LONDON — It is turning into more and more tough to return to the identical conclusions about Manchester United as Erik ten Hag. Requested on Thursday in regards to the 3-0 drubbing they obtained at house to Tottenham Hotspur, Ten Hag mentioned he chooses to “deny” and “ignore” the defeat as a result of the pink card proven to Bruno Fernandes was subsequently rescinded.
If Ten Hag felt that loss must be scrubbed out due to a refereeing error, he is more likely to undertake the identical defence once more after the outcome on the London Stadium.
Ten Hag has grounds for grievance a few resolution that decisively swung proceedings in opposition to Man United after the VAR, Michael Oliver, suggested a controversial spot kick to the house aspect. It led to West Ham United’s stoppage-time winner, Jarrod Bowen stepping as much as make the ultimate rating 2-1, however his crew’s acquainted failings had been there for all to see.
Ten Hag should hate his yearly journey to east London. Ten Hag has by no means earned even a single level from a Premier League match at this stadium; Cristiano Ronaldo and Jesse Lingard had been on the scoresheet final time they gained right here in 2021. Ten Hag even waved his hand to swat away the pre-match bubbles, such was his aversion to this place.
His issues do not simply crop up in opposition to West Ham, although. The midweek draw with Fenerbahce within the Europa League stretched Man United’s winless run in Europe to a complete calendar 12 months and, aside from a victory over a bottom-placed Southampton apart, his crew have forgotten methods to win on the street within the Premier League, too.
Right here, as is develop into the norm, Ten Hag determined in opposition to taking full accountability for the defeat.
“In soccer it isn’t all the time the most effective crew profitable, and right now there was clear and apparent and clear and apparent wasn’t how the VAR labored,” Ten Hag mentioned. “How they labored, how they run their course of. And earlier than the season they defined the method of the VAR and solely when it is clear and apparent then they need to intrude.
“So what [the VAR] did not do in opposition to Spurs the place they need to have achieved it to intrude with the pink card of Bruno [Fernandes]. There was a unsuitable resolution and now they make once more a unsuitable resolution interfering and each have massive impression on the scores of the video games.”
Ten Hag might have some extent, however the plain information make for powerful studying.
Man United, although, started brightly as Fernandes twice arrange Alejandro Garnacho for possibilities that you’d count on him to attain. Fernandes then fluffed his personal strains by ballooning a free header over the crossbar, drawing but extra sighs from the house crowd and some thousand glares in direction of head coach Julen Lopetegui, himself beneath intense strain after a lacklustre begin to the season.
Diogo Dalot‘s inexplicable miss drew a participant’s most-feared kind of crowd response: An embarrassed snort. The Portugal worldwide touched the ball previous the onrushing goalkeeper earlier than impatiently skewing his volley large of the open purpose from six yards out.
For a participant touted because the younger star in United’s assault, Garnacho’s profession output may hardly be described as eye-catching. He has 20 objectives and 13 assists in 100 appearances for Man United in all competitions since making his debut in April 2022. His much-maligned teammate, Marcus Rashford, has managed 46 objectives and 20 assists in 126 matches in that point.
Fernandes, in the meantime, has had extra photographs with out scoring than some other goalless participant within the Premier League this season (25).
Ten Hag bemoaned Man United’s lack of innovative in opposition to Fenerbahce in midweek and his disgust was plain to see as he stood immobile on the touchline. His crew ought to have put the sport to mattress within the first half through which they registered 1.48xG and held West Ham to an xG of 0.04. However they failed to take action, and by the point Matthijs de Ligt made contact with Danny Ings‘ leg contained in the field within the 87th minute, the match was already spiralling out of United’s management earlier than.
Lopetegui intervened on the interval and his modifications had an impression. And so they wanted to. A triple substation included the introduction of Crysencio Summerville, with the winger’s mazy runs on the United defence creating gaps that turned the tide in West Ham’s favour and acquired the followers on aspect.
Inevitably, it was Summerville who stole in on the again put up to place the house aspect forward. Casemiro‘s equaliser with 9 minutes to go all the time felt prefer it was papering over the cracks, which Bowen’s penalty lastly uncovered.
At full-time West Ham had improved their xG to 2.98, bettering United’s by 0.6, a transparent signal of how Lopetegui was the distinction maker, whereas Ten Hag was unable to have the identical affect on his aspect after the break.
There at the moment are solely six sides beneath Man United within the Premier League desk, and solely two groups who’ve scored fewer objectives than their eight.
“It [the penalty decision] had a big effect on the rating and the opposite impression was that we did not rating and we create so many possibilities,” Ten Hag added. “We performed so good soccer, particularly the primary half, [it is] precisely how I wish to see my crew enjoying — so dominant out and in of place, superb construct up, superb buildings, enjoying between the strains, go round again inside, go behind, create possibilities.
“I feel I collected six, seven, 100% % possibilities we should always have scored and that’s the different factor. After which in fact when you do not rating, we now have to maintain calm and hold going and do the identical issues. That may create you possibilities and that could be a level of enchancment. However throughout I had not so many criticisms of my crew aside from not scoring.”
After internet hosting Chelsea subsequent weekend, Man United then face Leicester Metropolis, Ipswich City and Everton — three of the six groups beneath them within the desk. Ten Hag can not afford for his luck to not change in these matches.
Maybe that is simply United’s degree now. Within the Premier League period, West Ham have been a midtable crew — normally ok to keep away from sinking too low, however solely able to producing intermittent flashes of high quality. Typically it is sufficient for an eye catching victory, typically it coughs up 90 minutes of inertia and drift. Remind you of anybody?
