"Didn’t follow the rules at all" - Erik ten Hag slams Manchester United stars for 'poor performance' in 3-2 Dortmund defeat

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has lambasted his players for their performance against Borussia Dortmund yesterday (30 July).

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The Red Devils locked horns with the German outfit in a pre-season friendly in the United States over the weekend, where ten Hag's men suffered a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Dortmund.

Diogo Dalot and Antony got on the scoresheet for Manchester United, while Donyell Malen bagged a brace and Youssoufa Moukoko netted once for the Bundesliga side.

Ten Hag was unforgiving of his squad's performance in the match. The Dutch boss told MUTV after the game (as quoted by The Mirror):

"Two parts - first hour [was] good, well performing, playing as a team, lot of dynamic, good pressing, so it was really enjoyable to see. That is what I wanted to say to the team at half-time and then all of a sudden they gave two goals away and they really were giveaways. So that was already annoying but the last half an hour was bad, was a poor performance."

He added:

"Didn’t follow the rules at all, not in pressing, not in building up and not in attacking, so there were 11 individuals finally on the pitch and that wasn’t good at all. The first one was really poor defending and the second one really poor in building up and that is not us."

"We have to keep the control and you have to keep the responsibility on the ball and it was the same on the 3-2 for Dortmund, so [it] can’t happen and it’s unforgivable even if it’s a friendly."

Manchester United have had a mixed pre-season this summer. Ten Hag's side have suffered defeats to Real Madrid and Wrexham, while securing victories over Arsenal and Lyon.

"It's important for development" - Manchester United star opens up about Erik ten Hag's impact on his career

Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has admitted that ten Hag has made a great impact on his career.

🚨 Marcus Rashford says he considered leaving #mufc "a little bit" last summer, but the appointment of Erik ten Hag changed his stance. [@JamieJackson___] pic.twitter.com/ULBrsOmYUv

The England international was in stellar form during the 2022/23 campaign under the Dutch boss. He racked up 30 goals and 11 assists across all competitions for the Red Devils last term in 56 appearances.

Rashford explained how ten Hag is always looking to improve his players and the development he has had under the Dutch boss. The English forward said in an interview with ESPN:

"He always wants you to improve, whether it's physically or mentally. For us as players it's important he works on both sides with us and if he sees an obvious place to make improvement then he doesn't shy away from telling it. It's important for development and you never really stop developing throughout your career."