Erik ten Hag chose to switch out both of his center backs with seven minutes left in Manchester United’s game against Newcastle, but the decision backfired as the Magpies triumphed.
During Manchester United’s defeat to Newcastle, Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane were both replaced, and Erik ten Hag has defended this decision.
Ten Hag decided to replace both center backs with seven minutes remaining after the Red Devils fell behind the Magpies by one goal. They were replaced by Facundo Pellistri and Victor Lindelof, but Newcastle still doubled their lead after five minutes.
Gary Neville criticized Ten Hag for withdrawing both center-backs before the goal after Callum Wilson headed in a Kieran Trippier free-kick. Yet, the Dutchman supported the course of action, thus he had to make his side more attacking.
“You take a huge ʀɪsᴋ. The goal of bringing in [Anthony] Martial and [Jadon] Sancho, according to the United manager, is to gain better possession control, keep the ball, and advance.
“So, once we are losing the game and you try to save the game by bringing a goal and going one against one in back, bring in a center defender who can defend with space in his back [Victor Lindelof] and bring an additional player in offense with Pellistri.
“We weren’t pleased. The two Newcastle center-halves had an easy time defending our midfielders because we played too high in the middle, forcing them to play a little deeper.
“As a result, we made the substitutions to give Scott McTominay a deeper role and Marcel Sabitzer a no. 10 position. Then, in order to provide more energy, we made adjustments. Ultimately, we were losing, so we chose to play three at the back and an additional “s” player.
“I was disappointed that we were unable to match the opponent’s tenacity, fervor, and desire. You need to be mature to win important games, and I didn’t see that on the field today.
Ten Hag’s decision to remove both of his center backs at once was criticized by Neville. He insisted that Newcastle will unquestionably score a second goal as soon as the alterations were completed.
Erik ten Hag in stinging criticism of Man Utd attitude as Luke Shaw hits out
Manchester United’s loss to Newcastle United drew criticism from both Luke Shaw and Erik ten Hag for their lack of “passion” and “drive” on the field.
The Red Devils were overtaken by their top four competitors in the Premier League standings after being brutally thrashed at St. James’ Park. Although being outplayed for the entirety of the game, Joe Willock and Callum Wilson’s goals were enough to overcome Ten Hag’s team.
After the game, Shaw attacked his teammates, claiming they fell short because Newcastle played with greater fervor. In his own post-game interview with Sky Sports, Ten Hag mirrored Shaw’s comments.
“I hate to sᴀʏ it, but they were better today, especially their resolve, passion, and ambition,” Ten Hag stated. They ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ to win more, therefore they succeeded.
“We had our chances, but you have to pursue your goals with the same tenacity they did. It wasn’t adequate. We gave them far too many opportunities. You must play every game with all of your might and be hungry.
“Our ᴏꜰꜰᴇɴsɪᴠᴇ strategy wasn’t strong enough. I don’t want to concentrate on a single person. That was a collaborative effort.
In equally harsh terms, Shaw blasted the performance of his own team. The left-back told Sky Sports after the final horn: “Not good enough. Regardless of the outcome, I think I always speak the ᴛʀᴜᴛʜ when I do so after games.
“We have to be honest as a team. I think Newcastle are a very talented club, but I don’t think they won the game tonight on the basis of quality. I think they won it on the basis of emotion, hunger, desire, attitude, and the ꜰᴀᴄᴛ that they were clearly more motivated than we were. That is inconceivable.
Every time we lose, I feel like we sᴀʏ the same things—I sᴀʏ it’s not acceptable, and we both know that. They enjoyed the game much more today because it was so big. It is not doable at Manchester United.
When asked if the team needed to hear some harsh realities, Shaw replied that discussions had been done among the squad to establish the reason for the terrible performance.
“I’m not gonna go too much into that but definitely, the players had a bit of a chat in the changing room after with no staff around because it’s down to us players on the pitch and like I said, it was nowhere near good enough. We had to speak out in front of each other.
“I think it’s important, we’re a team and when we go out on that pitch we all need to ꜰɪɢʜᴛ for each other and I think sometimes this season it’s maybe not shown like that. We’ve had a good chat in the changing room after, I’m sure we’ll go over it again and all speak again because I think it’s important.
“We need to realise them problems and realise them quick, change them around because we can still have a very good season but with results like this and performances like this then we can’t.”
