Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag expressed unhappiness over the Liverpool result as rival boss Arne Slot admitted United’s threat
Erik ten Hag questioned Manchester United for conceding goals as Liverpool boss Arne Slot praised the Red Devils’ threatening attack. United lost the friendly game against the arch-rivals 3-0 which brought scrutiny by a big section of the club’s fanbase.
Despite the insignificance of the game, it is never nice to lose to the historical rival by a big margin. However, United did enjoy more attacks compared to Liverpool but failed to create more clear-cut chances throughout the friendly game.
The Red Devils played without any natural striker with injury to Rasmus Hojlund and new signing Joshua Zirkzee currently unavailable. Ten Hag opted to play Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Amad Diallo in the attacking lineup alongside midfielder Mason Mount.
United are glad that Rashford has shrugged off the recent injury scare to start the game against their bitter rivals. While United conceded poorly, playing Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof in defence, the criticizing fanbase section should focus on the positives.
The Red Devils had 18 shots compared to Liverpool’s nine with our eight shots on target compared to their five. Ten Hag provided his thoughts about the game (via Manchester United’s official site) to elaborate on both positives and negatives. He said:
“There were mixed feelings, I would say. I think I have seen positive bits, but the way we concede goals, we are, of course, not happy with it. Of course, Liverpool are a very good side. They are very aggressive, and they have lots of goalscoring abilities, so they did very well. But the way we conceded, we are not happy with it.”
"I'm pleased with they way we create chances"
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 4, 2024
Erik ten Hag reflects on Manchester United's 3-0 defeat to Liverpool in pre-season pic.twitter.com/WO2Nvxbtpx
Meanwhile, Liverpool’s new coach Slot admitted that the scoreline does not justify the overall game which matters in a friendly. Even though Slot is merely asking more from his players, United should take his words as a positive. He said:
“We are very happy with the result, we scored some really nice goals. But I don’t think we had enough control over the game because United were threatening us more than a few times. It’s a 3-0 win but the score could have been different tonight as well.”
We need to understand that Ten Hag has a lot of players still unavailable and the true reflection of progress would come after their return. Furthermore, the Red Devils are still actively working in the transfer market to bolster their squad which will reshape further.
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Ten Hag has a daunting task ahead but there are as many positives as there are negatives right now. The club needs its fanbase to unite and support the team as they face local rivals Manchester City in the upcoming Community Shield game.
