Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has said that his players were not good enough attacking wise during Sunday’s 2-0 Premier League defeat at Newcastle United.
The Red Devils extended their winless league run to three games after the defeat at St James’ Park. They were completely outplayed and outclassed by the Magpies.
Eddie Howe’s side managed 22 attempts on goal with six of those on target. On the contrary, United mustered just six shots with only one of those on target.
United were clearly not prepared for such a high intensity game and speaking after the defeat, Ten Hag highlighted that the club’s offensive output was not good enough.
While the manager did not directly focus on a single player, he emphasised that the club provided almost nothing in an attacking sense from the left side of the field.
He told Manutd.com: “I think our attacking game was not good enough. I don’t want to be focused on one person. It was about team performance. We didn’t break them down. In the first half we had a trap on the right side with Antony and Diogo [Dalot] but on the left we had almost nothing.”
“That is the conclusion of the game. Today we didn’t create many chances and when we were there, we weren’t determined enough to score a goal. That’s the truth. The best chance was maybe for the equaliser for [Anthony] Martial, the deflected shot. But we didn’t create enough.”
The first game after the international break is always tough. Newcastle probably benefited from the fact that they had only five players away with their national teams.
On the other hand, the Red Devils had 15 players on international duty. Despite this, Ten Hag will not have expected such a low-key performance from his side.
As Ten Hag said, Antony was one of the few bright sparks from the game. In comparison, Marcus Rashford had a difficult afternoon from the left flank for United.
The England star was recovering from a minor knock during the international break and this could be a reason behind his below-par display. He failed to win a single duel.
United have dropped to fourth in the table behind Newcastle on goal difference after the result but they have no time to ponder with crucial home games coming up.
The club host Brentford and Everton on Wednesday and Saturday respectively. They must capitalise on home advantage by picking up maximum points from those games.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com and Sofascore.com
