Erik ten Hag hails Manchester United squad’s future after second half comeback versus Liverpool – Man United News And Transfer News

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Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has defiantly claimed the future is bright for his young squad after a 2-2 draw with bitter rivals Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.

The manager was speaking in his post-match press conference where he claimed that “only details” in the decisive moments in the first half separated the two teams as the team “lost duels and in the half space we weren’t quite good enough”.

This seems a generous interpretation of events as Liverpool finished the first half with 14 shots to zero.

The Dutchman admitted that Jarell Quansah’s mistake that gave Bruno Fernandes the chance to score a special goal in front of the Stretford End was what “we needed at that moment” and to their credit, United managed to fight their way back into the contest.

When asked about the contributions of youngsters Willy Kambwala and Kobbie Mainoo, the coach effused over their performances.

Elaborating on Kobbie Mainoo’s wonder strike that put the Red Devils in front he said, “very good team goal. A goal from out of the gameplan. So very proud that the team could transfer this in the way we did. The finish was brilliant”.

Ten Hag was also incredibly complimentary of the mental strength of Willy Kambwala to come in and, in only his second start for the team and his first full 90 minutes, make such an influential contribution.

Referring to the injury crisis he stated, “all soldiers die. We had a decision to make. He was very good against West Ham. His progress is amazing during training. He has done brilliant and we are very pleased with his performance”.

The 54 year old was then asked about the significance of the performance and he took the opportunity to wax lyrical over the future of his young team.

“It is a signal and a message for the future for Manchester United. This team, this squad has high potential and if we get more players available, especially in the backline where I think we have had 27 different organizations during the course of the season, then the future will be very good”.

Ten Hag once again bristled when he was asked by a reporter why the club played on the transition so much and would this change when some players returned from injury.

He retorted that it was normal to play this way against teams like Liverpool and Chelsea as “they are top opponents. They want to play and leave space for counters. In general we did very good. We conceded only two goals from two set pieces”.

Again, the manager’s inability to reference the chasm in midfield and the fact only Liverpool’s profligacy in front of goal in the first half allowed the Mancunian team a chance to make another rousing recovery, is concerning.

However, Ten Hag did criticise his side’s concentration level, which has seen three Premier League games where his side have been leading late on and the side have gone on to win none of the matches.

When asked to comment on this he said, “very disappointing. Three times in a week you put yourself in a winning position just before the end of the game but then drop points. In all three games there were poor decisions and not every time the same player”.

He once again blamed the lack of defensive continuity for this describing the defence has “simply not having routines” due to the vast amount of injuries.

United have a busy couple of weekends coming up where they will look to get back to winning ways against Bournemouth next Saturday. The following weekend they will then prepare for a vital FA Cup date with Coventry City at Wembley as they look to make back to back final appearances.

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