Roland Cutinho
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag was unhappy with three obvious referring mistakes in their defeat to Arsenal
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was left fuming with three important referee decisions that went against his team in a shocking 3-1 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
The Red Devils wrap up their pre-international break fixtures with their second loss of the 2023-24 Premier League (PL) season.
Ten Hag’s side took an early lead when Marcus Rashford scored in the 27th minute, but the Gunners quickly responded as their captain Martin Odegaard equalised just 100 seconds later.
In the second half, both teams had near-misses in their quest to regain the lead. Man United believed they had succeeded in doing so when Alejandro Garnacho scored in the 88th minute. Nevertheless, VAR disallowed the goal, citing marginal offside as seen in replays.
Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus netted crucial goals during injury time in the fifth and tenth minutes to deliver a huge blow to the visiting team.
United’s loss in the game was unfortunate, considering they deserved to come away with at least a draw. The majority of their players put in commendable performances, but their defenders failed to hold the composer at the end.
Ten Hag blamed United’s loss on several poor refereeing decisions that took away any chance to grab a point at the death.
The Dutch boss voiced his frustration regarding Garnacho’s offside goal and highlighted a potential foul by Gabriel on debutant Rasmus Hojlund in the penalty area, which VAR reviewed.
He also claimed that Jonny Evans was fouled before Rice scored the winning goal through a corner kick.
Speaking to Sky Sports (h/t the Independent), Ten Hag said:
“I thought we played a very good game but everything went against us – then you don’t win the game. It was not offside [for Garnacho’s goal]. It was the wrong angle.”
“It was then a penalty on [Rasmus] Hojlund and then we concede a goal that’s a foul on Jonny Evans. It’s so clear and obvious.”
The manager was obviously not happy with the way things unfolded in the end for the Red Devils. Although many would have contrasting views on these points, former PL referee Mike Dean supported in-game referee Anthony Taylor’s decisions.
He believed that Taylor was right to call the United winning goal offside, before ignoring penalty calls for Hojlund.
The Red Devils fans would be frustrated by the final result, as it looked as if their team would be able to grab a draw if not a win.
However, the Gunners simply turned the game around after the 90th-minute mark. These goals were still not far away, as Arsenal were consistently pressing United’s defenders and making important runs down the flanks.
The United defender’s failure to close the opposition attacker quickly cost them in the end. In our opinion, even if a referee’s decisions can change the course of the game, Ten Hag‘s side should know how to turn the game to bed as effectively as possible.
Staying behind, making counter-attacking moves, and letting Arsenal’s attackers charge towards the back line turned out to be a risky game to play.
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The defeat pushes the Red Devils to 11th place in the league table, and they need to improve quickly if they want to have any realistic chance of entering the top four this season.
