Erik ten Hag bizarrely praises his Manchester United side in spite of insipid home loss to Fulham – Man United News And Transfer News

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Manchester United put in a lifeless performance as Fulham came away from Old Trafford with a well-deserved 1-2 victory.

The win was the Cottagers’ first at Old Trafford in 21 years and their first against the Red Devils in any competition or location, since 2009.

One of the major questions asked of this United side was how they would respond to the in-form Rasmus Hojlund’s injury and the answer was as bleak as the weather.

The loss was the Old Trafford side’s 10th in the league and 15th of the season, leaving them eight points off the top four with only 12 matches to play.

Erik ten Hag was understandably frustrated with his side and speaking to the BBC after the game he blamed a lapse of concentration for Fulham’s winning goal.

“It was a throw-in [for Fulham] in the corner, we had them under pressure and we have one player in the wrong position.

“As a team we should manage that and make sure everyone is in the right position. We let them escape and it is avoidable.”

The United coach bizarrely praised his team for their response to going a goal down and claimed, “The team showed big character to fight back, we deserved the equaliser and went for the win – we showed big personality and character. It was that mistake. Before that, we went for the win and we should have taken our opportunities”.

Speaking on the absences of Rasmus Hojlund and Luke Shaw the Dutchman stated, “We struggled with their influence and their impact on our left side. But we reacted well and how to deal with it, how to step up from the back and once we had that we got more from the game and took control to create the chances.

“With the squad we had today we should have won this game. Both halves were slow starts and we should be ready from the first whistle.

“That’s a point of criticism but the team showed big character in both halves.”

Manchester United will need to put the disappointment behind them as a huge week begins with a fifth-round cup tie away to Forest on Wednesday, followed up by a daunting trip to the Etihad to face their cross-city rivals.