Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

‘Had the game in our hand’ – Ten Hag disappointed Man Utd let win slip on ‘not nice night’

Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag

Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag

Erik ten Hag felt Manchester United “had the game in our hand” and his side “should’ve scored three or four” as they let the win slip away.

United have put in some poor performances here and there of late. Indeed, they were thrashed 7-0 by rivals Liverpool at the beginning of March.

The following Premier League fixture saw them draw 0-0 with Southampton, with Casemiro being sent off. The Red Devils lost more ground in the league when they lost 2-0 to Newcastle United the following game – they’re currently below the Magpies in the league, on the same points.

In European competition, though, they’d had no such hiccups. Since the very first game in the group stages – a 1-0 loss to Real Sociedad – they have not lost.

In fact, until tonight, they had won all but one game since then – the first leg of the qualification stage for the knockouts. However, getting to the business end of the competition, and faced with record six-time winners Sevilla, things became tougher.

The game did start off on the right foot for United. Ten Hag’s side – missing the injured Marcus Rashford – opened the scoring in the 14th minute through Marcel Sabitzer.

Seven minutes later, the loanee netted the second, in turn scoring just the second brace of his career. United were in the ascendancy for much of the game, until a Tyrell Malacia own goal in the 84th minute turned the tide.

That goal gave Sevilla a welcome lift, as the Spanish side levelled just minutes later – a Youssef En-Nesyri header deflecting off Harry Maguire and into the United net. The game ended at 2-2, United left to rue their missed chances as they’d enter the second leg in parity with their opponents.

Ten Hag felt United let win slip

Speaking to BT Sport following the game, Ten Hag made it clear he felt his side should have won.

“We had the game in our hand. We were 2-0 up and should’ve scored three or four – the game was totally on us. Unlucky moments with injuries, we had to make some subs with injuries then we lost the control,” he said.

“We conceded two own goals, that’s bad luck but we have to deal with it. We have to learn and have to kill the game but everything is open.

“I know we can do better with these players in the last part of the game and we needed to be more composed, it was not a nice night.”

Ten Hag addresses injuries

Injuries did not help United’s cause. After having made all five substitutions, Lisandro Martinez went down injured off the ball, after Raphael Varane had already picked up an injury.

Ten Hag felt those moments hindered the flow of his side, and he addressed the potential problems going forwards.

“When we didn’t get the third and got some injuries we lost the rhythm in the game. We played well in the first half with a lot of belief, scored two great goals for Sabitzer and we could’ve scored even more, then after half time we lost control of the game,” he said.

“We’ve seen Lisandro drops out after a moment where there was no opponent involved so it does not look great. I can’t say [how serious it is] at this moment, the same with Rafa.”

United will hope the injuries are not too serious, particularly as both players play in the same position.

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