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Manchester United boss Eric ten Hag has clearly claimed his young side have a bright future after their 2-2 draw with rivals Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.
The manager was speaking in the post-match press conference where he claimed that “only details” separated the two teams in the decisive moments in the first half as the team “lost the duel and in the half-spaces we were not good enough”.
This appears to be a generous interpretation of events as Liverpool finished the first half with 14 shots on goal to nil.
The Dutchman admitted that Jerel Quansah's mistake which gave Bruno Fernandes the chance to score a special goal in front of the Stretford End was exactly what “we needed at that time” and, to his credit, United managed to claw their way back into the competition.
When asked about the contributions of young players Willie Kambwala and Kobi Manu, the coach expressed happiness over their performances.
Elaborating on Kobi Manu's stunning strike that put the Red Devils ahead, he said: “Very good team goal. A goal out of the gameplan. Very proud that the team was able to move it the way we did. The finale was fantastic”.
Ten Hag also incredibly praised the mental strength of Willie Kambwala, who made such an impressive contribution in his second start and his first full 90 minutes for the team.
“All soldiers die,” he said, referring to the crisis of injuries. We had to take a decision. He was very good against West Ham. His progress during training is amazing. He has performed brilliantly and we are very happy with his performance.”
The 54-year-old was asked about the importance of the performance and he took the opportunity to sarcastically discuss the future of his young team.
“This is a sign and a message for the future of Manchester United. This team, this team has high potential and if we get more players available, especially in the backline where I think we have 27 different formations over the course of the season, the future will be great.
Ten Hag once again became agitated when he was asked by a reporter why the club was playing so much on transition and whether this would change once some players returned from injury.
He replied that it is normal to play like this against teams like Liverpool and Chelsea because “they are top rivals.” They want to play and leave space for counters. In general we performed very well. “We only conceded two goals from two set pieces.”
Again, the manager's inability to contextualize the gap in midfield and the fact that only Liverpool's carelessness in front of goal in the first half gave the Mancunian team the chance to make another enthusiastic improvement is worrying.
However, Ten Hag criticized his team's concentration levels, noting three Premier League games where his team have been ahead late and the team not winning any matches.
When asked to comment, he said, “Very disappointing.” Three times a week you put yourself in a position to win just before the end of the game but then lose points. There were bad decisions in all three games and the same player was not there every time.”
He once again attributed this to a lack of defensive continuity and pointed out that the defense was “simply not regular” due to a large number of injuries.
United have a busy weekend ahead as they look to get back to winning ways against Bournemouth next Saturday. Next weekend they prepare for an important FA Cup date with Coventry City at Wembley as they look to make back to back finals.
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