Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Erik ten Hag furious after ‘unprofessional’ Man Utd are thrashed 7-0 by Liverpool at Anfield

Erik ten Hag, Manchester United, December 2022

Erik Ten Hag has given his reaction after Manchester United were demolished 7-0 against Liverpool at Anfield; a loss that has probably destroyed their title hopes. 

After a fairly even opening 40 minutes, the Reds’ January signing Cody Gakpo opened the scoring with a fine finish, with David de Gea powerless to prevent the goal.

However, after the restart, United completely collapsed. Darwin Nunez doubled Liverpool’s advantage just two minutes into the second half before Gakpo got his second just seven minutes later.

Mohamed Salah then joined the party with a fantastic finish after the ball deflected off Scott McTominay and into the Egyptian’s path – smashing the ball into the roof of David de Gea’s net.

Darwin Nunez then got his second with a fantastic header, before Mohamed Salah also got his brace in the 83rd minute.

But, the final blow was dealt by Roberto Firmino, much to the annoyance of United fans, after he announced earlier this week that he will be leaving Anfield at the end of the season.

This 7-0 loss equals Manchester United’s biggest-ever defeat, which last happened against Wolves in 1931.

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Ten Hag slams ‘unprofessional’ Man Utd

Ten Hag was understandably, visibly angry in his post-match interview. Speaking to BBC Sporthe said: “I think we played a decent first half.

“One mistake in our organisation just before half-time. Second half it was just not us. It was not our standards.

“We didn’t play as a team. It was unprofessional. Yes [I am angry]. Definitely.”

“I am surprised because I have seen the last weeks and months this team is resilient and has a winning attitude.

“Second half we didn’t have a winning attitude at all. We didn’t stick to the plan and we didn’t do our jobs.

“We didn’t track back and it was really unprofessional. We have seen in the past we can bounce back. After Brentford, after Manchester City. This is definitely a strong setback and is unacceptable. I’m really disappointed and angry about it.

“It is a reality check. We have to take this strong.”

Bruno Fernandes says Man Utd must respond

United captain Bruno Fernandes was equally disappointed after the game, after he put in a very poor performance at Anfield.

He said:  “It is very frustrating, disappointing, and sad because it is a really bad result. We came here with a different mindset before the game.

“The first half was really good from ourselves, we had a lot of chances. We controlled most of the first half I think, they didn’t create that much.

“[In the second half] we tried to go forward and score goals and we lost a bit of balance. We gave too much space away against this kind of team. We have to avoid that.

“The games are coming thick and fast. We had setbacks in the past and we have to come back quickly again. This is what Manchester United are about, we can go down but we have to get back up.”

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