Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag explains why he spoke to his players on the pitch during defeat against Aston Villa
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has explained why he held a conversation with his players on the pitch prior to the second half of their match against Aston Villa.
The two teams met at Villa Park for a Premier League fixture on Sunday (November 6). The Red Devils were trailing by a goal at half-time, but emerged from the tunnel for the second half having scored with one of the final kicks before the break.
Though he spoke to his players during half-time, Ten Hag explained that he forgot to mention an important piece of information. The Manchester United manager subsequently laid out that missing detail to his players on the pitch before the second half began.
After the game, Ten Hag was questioned about his on-pitch team talk. He responded (as quoted by Manchester Evening News):
"No, it was just one detail I forgot to say at half-time and I could make that point. I thought the second part of the first half, we played well and we created two good chances with [Alejandro] Garnacho and [Cristiano] Ronaldo."
The late first-half goal led to increased optimism within Manchester United's players, according to their manager. However, it ultimately didn't have the desired effect as they conceded early in the second half. Ten Hag said:
"And we scored the goal and were back in the game and hopeful at half-time we could turn it around. Everyone had that feeling and with that attitude, we went out. But then you give the game away in the second half as in the start of the first half."
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag explains why he spoke to players on the pitch #mufc
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Manchester United fall to spirited Aston Villa in Unai Emery's first game in charge
Unai Emery's appointment as Aston Villa manager has certainly created a buzz around Villa Park. That could be felt in generous proportions as Villa comfortably beat Manchester United 3-1 in his first game in charge on Sunday.
Leon Bailey opened the scoring in the seventh minute of the match, firing home from Jacob Ramsey's superb pass after United were opened up. Lucas Digne added a second four minutes later with a splendid free-kick that gave David de Gea no chance.
The Red Devils bounced back towards the end of the first half through Luke Shaw's deflected strike. However, they were slow off the blocks after the break and Villa punished them as Ramsey netted his side's third with a bullet into the top corner in the 49th minute.
Defeat at Villa Park.
#MUFC || #AVLMUN
The victory meant Manchester United remained fifth in the Premier League table with 23 points from 13 matches. Aston Villa, meanwhile, are now 13th with 15 points from 13 games.