Aheed Abrar
Erik ten Hag urges Manchester United to be “ruthless” after slender Olympique Lyon win
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag wants his players to be more “ruthless” in front of goal after the slender 1-0 victory over Olympique Lyon.
The Red Devils took on the French outfit on Wednesday (19 July) at Murrayfield Stadium in Scotland. We created a host of chances in the opening half an hour. Unfortunately, the Old Trafford side were unable to make the most of their opportunities.
Then at the start of the second half, as the Dutch manager made several changes, Donny van de Beek found the back of the net. The Holland international returned to action from a lengthy spell on the sidelines and gave us the win.
Despite the positive result, Ten Hag felt a bit aggrieved. Speaking on the club’s official website, the Dutch manager implored United to be more clinical. The gaffer acknowledged that the Red Devils had similar issues in the 2022/23 term.
“So, first half, how we started, three massive chances from the start but that is straight, the criticism, you have to score, you have to net. That was already our problem last year and we have to realise that, we have to be more ruthless and clinical in those situations.”
Last season, the Old Trafford side had to rely on Marcus Rashford to find the back of the net on a consistent basis. The England international ended the previous campaign as our highest goalscorer.
Unfortunately, the 25-year-old, who recently signed a new contract, was the only one Ten Hag was able to count on. The rest of our attackers were unable to contribute to a considerable amount of the team’s goals.
However, United’s lack of prolificity last season was not a surprise. The Dutch manager had Anthony Martial at his disposal. However, the French national was unavailable for most of the 2022/23 term due to multiple fitness issues.
Also, in January, the gaffer was handed Wout Weghorst as cover for the former AS Monaco star. The Burnley loanee featured heavily in the former Ajax head coach’s plans at the Old Trafford side. But the Holland national left a lot to be desired.
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Therefore, we evidently need to add more quality up front in our ranks. However, until that happens, the other players in the attack need to step up.
