Ten Hag: 'Man Utd played better when Fulham had nine men'

"Once again, we showed great personality," said Ten Hag after the match at Old Trafford on the evening of March 19. "It wasn't easy. We played the most games with any team across Europe. On average we played one game every three days. In every moment, we showed character, resilience and determined to win. Today was difficult, but we didn't expect anything else because Fulham are a strong team and you have to be good to get through."

Fulham opened the scoring in the 50th minute. Then, goalkeeper David De Gea made three saves for Man Utd. Coach Ten Hag admitted that the first 10 minutes of the second half was a heavy and difficult time for the "Red Devils". But his team then played better, thanks to the players improved pressing and transitions, to put pressure on the opponent's half.

The turning point came in the 72nd minute. Due to his hand blocking the ball in the penalty area, winger Willian received a direct red card. Due to objections to the referee, striker Aleksandar Mitrovic and coach Marco Silva also received red cards. After Bruno Fernandes equalized from the penalty spot, Man Utd took advantage of more than two players to score two goals thanks to Marcel Sabitzer in the 77th minute and Bruno Fernandes in the 90+6 minute.

Ten Hag did not comment on the developments that caused Fulham to lose three members. He only praised Antony's drop and Jadon Sancho's dribble past the goalkeeper. "Everybody saw that it was clearly a handball situation," said Ten Hag. "I don't comment on what happened after that. I don't comment on the opponents. However, after they had nine players on the pitch, we played better."

The Dutch coach also believes that each player is a piece that brings victory. In particular, he was especially impressed with De Gea's ability to block, Antony and Sancho's attacking transitions and Fernandes' ability to lead the game. "As a team, we performed very well," asserted Ten Hag.

In the semi-finals, Man Utd will meet Brighton on April 22. If they win, they will go to the final to meet the winner of the Man City - Sheffield United pair. In addition, Man Utd has opportunities in the remaining two arenas. In the quarter-finals of the Europa League, they will meet Sevilla. In the English Premier League, they are ranked third with 50 points, 19 points behind the leading team Arsenal but played two fewer games. This season, Man Utd won the League Cup with a 2-0 victory over Newcastle in the final.