Ten Hag praises Man Utd’s ‘character and determination’ as they defeat nine-man Fulham at Old Trafford
Erik ten Hag has given his reaction to an enthralling encounter between Manchester United and Fulham at Old Trafford, which saw the Red Devils win 3-1.
Arguably, it was the visitors who arguably looked the better of the two sides in the first half, as chances went begging at both ends of the pitch.
Then, just five minutes into the second 45, Aleksandar Mitrovic deservedly opened the scoring for Fulham with a typical poacher’s finish at the back post.
However, after hanging onto the lead for 25 minutes, the Cottagers completely lost their heads after Willian handled the ball on the goal line, preventing a Sancho goal.
As a result, the Brazilian was issued a red card, before Mitrovic was also dismissed after pushing the referee while complaining about the decision. Fulham’s manager Marco Silva was also sent off for his over-the-top complaints.
Bruno Fernandes converted the penalty confidently before Marco Sabitzer got his first Man Utd goal just two minutes later, before Fernandes scored again in the 95th minute, sealing nine-man Fulham’s fate.
Man Utd will now play Brighton and Hove Albion in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, as Ten Hag looks to guide his team to their second major trophy of the season.
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Ten Hag praises Man Utd’s ‘character’ and ‘determination’
Ten Hag was understandably pleased with his Man Utd’s victory over Fulham, praising his player’s attitude towards the quarter-final.
As reported by BBC Sport, he said: “That was the aim. We did it, we are happy with the win. We showed great character. Every time this team comes out, they show the personality and the determination needed.
“Fulham are a good team and you have to be good to overcome them. I think we had a good first half. We had great moments in the attacking transition and we should have been two or three goals up.”
Despite the Fulham red cards clearly being the major talking point of the match, Ten Hag refused to comment on the aftermath of Willian’s handball.
“I don’t want to emphasise [the red cards]. It was a great counter-attack but I think everyone saw it was handball,” he added.
“The next [FA Cup] game is a long way away. The players will go away on the international break while we analyse the recent period. Then it’s about Newcastle, Brentford and Everton.”
