Coach Ten Hag: 'Man Utd is not in crisis'
"No", Ten Hag replied when asked if Man Utd was in crisis, after the match at Old Trafford on September 16. "But we feel disappointed, annoyed with ourselves and will solve this problem. At Man Utd, you are required to win every match. We started well, created chances and had to respond well than when they concede a goal first."
The Dutch coach later admitted to being disappointed with the way Man Utd started and the final result, but was satisfied with the way of play and wanted the whole team to unite. "In the end, the most important thing is character and now, we have to see how strong we are, show our bravery and stick together," he emphasized.
Two weeks after losing to Arsenal in round 4, Man Utd returned home with the expectation of defeating Brighton - the phenomenon currently in the top group - to regain face and ambition. They entered the game not badly, created many opportunities but Marcus Rashford and his teammates did not take advantage of them successfully. Below, their defense system gradually crumbled before Brighton's fast and effective attacks. The away team even scored three goals in just the first seven shots, thanks to Danny Welbeck, Pascal Gross and Joao Pedro.
Man Utd is also unlucky. After rookie Rasmus Hojlund scored a goal for the away team in the 40th minute, VAR stepped in and determined that before passing to his teammate, Rashford let the ball drift across the line with a very small distance. Man Utd only pulled one goal back near the middle of the second half, thanks to a great long-range shot from 20-year-old midfielder Hannibal Mejbri.
This is Man Utd's first defeat in the Premier League at Old Trafford, since losing 0-2 to Brighton in round 1 last season. This is also the first time in history that the "Red Devils" lost three of their first five matches in the Premier League. Before that, they collapsed as guests of Arsenal and Tottenham and won against Wolves and Nottingham Forest.
When asked about Hojlund's rejected goal, Ten Hag said that Man Utd was unlucky at the decisive moments. The 53-year-old coach also recalled how the home team was denied a penalty and a goal when the score was 1-1 in the loss at Arsenal. "This match, Man Utd played really well in the first half and was denied a goal," he added. "If we unite, stick to the plan, follow the rules and playing style, we will be able to turn the situation around. That is definitely a requirement for Man Utd."
In the 64th minute, when Man Utd was leading 0-2, Ten Hag suddenly withdrew Hojlund and replaced him with Anthony Martial - a striker who had only scored two goals in the last 15 matches. Many home audiences booed, before giving applause to the performance of the Danish striker. Ten Hag explained that Hojlund had problems when he arrived at Man Utd and was not physically fit enough to play the full 90 minutes, and also defended Martial, saying that the French striker always made a positive impact every time he appeared on the field last season.
On September 20, Man Utd will march to Bayern's field for the first round of Group A Champions League. Ten Hag rates Bayern as one of the championship candidates, so his team needs to play well and must show energy, belief, resilience and determination.
