecessary to put so many balls into the box from out wide.
In the end, the Lions beat us 3-1 on Sunday (6 November) at Villa Park in the Premier League. It marked the Birmingham-based club’s first win at home to the Red Devils in 27 years.
Speaking after the loss to the media via Express, Ten Hag was not pleased with his players constantly looking for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. The Dutch manager slammed the team’s decision to spam crosses to the Portugal international.
“No, I think it was stupid to do that [often look for Ronaldo in the air].
“We delivered too many quick crosses in from too far away. There was too much forcing and we didn’t have to.”
United did create chances in the game, but they were few and far between. Ronaldo led the line and was handed the captain’s armband in the absence of Bruno Fernandes, who was suspended, and the benched Harry Maguire.
The Portuguese has not been in the best of forms in the current campaign. He has found game time hard to come by under Ten Hag. And only recently has the 37-year-old made it regularly into the starting lineup.
Ronaldo also seems to be missing his shooting boots this season. In 16 appearances in all competitions, the forward has scored three goals and provided two assists.
Against Villa, who Unai Emery was taking charge of for the first time, a cross did find the Portuguese star’s head. Unfortunately, he shot it straight at Emiliano Martinez.
More Manchester United News
- Manchester United defender Luke Shaw brutally honest about the embarrassing 3-1 loss to Aston Villa
- Aston Villa manager Unai Emery believes the team talk was to target spaces left open by Manchester United
- Man United manager Erik ten Hag believes Aston Villa’s second goal could have been stopped
The loss to the Lions marks our fourth defeat in the league in the current campaign. United now sit 11 points behind table-toppers Arsenal. We once again take on the side from Birmingham on Thursday (10 November) in the Carabao Cup.
