Erik ten Hag: ‘We lacked the belief to win’
Check out Erik ten Hag’s post match press conference after Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with West Ham in the Premier League.
It was a dismal derby day defeat for Manchester United as they lost 6-2 to a brilliant Manchester City, with both Erling Haaland and Phil Foden bagging hat-tricks on Sunday afternoon, much to the dismay of a shell-shocked Erik Ten Hag.
Having won four games on the bounce in the Premier League heading into the clash, United would have wanted to keep things tight and show their quality in moments throughout the game with a view of a draw or a win, but an early booking for Diogo Dalot saw the men in red start to look shaky after the 23-year-old hacked down Jack Grealish.
An opener from Foden in the 8th minute diminished any confidence for the visitors. Eriksen could be seen as guilty for not tracking the run as the Englishman brushed it beyond David De Gea, who himself could have maybe done better.
The Blues continued to dominate the game and it eventually came to further fruition with Haaland bagging a quick-fire double in the 34th and 37th minutes. His first was a towering header that goal-line technology deemed to have crossed the line before Tyrell Malacia cleared away. His second came from an outstretched leg at the back post after a simply marvellous pass from Kevin De Bruyne.
The in-form Norwegian then turned provider in the 44th minute with a pass across goal that was put away by Foden, a strike that rounded off a dismal half of football for the Reds which also saw star defender Raphael Varane go off injured, replaced by Victor Lindelof.
There was another change at the break from Ten Hag, with Luke Shaw on for a yellow-carded Malacia at left-back.
City certainly took their foot off the gas after the break, and Antony capitalised in the 56th minute with a delightful curling effort from around 25 yards to provide the fans who stayed for the second half with something to shout about.
However, it was not long before those same fans had their heads in their hands once more as Haaland completed his hat-trick after he met a Sergio Gomez cross with a sweeping effort in the 64th minute, before Foden completed his own treble not even ten minutes later following a powerful effort from inside the box.
Anthony Martial – on for an incredibly underwhelming Marcus Rashford who had just won Premier League Player of the Month- scored another consolation strike with a poacher’s header after Ederson saved a Fred shot in the 84th minute.
The Frenchman was in on the action again after being hacked down inside the area by Joao Cancelo in stoppage time before tucking away the subsequent penalty in classy style. It has to be said, though, that the three consolation strikes masked what was a horrible, horrible day for the Red Devils at the Etihad Stadium.
Foden (8′, 44′, 72′), Haaland (34′, 37′, 64′), Antony (56′), Martial (84′, 90’+1′ [PEN])
