Erik ten Hag claims Douglas Luiz's celebration might have fueled Manchester United to score late winner against Aston Villa
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has stated his team might have been egged on by Douglas Luiz's provocative celebration during the Red Devils' 2-1 win against Aston Villa on Sunday, February 11.
Luiz appeared to celebrate right in front of Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana and defender Raphael Varane after scoring the equalizer in the 67th minute at Villa Park.
United then went on to win the game, courtesy of a thumping header from Scott McTominay in the 86th minute. When asked if Luiz's celebrations fueled his players to win the match, ten Hag said:
"I don’t have an opinion about that. I haven’t spoken to the players. Maybe it's fuelising, I don't know. I don’t think it is important. It is about us, we have to think about our game and not the opposition."
Manchester United, currently sixth in the table with 41 points after 24 games, cut short the point deficit to just five on fifth-placed Aston Villa, who have now lost three of their last four games across competitions.
Erik ten Hag demands more from Manchester United after late win at Villa Park
With three league wins on the trot, Manchester United appears to have refound their feet in the Premier League this season. The Red Devils timed out yet another late win but manager Erik ten Hag expects his side to wrap up the points sooner.
Speaking after the game, he said:
"The way we did it, I liked it. I especially liked the first 20 minutes when we controlled the game. But once we scored we changed our mind-set. For me, you must play on."
"It was too much like a tennis match, we had problems in the counter-attack. It was so open and it could go two ways but we found the mentality and character to win the game," he added.
United went ahead through Rasmus Hojlund in the 17th minute but appeared to have lost control of the game for the majority of the play until McTominay jumped in with a thumping header in the 86th minute.