Aheed Abrar
Erik ten Hag disappointed with Manchester United second half displays vs Borussia Dortmund
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was disappointed with how the team played in the second half against Borussia Dortmund.
The Red Devils took on the Bundesliga outfit in the final pre-season game of the tour in the United States of America on 31 July at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, the Old Trafford side suffered a 3-2 defeat.
United took the lead early in the first half through a Diogo Dalot goal. Sadly, the Red Devils were unable to hold onto the lead and conceded twice sloppily just before half-time.
After the break, Antony, who was brought on as a substitute in the first half and replaced Omari Forson, levelled the scoreline. Then, at the hour mark, the gaffer made a host of changes.
The Old Trafford side started with a relatively weaker team. Subsequently, the last half an hour saw some regular first-team players getting some minutes. However, they were poor overall. Youssoufa Moukoko restored BVBs lead in the 71st minute.
Speaking to MUTV (h/t Manchester Evening News), Ten Hag was satisfied with most of United’s play in the opening hour. But the Dutch manager felt the team was disjointed after the changes.
“Yeah, [the game was] two parts, the first hour was good, playing as a team, lot of dynamic, good pressing. So it was really enjoyable to see and that’s what I wanted to say at half-time, but all of a sudden, they give two goals away.
“They were giveaways and that was annoying. But the last half an hour, it was bad, a poor performance. They didn’t follow the rules at all, not in pressing, not in building up or when attacking. They were 11 individuals on the pitch.”
So far, the Red Devils have had a mixed tour in the US. We beat Arsenal in New Jersey. But since then, the Old Trafford side have lost to Wrexham, Real Madrid and now Dortmund.
Ten Hag has tried out some of the new stars like Mason Mount and Andre Onana. The two have put in decent performances, but they arguably need more time to integrate into the team.
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Rather than results, it is more important to regain fitness and sharpness during pre-seasons. Hopefully, the tour in America will act as a learning experience for the gaffer as well as the players.
