“A mess that I can’t accept” – Erik Ten Hag blames one Chelsea man for Manchester United 4-3 defeat to Chelsea
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has downplayed the alarming frequency with which Brentford, Liverpool, Everton, Manchester City — basically any side they play — have had the time and space to pepper goalkeeper André Onana from all angles. But maybe even Ten Hag will see the problem after Manchester United’s calamitous 4-3 defeat to Chelsea on Thursday.
Ten Hag said: “We started the game poorly but I had the feeling we were dominating. We got ourselves into a winning position, with some brilliant football, scoring some great goals and we didn’t manage the game in stoppage time.
“You have to do your job. The players know their jobs and they didn’t make the right decisions. We didn’t react quickly enough [for Palmer’s winner]. We have to make better decisions. We have to read when to keep the ball, to pass and move and switch the play when we are winning.
“We made individual errors that cost us the game. We have to learn from it. When you are a Man United player you should already know how to deal with this circumstance. In five days we dropped five points. That is unacceptable. We gave away a game we should have won.”
Palmer said that he did not know how Chelsea had stirred at the very last but when the officials signalled an additional eight minutes, he felt it gave his team a lift.
“It was madness,” he said. “To win like that, there is nothing better. We thought when we scored the third goal the fans lifted us and I saw the gaffer say there were two minutes left and thankfully I scored. You know I have taken many penalties. I am not going to miss a penalty, touch wood. And to score in the very last minute is crazy.”
Yes, Chelsea were a little fortunate, but United’s lack of professionalism was the root cause.
“I don’t know what it is but what it is, is that you have to do your job,” Ten Hag said. “They know their jobs and then you have to make the right decisions, and they didn’t. We didn’t react quick enough to avoid this situation.”
But this isn’t a one-off. It happened just five days earlier at Brentford and only Crystal Palace (10) have conceded more second-half stoppage time goals than United (8) in the league this season.