“The bloke’s a dud” – Piers Morgan rubs salt into Ten Hag’s wounds with Cristiano Ronaldo claim after Manchester United loss to Spurs
British broadcaster Piers Morgan recently termed Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag as a 'dud', building on Cristiano Ronaldo's earlier comments about the Dutchman. His comments came in the aftermath of United's 2-0 Premier League loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday (August 19).
Ronaldo, now at Al-Nassr, had a well-publicised feud with Ten Hag, who didn't start the star forward in many key games last season. The Portuguese infamously refused to come on in a 2-0 league win at home to Spurs, which seemingly paved the way for his exit.
In a controversial tell-all interview with Morgan last year, Ronaldo said (via SPORTbible):
"I don't have respect for him because he doesn't show respect for me. If you don't have respect for me, I'm never gonna have respect for you."
Almost a year on from that interview, Morgan has attempted to rub salt on Ten Hag's strained relationship with Ronaldo, tweeting:
"At some point, United fans will wake up from their collective deluded coma and realise Ronaldo was 100% right about Ten Hag. The bloke's a dud."
Following a rather fortunate 1-0 win in their league opener on Monday, Ten Hag's men were exposed at Tottenham. After a goalless first half, Pape Sarr fired Spurs in front in the 49th minute before Lisandro Martinez's own goal in the 83rd minute confirmed Manchester United's loss.
"We conceded the goal but could have bounced back immediately" - Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag
Manchester United returned from Tottenham Hotspur empty-handed, but missed chances would become their undoing.
Antony found the woodwork, while captain Bruno Fernandes headed over when he was unmarked and placed well to score. After the match, Ten Hag stated that he knew his team had their chances to grab something from the game.
The Dutchman said (as per Manchester Evening News):
"I think first half, we played really well against a good Spurs side. We dominated the game in and out of possession, Spurs had problems, but you have to score the first goal; the meaning of the first goal is so important.
He added:
"We didn't, and then I think (it) already started just before half time. We collect three unnecessary bookings, and we already conceded a big chance. And (before) the second half, we said keep focused; keep on the job to do, keep on the front foot, keep proactive. And that is just what we didn't do."
The manager bemoaned conceding and not providing an immediate response, concluding:
"We conceded the goal, but we could have bounced back immediately with a big chance for Antony, and after that, we didn't collapse, but the meaning of the first goal, you encourage the opponent, that's what we saw."
Manchester United will hope to return to winning ways on Saturday (August 26) when Nottingham Forest visit Old Trafford.