Erik ten Hag criticised for not making changes at half time in Manchester United vs Liverpool
Manchester United icon Peter Schmeichel has criticised Erik ten Hag for not making changes at half-time in the 7-0 loss to Liverpool.
The Red Devils visited Anfield on Sunday (5 March) in the Premier League. However, it ended in a historic defeat for the Old Trafford side as Jurgen Klopp’s team scored six past us in the second half.
Speaking after the defeat on BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast (h/t Manchester Evening News), Schmeichel, who spent eight years in between the sticks at United, anticipated the Dutch manager to change things around in the break.
“I was quite alright at half-time because we have been behind before, we’ve had a team talk and Ten Hag has made a few changes and then the second halves have been different. I was expecting changes at half-time, I was expecting two changes and he didn’t do them, which was disappointing.”
While the Red Devils did create a couple of chances in the first half, Liverpool were the ones who took the lead just before the break through Cody Gakpo. However, overall, it was set up as an even contest.
Since arriving at the Old Trafford side, Ten Hag has changed several matches with some astute substitutions. Recently in the second leg of the playoff tie versus Barcelona in the Europa League, the gaffer changed things up a bit at half-time and ended up making a comeback.
There have been other instances throughout the campaign where the likes of Alejandro Garnacho and Jadon Sancho have entered the pitch and made a difference. However, that was not the case against the Merseysiders.
After two quick-fire goals from Klopp’s team in the second 45, Ten Hag did react and make changes. However, it seemed to make things worse for United as some of our players lost their heads and composure.
Subsequently, the Anfield side capitalised on almost every error that we made. After Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah got their braces, Roberto Firmino got in on the act as well.
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While one can understand Ten Hag’s decision not to change personnel after the first half, the gaffer needs to take some of the blame for not organising the team better after the game was out of reach. Now, it is time to regroup and get a positive result in the next game.
