“I don’t want to make excuses about the pitch or weather” – Ten Hag blasts ‘unacceptable’ Manchester United collapse during Aston Villa draw
Manchester United threw away a two-goal lead to record a 2-2 draw with Aston Villa in their pre-season clash on Saturday (July 23). The result didn't sit well with their manager Erik ten Hag, who came out to slam the team's poor display during the game.
The Red Devils started the game on the front foot, with Jadon Sancho drawing first blood in the 25th minute and Matty Cash giving away an own-goal to make it 2-0 17 minutes later.
However, Manchester United couldn't keep hold of their lead, allowing the Villans to strike twice in the second half to ensure the spoils were shared.
Manchester Utd 2-2 Aston Villa: Late header as game ends even bbc.co.uk/sport/football…
Following the disappointing result, Erik ten Hag has refused to find excuses. Instead, the tactician has hit out at his players for dropping their focus after the restart. The Dutchman said, as quoted by Daily Mail:
"We had a lot of movement behind the defending line, scored two great goals so we were 2-0 up at half-time and then our focus dropped. It can be that the guys are tired but that's not an excuse."
"They have to perform and it is what we didn't do in the second half. It was the focus. I don't want to make excuses about the pitch or weather. No matter what we have to perform."
The Manchester United manager went on to admit that his side made mistakes during the game and urged his players to learn from these errors. He added:
"Football is a sport of mistakes and we have to decrease the mistakes. That's clear but I have seen a lot of progress in these two weeks. In the first half, I saw really good football, really controlling and dominating the game. But we have to learn from what happened in the second half. It's not possible that you go 2-0 and then throw it away."
"I don't want to make an excuse about the pitch or weather, no matter what we have to perform" 🗣
Erik ten Hag's very honest review of Manchester United's 2-2 draw with Aston Villa 💯 https://t.co/L9pmXDRlfL
How Manchester United have fared in their pre-season games this summer
The Red Devils got their preseason tour off to a bright start as they hammered four goals past Liverpool on July 12. They followed it up with a 4-1 victory over Melbourne Victory three days later and continued their march with another 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace earlier this week.
After failing to beat Aston Villa, Erik ten Hag's men will be hoping to return to winning ways when they take on Atletico Madrid next week (July 30).