Ten Hag: 'Losing Liverpool 0-7 is the past'
* Man Utd - Betis: 3am on Friday, March 10, Hanoi time.
"The negative thing is that Man Utd is really below average, especially mentally," Ten Hag said on March 8 in a press conference before the match against Betis in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16. "We want to be a big club, win trophies and have to act differently. I think the loss to Liverpool was a big lesson, the team has to accept it and keep moving forward. Now, all the possibilities are there. The amount and focus must be on the next match."
At Anfield on March 5, Man Utd and Liverpool played equally until Cody Gakpo cut the right leg to open the scoring for the homeowner in the 43rd minute. The loss of two goals in the first half of the second half caused Man Utd to break the game and receive four more. goals in the rest. The result 0-7 is Man Utd's biggest defeat in the history of participating in the English championship.
Ten Hag said the Man Utd players reacted well after the defeat and this is the positive side. The 53-year-old coach also pointed out statistics that the loss to Liverpool is the second defeat of the "Reds" in the last 23 matches in all competitions. "Before the season, we knew we were going to experience setbacks. And obviously it was a big one," he added.
According to the British Mirror, the day after the defeat, Ten Hag made the players watch a video of Liverpool celebrating in the dressing room. He wants this to be the motivation for the players, so that they never give up so easily again.
Ten Hag refused to blame a specific player, and emphasized that Man Utd had analyzed the video and came to the right conclusion. "We have to reset and recover. The team wins together, and loses together. Man Utd made a mess on Sunday and must solve it together," the Dutch coach expressed.
In the 0-7 defeat at Anfield, Bruno Fernandes - who wore the captain's armband when Harry Maguire was on the bench - had many controversial reactions. The Portuguese midfielder escaped the penalty when he pushed the line referee Adam Nunn, had two situations and signaled a substitution at the end of the game.
This attitude and behavior made many teammates uncomfortable, not wanting Fernandes to be the captain. The former Man Utd defender criticized Fernandes as a "disgrace" and had a performance that was not worthy of the captain.
Acknowledging some of Fernandes' inappropriate behavior, but Ten Hag still defended and emphasized the 28-year-old midfielder is an inspiration for the whole team. The Dutch coach confirmed that Fernandes will continue to wear the captain's armband of Man Utd if Maguire does not play. "Nobody is perfect, everyone makes mistakes and learns from them. I also have to learn and so does Fernandes," he added.
Sitting next to Ten Hag during the press conference, Marcus Rashford shared his views when praising Fernandes as the leader of Man Utd. "I don't have anything negative to say about Fernandes," the English striker shared. "As Ten Hag said, nobody is perfect. Sometimes you want to win to the point of doing things that are a bit out of the ordinary. I think Fernandes is a good leader even if he's not the captain."
Admitted Man Utd played disorganized, poor communication, but Rashford denied that the home team gave up when conceding six times in the second half of the defeat to Liverpool. The 25-year-old striker said that the whole team had a misunderstanding that led to "departing from the principles of the team". He emphasized that Man Utd had learned a lot and needed to find his level in the match against Betis.
On March 12, Man Utd received Southampton in the 27th round of the Premier League, rematched Betis in the second leg of the 1/8 round of the Europa League on March 16 and then met Fulham in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on March 19.
